Compassion fatigue in healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the psychological health and well-being of healthcare providers. An amplification in chronic stressors, workload and fatalities may have increased the risk of compassion fatigue and disrupted the quality of patient care. Although current studies have explored the general psychological status of healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, few have focused on compassion fatigue. The purpose of this review is to explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on compassion fatigue in healthcare providers and the repercussions of compassion fatigue on patient care. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This scoping review will follow Joanna Briggs Institute and Arksey and O'Malley scoping review methodology. Comprehensive searches will be conducted in the following relevant databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science. To expand the search, reference lists of included studies will be handsearched for additional relevant studies. Included studies must report on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on compassion fatigue in healthcare providers and have been published in English since January 2020. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review does not require research ethics board approval. By examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on compassion fatigue in healthcare providers, this scoping review can offer important insight into the possible risks, protective factors and strategies to support healthcare providers' psychological health and patient care amidst persisting stressful conditions.

Dynamically Changing Mental Stress Parameters of First-Year Medical Students over the Three-Year Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.

Numerous research results have already pointed towards the negative influence of increased mental stress on educational processes and motivational criteria. It has also been shown that the global public health crisis induced by COVID-19 was related to anxiety symptoms and elevated levels of distress. To holistically elucidate the dynamics of the pandemic-related mental stress of first-year medical students, the associated parameters of three different cohorts were measured at the beginning of the pandemic-related restrictions on university life in Germany (20/21), at the peak of the COVID-19-related restrictions (21/22) and during the easing of the restrictions in the winter term 22/23. In a repeated cross-sectional study design, the constructs of worries, tension, demands and joy were collected from first-year medical students (n = 578) using the Perceived Stress Questionnaire. The results demonstrate significantly increased values of the constructs worries (p < 0.001), tension (p < 0.001) and demands (p < 0.001) at the peak of the pandemic related restrictions compared to the previous and following year as well as significantly decreasing values of general joy of life during the observed period of 3 years (all p-values < 0.001). A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to verify the questionnaire's factor structure regarding the addressed target group during the pandemic (CFI: 0.908, RMSEA: 0.071, SRMR: 0.052). These data, collected over a period of three years, provide information regarding dynamically manifesting mental stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, and refer to new areas of responsibility for the faculties to adequately counteract future crisis situations.

Supply chain disruption recovery in the evolving crisis-Evidence from the early COVID-19 outbreak in China.

The speed of recovery from supply chain disruption has been identified as the predominant factor in building a resilient supply chain. However, COVID-19 as an example of an evolving crisis may challenge this assumption. Infection risk concerns may influence production resumption decision-making because any incidents of infection may lead to further shutdowns of production lines and undermine firms' long-term cash flows. Sampling 244 production resumption announcements by Chinese manufacturers in the early COVID-19 crisis (February-March 2020), our analysis shows that, generally, investors react positively to production resumptions. However, investors perceived the earlier production resumptions were higher risk (indicated by declined stock price). Such concerns were exacerbated by more locally confirmed cases of COVID-19 but were less salient for manufacturers with high debts (liquidity pressure). This study calls for a reassessment of the current disruption management mindset in response to new evolving crises (e.g., COVID-19) and provides theoretical, practical, and policy implications for building resilient supply chains.

A dynamic approach to supply chain reconfiguration and ripple effect analysis in an epidemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the unprecedented challenges of ensuring the continuity of operations in a supply chain as suppliers' and their suppliers stop producing due the spread of infection, leading to a degradation of downstream customer service levels in a ripple effect. In this paper, we contextualize a dynamic approach and propose an optimal control model for supply chain reconfiguration and ripple effect analysis integrated with an epidemic dynamics model. We provide supply chain managers with the optimal choice over a planning horizon among subsets of interchangeable suppliers and corresponding orders; this will maximize demand satisfaction given their prices, lead times, exposure to infection, and upstream suppliers' risk exposure. Numerical illustrations show that our prescriptive forward-looking model can help reconfigure a supply chain and mitigate the ripple effect due to reduced production because of suppliers' infected workers. A risk aversion factor incorporates a measure of supplier risk exposure at the upstream echelons. We examine three scenarios: (a) infection limits the capacity of suppliers, (b) the pandemic recedes but not at the same pace for all suppliers, and (c) infection waves affect the capacity of some suppliers, while others are in a recovery phase. We illustrate through a case study how our model can be immediately deployed in manufacturing or retail supply chains since the data are readily accessible from suppliers and health authorities. This work opens new avenues for prescriptive models in operations management and the study of viable supply chains by combining optimal control and epidemiological models.

Governing systemic and cascading disaster risk in Indonesia: where do we stand and future outlook

PurposeThis paper aims to identify key factors for a contextualised Systemic Risk Governance (SRG) framework and subsequently explore how systemic risks can be managed and how local institutional mechanisms can be tweaked to deal with the complex Indonesian risk landscape.Design/methodology/approachUsing a case study from Palu triple-disasters in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, the authors demonstrate how inland earthquakes in 2018 created cascading secondary hazards, namely tsunamis, liquefactions and landslides, caused unprecedented disasters for the communities and the nation. A qualitative analysis was conducted using the data collected through a long-term observation since 2002.FindingsThe authors argue that Indonesia has yet to incorporate an SRG approach in its responses to the Palu triple-disasters. Political will is required to adopt more appropriate risk governance modes that promote the systemic risk paradigm. Change needs to occur incrementally through hybrid governance arrangements ranging from formal/informal methods to self- and horizontal and vertical modes of governance deemed more realistic and feasible. The authors recommend that this be done by focusing on productive transition and local transformation.Originality/valueThere is growing awareness and recognition of the importance of systemic and cascading risks in disaster risk studies. However, there are still gaps between research, policy and practice. The current progress of disaster risk governance is not sufficient to achieve the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030) unless there is an effective governing system in place at the local level that allow actors and institutions to simultaneously manage the interplays of multi-hazards, multi-temporal, multi-dimensions of vulnerabilities and residual risks. This paper contributes to these knowledge gaps.

Emotional risk work during the pandemic: Healthcare professionals' perceptions from a COVID-19 ward

In March 2020, COVID-19 wards were established in hospitals in Denmark. Healthcare professionals from a variety of specialities and wards were transferred to these new wards to care for patients admitted with severe COVID-19 infections. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a COVID-19 ward at a hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, including focus group interviews with nursing staff, we intended to explore practices in a COVID-19 ward by seeking insight into the relation between the work carried out and the professionals' ways of talking about it. We used a performative approach of studying how the institutional ways of handling pandemic risk work comes into being and relates to the health professionals' emerging responses. The empirical analysis pointed at emotional responses by the nursing staff providing COVID-19 care as central. To explore these emotional responses we draw on the work of Mary Douglas and Deborah Lupton's concept of the ‘emotion-risk-assemblage'. Our analysis provides insight into how emotions are contextually produced and linked to institutional risk understandings. We show that work in the COVID-19 ward was based on an institutional order that was disrupted during the pandemic, producing significant emotions of insecurity. Although these emotions are structurally produced, they are simultaneously internalised as feelings of incompetence and shame.

Supply chain analytics and post-pandemic performance: mediating role of triple-A supply chain strategies

PurposeThe abrupt outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hit every nation in 2020–2021, causing a worldwide pandemic. The worldwide COVID-19 epidemic, described as a "black swan”, has severely disrupted manufacturing firms' supply chain. The purpose of this study is to investigate how supply chain data analytics enable the effective deployment of agility, adaptability and alignment (3As) strategies, resulting in improving post-COVID disruption performance. It also analyses the indirect effect of supply chain data analytics on disruption performance through the 3As supply chain strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe hypothesis and theoretical framework were tested using a questionnaire survey. The authors employed structural equation modelling through the SMART PLS version 3.2.7 to analyse data from 163 textile firms located in Pakistan.FindingsThe results revealed that the supply chain data analytics contributed positively and significantly to the agility and adaptability, while all 3As supply chain strategies impacted the PPERF substantially. Further, the connection between supply chain data analytics (SCDA) and disruption performance has substantially been influenced through 3As supply chain strategies.Practical implicationsThe results imply that in the event of low likelihood, high effect disruptions, managers and decision-makers should focus their efforts on integrating data analytics capabilities with 3As supply chain policies to ensure long-term company success.Originality/valueThis research sheds fresh light on the importance of data analytics in effectively implementing 3As strategies for sustaining company performance amid COVID-19 disruptions.

How to Reconcile Pandemic Business Interruption Risk With Insurance Coverage

In the face of major risks, the financial capacities of private (re)insurers are rapidly reached. For major risks such as natural catastrophes, a risk transfer can be operated to the financial markets through securitization. A pandemic is a cat. Unfortunately a nat cat securitization strategy cannot be replicated for a pandemic cat. In this paper, we consider the economic losses that firms are bearing during a pandemic like the COVID-19. We focus on their most important issues: Risk correlation, impact of administrative decisions, moral hazard, and financial liquidity. Then we propose a coverage strategy of the pandemic business interruption risk that combines self-insurance, standard – capped – (re)insurance and new double triggered pandemic business interruption bonds. Lastly, we provide a simple illustration with French data related to the losses borne by the catering sector. © 2023 Editions Dalloz Sirey. All rights reserved.

Determinants of Foreign exchange exposure during the COVID-19 crisis: A Multi-country evidence

The research question of which firm-level factors make firms more vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations during periods of crisis has rarely been explored by prior literature. Using a large sample of 1577 firms from 9 developed and 11 emerging countries, this study presents a comprehensive analysis of how firm-level factors affect firms' foreign exchange exposure before and during the COVID-19 crisis. The results provide evidence of a substantial increase in firms' linear exposure during the COVID-19 period. The cross-sectional analysis reveals that the effects of firm-level variables on exposure are more pronounced during crisis periods and are different from non-crisis periods. Firms that have effective asset utilization or large operating profit margins remain less exposed during times of stress. Contrary to hedging theory, firms that have high incentives to hedge such as firms with high financial leverage become highly exposed to currency fluctuations during crisis periods. The interaction analysis provides further evidence that firms with high leverage can limit their foreign exchange exposure during periods of crisis if they have high asset turnover or high operating profits. The results offer important practical implications to firms for risk management during periods of crisis.

Mainstreaming disaster risk management technical and vocational education and training (DRM-TVET) program in higher education institutions: flexible ladderized capacity building model amid COVID-19

Disasters are increasingly becoming more destructive in their impacts. Lives have been lost and properties damaged due to the lack of institutional and personnel coping and adaptive capacities. Several policies in the Philippines have noted the importance of capacity development in implementing Disaster Risk Management (DRM). To meet the above necessity, in 2017, Philippine School of Business Administration (PSBA), Manila, one of the higher education institutions pioneered a specialization of DRM in its existing Master in Business Administration program. However, meeting the demand for Disaster Risk Management Technical and Vocational Education and Training (DRM-TVET) through Formal Degree Program (FDP) and keeping FDP sustainable is still facing a number of challenges. The main drivers of these challenges include but are not limited to the following: time constraint on the part of participants to complete 2–4 years' FDP;lack of institutions offering DRM-TVET programs;and unavailability of a Learning Management System. The main objective of this research is to develop an Alpha-Flexible Ladderized Capacity Building Model (A-FLCBM) amid COVID-19. Further, the study should also provide logical flow and recommendations to operationalize the remaining activities of the Conceptual Framework in developing the Beta (B)-FLCBM amidst COVID-19. In this regard, the researchers collected pertinent data through a substantive, thorough, sophisticated literature review and examined the available mandates on existing Flexible ladderized models. Further, a Conceptual Framework (CF) is also developed and partially operationalized. The output allowed researchers to develop A- FLCBM amidst COVID-19 using the PSBA curriculum as a pilot case. However, the framework activities, i.e., dry run, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) registration for National Certification (NC), development of B-FLCBM, and the empirical assessment of DRM-TVET and FDP sustainability will be covered in future studies. The A-FLCBM comprises of interrelated activities including mode of learning and well-designed DRM NC short courses, workshops, and trainings for the trainers. The Model is aligned with the Executive Order 358, promulgated in 2004. Further, the Ladderized Education (LE) system introduced through Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order No. 43, 2008 Series, was also considered for wider-scale and accelerated implementation of LE nationwide and globally. The implementation of B-FLCBM will provide a unique opportunity to develop the skills required to be a professional in the DRM and business continuity field, improving the quality of life and raising awareness on the importance of preventing and mitigating disasters and reducing the loss incurred by countries in terms of lives, property, and economy. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Managing systemic risk in emergency management, organizational resilience and climate change adaptation

PurposeThis paper applies the theory of cascading, interconnected and compound risk to the practice of preparing for, managing, and responding to threats and hazards. Our goal is to propose a consistent approach for managing major risk in urban systems by bringing together emergency management, organisational resilience, and climate change adaptation.Design/methodology/approachWe develop a theory-building process using an example from the work of the Greater London Authority in the United Kingdom. First, we explore how emergency management approaches systemic risk, including examples from of exercises, contingency plans and responses to complex incidents. Secondly, we analyse how systemic risk is integrated into strategies and practices of climate change adaptation. Thirdly, we consider organisational resilience as a cross cutting element between the approaches.FindingsLondon has long been a champion of resilience strategies for dealing with systemic risk. However, this paper highlights a potential for integrating better the understanding of common points of failure in society and organisations, especially where they relate to interconnected domains and where they are driven by climate change.Originality/valueThe paper suggests shifting toward the concept of operational continuity to address systemic risk and gaps between Emergency Management, Organizational Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation.

Financial markets and price increases in Europe after the russian-Ukrainian War

The research relevance is predefined by the fact that the European financial market has suffered a direct negative impact due to the russian aggression and violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. All these processes are accompanied by several previously formed and unfavourable trends for socio-economic and financial development, which have become even more severe due to the hostilities. In particular, COVID-19, environmental degradation, rising inflation, deglobalization, insufficient social development of individual countries, as well as fuel and food shortages. The research aims to conclude a comparative analysis of financial policy in European countries and individual countries of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as substantiation of the financial risk management features and the formation of a forecast model of economic stabilization. To achieve the set objectives, scientific methods were used, including analysis method, analogy method, and modelling method. The article analyses expert reports and the results of scientific research on the current state of the financial market and monetary policy in Europe as a result of the russian-Ukrainian war, in particular in the Balkans and Kosovo. The analogy of the directions of financial policy in the period before the russian invasion of the territory of Ukraine with the period of direct aggression of the russian federation is conducted. The fundamental reasons for changes in pricing policy, in particular pricing mechanisms, are characterized. The determining factors of financial risks, tools for assessing the consequences, as well as generalization of management methods for their reduction and elimination in the future are substantiated. The directions of European financial support aimed at the defence sector and socio-economic needs are considered. The practical value of the work is that the conceptual model of strategic development of the European financial market in the context of stabilization processes of international financial policy, as well as food and energy security was formed Copyright © The Author(s).

Impact of coronavirus pandemic on small businesses: A qualitative exploratory case study

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted small business entrepreneurs in the USA. The coronavirus pandemic started in China, spread across the world, and caused unprecedented health crises and financial and economic disruptions (Brijesh et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many small businesses leading to severe liquidity problems and substantial financial losses (Williams & Kayaoglu, 2020). The U.S. government developed micro and macroeconomic recovery plans and strategies that focused on the economic revival interventions, boosting national cash flow, increase in spending, and consumption (Thorbecke et al., 2020). The participants in this study were purposefully sampled from the population of 1,000 small businesses in the USA, provided by Data Axle USA. Two data sources were an open-ended questionnaire/survey instrument and an archival documents review. The archival documents were downloaded from the NSBA website. Data analysis was done using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis process (Ayre & McCaffery, 2022). From the thematic analysis, six themes emerged (a) Supply, Demand, and Trade Deficit Affected Revenue Stream;(b) Trade and Revenue Deficits Led to Business Rightsizing and Closures;(c) Government Help and Small Business Loans;(d) Transition to Internet, Virtual, and Online Business to Survive;(e) Retrenchment and Redundancy Reduction;and (f) Need for Awareness and Preparedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Supply chain risk and SME business continuity strategies in the food industry during COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study aimed to (1) identify supply chain risks faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) investigate the business continuity management (BCM) strategies employed by organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted, involving eight SMEs in the Malaysian food industry. Their responses were analysed using a thematic analysis.FindingsThe thematic analysis indicated that supply risks, demand risks, operational risks, logistics risks and financial risks were amongst the challenges that the respondents faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provided evidence which showed the importance of flexibility, redundancy and collaboration to avoid or reduce the impact of such risks.Originality/valueThis paper fills the void in the literature by exploring the BCM practices amongst SMEs in the food businesses of a developing country, during the COVID-19 disruptions. Previous studies in the area had mainly focused on large organisations.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING AS STRATEGIC CRISIS RESPONSE MECHANISM: AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH

Most companies have been severely affected by various business risks due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Their limited resources during this adverse period have forced them to be more concerned with their companies' survival than making sustainability initiatives that incur extra costs. Consequently, companies have faced a challenge in reporting imposed-sustainability statements. According to Wenzel et al. (2020) and Zharfpeykan and Ng (2021), companies can innovatively improvise the regular sustainability reporting to become a strategic tool to portray to stakeholders how companies respond to and address sustainable matters during a crisis period. Thus, this paper presents the concept of sustainability reporting as a strategic crisis response mechanism and proposes a model and matrix that maps the stakeholder engagement disclosure strategy with quality disclosure. Moreover, the paper discusses how this reporting can be influenced by internal governance mechanisms. The paper further suggests the moderating role of enterprise risk management (ERM) in this relationship. This concept can potentially guide managerial decisions on ideal sustainability practices that may not impair companies' capacity to survive during future crises. It may act as an effective instrument in meeting stakeholders' expectations of companies to perform their roles as good corporate citizens during a crisis. © 2023 The Authors.

Evolutionary game analysis of crowding risk control strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic

To discuss the decision-making scheme of crowding risk management during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model based on the changes of pedestrian and government strategies, and simulates the strategy selection under different states. The results show that under the condition of pedestrian rationality, when the difference between the benefits and costs of the government's active response strategy is less than the benefits of inaction, the government will choose the strategy of inaction. If the benefit of rational action is less than the additional benefit of irrational action, pedestrians will choose irrational action. By establishing the replication dynamic equations of governments and pedestrians, the stability strategy of the system is analyzed. It is found that the values of R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 will affect the strategy choices of the players, and how to measure the benefits and costs under different circumstances becomes the key to the problem. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the risk control decision of human crowding during the COVID-19 epidemic. © 2023 SPIE.

Managing risk in commercial property development projects during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from China

The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest global health crisis in years. China is the first market primarily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with unprecedented lockdown measures bringing real estate and other economic activities to a standstill. This study has two objectives: (1) to identify the risks critical to the risk management of commercial real estate (CRE) development projects based on the project life cycle stages and (2) to identify the stages most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk factors at different stages. Three rounds of the Delphi study were conducted with nine experts involved in the construction project. The findings indicate that the construction, lease and sale phases are prone to significant risks. Additionally, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) identified ‘health and safety risk' as the most critical risk factor during the construction phase and ‘marketing and payback risk' as the most critical risk factor during the lease and sale phase. This study enhanced the effectiveness of risk management practices for implementing CRE development projects in China.

Risk Mitigation in Agriculture in Support of COVID-19 Crisis Management

The main focus of this article is the problem of exacerbating agricultural risks in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, which started against the background of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The motivation for conducting the research presented in this article was the desire to increase the resilience of agricultural companies to economic crises. This paper is aimed at studying the Russian experience of changing the production and financial risks of agricultural companies during the COVID-19 crisis, substantiating the important role of innovations in reducing these risks, and determining the prospects for risk management in agriculture based on innovations to increase its crisis resilience. Using the structural equation modelling (SEM) method, we modelled the contribution of innovations to the risk management of agriculture during the COVID-19 crisis. The advantages of the SEM method, compared to other conventional methods (e.g., independent correlation analysis or independent regression analysis), include the increased depth of analysis, its systemic character, and the consideration of multilateral connections between the indicators. Using the case-study method, a "smart" vertical farm framework is being developed, the risks of which are resistant to crises through the use of datasets and machine learning. The originality of this article lies in rethinking the risks of agriculture from the standpoint of "smart" technologies as a new risk factor and a way to increase resilience to crises. The theoretical significance of the results obtained is that they make it possible to systematically study the changes in the risks of agriculture in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, while outlining the prospects for increasing resilience to crises based on optimising the use of "smart" technologies. The practical significance of the article is related to the fact that the authors' conclusions and applied recommendations on the use of datasets and machine learning by agricultural companies can improve the efficiency of agricultural risk management and ensure successful COVID-19 crisis management by agricultural companies.

Online adaptation of a compassion-focused intervention to treat comorbid eating disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims: To provide psychological support for individuals recovering from comorbid eating disorders (EDs) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted a 10-session compassion-focused group-based intervention for delivery online using video conferencing technology. This study describes how the group content and resources were adapted and synthesizes qualitative feedback from participants and facilitators. Method(s): Content and format were modified and a new website to host supporting material was developed. Clear guidelines regarding recruitment and acceptance into the group, boundaries within the group, and risk management were implemented. Structured qualitative interviews regarding participants' online group experiences were conducted with 17 women following the group completion. Result(s): In-depth communication concerning group expectations and activities was important during assessment to ensure the intervention was well-suited to prospective participants. Consistent implementation of group guidelines by facilitators was critical in maintaining a safe online environment. Participants indicated online delivery increased logistical accessibility, as many reported they would have been unable to attend otherwise (e.g., time, geographical location), and reduced fear of judgement and anxiety about in-person attendance. Favourable online adaptations reported by participants included inclusion of all group members, opportunities to share in smaller groups/pairs and online resources. Conclusion(s): Delivery of group-based compassion-focused interventions for individuals with comorbid EDs and PTSD are appropriate for overcoming barriers that may otherwise prevent participation. Online resources could potentially increase intervention uptake among individuals in the early stages of recovery from these disorders.