Study of the psychological determinants of COVID-19 vaccination among health workers in a Western Algeria.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccine hesitancy is a major challenge in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, with healthcare professionals playing a major role in its acceptance. AIM: To assess the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among health workers in Sidi Bel Abbès and to identify the psychological determinants of vaccination acceptance. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December 01, 2021 to January 31, 2022 and involved health professionals in Sidi Bel Abbès, through an anonymous questionnaire. Psychological determinants were assessed using the 5C scale (15 items), whereas the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS) (7 items) was used to estimate the effect of vaccine conspiracy beliefs. 5C and VCBS scores were analyzed using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve.

Prevalence of poor medication adherence in type 2 diabetics in North Africa. Systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Medication adherence is the cornerstone of the successful drug management of a chronic disease. AIM: To develop a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence and the factors associated with non-adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes in North African countries. METHODS: A literature search was conducted on Medline via Pubmed with a complementary search on Google Scholar. The meta-analysis was conducted using the Metaprop function of R software. The Cochrane Q test and Higgins I² statistic were used to estimate the heterogeneity. RESULTS: In total, 16 studies measuring the prevalence of medication adherence in North African countries were selected in this systematic review. The combined prevalence of non-adherence was 38% (95% CI 30%-47%) with a random-effects model. The meta-analysis revealed a significant heterogeneity between studies (I² = 96%, p <0.01). Factors associated with non-adherence in type 2 diabetics were education level, social security coverage, therapeutic education, cost of medication, socioeconomic level, the duration of diabetes, unbalanced diabetic diet, polypharmacy, female gender, family support and age. CONCLUSION: The combined prevalence of non-adherence among type 2 diabetics in North Africa was high and multifactorial, requiring global and integrated management by patients, physicians and pharmacists.

Psychosocial impact of COVID-19 among health workers in Algeria.

BACKGROUND: The current COVID-19 pandemic has put health care professionals in the face of increasing psychological distress, with a high risk of infection. PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of anxiety-depressive disorders among health professionals in Algeria and determine their associated risk factors. METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from January 11 to March 09, 2021 and concerned healthcare professionals in Algeria, through an online self-assessment. The mental health rating scales used were GAD-7 (7 items) for Anxiety, and CES-D (20 items) for Depression. Resilience was estimated by the RISC-CD (10 items). An original questionnaire was used to assess three factors: fear of infection and death, isolation and stigmatization, as well as motivation and escape behaviour at work. RESULTS: A total of 1005 health professionals were included in the study, of which 51.5% were doctors, 75.6% were women and 41.1% were at the first front of the fight against COVID-19. The prevalence of Anxiety and Depression was 23.8% and 44.6% respectively. Health professionals with a high resilience score were those who were in direct contact with COVID-19 3.75 [1.11-12.7] and those who feared contracting the disease 1.22 [1.14-1.31]. Among the study population, 508 employees (50.5%) were free from anxiety-depressive disorder: Good mental health of health personnel, has been determined by the male sex 1,55 [1,07, 2,24], without co-morbidity 0,57 [0,39, 0,83], without direct intervention in the fight against COVID-19 0.63 [0.45, 0.89], having a low score of Depression and Anxiety with respectively 0.43 [0.36- 0.50], 0.50 [0.41- 0.58] while denouncing a high Resilience score 1.03 [1.01- 1.05]. CONCLUSION: In Algeria, the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of health professionals, hence the urgent need for intervention programs, for strengthening their mental health in a more sustainable and effective struggle.

Attitudes of health professionals towards the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Maghreb.

OBJECTIVE: Measuring the attitudes of health professionals in two Maghreb countries (Tunisia and Algeria) with regard to the response to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020. METHODS: This scoping study was based on a "Google Form" covering three constituents of the response plan against COVID-19: responders, activities and crisis communication. The attitudes of health professionals who are working in Tunisia and Algeria were measured through the Likert scale with four propositions, grouped in pairs, during the analysis. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 280 health professionals, 170 of whom are Tunisians along with 110 Algerians. The medians of age and that of professional seniority are, respectively, 37 and 10 years. The role of "health workers", "Mass Media" and "civil society associations" was found to be satisfactory according, respectively, to 92%, 71%, and 55% of the respondents. As far as 72% of health professionals are concerned, the "barrier measures" were respected by the population. Approximately, seven in ten respondents were satisfied with the quality of communication occuring between the Ministries of Health and its epidemiological structures. CONCLUSION: Health professionals of the Maghreb working in Tunisia and Algeria had a generally positive perception of the role of population responders, community engagement, and the quality of official communication in regards to the response plan against COVID- 19. This perception would be a prerequisite for the success of community participation and multisectoral action as well as essential in the strategy of prevention and control of this pandemic and of possible other health emergencies.

Counter-COVID- 19 pandemic strategy in the Maghreb Central. Qualitative study of the perceptions of health professionals.

CONTEXT: The Maghreb Central, like all the countries of the world, was strongly mobilized (governments, ministries of health, population, civil society) in the response against COVID-19, immediately after the registration of the first cases on its territory (end of February, beginning of March) and according to pre-established control strategies. OBJECTIVES: Describe the perceptions of health professionals in the Central Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco) as to the Strengths/Opportunities and Weaknesses/Threats of the national response plans against COVID-19, during the first weeks of their execution, and report their proposals for optimizing the performance of control strategies. METHODS: This is a qualitative study of the perceptions of health professionals in the Maghreb Central regarding their experience of the first six weeks of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was collected using the "Delphi" technique in one turn, based on an electronic form such as "Google Form", developed according to SWOT analysis. The respondents' verbatim was grouped into homogeneous groups of items, the occurrence of which was subsequently measured. RESULTS: A total of 382 health professionals from the Maghreb Central participated in this study, with a median age of 37 years and a median professional tenure of 10 years. The major force of the Maghreb response strategies, the most shared by the respondents, was the performance of the human resources mobilized (doctors, biologists, nurses, etc.) who succeeded in quickly learning from the international epidemiological expertise accumulated in Asia and in Europe. The fight against COVID-19 in the Central Maghreb was confronted with the general and chronic fragility of the national health systems and the low support of the general population for the recommendations of the steering committees of response, threatening the capacity of the Maghreb to confront new epidemics. CONCLUSION: The success of the national response plans against COVID-19 and of possible epidemics or pandemics in the Central Maghreb, is strongly attributed to the commitment of health professionals and to community participation, necessitating the launch of assistant motivation programs. and development of health personnel and mobilization and loyalty of civil society.

Lessons learned from the fight against COVID-19 in the Great Maghreb.Five lessons for better resilience.

OBJECTIVE: To compile the lessons learned in the Greater Maghreb, during the first six months of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in the field of "capacity building" of community resilience. METHODS: An expert consultation was conducted during the first week of May 2020, using the "Delphi" technique. An email was sent requesting the formulation of a lesson, in the form of a "Public Health" good practice recommendation. The final text of the lessons was finalized by the group coordinator and validated by the signatories of the manuscript. RESULTS: A list of five lessons of resilience has been deduced and approved : 1. Elaboration of "white plans" for epidemic management; 2. Training in epidemic management; 3. Uniqueness of the health system command; 4. Mobilization of retirees and volunteers; 5. Revision of the map sanitary. CONCLUSION: Based on the evaluation of the performance of the Maghreb fight against COVID-19, characterized by low resilience, this list of lessons could constitute a roadmap for the reform of Maghreb health systems, towards more performance to manage possible waves of COVID-19 or new emerging diseases with epidemic tendency.

Lessons learned from the fight against COVID-19 in the Great Maghreb. Five lessons for a better response.

OBJECTIVE: Identify the lessons learned in the Greater Maghreb, during the first semester of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in the field of response. METHODS: During the first week of May 2020, a consultation of experts was conducted, using the "Delphi" technique, through an email asking each of them, the drafting of a good practice recommendation for "Public health". The Group coordinator finalized the text of the lessons, later validated by the signatories of the manuscript. RESULTS: Five lessons of good «response¼ against epidemics have been deduced and approved by Maghreb experts, linked to the following aspects: 1. Total reservation of hospital beds for patients; 2. Clinical management of the response; 3. Discreet conflict of interest; 4. Community participation in the response; 5. Contextualization of the global fight strategy. CONCLUSION: Based on the finding of low relevance of the Maghreb response against COVID-19, this list of lessons would help support the performance of Maghreb health systems in the management of epidemics.

Lessons learned from the fight against COVID-19 in the Greater Maghreb. Five lessons for better preparation.

OBJECTIVE: To compile the lessons learned in the Greater Maghreb, during the first six months of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in the field of preparation of health systems. METHODS: An expert consultation was conducted during the first week of May 2020, using the "Delphi" technique. An email was sent to them requesting the formulation of a lesson, in the form of a "Public Health" good practice recommendation. The final text of the lessons was finalized by the group coordinator and validated by the signatories of the manuscript. RESULTS: A list of five lessons for the preparation of the national health systems of the Greater Maghreb for the fight against epidemics, was deduced and approved: 1. Liberal health systems are incapable of managing epidemics; 2. The specialties of "Public Health" are often marginalized; 3. Health personnel in the Maghreb are doubly devalued; 4. Flagrant regional disparities in the field of health care are still observed; 5. A general shortage of preventive equipment and medical devices has been noted. CONCLUSION: Based on the evaluation of the performance of the Maghreb fight against COVID-19, characterized by the vulnerability of the preparation of health systems, this list of lessons could constitute a roadmap for the reform of health systems. Maghrebian health, towards more performance in managing possible waves of COVID-19 or new emerging diseases with epidemic tendency.