Anxiety and coping during COVID-19. Investigation of anxiety management types in a German and Polish sample.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to assess the differences in anxiety management types between German and Polish samples. The research was conducted in the context of health-related variables and anxiety management types during the period of March to April 2020. The research project was approved by the Ethical Committee at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Gdansk, Poland. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: German Sample: Consisted of 323 subjects with an average age of 46 years. 73% were females, and 26% were males. Polish Sample: Included 100 subjects with an average age of 42 years. 73% were females, and 27% were males. The study collected data on various health-related variables and anxiety management types using specific measurement procedures. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the frequency distribution of anxiety management types between the Polish and German samples (p < .001). In the Polish sample, 60% showed negative anxiety management types (Sensitizer, Repressor, Highly anxious), compared to the German sample with 52%. 40% of the Polish and 48% of the German sample showed positive expressions. There were stronger significant differences in both samples regarding health-related variables, with the Polish sample being at a disadvantage. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides a comprehensive insight into the anxiety management types between German and Polish samples, revealing distinct differences in their responses. The Polish sample exhibited a higher prevalence of negative anxiety management types compared to the German sample. These disparities can be attributed to a myriad of factors, including historical traumas, transgenerational experiences, and the influence of dominant religions in each country. The findings underscore the importance of considering cultural, historical, and religious contexts when assessing and addressing mental health and coping mechanisms across different populations. Further research with larger samples and diverse groups could offer a more nuanced understanding of these patterns and their underlying causes.

Bio-psycho-social health assessment in prehospital emergency technicians: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Health is a complex structure and has physical, psychological, and social approaches. The importance and impact of health assessment have caused considerable attention to be paid to the employees of the health system and the determining factors of this relationship. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to find out the bio-psycho-social health situation in prehospital emergency technicians as the research question staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a systematic review and data have retrieved through extensive search in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed (including Medline), Cochrane Library, Irandoc, Magiran, MedLib, and SID databases with a combination of keywords of "Health, " "Assessment, " "Social," "Psychological," "Biological," "Emergency," and "prehospital," according to the search strategy, between 2000 and 202111 studies were reviewed; then, they were entered based on the objectives of the study and narrative analysis was performed by the researcher. RESULTS: After analyzing the articles, a total of 4 factors affecting bio-psycho-social health in prehospital emergency technicians have been extracted and identified, which included health management, bio-psycho-social factors, occupational factors, and behavioral factors. CONCLUSION: This research showed four factors, namely health management, bio-psycho-social factors, occupational factors, and behavioral factors which could be effective in Bio-Psycho-Social health. Since prehospital emergency services have an important role in maintaining the health of the community, which requires attention to the bio-psycho-social health of emergency personnel, more studies have focused on health management among the four mentioned factors, but the need to examine the other three factors for a more accurate assessment of the health of emergency personnel seems necessary. Therefore, prevention and response strategies based on bio-psycho-social health assessment models are proposed to promote the health of prehospital emergency technician staff.

Psychological Adjustment, Quality of Life and Well-Being in a German and Portuguese Adult Population During COVID-19 Pandemics Crisis.

Introduction: The pandemics crisis had consequences in psychological adjustment of persons all over the world. The current study analyzes comparatively the topics of quality of life, and well-being, considering as predictors trait anxiety, feeling of threat, difficulty to relax, empathy and pro-social attitude, health care, sleep quality and optimism, in a population of German and Portuguese adults during the pandemics, in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the psychological reactions to crisis across countries and cultures. Methods: A sample of 470 adults divided in three age groups - -young adults (18-34 years), middle-age adults (34-54 years) and old adults (55 years and older)- completed a self-report questionnaire assessing socio-demographic data, quality of life, well-being, quality of sleep, trait anxiety, Coronavirus threat, optimism regarding the pandemics, difficulty to relax, empathy, and pro-social attitude during the pandemics period. Results: Portuguese participants expresses higher empathy and pro-social attitude and health care but in Germany people have higher quality of sleep. Young adults (a) rated their quality of life lower than middle-age adults and old adults, (b) showed also lower optimism than middle-age and old adults, and (c) showed lower well-being than middle-age,. Conclusions: Young adults rated their quality of life, optimism and well-being during pandemics lower than middle-age and old adults, and experienced higher levels of trait anxiety and difficulty to relax. It seems that young adults show a lower psychological adjustment than other age groups during COVID-19 crisis. It is concluded that quality of life, optimism, and well-being during the pandemics are affected differently according to country and group of age, suggesting individual differences across cultures and ages, and consequently the need of specific interventions to cope with the psychological reactions to pandemics crisis.

Challenges to manage pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Iran with a special situation: a qualitative multi-method study.

BACKGROUND: With the unprecedented expansion of COVID-19 in the world since December 2019, Iran's health system, like other countries, faced various challenges in managing the disease, which led to numerous experiences and lessons learned. This study was conducted to identify these challenges regarding unique political, economic, and cultural issues, which could help other countries with similar situations. METHODS: The present study was performed using a qualitative multi-method approach with a content analysis method. The data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews and focused group discussions with 60 key persons who were selected purposefully, including policymakers, health care workers, and affected people by the disease, and the review of all available national reports between February 21, 2020, and March 22, 2021. The data collection and analysis were done simultaneously. RESULTS: Identified critical challenges for the management of COVID-19 in the health system were limited evidence and scientific controversies, poor social prevention and social inequalities, burnout and sustained workload among healthcare workers, improper management of resources and equipment, the lack of a guideline for contact tracing, and patient flow management, and mental health problems in the community. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, measures should be taken to conduct a continuous comprehensive risk assessment and develop a national response plan with an emphasis on precise contact tracing, active screening, patient flow, paying attention to the psychological and social dimensions of the disease, and also transparency of social inequalities in the face of risk factors of the COVID-19. Also, the social protection programs should become a vital tool for policymakers and supporting the vulnerable groups using the capacity of the community and international cooperation to develop a vaccine, which is difficult to procure due to the sanctions.

The Pandemic Management Theory. COVID-19 and biocentric development.

BACKGROUND: The Pandemic Management Theory (PMT) is a psychological theory based on the biocentric health management approach. It uses the data obtained in the study to describe an external first circle. Six phases of coping with the burden of the lockdown and the further load process of the COVID-19 pandemic are defined, such as the orientation phase with load interpretations, acute and chronic phases of negative load consequences and phases with positive consequences. Furthermore, it describes a phase with a biocentric sustainable change in ethical attitudes to protect life during pandemics. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The empirical base for the description of the Theory is a study on the psychological processing of the COVID-19 crisis. A total of 1500 participants from 5 continents took part. RESULTS: The COVID-19 crisis is an individual and genre-specific identity crisis in which basic ethical attitudes towards life are questioned, where the social distancing and restrictions have a separating, dissociating effect on the integration process with different levels of life. Therefore the inner circle of the model approaches biocentric connections of humans to (1) themselves, (2) to others and (3) to the "complex of living elements", to nature. Maintaining a connection in these three levels is necessary to sustain a healthy identity during pandemics. The causes and consequences of separations from these levels of life because of biocentric boundaries, which are defined in the model. CONCLUSIONS: To protect the connection of humans to themselves, to others and to the complex of living beings (nature) support options are shown in six biocentric fields of action during and after pandemics: (1) maintaining affective communication, (2) maintenance of lively corporeality, (3) contact with one's own identity and inner oriented self-reflexion together with others, (4) construction of life sense and expression of life potentials, (5) expansion of consciousness and perception of the wholeness, (6) development of ecological awareness and sustainable biocentric lifestyles and attitudes.

A Polish and German Population Study of Quality of Life, Well-Being, and Life Satisfaction in Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: Psychological studies undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic rarely include people in their 60s or older. In our study, we studied the predictors of quality of life, well-being, and life satisfaction (including risky behavior, trait anxiety, feeling of threat, sleep quality, and optimism) during the pandemic in older people from Germany and Poland and compared them to three different age groups. Methods: A total of 494 adults in four groups-60+ (N = 60), 50-60 (N = 139), 36-49 (N = 155), <35 (N = 140)-completed validated self-report questionnaires assessing: socio-demographic data, quality of life, trait anxiety, risk tolerance, Coronavirus threat, optimism regarding the pandemic, difficulty relaxing, life satisfaction, well-being, and sleep quality during the pandemic period. Results: Older people rated their quality of life higher than did young (mean difference=0.74, SE=0.19, p < 0.01) and middle-aged (mean difference=0.79, SE=0.18, p < 0.01) participants, rated their life satisfaction higher than young (mean difference=1.23, SE = 0.31, p < 0.01) and middle-aged (mean difference=0.92, SE = 0.30, p < 0.05) participants, and rated their well-being higher than young (mean difference=1.40, SE = 0.31, p < 0.01) and middle-aged (mean difference=0.91, SE = 0.31, p < 0.05) participants. They also experienced lower levels of trait anxiety and Coronavirus threat (mean difference=-9.19, SE = 1.90, p < 0.01) than the younger age groups. They experienced greater risk tolerance (mean difference=1.38, SE=0.33, p < 0.01), sleep quality (F =1 .25; eta 2 = 0.01), and optimism (F = 1.96; eta 2 = 0.01), and had less difficulty relaxing during the pandemic (F = 3.75; eta 2 = 0.02) than middle-aged respondents. Conclusions: Quality of life, life satisfaction, and well-being during the pandemic is affected by age, trait anxiety, and Coronavirus threat. Older people rated their quality of life, life satisfaction, and well-being during pandemic higher than young people, and experienced lower levels of trait anxiety and Coronavirus threat than the younger age groups. They experienced greater risk tolerance, sleep quality, and optimism, and had less difficulty relaxing than middle-aged respondents.

The association between air pollution and cancers: controversial evidence of a systematic review.

There are inconsistent reports on the association between air pollution and cancers. This systematic review was, therefore, conducted to ascertain the relationship between air pollution and some cancers. This is a systematic review study, which all articles published in this area were extracted from January 1, 1950 to December 31, 2018 from Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Science Direct, Google scholar. Searching was performed independently by two search-method experts. The required data were extracted from the articles by an author-made questionnaire. Forty-eight articles were investigated. Evidence linking air pollution to some cancers is limited. Leukemia had the highest association with exposure to various air pollutants and bladder cancer had the lowest association. It is noteworthy that the specific type of pollutants in all studies was not specified. Based on the findings, the results are contradictory, and the role of air pollution in some cancers cannot be supported. Accordingly, studies are recommended to be performed at the individual level or multifactorial studies to specifically investigate the relationship between air pollution and these types of cancers. In this way, the role of air pollution in the incidence of these cancers can be determined more accurately.

Does Self-Efficacy and Emotional Control Protect Hospital Staff From COVID-19 Anxiety and PTSD Symptoms? Psychological Functioning of Hospital Staff After the Announcement of COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in the hospital staff, as well as to identify protective factors of COVID-19 anxiety once the coronavirus pandemic was announced in Poland. METHODS: 90 healthcare workers from the hospital in Poland completed validated self-report questionnaires assessing self-efficacy, emotional control, and PTSD symptoms; a questionnaire assessing COVID-19 anxiety; and a socio-demographic questionnaire. A multiple linear regression was conducted to assess the effects of gender, being directly vs indirectly exposed to patients, and general self-efficacy on COVID-19 anxiety. RESULTS: The analysis showed that female (ß = -0.271, p < 0.01) healthcare professionals indirectly exposed to patients (ß = -0.336, p < 0.01) and those who reported lower levels of general self-efficacy (ß = -0.295, p < 0.01) have a stronger tendency to experience COVID-19 anxiety [R 2 = 0.301, F(3,89) = 12.34, p < 0.01]. CONCLUSION: The findings show the importance of self-efficacy for dealing with COVID-19 anxiety. The internal coping strategies should be introduced to healthcare workers.

Microbial and immunological responses relative to high-altitude exposure in mountaineers.

PURPOSE: High-altitude exposure is often associated with gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation, and an increased risk of infection. We suspected microbial and immunological responses to high-altitude exposure in mountaineers resulting from changes in the balance of the intestinal microflora. METHODS: We investigated fecal samples and serum of seven mountaineers who took part in a 47-d German expedition to the Nepalese Himalayas in 2002, for microbial response by changes in different fecal bacterial population groups (fluorescent in situ hybridization), immune response by serum levels of IgG-, IgM-, and IgA anti-LPS (E. coli J5), and inflammatory response by serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) (ELISA). In addition, measurements of body temperature, pulse rate, arterial oxygen saturation, and questionnaire (Lake Louise score for altitude illness) were performed. RESULTS: The data indicate a distinct alteration in the composition of the fecal microflora relative to high-altitude exposure above 5000 m. Bifidobacteria and species belonging to the Atopobium, Coriobacterium, and Eggerthella lenta group decreased, whereas potential pathogenic bacteria of the gamma subdivision of Proteobacteria and specific Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli increased. Possible endotoxemia resulting from the increase of the latter Gram-negative bacteria was indirectly indicated by the reduction in serum levels of IgM- and/or IgA anti-LPS. CRP was elevated relative to high-altitude exposure. The Lake Louise score correlated with the changes in CRP, IgA-, and IgM anti-LPS but did not correlate with the bacterial alterations. CONCLUSION: Changes in the composition of intestinal microbiota may be associated with indicators of an immunological challenge and may result in an increased health risk of mountaineers during exposure to very high altitude.