Synergistic Effect between SARS-CoV-2 Wave and COVID-19 Vaccination on the Occurrence of Mild Symptoms in Healthcare Workers.

BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the pandemic, five variants of epidemiological interest have been identified, each of them with its pattern of symptomology and disease severity. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of vaccination status in modulating the pattern of symptomatology associated with COVID-19 infection during four waves. METHODS: Data from the surveillance activity of healthcare workers were used to carry out descriptive analysis, association analyses and multivariable analysis. A synergism analysis between vaccination status and symptomatology during the waves was performed. RESULTS: Females were found at a higher risk of developing symptoms. Four SARS-CoV-2 waves were identified. Pharyngitis and rhinitis were more frequent during the fourth wave and among vaccinated subjects while cough, fever, flu syndrome, headache, anosmia, ageusia, arthralgia/arthritis and myalgia were more frequent during the first three waves and among unvaccinated subjects. A correlation was found between vaccination and the different waves in terms of developing pharyngitis and rhinitis. CONCLUSION: Vaccination status and viruses' mutations had a synergic effect in the mitigation of the symptomatology caused by SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers.

Smart working perception in banking companies' employees during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to make decisions to re-assess working-time and location in order to ensure business survival. The resorting to Smart Working (SW) has been adopted to support business continuity, especially in the banking sector. OBJECTIVE: This study aims at evaluating the attitude and opinions of the bank employees on SW, focusing on the demographic, social and occupational characteristics of the respondents. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the attitudes of the banking workers towards SW. The research was conducted from September 2020 to April 2021 through a validated questionnaire administered online. RESULTS: The workers more interested in SW were younger than 45 years old (p < 0.001), with a high educational level (p = 0.001), and lived > 50 km away from the workplace (p < 0.001). Who reported an improved productivity was aged < 45 years, childless (p < 0.001), not married (p = 0.004).Who thought that working in smart mode has penalized the teamwork was older than 45 years (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12-1.73), lived near the office (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.16-2.99). CONCLUSIONS: SW could help finding a balance between private and working life, modifying the traditional working activity. However, it could enhance the risk of social isolation, impacting negatively on the working motivation. Establishing good practices on SW could be useful in the short-term to improve the time-management, focus better on work, and prevent possible psychological consequences on banking workers.

Factors that facilitate and hinder the return to work after stroke: an overview of systematic reviews.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the industrialized world and a large part of stroke survivors is of working age. A very important goal for these people is to return to work after stroke as it facilitates independent living and guarantees a high level of self-esteem and life satisfaction. AIM: To find the main factors that facilitate and hinder the return to work (RTW) in people who suffered from stroke through an overview of systematic reviews. METHODS: A systematic search using keywords and medical subject heading terms was conducted in January 2022, three electronic databases were searched: Medline (PubMed), Scopus and ISI Web. The articles that address the question of returning to work or maintaining employment of people of working age after stroke were included in the systematic review, as well as studies describing factors that facilitate and/or hinder RTW after stroke. Only systematic reviews written in English language were included in this overview. RESULTS: The search revealed 180 records after removing duplicates, but only a total of 24 systematic reviews were included in the overview. This research shows that in people who have suffered from a stroke, individual abilities, socioeconomic factors, healthcare factors, and disabilities resulting from the stroke itself are the most critical factors influencing the RTW.  Conclusion: Future research should focus on cognitive disabilities, as main RTW hindering factor, and vocational rehabilitation, as the more suitable factor for improving the RTW in stroke survivors.

The Synergistic Effect of Time of Exposure, Distance and No Use of Personal Protective Equipment in the Determination of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results of a Contact Tracing Follow-Up Study in Healthcare Workers.

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of contact time, contact distance and the use of personal protective equipment on the determination of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers (HCWs). This study consists of an analysis of data gathered for safety reasons at the Sapienza Teaching Hospital Policlinico Umberto I in Rome through the surveillance system that was put into place after the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic. The studied subjects consist of HCWs who were put under health surveillance, i.e., all employees who were in contact with subjects who were confirmed to have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The HCWs under surveillance were monitored for a period encompassing ten days after the date of contact, during which they undertook nasopharyngeal swab tests analysed through RT-PCR (RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 Altona Diagnostic-Germany). Descriptive and univariate analyses have been undertaken, considering the following as risk factors: (a) no personal protective equipment use (PPE); (b) Distance < 1 m between the positive and contact persons; (c) contact time > 15'. Finally, a Cox regression and an analysis of the level of synergism between factors, as specified by Rothman, were carried out. We analysed data from 1273 HCWs. Of these HCWs, 799 (62.8%) were females, with a sample average age of 47.8 years. Thirty-nine (3.1%) tested positive during surveillance. The overall incidence rate was 0.4 per 100 person-days. Time elapsed from the last exposure and a positive RT-PCR result ranged from 2 to 17 days (mean = 7, median = 6 days). In the univariate analysis, a distance <1 m and a contact time > 15' proved to be risk factors for the SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.62 (95% CI: 1.11-6.19) and 3.59 (95% IC: 1.57-8.21), respectively. The synergism analysis found the highest synergism between the "no PPE use" x "Contact time". The synergy index S remains strongly positive also in the analysis of the factors "no PPE use" x "Distance" and "Time of contact" x "Distance". This study confirms the absolute need to implement safety protocols during the pandemic and to use the correct PPE within health facilities in order to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. The analysis shows that among the factors considered (contact time and distance, no use of PPE), there is a strong synergistic effect.

How Much Do Young Italians Know About COVID-19 and What Are Their Attitudes Toward SARS-CoV-2? Results of a Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of 2019, an outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia, called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-2), was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. It subsequently spread throughout China and elsewhere, becoming a global health emergency. In February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the disease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective of this study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of young Italians about COVID-19 and their current attitudes toward the SARS-CoV-2 and to determine if there were prejudices emerging toward Chinese. METHODS: An online survey was conducted on February 3, 4, 5, 2020, with the collaboration of Italian website "Skuola.net". Young people had the opportunity to participate by answering an ad hoc questionnaire created to investigate knowledge and attitudes about the new coronavirus, using a link published on the homepage. RESULTS: A total of 5234 responses were received, of which 3262 were females and 1972 were males. Most of the participants showed generally moderate knowledge about COVID-19. Male students, middle school students, and those who do not attend school, should increase awareness of the disease; less than half of responders say that their attitudes toward the Chinese population has worsened in the last period. CONCLUSIONS: Global awareness of this emerging infection should be increased, due to its virulence, the significant risk of mortality, and the ability of the virus to spread very quickly within the community.

Technostress: how does it affect the productivity and life of an individual? Results of an observational study.

OBJECTIVES: Technostress is an emergent phenomenon related to the pervasive use of technology and is associated with the increased computerisation and digitalisation seen over recent decades. This cross-sectional observational study aims to investigate the impact that stress from the use of technologies (i.e. technostress) has on the productivity and life of an individual. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: Data were collected using a previously proposed and validated questionnaire. The questionnaire was translated into Italian and transformed into an online format with a Google Docs form. The questionnaire was then associated with a link and QR code (also available in paper format) and disseminated manually and through the use of e-mail and social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. RESULTS: The study sample included 313 individuals, 54.6% of whom were women. The mean age of the sample participants was 34.7 years. The dependent variables were technstressors (i.e. techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity and techno-uncertainty), role stressors (i.e. role overload and role conflict) and productivity. In the multivariate analysis, techno-overload was significantly associated with female gender (ß = 0.128; P = 0.018) and unemployment (ß = -0.303; P < 0.001); techno-invasion was significantly associated with female gender (ß = 0.098; P = 0.081) and degree-level education (ß = 0.149; P = 0.008); techno-complexity was significantly associated with female gender (ß = 0.107; P = 0.057) and being married (ß = 0.113; P = 0.046); techno-uncertainty was significantly associated with unemployment (ß = 0.337; P < 0.001); role overload was significantly associated with female gender (ß = 0.160; P = 0.014) and productivity was significantly associated with degree-level education (ß = 0.125; P = 0.057). CONCLUSIONS: This observational study evaluated the phenomenon of both work-related and non-work-related technostress of 313 individuals aged between 16 and 65 years. The present study investigated the impact of five techno-stressors, two role stressors and productivity. The results indicate that different techno-stressors are significantly associated with female gender, degree-level education and unemployment. Further research in this field is required to better understand and clarify the epidemiology, clinical presentation and determinants of technostress.

Definition, symptoms and risk of techno-stress: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Techno-stress (TS) is an emergent phenomenon closely related to the pervasive use of information and communication technologies in modern society. Despite numerous studies existing in the literature, only few comprehensive reviews have been performed, which has led to fragmented information about TS. This systematic review aimed to clarify the definition, the symptoms, and the risk factors of TS, focusing on the differences between work-related and non-work-related sources of TS. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review of three electronic databases was performed according to the PRISMA statement. 'Technostress' was used as the only keyword. RESULTS: In the qualitative synthesis, 105 studies were included: 84 cross-sectional studies, 8 experimental studies and 13 reviews (11 narrative and 2 systematic reviews). 70 studies (67%) addressed work-related TS, 26 (25%) addressed non-work-related TS, while 8 (8%) did not differentiate between work and non-work fields. The presence and level of TS among individuals was described in 38 studies (29%), whilst the techno-stressors, and the consequences of TS, were described in 53 studies (51%). The antecedents of TS were reported in 47 studies (45%), its moderators in 40 studies (38%), whilst its symptoms in only 11 studies (10%). CONCLUSIONS: TS affects both professional and private life. It can determine a reduction in job and life satisfaction and in productivity, and is often associated to the occurrence of psychological and behavioral disorders. Efforts should be made to recognize situations with a high risk of causing TS, to prevent its progressive development in a prospective way using mainly cohort studies.