Students' perceptions and experiences of an online well-being programme: a phenomenological study protocol.

BACKGROUND: The pandemic has ensued challenges across all sections of the human population such as livelihood and educational changes, which involve the abrupt shift to online learning, immensely affecting the students' well-being. Negative health consequences of e-learning among students stem from the increased demand for new technological skills, productivity, information overload and restriction of students to spend time with their peers. OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of the students from the University of Santo Tomas-College of Rehabilitation Sciences (UST-CRS) who participated in the online well-being programme. METHODOLOGY: A phenomenological design will be used to determine the participants' perceptions and experiences. Purposive sampling will be used to recruit 8-10 undergraduate students from UST-CRS ages 18-22 years, who participated in the well-being programme, and completed the study's quantitative counterpart. Semistructured, in-depth questions will be used to conduct a focus group discussion. The transcripts will be analysed using thematic analysis via the NVivo V.12 software. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol is approved by the UST-CRS Ethical Review Committee (Protocol Number: SI-2022-034 (V.4)). It will be implemented in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the National Ethical Guidelines for Health and Health-Related Research, and Data Privacy Act. Findings will be published in accredited journals and presented in related scientific fora. REGISTRATION ID: PHRR230214-005419; Philippine Health Research Registry.

Effectiveness of Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccination policies in reducing infection and mortality of COVID-19: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccination has been advocated as the most effective way to curb the pandemic. But with its inequitable distribution and slow rollout, especially in low- to middle- income countries, it will still take a long time before herd immunity is achieved. Alternative measures must therefore be explored to bolster current COVID-19 vaccination efforts. In particular, the Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine has been studied extensively as to its proposed conferment of non-specific immunity against different infections, including COVID-19. The aim of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the current evidence on the effectiveness of national BCG vaccination policies in reducing infection and mortality of COVID-19. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted between April to August 2021 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA-P) guidelines. Literature was retrieved from PubMed, Cochrane, HERDIN, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Western Pacific Region Index Medicus (WPRIM). Studies conducted from January 2020 to August 2021 that fell within Level 1A to 2C of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine were included in the review. Quality assessment was performed using the appropriate Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool and a quality assessment checklist for ecological studies adapted from Betran et al. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies were included in this review. Nine studies reported significant association between BCG vaccination policies and COVID-19 outcomes, even when controlling for confounding variables. In addition, among other mandated vaccines, such as pneumococcal, influenza, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, and measles, only BCG vaccination showed significant association with decreased COVID-19 adverse outcomes. However, other factors also showed positive association with COVID-19 outcomes, particularly markers of high economic status of countries, higher median age, and greater population densities. CONCLUSION: The lower incidence and mortality of COVID-19 in countries with mandated BCG vaccination may not solely be attributable to BCG vaccination policies, but there is still some evidence that demonstrates a possible protective effect. Clinical trials must be continued before recommendations of BCG vaccinations are to be used as an alternative or booster vaccine against COVID-19.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Falls Efficacy Scale - International in Filipino community-dwelling older adults.

Purpose: The Falls Efficacy Scale - International is universally used in assessing the level of concern about falling in older adults. The objectives of this study were to conduct a cross-cultural adaptation and to establish psychometric properties of Falls Efficacy Scale - International in Filipino (FES-I F).Methods: The standardized 10-step translation protocol of the Prevention of Falls Network Europe was followed. Community-dwelling older adults aged 60 or above (N = 211) from Manila, Philippines were recruited. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the translated tool was assessed. Convergent validity was compared with fall-related factors. The receiver operating characteristics were used to determine the cutoff score.Results: The FES-I F has high internal consistency (α = 0.91) and good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.86). Overall scores were significantly higher among those with subjective report of fear of falling (p < 0.001), lower timed up and go test scores (p = 0.014), slower gait speed (p = 0.003), and lower perceived well-being scores (p = 0.003) indicating acceptable convergent validity. The cutoff score of FES-I F was 22 points.Conclusions: The FES-I F has high internal reliability and acceptable validity, and can be a practical tool to measure the concern about falling in Filipino older adults. Future research is necessary to establish its utilization as an outcome measure in intervention studies.Implications for rehabilitationThe psychometric properties of the Filipino version of the Falls Efficacy Scale - International were good when assessed in older adults living in the community.The cutoff score to demarcate those with fear of falling from those without is 22 points.Falls Efficacy Scale - International in Filipino is recommended for the assessment of fear of falling for research and clinical purposes.