Influence of Previous Mental State on Psychological Outcomes of Spanish Out-of-Hospital Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to describe factors relating to the psychological distress of healthcare workers (HCWs) in Spanish out-of-hospital emergency medical services (EMS), according to the previous or non-use of psychotropic drugs or psychotherapy. A multicentre, cross-sectional descriptive study was designed. The study population were all physicians, nurses, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) working in any Spanish out-of-hospital EMS between February and April 2021. The main outcomes were the levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy, assessed by DASS-21 and G-SES. Differences in levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy, according to sex, age, previous use of psychotropic drug or psychotherapy, work experience, professional category, type of work, and modification of working conditions were measured using the Student's t-test for independent samples, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, or 2-factor analysis of covariance. A total of 1636 HCWs were included, of whom one in three had severe mental disorders because of the pandemic. The interaction of the previous or non-use of psychotropic drugs or psychotherapy with the rest of the factors considered did not modify the levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy. However, HCWs with a history of psychotropic drug or psychotherapy use had a more intense negative emotional response and lower self-efficacy, regardless of their sex, professional category, type of work, or change in the working conditions. These HCWs are considered particularly vulnerable to the development or recurrence of new disorders or other comorbidities; therefore, the implementation of monitoring and follow-up strategies should be a priority.

Influence of the Cumulative Incidence of COVID-19 Cases on the Mental Health of the Spanish Out-of-Hospital Professionals.

This study aimed to analyze the psychological affectation of health professionals (HPs) of Spanish Emergency Medical Services (EMSs) according to the cumulative incidence (CI) of COVID-19 cases in the regions in which they worked. A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed, including all HPs working in any EMS of the Spanish geography between 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021. Their level of stress, anxiety and depression (DASS-21) and the perception of self-efficacy (G-SES) were the study's main results. A 2-factor analysis of covariance was used to determine if the CI regions of COVID-19 cases determined the psychological impact on each of the studied variables. A total of 1710 HPs were included. A third presented psychological impairment classified as severe. The interaction of CI regions with the studied variables did not influence their levels of stress, anxiety, depression or self-efficacy. Women, younger HPs or those with less EMS work experience, emergency medical technicians (EMT), workers who had to modify their working conditions or those who lived with minors or dependents suffered a greater impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in certain regions. These HPs have shown high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and medium levels of self-efficacy, with similar data in the different geographical areas. Psychological support is essential to mitigate their suffering and teach them to react to adverse events.

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Out-of-Hospital Health Professionals: A Living Systematic Review.

Health professionals (HPs), especially those working in the front line, have been one of the groups most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study is to identify the best available scientific evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of out-of-hospital HPs in terms of stress, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy. A living systematic review of the literature was designed, consulting the electronic online versions of the CINHAL, Cochrane Library, Cuiden, IBECS, JBI, LILACS, Medline PyscoDoc, PsycoINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases in November 2021. Original research was selected, published in either English, Spanish, French, Italian, or Portuguese. In total, 2082 publications were identified, of which 16 were included in this review. The mental health of out-of-hospital HPs was affected. Being a woman or having direct contact with patients showing suspicious signs of COVID-19 or confirmed cases were the factors related to a greater risk of developing high levels of stress and anxiety; in the case of depressive symptoms, it was having a clinical history of illnesses that could weaken their defenses against infection. Stopping unpleasant emotions and thoughts was the coping strategy most frequently used by these HPs.

Crisis de la prestación farmacéutica en los centros penitenciarios: el tratamiento de la hepatitis C / Crisis in pharmaceutical provisions within prisons: sanitary treatment of hepatitis C

El inicio de la andadura de nuevos medicamentos antivirales, como el boceprevir y telaprevir, específicos para el tratamiento de la hepatitis C, trajo nuevas esperanzas de curación para los afectados; esperanzas que se concentraron especialmente en un grupo ciudadano con una alta prevalencia de la enfermedad como la población reclusa y que chocaron de frente con las limitaciones que conllevaban: el aumento de los efectos adversos y el considerable aumento del coste del tratamiento. La ineficaz gestión de los tratamientos por parte de las instituciones, centradas más en las reclamaciones entre comunidades autónomas y el Gobierno por la asunción de los costes, revelaron en el seno del conflicto jurídico un problema de fondo con respecto a la prestación farmacéutica en los centros penitenciarios, donde se pusieron de relieve el incumplimiento del trasvase de competencias en materia de sanidad penitenciaria y la anacronía de la normativa penitenciaria en materia de fármacos con respecto a la legislación vigente, así como la desorganización de la prestación farmacéutica en los recintos penitenciarios. Problemas todos ellos que imponen la necesidad de la reflexión sobre la gestión de un sistema sanitario que afecta a una parte de la población privada de libertad y que tiende a ser olvidada

The beginning of the new antiviral drugs, such as boceprevir and telaprevir, specific for the treatment of Hepatitis C, brought new hopes of healing for those affected; hopes that especially affected to a group of people with a high prevalence of the disease, as the inmate population, and that clashed head-on with the limitations that entailed: the increase in side effects and the considerable increase in the cost of treatment. The inefficient management of the treatments by the institutions, focused more on the claims between the Autonomous Communities and the Government for the assumption of the costs, revealed in the heart of the legal conflict a substantive problem regarding the pharmaceutical provision in the prisons, where the breach of the transfer of powers in the field of prison health, and the anachronism of prison regulations regarding drugs with respect to current legislation, as well as the disorganization of pharmaceutical provision in prisons were highlighted. Problems all of them that impose the need for reflection on the management of a health system that affects a part of the population deprived of liberty and that tends to be forgotten