Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological well-being of migrants and refugees settled in Spain.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated health inequalities worldwide, having a disproportionately harsh impact on unprivileged populations such as migrants and refugees. These populations are often more exposed to the virus, but less protected, while at the same time being at higher risk of suffering from poor living and working conditions, limited access to healthcare, and discrimination by the host society, all of which is challenging to their mental health. Empirical evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting migrants and refugees is required to design effective actions aimed at ensuring health equity. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse how the pandemic has impacted the psychological well-being of migrants and refugees living in Spain. DESIGN: This study was carried out within the framework of the ApartTogether study sponsored by the World Health Organization. Data collection was carried out during March-November 2020, through an online survey completed by 241 participants (age: M = 37 years; 129 women). RESULTS: The results indicate that 78.7% of participants had suffered a decrease in their psychological well-being since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with number of difficulties and worries experienced being the best individual predictors of this outcome. Enjoying social connections and perceiving positive treatment from the host society were positively associated with psychological well-being at a relational and community level, respectively. CONCLUSION: Based on these findings, we outline priority areas of psychosocial interventions aimed at guaranteeing the mental health of migrants and refugees in the face of the pandemic in Spain.

Experience of discrimination during COVID-19 pandemic: the impact of public health measures and psychological distress among refugees and other migrants in Europe.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately hard impact on refugees and other migrants who are often exposed to the virus with limited means to protect themselves. We tested the hypothesis that during the COVID-19 pandemic, refugees and other migrants have suffered a negative impact on mental health and have been unjustly discriminated for spreading the disease in Europe (data collection from April to November 2020). METHODS: Participants in the ApartTogether Survey (N = 8297, after listwise deletion of missing items final N = 3940) provided data regarding to their difficulties to adhere to preventive recommendations against COVID-19 infection (CARE), self-perceived stigmatization (SS), and psychological distress (PD). Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate PD as a mediator in the pathway linking CARE to SS, while adjusting for the housing and residence status. To improve confidence in the findings, single hold-out sample cross-validation was performed using a train/test split ratio of 0.8/0.2. RESULTS: In the exploratory set (N = 3159) SS was associated with both CARE (B = 0.200, p < 0.001) and PD (B = 0.455, p < 0.001). Moreover, PD was also associated with CARE (B = 0.094, p = 0.001) and mediated the effect of CARE on SS (proportion mediated = 17.7%, p = 0.001). The results were successfully replicated in the confirmation set (N = 781; total effect = 0.417, p < 0.001; proportion mediated = 29.7%, p < 0.001). Follow-up analyses also found evidence for an opposite effect (i.e., from SS to CARE, B = 0.132; p < 0.001), suggesting that there might be a vicious circle between the self-perceived stigmatization and the access to health care and the use of preventive measures against COVID-19 infection. CONCLUSIONS: Refugees and other migrants who had more difficulties in accessing health care and preventive measures against COVID-19 infection experienced worse mental health and increased discrimination. These negative effects appeared to be stronger for those with more insecure housing and residence status, highlighting from one side the specific risk of insecure housing in the impact of COVID-19 upon mental health and infection protection, and for another side the need to proper housing as a strategy to prevent both COVID-19 and mental distress.

Mental Health of Refugees and Migrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Experienced Discrimination and Daily Stressors.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a defining global health crisis of our time. While the impact of COVID-19, including its mental health impact, is increasingly being documented, there remain important gaps regarding the specific consequences of the pandemic on particular population groups, including refugees and migrants. This study aims to uncover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of refugees and migrants worldwide, disentangling the possible role of social and daily stressors, i.e., experiences of discrimination and daily living conditions. Descriptive analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the responses of N = 20,742 refugees and migrants on the self-reporting global ApartTogether survey. Survey findings indicated that the mental health of refugees and migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly impacted, particularly for certain subgroups, (i.e., insecure housing situation and residence status, older respondents, and females) who reported experiencing higher levels of increased discrimination and increases in daily life stressors. There is a need to recognize the detrimental mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on particular refugee and migrant groups and to develop interventions that target their unique needs.

Estado nutricional y preferencia del sabor dulce en adultos chilenos / Nutritional status and sweet taste preference in Chilean adults

El dramático aumento de la prevalencia e incidencia de la obesidad sugiere que factores ambientales y cambios en el estilo de vida contribuyen de forma importante a su tendencia epidémica. En humanos, se han reportado diferencias interindividuales en los umbrales de detección y preferencia del sabor dulce, lo que podría afectar la ingesta habitual de azúcares, y por ende al estado nutricional. Objetivo: El presente estudio busca determinar la relación entre el estado nutricional y la preferencia al sabor dulce en la comunidad de un establecimiento de educación superior. Método: Muestra fue constituida por estudiantes, funcionarios y docentes, entre 18 y 60 años, pertenecientes a la Universidad Mayor, Sede Temuco. Para determinar preferencia al sabor dulce se empleó prueba organoléptica que mide grado de satisfacción frente a solución dulce, junto a ello se realizaron mediciones de peso y talla para determinar el Índice de Masa Corporal. Resultados: Muestra final comprendió de 319 personas, de las cuales un 30,1% fueron hombres y 69,9% mujeres. No se observaron diferencias significativas en la preferencia hacia las soluciones con mayor concentración de sacarosa según el estado nutricional. Sin embargo, el modelo predictivo desarrollado arrojó que hombres prefieren las soluciones con mayor concentración de azúcar independiente de la edad y estado nutricional. Conclusiones: Es necesario desarrollar nuevos estudios que permitan aclarar si la preferencia al sabor dulce favorece el desarrollo de obesidad y sobrepeso, o si es la composición nutricional de los alimentos procesados o ultraprocesados, lo que está teniendo un mayor impacto negativo en el estado nutricional de la población(AU)

The dramatic increase in the prevalence and incidence of obesity seems to suggest that environmental factors and lifestyle changes are contributing significantly to the epidemic trend of this pathology. In humans, inter-individual differences in the thresholds of preference of sweet taste have been reported, which could affect habitual sugar intake, and therefore the nutritional status. Objective: The present study seeks to determine the relationship between nutritional status and the preference of sweet taste in the population of a higher education establishment. Method: Sample was constituted by students, officials and teachers between 18 and 60 years, belonging to the Universidad Mayor, Temuco. To determine the perception of the sweet taste, an organoleptic test was used that measures the degree of satisfaction with the sweet solution, along with this, weight and height measurements were made to determine the Body Mass Index. Results: Final sample comprised 319 people, of which 30.1% were men and 69.9% women. No significant differences were observed in the preference for solutions with a higher concentration of sucrose according to nutritional status. However, a predictive model developed showed that men prefer the solutions with the highest concentration of sugar regardless of age and nutritional status. Conclusions: It is necessary to develop new studies to clarify whether the preference for sweet taste favors the development of obesity and overweight, or if it is the nutritional composition of processed or ultraprocessed foods, which is having a greater negative impact on the nutritional status of the population.(AU)

Analysis of success factors in crowdfunding projects based on rewards: A way to obtain financing for socially committed projects.

This paper examines the determinants that influence crowdfunding success. In particular, this study focuses on reward-based crowdfunding, in which funders receive a reward for supporting a project. By studying hand-collected data from 335 reward-based crowdfunding projects and 33,036 investment decisions from the Spanish Goteo platform and using the ordinary least squares regression, the negative binomial, the logit and the Cox proportional hazard models, we highlight the factors that explain the success of a project. We find statistically significant results for crowdfunding project success for the following variables: location, experience, human capital and gender. Thus, the success of crowdfunding campaigns depends on the experience of the project members since it lends credibility to the project. Furthermore, the geographic location variable indicates that crowdfunding success is higher in projects located in Spain than in those located outside of Spain. Our results also suggest that crowdfunding related to the support of social impact initiatives that involve the ecological typology does not perform well.

Resucitación hemostática en el paciente con choque hipovolémico hemorrágico. Reporte de un caso / Case report: Hemostatic resuscitation in the patient with hemorrhagic hypovolemic shock

In the world, traumatic pathology continues to be a problem of great magnitude, from the point of view of public health. Today, the volumemic resuscitation in hypovolemic hemorrhagic shock is still controversial; a new alternative in volemic resuscitation is the hemostatic resuscitation that consists of the rapid use of whole blood or of the administration of the concentrate of erythrocytes (CE), fresh frozen plasma (PFC) and platelet concentrate (CP), with a fixed ratio between the products. OBJECTIVE: Clinical case presentation, as well as review of the published literature on hemostatic resuscitation in patients with hemorrhagic hypovolemic shock. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present the case of a female patient of 16 years of age with penetrating injuries in the neck, thorax and abdomen; management and evolution in the operating room, intensive care unit until discharge. RESULTS: The adequate initial resuscitation in the patient with hemorrhagic hypovolemic shock has been shown to improve their survival, so that nowadays the application of new alternatives in resuscitation; As is the hemostatic resuscitation, they have yielded better results in the patient's prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma remains one of the main causes of admission to hospital units, with the young population being the most vulnerable due to car accidents. Strategies in improving the time of transfer from the accident site to the hospital unit, its definitive management in the operating room (if required) and the use of new alternatives in the management of hemorrhagic hypovolemic shock; such as hemostatic resuscitation, and the administration of pro-hemostatic drugs, are of great importance in the evolution and prognosis of the patient.

En el mundo, la patología traumática continúa siendo un problema de gran magnitud, desde el punto de vista de salud pública. Hoy en día la resucitación volémica en el choque hemorrágico hipovolémico todavía es controversial; una nueva alternativa en la resucitación volemica es la resucitación hemostática que consiste en el uso rápido de sangre total o de la administración del concentrado de Eritrocitos (CE), Plasma Fresco Congelado (PFC) y Concentrado de Plaquetas (CP), con una razón fija entre los productos. OBJETIVO: Presentación de caso clínico, así como revisión de la literatura publicada sobre resucitación hemostática en el paciente con choque hipovolémico hemorrágico. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se presenta el caso de paciente femenino de 16 años de edad con lesiones penetrantes en cuello, tórax y abdomen; manejo y evolución en sala de operaciones, unidad de cuidados intensivos hasta su egreso. RESULTADOS: La adecuada resucitación inicial en el paciente con choque hipovolémico hemorrágico ha demostrado mejorar su sobrevida, por lo que hoy en día la aplicación de nuevas alternativas en la reanimación; como es la resucitación hemostática, han arrojado mejores resultados en el pronóstico del paciente. CONCLUSIONES: El trauma sigue siendo una de las principales causas de ingreso a las unidades hospitalarias, siendo la población joven la más vulnerable por accidentes automovilísticos. Las estrategias en la mejora del tiempo de traslado del lugar del accidente hasta la unidad hospitalaria, su manejo definitivo en sala de quirófano (si así lo requiere) y el uso de nuevas alternativas en manejo del choque hipovolémico hemorrágico; como es la resucitación hemostática, y la ministración de fármacos pro hemostáticos, resultan de gran importancia en la evolución y pronóstico del paciente.

Adaptation to spanish of an ethnocultural empathy scale / Adaptação ao espanhol de uma escola de empatia etnocultural / Adaptación al español de una escala de empatía etnocultural

The aim of this study is to adapt the Ethnocultural Empathy Scale of Wang, et al. to Spanish. A process of translation and back-translation of the items was carried out and their psychometric properties were explored in a sample of 441 nursing students from universities in Western Andalusia. Exploratory analyses were used to form sets of items that would reduce the number of indicators for each latent factor in the confirmatory analysis. After obtaining the sets of items, we tested the fit of the data to two factorial structures: a model with four interrelated first-order factors, and another with a second-order factor composed of four first-order factors. The factor structure of the original scale and an appropriate reliability and validity are confirmed. The results obtained support the utilization of the Spanish version of this scale with students of health sciences.

O objetivo deste estudo é a adaptação para espanhol da escala de empatia etnocultural de Wang, et al. Foi realizado um processo de tradução e retrotradução dos itens e as suas propriedades psicométricas foram exploradas numa amostra de 441 estudantes de Enfermagem de universidades da Andaluzia Ocidental. As análises exploratórias foram utilizadas para agrupar os itens, o que reduziu o número de indicadores de cada fator na análise confirmatória. Testou-se o ajuste dos dados a duas estruturas fatoriais: um modelo com quatro fatores de primeira ordem inter-relacionados e outro com um fator de segunda ordem composto por quatro fatores de primeira ordem. Confirma-se a estrutura fatorial da escala original e uma adequada fiabilidade e validade externa. Os resultados apoiam a utilização da versão espanhola desta escala em estudantes de ciências da saúde.

El objetivo de este estudio es adaptar al español la escala de Empatía Etnocultural de Wang, et al. Se llevó a cabo un proceso de traducción y retrotraducción de los ítems y se exploraron sus propiedades psicométricas en una muestra de 441 estudiantes de Enfermería de universidades de Andalucía Occidental. Los análisis exploratorios se emplearon para formar paquetes de ítems que permitieran reducir el número de indicadores de cada factor latente en los análisis confirmatorios. Se puso a prueba el ajuste de los datos a dos estructuras factoriales: un modelo con cuatro factores de primer orden relacionados entre sí, y otro con un factor de segundo orden compuesto por cuatro factores de primer orden. Se confirma la estructura factorial de la escala original y una adecuada fiabilidad y validez externa. Los resultados apoyan la utilización de la versión española de esta escala en estudiantes de ciencias de la salud.

Spanish adaptation of the scale of psychological empowerment in the workplace.

The objective of this study is to adapt and translate into Spanish Spreitzer's Psychological Empowerment Scale (1995a). A process of translation and reverse-translation was applied to the scale's items, whose psychometric properties were then examined using a sample of 272 professional nurses at public hospitals in the province of Seville. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. The significance of the factor loadings demonstrated the need to create a new model eliminating one item. The 11-item model was shown to possess adequate construct validity and internal consistency. The results confirm the original, four-factor structure obtained by Spreitzer, with the exception of item 10, and support the utilization of the Spanish version of this scale in the workplace. Future research should more extensively investigate its construct validity, and test the nomological network of the operationalized construct within the field of psychological well-being and in the context of the workplace.

Spanish adaptation of the scale of psychological empowerment in the workplace

The objective of this study is to adapt and translate into Spanish Spreitzer’s Psychological Empowerment Scale (1995a). A process of translation and reverse-translation was applied to the scale’s items, whose psychometric properties were then examined using a sample of 272 professional nurses at public hospitals in the province of Seville. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. The significance of the factor loadings demonstrated the need to create a new model eliminating one item. The 11-item model was shown to possess adequate construct validity and internal consistency. The results confirm the original, four-factor structure obtained by Spreitzer, with the exception of item 10, and support the utilization of the Spanish version of this scale in the workplace. Future research should more extensively investigate its construct validity, and test the nomological network of the operationalized construct within the field of psychological well-being and in the context of the workplace (AU)

El objetivo de este estudio es adaptar al español la escala de Empoderamiento Psicológico en el trabajo desarrollada por Spreitzer (1995a). Se llevó a cabo un proceso de traducción y retrotraducción de los ítems que la componen y se exploraron sus propiedades psicométricas en una muestra de 272 profesionales de enfermería de hospitales públicos en la provincia de Sevilla. Los datos se sometieron a un análisis factorial confirmatorio. La significación del peso factorial mostró la necesidad de especificar un nuevo modelo eliminando un ítem. La versión de 11 ítems mostró una adecuada validez de constructo y consistencia interna. Los resultados confirman la estructural factorial original de cuatro factores obtenida por Spreitzer, a excepción del ítem 10, y apoyan la utilización de la versión española de esta escala en contextos laborales. Futuras investigaciones deben profundizar en la validación del constructo y probar la red nomológica de la operacionalización del constructo en el ámbito del bienestar psicológico en el contexto laboral (AU)