Preventing the spread of H1N1 influenza infection during a pandemic: autonomy-supportive advice versus controlling instruction.

Wearing facemask is an effective strategy for preventing the spread of the H1N1 in enclosed public spaces. This quasi-experiment examined the effects of University professor 'autonomy support on students' motivation, social cognitive factors, and intention to wear facemasks in the lecture hall during a hypothetical H1N1 pandemic. University students (N = 705) completed self-report measures of motivation, social cognitive factors, and intention according to a hypothetical H1N1 pandemic scenario in which their professors asked them to wear facemasks in the lecture hall, using either an 'autonomy-supportive' interpersonal style or a 'controlling' style. The results showed that the manipulation of professors' autonomy support exerted a positive effect on students' perception of autonomy support, which positively predicted their self-determined motivation, social cognitive factors, and intentions to wear facemasks. In conclusion, promoting self-determined motivation using autonomy-supportive communication styles might be an effective means of fostering individuals' adaptive beliefs and motivation of H1N1 prevention.

Circadian Disruption in Civilian Airline Pilots.

INTRODUCTION: Most airline pilots reported having suffered from sleep disorders and fatigue due to circadian disruption, a potential risk to flight safety. This study attempted to uncover the actual scenario of circadian disruption and working load status among airline pilots.METHODS: In study 1, 21 pilots were invited to participate in a 14-d sleep monitoring and a dual 2-back test to monitor their sleep patterns and cognitive function level. To provide an in-depth view, data from scheduled flights, including 567 airline pilots, was analyzed in Study 2. The present study used cluster analysis to reflect the distribution of the flight scheduling characteristics, including working time and actual working hours. A simulation model was then developed to predict the pilots' 1-mo sleep-wake pattern.RESULTS: The results indicated that sleep problems were prevalent in this population, especially the night before an earlier morning shift. Regarding the cognitive test, they scored the lowest on earlier morning shifts compared with daytime and evening shifts. It was found that over 70% of the flight schedules can lead to circadian disruption, and 47.44% of the pilots worked under high-load status.DISCUSSION: Airline pilots inevitably work irregular hours and the current policies for coping with circadian disruption seem inefficient. This study thus calls for urgency in improving scheduling and fatigue management systems from the circadian rhythm perspective.Yang SX, Cheng S, Sun Y, Tang X, Huang Z. Circadian disruption in civilian airline pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2024; 95(7):381-389.

Sports injury and stressor-related disorder in competitive athletes: a systematic review and a new framework.

Background: For professional athletes, sports injury has been considered one of the most influential factors determining their athletic careers' duration and quality. High-intensity training and competitiveness of the sports competition are perhaps critical causes of sports-related stress. This article reviews the relevant research on sports injuries and stressor-related disorders. Further, it explores the following three issues in depth: (1) Do physical injuries caused by competitive sports lead to acute or posttraumatic stress disorder for athletes? What are the abnormal stress responses? (2) What diagnoses are currently available for sports injury related traumatic stress disorder? (3) What kinds of psychological rehabilitation are available for trauma-related symptoms in sports injury? How efficient are they in alleviating these symptoms? Methods: The study searched electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, etc. And reference lists of included papers were also screened. Two researchers selected the literature strictly according to the inclusion criteria and sorted them out. Based on the proved conclusions, the study established a new framework to manage traumatic stress disorders after the injury occurred. Results: 16 articles were included in the study. (Q1: N = 10; Q2: N = 3; Q3: N = 3 ) The findings of this review suggested that athletes who suffer from sports injuries are more likely to experience abnormal physiological or psychological stress responses, which may become a massive challenge for athletes to continue their sports careers at a competitive level. However, there is a minimal understanding of addressing sports injury-related traumatic stress disorder from a biological perspective. Thus, it is challenging to build a scientific basis for diagnosis, screening, and treatment. In addition, the current diagnostic tool for athletes stress disorder still heavily relies on subjective measurement, and the treatment plan is not different from that of the general population. Conclusions: It highlighted that sports-related stress disorder could be the greatest challenge to return to competition for injured athletes. The present study indicated the importance of systematically identifying the symptoms of sports-related stress disorder and improving the current diagnosis and treatment system.