Posts tagged COVID-19
Why do old people eat cake?: Building community in post-COVID academia
Why do old people eat cake?: Building community in post-COVID academia

"Why do old people eat cake?" This simple question led to a movement which over the past year has enhanced the atmosphere and social wellbeing of the business school PhD community. We came to understand, in time, that there are two main reasons. The first is that eating cake is obviously good, and these so-called 'old people' have amassed a great amount of wisdom over the years, allowing them to view this fact with ease. The second reason is, of course, the fact that, with their perhaps limited time left on earth, they have learned how to indulge without guilt or fear of consequence.

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ResearchWehida NiaziCOVID-19, Community, wellbeing
Advancing Pediatric Care: The virtualKIDS Experience in Nursing-Led Audio-Visual Clinical Services
Advancing Pediatric Care: The virtualKIDS Experience in Nursing-Led Audio-Visual Clinical Services

The Sydney Children’s Hospital Network is located in New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia. It is comprised of two children’s hospitals that forms one of the largest children’s hospital networks in the country. Our network recognised the need to develop virtual care as an integral part of providing specialist paediatric care to the children and adolescents within our state.  As a result, the virtualKIDS service was proposed in 2020 and launched in June 2021. COVID-19 further accelerated the establishment of this service.

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Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma Arshadpediatric care, COVID-19, Healthcare
Brief mental health support for Ontario healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Brief mental health support for Ontario healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Remember the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic? Businesses shut down, we were told to stay away from other humans, and people were dying from a disease we did not know or understand. Now imagine that on top of that, you were a healthcare worker (HCW). You perhaps worked in a hospital – one of the businesses that did not shut down, maybe even directly with patients infected with COVID-19. Vaccines to protect against COVID-19 did not exist, personal protective equipment was not always available, you could not access your coping strategies the way you normally would, and you were working long hours, with increased possibility of getting COVID-19 yourself. Would that have impacted your mental health?

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Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadMental health, COVID-19
Brief mental health support for Ontario healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Brief mental health support for Ontario healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

There is considerable research now, showing the negative mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Across many countries, about one in three people in the general population reported psychological distress. Those at higher risk for being infected with COVID-19, reported more depression and anxiety symptoms. But the healthcare system needed to keep functioning, as many people were sick and dying. How could HCWs be supported to continue their vital work? The current study looked at whether a brief coping-focused psychotherapy treatment, would be associated with positive changes in Ontario HCWs’ mental health during the pandemic.

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Research, Editor's PicksRachel Wolfehealthcare workers, mental health, COVID-19, pandemic, support
Older adults experiencing social isolation are more likely to smoke
Older adults experiencing social isolation are more likely to smoke

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a bright spotlight to social isolation which was experienced by many Americans to prevent the spread of the virus.  My parents who are now in their 80s were completely isolated from friends and relatives for many months.  My PhD student co-author and I thought about this experience of our parents and grandparents, and we were both concerned that extended periods of social isolation might have harmful effects on older adults.  Both the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Academy of Medicine have issued recent warnings about the growing public health concern of social isolation and loneliness and its association with premature death among older adults.

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ResearchWehida Niazismoking, isolation, death, COVID-19
Stronger together: UK local authorities and effective partnership work during the COVID-19 pandemic
Stronger together: UK local authorities and effective partnership work during the COVID-19 pandemic

The UK COVID-19 inquiry is in full swing. Preliminary evidence on decision-making and political governance has been submitted and the opening public hearings are considering pandemic resilience and preparedness. The UK’s handling of the pandemic will be under the spotlight for a significant period – with the inquiry set to run until at least summer 2026.

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ResearchMaria Pia TissotCOVID-19, local authority, lockdown
Vax Champions: NASN's Initiative for COVID-19 & School Vaccination Confidence and Equity
Vax Champions: NASN's Initiative for COVID-19 & School Vaccination Confidence and Equity

The COVID-19 vaccine was developed and administered to millions of Americans in record time and continues to help prevent severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. Although over 70 percent of adults nationally have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, only 39 percent of children ages 5 to 11 have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Recognizing the key role that schools, school nurses (SNs), and community-based organizations (CBOs) played in the pandemic response and promotion of health equity among children, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), with generous funding from Kaiser Permanente (KP) developed, and implemented the Champions for School Health (CSH) grant initiative. This project funded SNs, and CBOs that are working to increase pediatric vaccine access, and confidence among underserved populations in KP’s footprint: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

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ResearchWehida NiaziCOVID-19, vaccine, nurses
Public Health Scholars Challenge and Critique the Field on Its Anti-Racist Pedagogy
Public Health Scholars Challenge and Critique the Field on Its Anti-Racist Pedagogy

Last summer, my colleague and I felt a sense of disappointment and desire for more from our public health education. We both started our master’s in public health Fall of 2020, right after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social uprisings of 2020 catalyzed by the racist murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by the police. We connected over our commitment to challenging ourselves to more critically understand the intricacies of health inequities. We found ourselves frustrated with our field's approach to addressing racism in public health. For me, I felt I was not being challenged or given tools on how to meaningfully incorporate anti-racism framing into my public health endeavors. Most of the time, I felt frustrated, as were other peers who shared different or similar historically marginalized identities. For us to sit through lectures about how people like us were more prone to health issues because of the racism we endured was like, yeah, duh?

 

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ResearchMoazzma Arshadpublic health, COVID-19, Racism, pedagogy
School Nurses Reflect on Navigating Challenges and Inspiring Change for a Better Future
School Nurses Reflect on Navigating Challenges and Inspiring Change for a Better Future

Last spring, my colleagues and I had the honor of speaking to school nurses about their experiences working through the COVID-19 pandemic. We knew from our own work experiences and from hearing the stories of others that school nurses faced many challenges personally and professionally during the pandemic. School nurses were recipients of aggressive behaviors (see news article, after news article, after news article!), managed confusion over disease mitigation policies (again, news piece after news piece!), and risked their own health and safety so that schoolchildren could receive care. These unexpected and harmful situations bothered us, and we were worried that great school nurses would leave their jobs or the nursing discipline all together. Interviewing school nurses to ensure their perspectives and experiences during this monumental time in history were recorded was important to us, as well as finding some ways to ensure they could be supported to do the work they love to do.

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Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma Arshadnurses, school nurses, COVID-19
Custodial Grandparent’s Job Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Relationship with Parenting Stress and Mental Health
Custodial Grandparent’s Job Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Relationship with Parenting Stress and Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes to the health, safety, and well-being of many individuals and families. Involuntary job loss during the pandemic adds more challenges, especially for custodial grandparents who are taking care of grandchildren. Custodial grandparents are often older and suffering from physical and mental health problems. They usually experience different stress and challenges, such as economic insecurity, inadequate housing, lack of social support, declining physical health, and the increased parenting stress. In the context of COVID-19, grandparents may be particularly vulnerable to losing their jobs. Based on the family stress theory, given that job loss during the pandemic is a significant stressor for grandparents, how they cope with the stressor depends on their personal characteristics and their social, emotional and financial support.

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Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadCOVID-19, pandemic, coronavirus, grandparents
Growing and Glowing: A Tailored Digital Media Campaign for Maternal and Infant Health
Growing and Glowing: A Tailored Digital Media Campaign for Maternal and Infant Health

Racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality have worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. These disparities persist regardless of social and economic factors, and are ultimately caused by systemic racism that permeates healthcare as well as countless upstream social determinants of health. While the statistics and causes for disparities in Black maternal and infant health are clear, there is less information on how to effectively address these disparities in the short-term. Digital media campaigns are one potential way to distribute information in a time and cost-efficient manner, directly in the online spaces where women spend their time. 

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Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma Arshadblack woman, maternal health, infant health, pregnancy, COVID-19, pandemic
Nutritional and functional sequelae after the cessation of recreational activities due to COVID-19 in a group of Mexican older adults
Nutritional and functional sequelae after the cessation of recreational activities due to COVID-19 in a group of Mexican older adults

As part of the effort to promote healthy aging in the population, recreational centers for the social inclusion of older adults have been a timely strategy for encouraging cultural, physical, educational, and social activities in that age group. In the first quarter of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities of those centers were suspended because their target populations were considered vulnerable, consequently resulting in several risks to the intrinsic capacities of older adults. The study carried out by our research group from the University of Colima, in Mexico, demonstrated the impact on nutritional and functional parameters in older adults, after the suspension of their activities at a social coexistence center.

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ResearchMoazzma ArshadCOVID-19, recreation, older adults, social activities, pandemic
Authenticity, Belonging, and Connection – The ABCs of living Queer during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authenticity, Belonging, and Connection – The ABCs of living Queer during the COVID-19 pandemic

What matters most to LGBTQ+ people during times of pandemic are a sense of authenticity, belonging, and connection to Queer life in a straight world – as told in a synthesis of the COVID-19 qualitative research conducted by Queer and allied researchers in Deakin University’s Institute for Health Transformation, the School of Health and Social Development, and the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

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ResearchMaria Pia TissotLGBTQ+, COVID-19, mental health
Innovations in COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing
Innovations in COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing

The November/December 2022 supplement of Public Health Reports, “Innovative Approaches to COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing,” provides firsthand examples of how health departments across the United States pivoted and innovated, trained new contact tracers, incorporated new community partners, and developed innovative digital tools.

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Editor's Picks, ResearchMaria Pia TissotCOVID-19, contact tracing, public health
Health Education in Europe – past, present and future
Health Education in Europe – past, present and future

Health Education Journal (HEJ) recently published a special collection of papers focused on health education in Europe – past, present and future.

The journal has long published research, short reports and commentary about health education as it relates to individuals, populations, groups and communities.

First published in 1943, HEJ is one of the oldest and most reputable publications in the field. As editors, we have worked on the journal for nearly a decade now. We are passionate about supporting papers that showcase high quality research in the field, to better understand the complex relationship between education and health.

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Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma Arshadhealth education, COVID-19, Special education