Outcomes of Establishing an Urgent Care Centre in the Same Location as an Emergency Department
emergency department, Surge capacity, Length of Stay, Sweden, urgent care centre
The emergency department (ED) is one of the busiest facilities in a hospital, and it is frequently described as a bottleneck that limits space and structures, jeopardising surge capacity during Major Incidents and Disasters (MIDs) and pandemics such as the COVID 19 outbreak. One remedy to facilitate surge capacity is to establish an Urgent Care Centre (UCC), i.e., a secondary ED, co-located and in close collaboration with an ED. This study investigates the outcome of treatment in an ED versus a UCC in terms of length of stay (LOS), time to physician (TTP) and use of medical services. If it was possible to make these parameters equal to or even less than the ED, UCCs could be used as supplementary units to the ED, improving sustainability. The results show reduced waiting times at the UCC, both in terms of TTP and LOS. In conclusion, creating a primary care-like facility in close proximity to the hospitals may not only relieve overcrowding of the hospital’s ED in peacetime, but it may also provide an opportunity for use during MIDs and pandemics to facilitate the victims of the incident and society as a whole.
Annelie Raidla, Katrin Darro, Tobias Carlson, Amir Khorram-Manesh, Johan Berlin, Eric Carlström
Environmental effects of industries and plants, Renewable energy sources, Environmental sciences
Risks of emergency use authorizations for medical products during outbreak situations: a COVID-19 case study
Outbreak, covid-19, import, regulatory framework, medical device, Market placement
Abstract Background The world is facing an unprecedented outbreak affecting all aspects of human lives which is caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the virus novelty, healthcare systems are challenged by a high rate of patients and the shortage of medical products. To address an increased need for essential medical products, national authorities, worldwide, made various legislative concessions. This has led to essential medical products being produced by automotive, textile and other companies from various industries and approved under the emergency use authorizations or legal concessions of national regulatory bodies. This paper presents a narrative commentary of the available documentation on emergency use authorizations and legal concessions for medical products during COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology The basis for narrative commentary includes scientific articles published in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and Embase databases, official publications of international organizations: Food and Drug Agency (FDA), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Bank and United Nations (UN), and national regulatory agency reports in native languages (English, German, Bosnian, and Croatian) published from November 1, 2019 to May 1, 2020. This paper focuses on three types of essential medical products: mechanical ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and diagnostic tests. Evidence-informed commentary of available data and potential identified risks of emergency use authorizations and legal concessions is presented. Discussion It is recognized that now more than ever, raising global awareness and knowledge about the importance of respecting the essential requirements is needed to guarantee the appropriate quality, performance and safety of medical products, especially during outbreak situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency use authorizations for production, import and approval of medical products should be strictly specified and clearly targeted from case to case and should not be general or universal for all medical products, because all of them are associated with different risk level. Conclusion Presented considerations and experiences should be taken as a guide for all possible future outbreak situations to prevent improvised reactions of national regulatory bodies.
Almir Badnjević, Lejla Gurbeta Pokvić, Zijad Džemić, Fahir Bečić
Influência do acesso a saneamento básico na incidência e na mortalidade por COVID-19
coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, Abastecimento de Água, esgotamento sanitário, correlação linear
A falta ou a escassez de saneamento básico pode causar consequências negativas à saúde de uma população. Esta pesquisa objetivou analisar a influência do acesso a abastecimento de água e a esgotamento sanitário na incidência e na mortalidade por COVID-19, pelo uso de regressão linear múltipla. Utilizaram-se dados de população urbana e total relativas aos estados brasileiros e foram testados 4 cenários para se avaliar a influência desses dados nas taxas de incidência e de mortalidade por COVID-19 acumuladas 90 dias após a confirmação do primeiro caso no Brasil. As equações obtidas para os cenários nos quais se testou a influência dos dados de saneamento na incidência foram estatisticamente significativas pelo teste F de Fisher a 5% de significância, tanto para população urbana quanto total, com valores negativos dos coeficientes de influência. Em contrapartida, a influência desses aspectos sanitários apresentou p-valor superior a 0,05 na taxa de mortalidade para as populações urbana e total e, portanto, não foi significativa. Os resultados indicam que o maior acesso a adequados serviços de saneamento básico está relacionado a menores taxas de incidência por COVID-19 no Brasil. Palavras-chave: Abastecimento de água; coronavirus; correlação linear; esgotamento sanitário; SARS-CoV-2.
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Sul-Rio-Grandense
Special aspects of education, Technology
International Tourism Development in the Context of Increasing Globalization Risks: On the Example of Ukraine’s Integration into the Global Tourism Industry
Travel, information technology, tourism industry, international tourism, globalization risks, global tourism trends
Today, international tourism is one of the most affected sectors of the economy due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The main purpose of this article is to analyze current trends and identify prospects for the international tourism development in the context of increasing globalization risks in the world, using the example of Ukraine’s integration into the global tourism industry, as Ukraine is located in the centre of Europe and belongs to a number of countries with developing economies, and has the potential to expand its tourism industry, which may be of interest to the international scientific community in terms of overcoming the bifurcation point of its economic development. Analyzing the tourism industry, as one of the most progressive sectors of the world economy, we used general scientific and special research methods (abstract-logical, statistical, systemic analysis and synthesis, abstract-theoretical, and correlation-regression analysis). The paper analyzes major indexes of international tourism development in the modern globalized world and details the risks emerging during the global COVID-19 pandemic. It examines the global dynamics of tourism flows, where France, Spain, and the USA are unquestionable leaders. The study considers foreign exchange earnings of international tourism and the industry contribution to the gross domestic product of countries being an essential component of national budgets. Based on the study conducted, there were developed reliable forecast models for the tourism industry development in the countries under research. These models will provide an opportunity to generate reliable forecasts, which will allow timely identification of potential threats and making effective decisions to address them. At the same time, the issues of managing information support of economic entities in the field of international tourism need to be further developed in order to reduce risks.
Yurii Kyrylov, Viktoriia Hranovska, Viktoriia Boiko, Aleksy Kwilinski, Liudmyla Boiko
Finance, Risk in industry. Risk management
COVID-19, Government Response, and Market Volatility: Evidence from the Asia-Pacific Developed and Developing Markets
covid-19, government response, Asia-Pacific, wavelet analysis, Market volatility
This study examines the relationship between COVID-19, government response measures, and stock market volatilities for 11 developed and developing economies within the Asia-Pacific region. Our period of study is between 15 February–30 May 2020. Using the continuous wavelet transformation (CWT) analysis and plots and GJR-GARCH analysis, we examined the effects of the COVID-19 public health crisis and the corresponding government measures on the respective domestic equity markets volatilities. The CWT plots showed a varying level of market volatilities at different investment horizons. All the sample countries, except Japan, experienced very low or low volatility over the short-term horizons. In contrast, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos experienced medium volatility over the medium-term horizons. Finally, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines experienced high volatility over the long-term horizons. The GJR-GARCH results further ascertain that market volatilities are affected by domestic events, notably, the COVID-19 government intervention measures. In most sample countries, the government measures significantly reduce market volatility in the domestic equity markets. Additionally, international events have also triggered market volatilities. Overall, our study offers several contributions and implications for practitioners and policymakers.
Izani Ibrahim, Kamilah Kamaludin, Sheela Sundarasen
Digital Health Earth": towards a global healthcare management geolocating human health condition by means of space technology"
Healthcare providers such as the World Health Organization, transnational and global health initiatives, the national healthcare systems, down to the smallest villages and individual practitioners and professionals could benefit from geo referential data and metadata and 3D digital assets provided by space technology. Health prevention and literacy programs, mortality and morbidity rates, including contextual statistical data about populations and territories are being already produced and accessible. The hypothetical frame of a Digital Health Earth hereto presented could be performed as the interoperability of 3D representations of sectors of territories and geolocalized layers about health and environment. SDG Goals crossed with WHO programs and available data can become the premises for the design and development of a global representation of healthcare situations, highlighting priorities and disseminating data by intuitive and interactive modes of visualization as it is already happening with 2D dashboards about COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare practitioners, professionals, health managers, but also patients, proxy, social workers, laypeople, stakeholders and media could benefit from visualizing and comparing Digital Earth health data. Concerns about privacy, digital divide and social exclusion from primary care services and how quality of lives might occur are considered here. As a consequence of Space Technology, especially for its connection with the Satellite industry, Digital Health Earth, will contribute to the development of a new added value economic branch inside the increasing market of the Space Economy Revolution.
Antonio Del Mastro, Federico Monaco, Eugene Nikolaevich Eremchenko, Anna Nelson, MD
Mental Well-Being of Chinese Immigrants in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Investigating Personal and Societal Antecedents
covid-19, Pandemic, trust, racism, Mental well-being, immigrants
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted people’s lives worldwide, with negative consequences for mental health and well-being. Antecedents of mental health and well-being in times of COVID-19 have been underresearched, especially among minority groups. Therefore, an online survey was conducted investigating the personal and societal antecedents of mental well-being among Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands (N = 268). Constructs included perceived decrease of mental well-being and attitude toward the Netherlands as dependent variables and a range of potential antecedents as independent variables. Results show that participants judged the Chinese COVID-19 situation significantly more positively than the Dutch situation. Five antecedents of decreased mental well-being were found: financial concerns, social isolation, feelings of lost time, experienced racism, and distrust of Dutch COVID-19 information and figures. The antecedents of participants’ attitude toward the Netherlands were largely different: missing China, perceived difficulty of traveling to China, distrust of Dutch government measures, trust in Chinese government measures, and distrust of Dutch COVID-19 information and figures. Fear of the virus itself did not significantly affect either of the dependent variables. The results call for a broad perspective on fac-tors associated with mental well-being and for special attention for minority groups in the societal dynamics.
Sectoral Performance and the Government Interventions during COVID-19 Pandemic: Australian Evidence
covid-19, Stock Market, government interventions, sectoral performance, Australian evidence
This study explores the contrasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on various industries in Australia. Considering all daily announced information, we analyzed the diverse impacts of COVID-19 on the sectoral stock returns from 26 January to 20 July 2020. Sixteen out of twenty examined stock indices negatively react to the daily rise in COVID-19 confirmed cases. Several actions from the Australian government to control the pandemic are relatively ineffective in boosting the overall financial market; however, some positive interactions are captured in five sectors of industrials, health care, metals and mining, materials, and resources. The result shows that all industries that benefited from government financial assistance are either shielded or less severely affected by the pandemic. While sectors that did not directly receive financial remedies relatively showed no enhancement in their overall performance. Having achieved short-term success in helping the economy, the government recorded an all-time high deficit since 2004 that might eventually lead to adverse effects on the overall economy. The Australian equity market is found to be rationally distinct to the crude oil price risk, while positive correlations between AUD/USD rate and real estate-related sectors are reported.
Affective emotional states in lone senior citizens in social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic
Anxiety, covid-19, psychological distress, Depression, Social isolation, Aged
Background: the high contagiousness of COVID-19, the growth of confirmed cases and deaths in the world, and social isolation, has caused negative emotions and thoughts to spread, threatening the mental health of the population.Objective: to identify affective emotional states in lone senior citizens, in social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, belonging to the “Josué País García” Polyclinic of Santiago de Cuba.Methods: a descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out between April and May 2020, at the aforementioned health district. The study population was made up of 154 single senior citizens. The following variables were assessed: age, sex, marital status, cohabitation, occupation, comorbidity, anxiety, depression, irritability, stress. The information was obtained through a semi-structured interview.Results: 59,1 % belonged to the female sex; 56,5 % were from the 70 to 79 age group; most of the elderly lived with their adult partner, a minor or a disabled person (116 for 75,3 %), only 38 (24,7 %) actually lived alone. 68,8 % did not have work-related ties. 85,7 % had pathologies considered risky for COVID-19. A normal level of irritability prevailed, both external (76,6 %) and internal (87,6 %); a mild level of anxiety (61,7 %); and a mild level of depression (50,2 %). 83,1 % showed alteration in stress levels.Conclusions: social isolation, as a measure to avoid contagion, has had an impact on the mental health of lone senior citizens, with marked alteration in stress levels.
Sureima Callís-Fernández, Omara Margarita Guarton-Ortiz, Virgen Cruz-Sánchez, Ada María de-Armas-Ferrera
Psychological impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on children, adolescents and family
coronavirus, Anxiety, mental health, covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, Depression, psychological impact
Background: research on the impact that preventive social isolation due to COVID-19 will have on children and adolescents is still insufficient.Objective: to characterize aspects of the psychological impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on children, adolescents and family, from March through June 2020, at the “Jimmy Hirzel” Polyclinic of Bayamo, Granma.Methods: a cross-sectional descriptive and observational study was carried out with a sample of 47 children and adolescents, as well as their parents, all belonging to the aforementioned health district. They were interviewed and the family was given a coping interview and the FF-SIL test.Results: the highest psychological repercussion was found in children from 5 to 9 years old (48,8 %), without significant differences regarding sex; with a history of psychiatric disorders and follow-up by the specialty, with a predominance of attention deficit disorder and neurotic disorders. Anxiety (12,7 %) was the most frequent psychological manifestation at one month, while at three months were motor and verbal hyperactivity (48,8 %), fear of death (46,8 %) and somatization anxiety (44,6 %). Regarding the family, the result was related to alterations in its dynamics, with a predominance of manifestations of anxiety and fear (both with 57,4 %) and depression (38,2 %), especially in mothers.Conclusions: aspects of the psychological impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on children, adolescents and the family were characterized.
María Luz Zayas-Fajardo, Idalmis Ramona Román-López, Lisandra Rodríguez-Zayas, Milagros Yamila Román-López