scholarly journals The impact of the Beirut blast on the COVID-19 situation in Lebanon

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Y. Fares ◽  
Umayya Musharrafieh ◽  
Abdul Rahman Bizri
Keyword(s):  
Case Fatality ◽  
Total Positivity ◽  
Hospitalized Patients ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Joinpoint Regression ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Icu Patients ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Daily Number ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Aim On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion hit Lebanon’s capital city, Beirut. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of the Beirut blast on the COVID-19 situation in the country. Subject and Methods Data on COVID-19 were retrieved from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (LMOPH), where all the COVID-19 positive cases were reported. The study was divided into two periods, considering the incubation period of the COVID-19 virus: (July 27–August 9, 2020) and (August 10–23, 2020). Information obtained included daily number of cases, tests, deaths, hospitalized patients, intensive care unit (ICU) patients, and mode of acquisition (local vs. expat). Daily positivity rates were reported per 100 tests. An independent sample t-test and a Joinpoint regression analysis were used to determine significance. A p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results A total of 201,010 tests were conducted during our studied period, with 8993 positive cases, constituting a total positivity rate of 4.5 per 100 tests. Case fatality rate over the studied period was 0.8%. The positivity rate of the period prior to August 10, 2020, was 2.7 per 100 tests, significantly less than that of the period following the explosion, which was 6.4 per 100 tests (p < 0.001). During our studied period, daily positivity rates were significantly increasing at a slope of 0.29 (p < 0.001). A significant increase in slope was noted on August 13, 2020 (p < 0.001). The number of hospitalized patients increased from 139 patients on July 27 to 266 on August 23, 2020, and that of ICU patients increased from 36 to 75. Conclusion The port of Beirut explosion resulted in a significant increase in the daily number of positive COVID-19 cases. The aftermath of the explosion, the damage to healthcare facilities, and the overcrowding due to emergency efforts were contributing factors to that increase.

scholarly journals Trends in Healthcare Access in Japan during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, up to June 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3271
Author(s):  
Koji Makiyama ◽  
Takayuki Kawashima ◽  
Shuhei Nomura ◽  
Akifumi Eguchi ◽  
Daisuke Yoneoka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Average Length ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Hospitalized Patients ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Hospital Stays ◽  
The Impact

We evaluated the impact of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on healthcare access in Japan in terms of the number of outpatients and hospitalized patients as well as the length of hospital stays, during the first wave of the pandemic, up to June 2020. This observational study evaluated the monthly average number of outpatients per day at hospitals, the average number of hospitalized patients per day, and the average length of hospital stays per patient, from December 2010 to June 2020, using the hospital reports data, which are open aggregated data on the utilization of hospitals from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. These numbers were compared with those from the same period of previous years, using a quasi-Poisson regression model. We found a nationwide decrease in the number of outpatients in general hospitals and hospitalized patients, particularly in long-term care beds in Japan, as well as the excess length of hospital stays among psychiatric care patients during the first wave of the COVID-19. This limited access to healthcare demonstrated the importance of the long-term health monitoring of vulnerable populations and the need for urgent management support to healthcare facilities in preparation for possible prolonged pandemics in the future.

scholarly journals Determining the Impact of the Opioid Crisis on a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Central New York to Identify Critical Areas of Intervention in the Local Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay K. Yadava ◽  
Stephen J. Thomas ◽  
Scott Riddell ◽  
Dongliang Wang ◽  
Timothy P. Endy
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Hospitalized Patients ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Medical Reason ◽  
Central New York ◽  
The Impact

Background. Central New York has been afflicted by the heroin epidemic with an increase in overdose deaths involving opioids. Objective. The objective of the study was to understand the epidemiology of hospitalizations related to a diagnosis of opioid use (OU). Design. The study was designed as a retrospective analysis of hospitalized patients admitted from January 1, 2008, to December 30, 2018, using ICD-9 and 10 codes for heroin or opiate use, overdose, or poisoning. Setting. The study was conducted in a tertiary-care and teaching hospital located in Central New York. Patients. Hospitalized patients were included as study participants. Results. Opioid use-related admissions increased from .05/100 hospital admissions in 2008 to a peak of 2.9/100 in 2018, a 58-fold increase. There were 49 deaths over the 11-year period for an overall case fatality of 1.2 per 100 OU admissions. The median age for all years was 40 years (SD of 13.7 years), and admissions were largely white caucasians (67.0% of all admissions). The mean length of stay was 8.55 days (SD 12 days), with a range of 1 to 153 days. The most frequent discharge diagnosis was due to infections (15.0% of discharge diagnoses) followed by trauma (5.8% of discharge diagnoses). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was more common in patients with OU (58.1%) than in patients with non-OU (43%) (p<0.0001 by chi-square with Yates’ correction). Spatial analysis was performed by zip code and demonstrated regional hotspots for OU-related admissions. Limitations. The limitations of this study are its retrospective nature and largely numerator-based analysis. The use of ICD codes underrepresents the true burden due to underreporting and failure to code appropriately. This study focuses on patients who are hospitalized for a medical reason with a secondary diagnosis of opioid use and does not include patients who present to the emergency room with an overdose underrepresenting the true burden of the problem. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate the impact of the opioid epidemic in one tertiary-care center and the need to prepare for the costs and resources to address addiction care for this population.

scholarly journals Analysis of Covid-19 Data for Eight European Countries and the United Kingdom Using a Simplified SIR Model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyan Bhanot ◽  
Charles DeLisi
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Sir Model ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Daily Number ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Infective Period

Abstract Background: As the SARS-Cov-2/Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, it is important to understanding the characteristics of its spread and possible correlates for control to develop strategies of response. Methods: Here we show how a simple Susceptible-Infective-Recovered (SIR) model applied to data for eight European countries and the United Kingdom (UK) can be used to forecast the descending limb (post-peak) of confirmed cases and deaths as a function of time, and predict the duration of the pandemic once it has peaked, by estimating and fixing parameters using only characteristics of the ascending limb and the magnitude of the first peak. Results: The predicted and actual case fatality ratio, or number of deaths per million population from the start of the pandemic to when daily deaths number less than five for the first time, was lowest in Norway (predicted: 44 5 deaths/million; actual: 36 deaths/million) and highest for the United Kingdom (predicted: 578 +/- 65 deaths/million; actual 621 deaths/million). The inferred pandemic characteristics separated into two distinct groups: those that are largely invariant across countries, and those that are highly variable. Among the former is the infective period, TL = 16.3 2.7 days, the average time between contacts, TR = 3.8+/- 0.5 days and the average number of contacts while infective R = 4.4 +/- 0.5. In contrast, there is a highly variable time lag TD between the peak in the daily number of confirmed cases and the peak in the daily number of deaths, ranging from lows of TD = 2,4 days for Denmark and Italy respectively, to highs of TD = 12, 15 for Germany and Norway respectively. The mortality fraction, or ratio of deaths to confirmed cases, was also highly variable, ranging from low values 3%, 5% and 5% for Norway, Denmark and Germany respectively, to high values of 18%, 20% and 21% for Sweden, France, and the UK respectively. The probability of mortality rather than recovery was a significant correlate of the duration of the pandemic, defined as the time from 12/31/2019 to when the number of daily deaths fell below 5. Finally, we observed a small but detectable effect of average temperature on the probability of infection per contact, with higher temperatures associated with lower infectivity. Conclusions: Our simple model captures the dynamics of the initial stages of the pandemic, from its exponential beginning to the first peak and beyond, with remarkable precision. As with all epidemiological analyses, unanticipated behavioral changes will result in deviations between projection and observation. This is abundantly clear for the current pandemic. Nonetheless, accurate short-term projections are possible, and the methodology we present is a useful addition to the epidemiologist's armamentarium. Our predictions assume that control measures such as lockdown, social distancing, use of masks etc. remain the same post-peak as before peak. Consequently, deviations from our predictions are a measure of the extent to which loosening of control measures have impacted case-loads and deaths since the first peak and initial decline in daily cases and deaths. Our findings suggest that the two key parameters to control and reduce the impact of a developing pandemic are the infective period and the mortality fraction, which are achievable by early case identification, contact tracing and quarantine (which would reduce the former) and improving quality of care for identified cases (which would reduce the latter).

Efficacy of Crisis Intervention

Crisis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Reisch ◽  
Petra Schlatter ◽  
Wolfgang Tschacher
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Term Therapy ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Step Therapy ◽  
Long Term Therapy ◽  
The Impact

This study assesses the efficacy of the treatment approach implemented in the Bern Crisis Intervention Program, where particular emphasis is placed on the remediation of suicide ideation and suicidal behavior, and depression, fear, and phobia are generally considered to be contributing factors. Four questionnaires addressing psychopathology, emotional well-being, social anxiety, and personality were administered prior to and after the treatment of 51 patients over a period of 2 to 3 weeks. The reduction of symptoms contributing to suicidal ideation and behavior was interpreted as indirect evidence of an antisuicidal effect of the program. Significant improvements were found in the psychopathology ratings, with depression and anxiety showing the largest reductions. The impact on personality and social phobia, however, was only moderate, and on average patients still exhibited symptoms after attending the program. This residual symptomatology points to the necessity of introducing a two-step therapy approach of intensive intervention targeted at the precipitating causes of the crisis, augmented by long-term therapy to treat underlying problems.

Longing for Home: The Impact of COVID-19 on Cambodian Evangelical Life

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-297
Author(s):  
Briana Wong
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Leadership ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Phnom Penh ◽  
Mass Displacement ◽  
Interpersonal Connectedness ◽  
Indigenous Religions ◽  
The Impact

In Cambodia, the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis intersected with religious practice this year, as April played host both to the Christian Holy Week and the Cambodian New Year holiday, rooted in Cambodian Buddhism and indigenous religions. Typically, the Cambodian New Year celebration involves the near-complete shutting down of Phnom Penh, allowing for residents of the capital city to spend the New Year with their families in the countryside. Many Christians stay with their parents or other relatives, who remain primarily Theravada Buddhist, in the rural provinces throughout Holy Week, missing Easter Sunday services to participate in New Year's festivities at their ancestral homes. In light of the government's precautionary cancellation of the all-encompassing festivities surrounding the Cambodian New Year this spring, Christians who have previously spent Easter Sunday addressing controversial questions of interreligious interaction notably focused this year, through online broadcasting, on the resurrection of Jesus. In the United States, the near elimination of in-person gatherings has blurred the boundaries between the ministry roles of recognised church leaders and lay Christians, often women, who have long been leading unofficial services and devotionals over the phone and internet. In this article, I argue that the COVID-19 crisis, with its concomitant mass displacement of church communities from the physical to the technological realm, has impacted transnational Cambodian evangelicalism by establishing greater liturgical alignment between churches in Cambodia and in the diaspora, democratising spiritual leadership and increasing opportunities for interpersonal connectedness within the Cambodian evangelical community worldwide.

The Use of Multimedia and its Impact on Bangladeshi EFL Learners at Tertiary Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Farzana Sharmin Pamela Islam
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

As 21st century is the era of modern technologies with different aspects, it offers us to make the best use of them. After tape recorder and overhead projector (OHP), multimedia has become an important part of language classroom facilities for its unique and effective application in delivering and learning lesson. Although in many parts of Bangladesh, a South Asian developing country, where English enjoys the status of a foreign language, the use of multimedia in teaching and learning is viewed as a matter of luxury. However, nowadays the usefulness and the necessity of it are well recognized by the academics as well as the government. The study aims to focus on the difference between a traditional classroom void of multimedia and multimedia equipped classrooms at university level by explaining how multimedia support the students with enhanced opportunity to interact with diverse texts that give them more in-depth comprehension of the subject. It also focuses on audio-visual advantage of multimedia on the students’ English language learning. The study has followed a qualitative method to get an in-depth understanding of the impact of using multimedia in an English language classroom at tertiary level. For this purpose, the data have been collected from two different sources. Firstly, from students’ written response to  an open ended question as to their comparative experience of learning  lessons with and without multimedia facilities; and secondly, through  observation of English language classes at a private university of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The discussion of the study is limited to  the use of multimedia in English language classroom using cartoons, images and music with a view to enhance students’ skills in academic writing, critical analysis of image and critical appreciation of music. For this purpose, cartoons in English language, images from Google and music from You Tube have got focused discussion in this paper.

An Analytical Approach to Cruise Tourism As an Option For Development: a Case Study of the Sultanate of Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Heba Aziz ◽  
Osman El-Said ◽  
Marike Bontenbal
Keyword(s):  
Capital City ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Cruise Tourism ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Average Expenditure ◽  
Return Intention

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.

Impact of hydroxychloroquin/azithromycin protocol on COVID-19 case-fatality rate reduction in Algeria. (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Youssef Kada
Keyword(s):  
Case Fatality Rate ◽  
Doubling Time ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
World Health ◽  
Fatality Rate ◽  
Therapeutic Protocol ◽  
First Case ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

BACKGROUND Covid-19 is an emerging infectious disease like viral zoonosis caused by new coronavirus SARS CoV 2. On December 31, 2019, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in Hubei province (China) reported cases of pneumonia, the origin of which is a new coronavirus. Rapidly extendable around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) declares it pandemic on March 11, 2020. This pandemic reaches Algeria on February 25, 2020, date on which the Algerian minister of health, announced the first case of Covid-19, a foreign citizen. From March 1, a cluster is formed in Blida and becomes the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic in Algeria, its total quarantine is established on March 24, 2020, it will be smoothly alleviated on April 24. A therapeutic protocol based on hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was put in place on March 23, for complicated cases, it was extended to all the cases confirmed on April 06. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquin/azithromycin protocol in Algeria, in particular after its extension to all patients diagnosed COVID-19 positive on RT-PCR test. We were able to illustrate this fact graphically, but not to prove it statistically because the design of our study, indeed in the 7 days which followed generalization of therapeutic protocol, case fatality rate decrease and doubling time increase, thus confirming the impact of wide and early prescription of hydroxychloroquin/azithromycin protocol. METHODS We have analyzed the data collected from press releases and follow-ups published daily by the Ministry of Health, we have studied the possible correlations of these data with certain events or decisions having a possible impact on their development, such as confinement at home and its reduction, the prescription of hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin combination for serious patients and its extension to all positive COVID subjects. Results are presented in graphics, the data collection was closed on 31/05/2020. RESULTS Covid-19 pandemic spreads from February 25, 2020, when a foreign citizen is tested positive, on March 1 a cluster is formed in the city of Blida where sixteen members of the same family are infected during a wedding party. Wilaya of Blida becomes the epicentre of coronavirus epidemic in Algeria and lockdown measures taken, while the number of national cases diagnosed begins to increases In any event, the association of early containment measures combined with a generalized initial treatment for all positive cases, whatever their degree of severity, will have contributed to a reduction in the fatality rate of COVID 19 and a slowing down of its doubling time. CONCLUSIONS In Algeria, the rapid combination of rigorous containment measure at home and early generalized treatment with hydroxychloroquin have demonstrated their effectiveness in terms of morbidity and mortality, the classic measures of social distancing and hygiene will make it possible to perpetuate these results by reducing viral transmission, the only unknown, the reopening procedure which can only be started after being surrounded by precautions aimed at ensuring the understanding of the population. CLINICALTRIAL Algeria, Covid-19, pandemic, hydroxychloroquin, azithromycin, case fatality rate

Older people’s news dependency and social connectedness

2021 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2110064
Author(s):  
Caroline Fisher ◽  
Sora Park ◽  
Jee Young Lee ◽  
Kate Holland ◽  
Emma John
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
News Media ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Older Citizens

Social isolation has become a growing issue, particularly among older citizens. The ‘digital divide’ has been identified as one of the contributing factors leaving many older citizens behind. While increasing digital literacy among seniors has been identified as one of the remedies, less attention has been paid to the role of news media on the wellbeing and connectedness of older people. Through the lens of the uses and gratifications theory, this article reports on the findings of a survey of 562 news consumers aged 50 years and above who live in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The analysis highlights the important role of news in reducing feelings of social isolation, particularly for those who spend more time alone and older people with cognitive impairment. Older participants who had difficulty concentrating and learning new tasks were also more dependent on news. We suggest this is due to the habitual, predictable and concise nature of news. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of news in the wellbeing of older people and point to the need for policymakers and those in the aged care sector to ensure access to news for older citizens to improve the quality of life.

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