scholarly journals Systematic review of academic bullying in medical settings: dynamics and consequences

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e043256
Author(s):  
Tauben Averbuch ◽  
Yousif Eliya ◽  
Harriette Gillian Christine Van Spall

PurposeTo characterise the dynamics and consequences of bullying in academic medical settings, report factors that promote academic bullying and describe potential interventions.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesWe searched EMBASE and PsycINFO for articles published between 1 January 1999 and 7 February 2021.Study selectionWe included studies conducted in academic medical settings in which victims were consultants or trainees. Studies had to describe bullying behaviours; the perpetrators or victims; barriers or facilitators; impact or interventions. Data were assessed independently by two reviewers.ResultsWe included 68 studies representing 82 349 respondents. Studies described academic bullying as the abuse of authority that impeded the education or career of the victim through punishing behaviours that included overwork, destabilisation and isolation in academic settings. Among 35 779 individuals who responded about bullying patterns in 28 studies, the most commonly described (38.2% respondents) was overwork. Among 24 894 individuals in 33 studies who reported the impact, the most common was psychological distress (39.1% respondents). Consultants were the most common bullies identified (53.6% of 15 868 respondents in 31 studies). Among demographic groups, men were identified as the most common perpetrators (67.2% of 4722 respondents in 5 studies) and women the most common victims (56.2% of 15 246 respondents in 27 studies). Only a minority of victims (28.9% of 9410 victims in 25 studies) reported the bullying, and most (57.5%) did not perceive a positive outcome. Facilitators of bullying included lack of enforcement of institutional policies (reported in 13 studies), hierarchical power structures (7 studies) and normalisation of bullying (10 studies). Studies testing the effectiveness of anti-bullying interventions had a high risk of bias.ConclusionsAcademic bullying commonly involved overwork, had a negative impact on well-being and was not typically reported. Perpetrators were most commonly consultants and men across career stages, and victims were commonly women. Methodologically robust trials of anti-bullying interventions are needed.LimitationsMost studies (40 of 68) had at least a moderate risk of bias. All interventions were tested in uncontrolled before–after studies.

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Bolster ◽  
Liam Rourke

ABSTRACT Background Despite 25 years of implementation and a sizable amount of research, the impact of resident duty hour restrictions on patients and residents still is unclear. Advocates interpret the research as necessitating immediate change; opponents draw competing conclusions. Objective This study updates a systematic review of the literature on duty hour restrictions conducted 1 year prior to the implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's 2011 regulations. Methods The review draws on reports catalogued in MEDLINE and PreMEDLINE from 2010 to 2013. Interventions that dealt with the duty hour restrictions included night float, shortened shifts, and protected time for sleep. Outcomes were patient care, resident well-being, and resident education. Studies were excluded if they were not conducted in patient care settings. Results Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Most frequently, the studies concluded that the restrictions had no impact on patient care (50%) or resident wellness (47%), and had a negative impact on resident education (64%). Night float was the most frequent means of implementing duty hour restrictions, yet it yielded the highest proportion of unfavorable findings. Conclusions This updated review, including 27 recent applicable studies, demonstrates that focusing on duty hours alone has not resulted in improvements in patient care or resident well-being. The added duty hour restrictions implemented in 2011 appear to have had an unintended negative impact on resident education. New approaches to the issue of physician fatigue and its relationship to patient care and resident education are needed.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1220
Author(s):  
Nemanja Lakicevic ◽  
Roberto Roklicer ◽  
Antonino Bianco ◽  
Diba Mani ◽  
Antonio Paoli ◽  
...  

Rapid weight loss (RWL) is commonly practiced among judo athletes. Although it helps them to gain the advantage over their lighter opponents, previous studies have shown that RWL can have a negative impact on the athlete’s performance and overall well-being. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the evidence that examines the influence of rapid weight loss on physiological parameters, biomarkers, and psychological well-being in judo athletes. We followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. We searched for studies on Web of Science and PubMed that elaborate on the influence of ≥5% RWL achieved over ≤7-day period in judokas. Out of 52 studies initially found, 14 studies met our eligibility criteria and were included in the review. In total, we examined data from 1103 judo athletes. Retrieved studies showed conflicting data concerning physiological parameters and biomarkers, while psychological well-being parameters were more consistent than physiological and biomarkers. The feeling of tension, anger, and fatigue significantly increased while a decrease in vigor was demonstrated among athletes who lost weight rapidly. The evidence on the impact of RWL on performance remains ambiguous. More studies under standardized conditions are needed in order to provide firm evidence. Considering the harmful effects of RWL outlined in the existing literature, it is important to determine and monitor athlete’s minimal competitive weight to prioritize the health and safety of the athlete, emphasize fairness, and ultimately benefit the sport.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra L Whittaker ◽  
Timothy H Barker

Blood sampling is often performed in laboratory mice. Sampling techniques have the potential to cause pain, distress and impact on lifetime cumulative experience. In spite of institutions commonly providing guidance to researchers on these methods, and the existence of published guidelines, no systematic evaluation of the evidence on this topic exists. A systematic search of Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science was performed, identifying 27 studies on the impact of recovery blood sample techniques on mouse welfare and sample quality. Studies were appraised for quality using the SYstematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) risk of bias tool. In spite of an acceptable number of studies being located, few studies examined the same pairwise comparisons. Additionally, there was considerable heterogeneity in study design and outcomes, with many studies being at a high risk of bias. Consequently, results were synthesised using the Synthesis Without Meta-analysis (SWiM) reporting guidelines. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) was utilised for assessment of certainty in the evidence. Due to the heterogeneity and GRADE findings, it was concluded that there was not enough high-quality evidence to make any recommendations on the optimal method of blood sampling. Future high-quality studies, with standardised outcome measures and large sample sizes, are required.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Długosz ◽  
Yana

The article presents the results of research on psychosocial condition among Polish and Ukrainian students during the quarantine. The aim of the research was to verify the impact of the pandemic and its accompanying phenomena on the well-being of youth. In order to achieve this goal, the CAWI on-line survey method with double measurement was used. The first measurement carried out at the beginning of the quarantine resulted in 3659 filled out surveys in Poland and 739 in Ukraine. The second measurement conducted at the end of distance learning brought 1978 filled out surveys in Poland and 411 in Ukraine. The results of research indicate that the quarantine had a negative impact on the psychosocial condition of youth. The deterioration of emotional condition and the increase in mental disorders has been observed. Due to the pandemic and distance learning, the mental health of youth deteriorated significantly. Polish youth were negatively influenced by the pandemic to a greater extent than young Ukrainians.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 401-401
Author(s):  
Yue-Heng Yin ◽  
Liu Yat Justina

Abstract Obesity has been shown to intensify the decline of physical function and lead to frailty. Nutrition is an important method in managing obesity and frailty, while seldom reviews have ever explored the effects of nutritional education interventions. We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42019142403) to explore the effectiveness of nutritional education interventions in managing body composition and physio-psychosocial parameters related to frailty. Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies were searched in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus from 2001 to 2019. Hand search for the reference lists of included papers was conducted as well. We assessed the quality of included studies by Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analyses and narrative synthesis were used to analyse the data. Two studies with low risk of bias were screened from 180 articles, which involved 177 older people with an average age of 69.69±4.08 years old. The results showed that nutritional education was significantly effective in reducing body weight and fat mass than exercises, and it was beneficial to enhancing physical function and psychosocial well-being. But the effects of nutritional education in increasing muscle strength were not better than exercises. The combined effects of nutritional education and exercises were superior than either exercises or nutritional education interventions solely in preventing the loss of lean mass and bone marrow density, and in improving physical function. Due to limited numbers of relevant studies, the strong evidence of effectiveness of nutritional education interventions on reversing frailty is still lacking.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Ourania Tzoraki ◽  
Svetlana Dimitrova ◽  
Marin Barzakov ◽  
Saad Yaseen ◽  
Vasilis Gavalas ◽  
...  

The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under new conditions. An online survey carried out to explore the impact of the pandemic on the refugee researchers showed that RRs found it difficult to adapt their everyday working life to the ‘home’ setting. The majority have had neither a suitable work environment at home nor the appropriate technology. Although they stated that they are rather pleased with the measures taken by the public authorities, they expressed concern about their vulnerability due to their precarious contracts and the bureaucratic asylum procedures, as the pandemic has had a negative impact on these major issues. The majority of RRs working in academia seem not to have been affected at all as far as their income is concerned, while the majority of those employed in other sectors became unemployed during the pandemic (58%). Recommendations are provided to the public authorities and policy makers to assist RRs to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their life.


Author(s):  
Germina-Alina Cosma ◽  
Alina Chiracu ◽  
Amalia Raluca Stepan ◽  
Marian Alexandru Cosma ◽  
Marian Costin Nanu ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to analyze athletes’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 249 athletes between 15 and 35 of age, M = 21.22, SD = 5.12. The sample was composed of eight Olympic Games medalists, three European medalists, 67 international medalists, and 63 national medalists. The instruments used were: (1) COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, (2) Athlete Quality of Life Scale, (3) Impact of Pandemic on Athletes Questionnaire, and (4) International Personality Item Pool (IPIP Anxiety, Depression, and Vulnerability Scales). The results indicate significant differences in COVID-19 anxiety depending on the sport practiced, F (9239) = 3.81, p < 0.01, showing that there were significant differences between sports. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and the athletes’ quality of life. The percentage of mediation was 33.9%, and the indirect effect was −0.11, CI 95% (−0.18, −0.03), Z = −2.82, p < 0.01. Trait anxiety has an increasing effect on the intensity of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 0.23, CI 95% (.10, 0.35), Z = 3.56, p < 0.01, and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has a decreasing effect on quality of life, −0.47, CI 95% (−0.67, −0.27), Z = −4.62, p < 0.01. Gender and age did not moderate the relationship between the negative impact of COVID-19 and athletes’ quality of life. The results of the study highlighted the impact that social isolation and quarantine have on athletes’ affective well-being.


Author(s):  
A Dudau ◽  
G Kominis ◽  
Y Brunetto

Abstract Assuming that red tape is inevitable in institutions, and drawing on positive organizational behavior, we compare the impact of individual psychological capital on the ability of street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) with different professional backgrounds to work within the confines of red tape. The two SLB professions investigated here are nurses and local government employees; and the work outcomes of interest to this study are well-being and engagement. The findings show that red tape has a different impact on each professional group but, encouragingly, they also indicate that psychological capital has a compensatory effect. Implications include nurses requiring more psychological resources than local government employees to counteract the negative impact of red tape. A practical implication for managers is that, if perception of red tape in organizations is set to increase or to stay constant, enhancing the psychological capital of professionals in SLB roles, through specific interventions, may be beneficial to professionals and organizations alike.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233372142110201
Author(s):  
M. Courtney Hughes ◽  
Yujun Liu ◽  
Abby Baumbach

Background: In December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or COVID-19, raised worldwide concern. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively influenced health and wellness across the globe and caused nearly three million deaths. This study focuses on informal caregivers of people with dementia, a disease that affects about 50 million older adults worldwide and requires much caregiving support. Objective: Examine the current literature on the impact of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of informal caregivers for people with dementia. Method: This rapid review was conducted across five electronic databases for quantitative and qualitative articles published through March 15, 2021. Results: The 10 studies included in this review reported quantitative descriptive data from across the globe; however, no studies existed from the U.S. or East Asia countries. All of the studies examined the psychological rather than physical impact of COVID-19 and highlighted risk and protective factors in the areas of psychosocial (resilience, neuropsychiatric, and social isolation), sociodemographic (gender and education), and environmental (home confinement, living arrangement, and dementia stage). Conclusion: COVID-19 has had a considerable negative impact on the psychological well-being of informal caregivers of people with dementia, namely causing more depression and anxiety than pre-pandemic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932098382
Author(s):  
Jildau Borwell ◽  
Jurjen Jansen ◽  
Wouter Stol

While criminality is digitizing, a theory-based understanding of the impact of cybercrime on victims is lacking. Therefore, this study addresses the psychological and financial impact of cybercrime on victims, applying the shattered assumptions theory (SAT) to predict that impact. A secondary analysis was performed on a representative data set of Dutch citizens ( N = 33,702), exploring the psychological and financial impact for different groups of cybercrime victims. The results showed a higher negative impact on emotional well-being for victims of person-centered cybercrime, victims for whom the offender was an acquaintance, and victims whose financial loss was not compensated and a lower negative impact on emotional well-being for victims with a higher income. The study led to novel scientific insights and showed the applicability of the SAT for developing hypotheses about cybercrime victimization impact. In this study, most hypotheses had to be rejected, leading to the conclusion that more work has to be done to test the applicability of the SAT in the field of cybercrime. Furthermore, policy implications were identified considering the prioritization of and approach to specific cybercrimes, treatment of victims, and financial loss compensation.


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