scholarly journals Ethical dilemmas faced by frontline support nurses fighting COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 096973302110152
Author(s):  
Xinyi Liu ◽  
Yingying Xu ◽  
Yuanyuan Chen ◽  
Chen chen ◽  
Qiwei Wu ◽  
...  

Background: In 2019, an outbreak of COVID-19 broke out in Hubei, China. Medical workers from all over the country rushed to Hubei and participated in the treatment and care of COVID-19 patients. These nurses, dedicated to their professional practice, volunteered to provide compassion and expert clinical care during the pandemic. As with other acts of heroism, the ethical dilemmas associated with working on the front line must be considered for future practice. Purpose: To explore the ethical dilemmas of frontline nurses of Jiangsu Province in China during deployment to Wuhan to fight the novel coronavirus pneumonia, and to provide a basis for developing strategies to help nursing staff address personal and practice concerns in order to work more effectively during this pandemic and other disasters in the future. Research design and method: Using the phenomenological research method and the purpose sampling method, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 nurses, post-deployment to Wuhan, who had worked on the front line to fight the novel coronavirus. Ethical considerations: The research proposal was approved by the Research Ethic Committee of Yangzhou University, China. Findings: From the analysis of the interviews of the 10 participants, three main themes were identified: ethical dilemmas in clinical nursing, ethical dilemmas in interpersonal relationships, and ethical dilemmas in nursing management. Conclusion: During a quick response to public health emergencies, where nurses are deployed immediately as a call to action, the issues surrounding ethical dilemmas from several perspectives must be considered. This research suggests that a team approach to proactive planning and open communication during the emergency is an efficient and productive strategy to improve the nurses’ experience and sense of well-being.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-156
Author(s):  
Lucien Peters

The paper starts from the notion that the social capital of young persons is an essential part of their well-being and an individual's success in life and society. It presents ethnographic re-search of the role of urban and regional space as one of the factors relevant to the creation of young people’s social capital. The period of research is 2014-2020, until the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic in late February 2020. The principal research method is longitu-dinal ethnographic participant observation in a higher education setting in Sofia, comple-mented by semi-structured interviews and life histories of informants, gathered in informal settings, with members of the post-1980 generations. Informants were aged 19-36, of both genders, and all were known to the enquirer for periods ranging between two and seven years. Their socialization and education took place largely in post-Communist times. The ethno-graphic observation examines the geographical environment of students’ lives, as the space where life takes place is a key factor for the quality of youth people's lives and well-being. Their homes, hometowns, educational institution, leisure pursuits; their potential contacts with other cultures, and other factors which may have emerged during observation, and which may have contributed to the formation of students’ social circles and their attitudes towards civic life, have been examined.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110587
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Redd ◽  
Lauren S. Peetluk ◽  
Brooke A. Jarrett ◽  
Colleen Hanrahan ◽  
Sheree Schwartz ◽  
...  

The public health crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a deluge of scientific research aimed at informing the public health and medical response to the pandemic. However, early in the pandemic, those working in frontline public health and clinical care had insufficient time to parse the rapidly evolving evidence and use it for decision-making. Academics in public health and medicine were well-placed to translate the evidence for use by frontline clinicians and public health practitioners. The Novel Coronavirus Research Compendium (NCRC), a group of >60 faculty and trainees across the United States, formed in March 2020 with the goal to quickly triage and review the large volume of preprints and peer-reviewed publications on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 and summarize the most important, novel evidence to inform pandemic response. From April 6 through December 31, 2020, NCRC teams screened 54 192 peer-reviewed articles and preprints, of which 527 were selected for review and uploaded to the NCRC website for public consumption. Most articles were peer-reviewed publications (n = 395, 75.0%), published in 102 journals; 25.1% (n = 132) of articles reviewed were preprints. The NCRC is a successful model of how academics translate scientific knowledge for practitioners and help build capacity for this work among students. This approach could be used for health problems beyond COVID-19, but the effort is resource intensive and may not be sustainable in the long term.


2020 ◽  
pp. 036354652097518
Author(s):  
Mary K. Mulcahey ◽  
Arianna L. Gianakos ◽  
Angela Mercurio ◽  
Scott Rodeo ◽  
Karen M. Sutton

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has resulted in upward of 14 million confirmed cases and >597,000 deaths worldwide as of July 19, 2020. The current disruption in sports activities caused by COVID-19 presents a challenge to physicians, coaches, and trainers in discerning best practices for a safe return to sport. There is a distinct need to develop and adopt consistent measures for resumption of sports activities, including training and competition, in a way that places the health and well-being of athletes at the forefront while also protecting coaches, allied staff, and spectators. This article provides an overview of the effects of COVID-19 in the athletic population and presents considerations for training during the pandemic, as well as guidelines for return to sports as restrictions are lifted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-432
Author(s):  
Unnati G Hunjan ◽  
Jayasankara Reddy

Companion animals and pets can be helpful during the novel coronavirus-19 pandemic. Interactions with them and positive physical contact lead to a variety of physiological and psychological benefits. It also releases biochemicals which can further boost the immune system and enhance health and well-being. This perspective discusses the benefits of these interactions, the modes of interactions and the activities that can be used. It also highlights the individuals that should avoid this approach and the status of the animal’s health before engaging with them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catrin Morgan ◽  
Aashish K Ahluwalia ◽  
Arash Aframian ◽  
Lily Li ◽  
Stephen Ng Man Sun

At first glance, the novel coronavirus pandemic and orthopaedic surgery appear separate entities. Orthopaedic surgeons are not generally considered front-line staff in terms of the treatment of the disease that the novel coronavirus causes compared with anaesthetic and medical colleagues. However, the impact that the novel coronavirus is likely to have on the musculoskeletal injury burden and the morbidity associated with chronic musculoskeletal disease is significant. This article summarises the strategies currently being developed for the remodelling of orthopaedic services in the UK and the emergency British Orthopaedic Association Standards for Trauma and Orthopaedic guidelines released on 24 March 2020 in managing urgent orthopaedic patients during the novel coronavirus pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freda D. Intiful ◽  
Rebecca Steele-Dadzie ◽  
Patricia Mawusi Amos ◽  
Ruth Pobee ◽  
Joana Ainuson-Quampah ◽  
...  

In recent times, there is significant level of evidence to suggest a transition in the eating pattern and dietary habits of people across the globe. Food, though a physiological necessity and required for good health and functionality, also contributes to the social, cultural, psychological and emotional well-being of our lives. There is no doubt that relationships contribute to how, what and when people eat. This chapter will review the impact of how different categories and levels of interpersonal relationships impact on the development of dietary habits among people. Additionally the chapter will explore how the advent of the novel corona virus, covid-19 has impacted on interpersonal relationships and consequently on dietary habits.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Argyriadis ◽  
Athina Patelarou ◽  
Vasiliki Kitsona ◽  
Alexandra Trivli ◽  
Evridiki Patelarou ◽  
...  

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the pandemic since March 2020, has affected among others, health professionals who work in covid-19 units by facing social discrimination. The aim of this study was to record the experiences of health professionals working in the first line of treatment of the pandemic, to analyse the effects of the pandemic on the interpersonal relationships of health professionals, and to ask about the stigma they faced during their work with people with covid-19. This is a qualitative study with an ethnographic approach based on 160 semi-structured interviews with health professionals living and working in the Epirus Region, Greece. For the data collection we used semi-structured interviews, discussions and participatory observation. Specifically, the interviews were conducted on health professionals and more specifically doctors, nurses, rescuers, physiotherapists and administrative staff, working in covid-19 units at the University General Hospital of Ioannina (Reference hospital for Ioannina, in Epirus), which assists in the treatment of patients with covid-19, and in the branch of the rescue department of Ioannina. The data were analysed in four thematic units based on their common characteristics: a) emotions and experiences of health professionals, b) interpersonal relations of health professionals, c) social exclusion and discrimination, and d) health professionals as patients. The results showed that the main emotions that health professionals experienced when they were moved to covid-19 clinics were fear, anxiety, distress, anger and insecurity. These feelings worsened when their family environment treated them with fear and hesitancy. Their social environment tended to avoid them, leading to a state of self-isolation. To conclude, health professionals faced discriminating behaviors and stigma both from their families and social environment, and from other health professionals. The government struggled to handle the situation in keeping a balance between both the security and well-being of health professionals as it was not prepared for a pandemic like this.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-14
Author(s):  
Marina G. Bubnova ◽  
Anna L. Persiyanova-Dubrova ◽  
Nadezhda P. Lyamina ◽  
David M. Aronov

The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), which quickly became a pandemic in 2020, has presented new challenges for healthcare system. COVID-19, being a contagious infectious disease predominantly affects respiratory system, causes cardiovascular, neurocognitive, renal, gastrointestinal, hepatic, metabolic and mental damages, which is in fact a multisystem disease. Patients with COVID-19, primarily with moderate and severe forms, need appropriate rehabilitation. This article establishes need of development of rehabilitation programs for COVID-19 patients, identifies their problems that leads to restrictions on everyday life, self-service, mobility, communication, interpersonal relationships, and professional activities. Goals and general principles of medical rehabilitation in context of a pandemic at all three stages are presented. Features of rehabilitation approaches are highlighted and important components of individual rehabilitation program for COVID-19 patients are highlighted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alka Chandra ◽  
Hemant Vanjare

In December 2019, an outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, China. To date, this has spread across the globe, raising a number of significant challenges for healthcare workers (HCW). They are at the front line of the outbreak response and as such are exposed to hazards including the high risk of contracting the infection. Long and irregular duty hours in very constrained environment can contribute to increased levels of stress and ultimately precipitate burnout.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-45
Author(s):  
David N. Eades

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight that interpersonal relations within a visits venue in a carceral space can be restorative. This provides implications for staff working in institutions to support a visits programme to assist those incarcerated. Design/methodology/approach The experiences of those formerly incarcerated are captured through an ethnography of engagement by way of semi-structured interviews and field notes. In methodology it draws upon the fields of criminology and prison sociology, and in particular using an ethnographic approach within the field of Carceral Geography. Findings Interpersonal relationships developed, with a “significant other” within the liminality of displacement, are therapeutic in nature and potentially contribute to ongoing healthier relationships than previously experienced, once a person is released from incarceration. These also assist those incarcerated transition into the community when released. Research limitations/implications The sample within the study was only small, did not include the impact of family members, nor the impact of not having visitors upon people who are incarcerated. The feedback received was all positive. Other people might have had alternative experiences that were not captured in this study. Practical implications A practical outcome of this research is to encourage the development of interpersonal relationships and the reconstruction of social networks for those incarcerated as a means of early intervention for their recovery and future progress reintegrating back into society. Social implications The impact of a significant other helps those formerly incarcerated to value the importance of close supportive relationships in contributing to the lives of others socially. Originality/value Assisting those incarcerated develop a relationship with a significant other provides a unique protective element as a social intervention. Staff within institutions have a unique role within their service to facilitate visitors and to encourage those incarcerated to connect with a significant other so as to help their mental health, support their general well-being and give them hope for the future.


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