Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Pandemic. Culture as Behavioral Driver under Risk and Uncertainty

The article deals with the issues of cultural determinants of decisions under risk and uncertainty, with emphasis on consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis of the crisis response has been based on D. Kahneman’s prospect theory, which was used to compare social behaviors in Poland, Italy, Great Britain and Singapore at an early stage of the pandemic. The main purpose of the considerations is to present the scale and level of impact of cultural determinants on national survival and security strategies against the COVID-19 crisis. The analysis and diagnosis of national survival strategies facilitates creation of products in accordance with behavioral and cultural determinants of consumer attitudes and preferences. In addition, the article presents some automatic systems supporting personnel management during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contemporary technological solutions monitoring employee behavior in the working environment can be implemented to increase the level of mental well-being and sanitary safety.

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Caring for our colleagues: Wellness and support strategies for remote library teams

College & Research Libraries News ◽

10.5860/crln.81.10.494 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 81 (10) ◽

pp. 494

Author(s):

Cynthia Hudson-Vitale ◽

Rebecca Miller Waltz

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Working Environment ◽

New Work ◽

Research Libraries ◽

Support Strategies ◽

Mental Well Being

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges for academic and research libraries and those working within them. Nearly everything that we do has been questioned and re-envisioned, and our days are filled with new work, uncertainty, and isolation. Because of this, one of the areas that library leaders must invest in re-envisioning is how we can best support the well-being and morale of our library colleagues. This article identifies and discusses simple, informal, practical, and easy strategies that library leaders can use to support the physical, emotional, spiritual, professional, social, and mental well-being of their teams in remote and hybrid working environment.

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Changes in young adults' mental well-being before and during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic: disparities between ethnic groups in Germany

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health ◽

10.1186/s13034-021-00418-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Stephanie Plenty ◽

Chloe Bracegirdle ◽

Jörg Dollmann ◽

Olivia Spiegler

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Ethnic Group ◽

Indirect Effects ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Early Stage ◽

Middle Eastern ◽

Well Being ◽

Group Differences ◽

Ethnic Group Differences ◽

Mental Well Being

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial disruptions to the daily lives of young people. Yet knowledge is lacking about changes in mental well-being among young adults, whether those from ethnic minorities were more adversely impacted by the pandemic than the ethnic majority, and the extent to which pandemic-related stressors contributed to any declines in mental well-being. Methods We draw on nationally representative German CILS4COVID data, collected early in the pandemic (N = 3517, Mage = 25). Respondents provided information on mental well-being (psychosomatic complaints, anxiety, depression, life satisfaction) and exposure to pandemic-related stressors (financial worries, health worries, discrimination, contact with COVID-19). Responses on mental well-being were matched to responses from two pre-pandemic waves. Individual fixed effects regressions examined ethnic group differences in changes in mental well-being prior to, and at the early stage of, the pandemic. Path analysis tested the role of pandemic-related stressors in declines in mental well-being. Results Overall, young adults’ mental well-being had improved at the pandemic assessment compared to pre-pandemic assessments, and few ethnic group differences in changes were found. However, greater pandemic-related stressors were associated with worsened mental well-being at the pandemic assessment. Among Asian minorities, indirect effects were found on anxiety via health worries, and on depression via health worries and discrimination. For Turkish, Middle Eastern and African minorities, indirect effects on anxiety and depression were found via health worries. Conclusions We did not find widespread declines in mental well-being among young adults at the early stage of the pandemic, and changes in mental well-being prior to and at the early stage of the pandemic were mostly similar across ethnic German and minority groups. Nevertheless, pandemic-related stressors posed risks for young adults’ mental well-being, particularly increased discrimination and health worries among Asian minorities, and health worries among Turkish, Middle Eastern and African minorities.

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SPICE-19: a 3-Month Prospective Cohort Study of 640 Medical Students and Foundation Doctors

Medical Science Educator ◽

10.1007/s40670-021-01349-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Soham Bandyopadhyay ◽

Ioannis Georgiou ◽

Emily Bligh ◽

Conor Coyle ◽

Rohan Pancharatnam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Medical Students ◽

Multicentre Study ◽

Well Being ◽

Medical Schools ◽

Working Environment ◽

Clinical Knowledge ◽

Common Area ◽

Course Material ◽

Mental Well Being

Abstract Introduction There is paucity of data around the support that medical students have been provided with, need to be provided with, and would like to be provided with during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students and establish the support they require. Methods A prospective, observational, multicentre study was conducted in 2020. All medical students and interim foundation year 1 doctors were eligible to participate. Results Six hundred forty individuals participated from 32 medical schools. Participants reported a drop in their mood following the onset of the pandemic (p < 0.001). This drop in mood was evident in both May and August. Participants did have an improved mood in August compared to May (p < 0.001). There was a significant decrease in pandemic disease-anxiety (13.8/20 to 12.4/20, p < 0.001) and consequence-anxiety (6.3/10 to 6.0/10, p < 0.001) between May and August. Nineteen percent of participants (n = 111/596, 19%) had not received the support they needed from their university by August. The most common area of support that our participants needed and had not received from their medical schools by August was support with course material (n = 58/111, 52%). ‘Clinical knowledge’ was thought to have been affected by the greatest number of participants in both May and August. Conclusion Medical students’ mental well-being has been adversely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings have actionable implications that can better protect medical students as they acclimatise to a working environment that has been radically changed by COVID-19.

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The differences in view between managers and employees of enterprises of Latvia in regard to the provision of mental well-being in the working environment

20th International Scientific Conference "Economic Science for Rural Development 2019". New Dimensions in the Development of Society. Home Economics. Finance and Taxes. Bioeconomy. ◽

10.22616/esrd.2019.099 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Dace Bole ◽

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Working Environment ◽

Mental Well Being

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Biodiversity, the Human Microbiome and Mental Health: Moving toward a New Clinical Ecology for the 21st Century?

International Journal of Biodiversity ◽

10.1155/2016/2718275 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Susan L. Prescott ◽

Rachel A. Millstein ◽

Martin A. Katzman ◽

Alan C. Logan

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Early Stage ◽

Human Microbiome ◽

Well Being ◽

Ecological Aspects ◽

New Frontier ◽

Psychological Medicine ◽

Specific Disorders ◽

Clinical Ecology ◽

Mental Well Being

Advances in research concerning the brain-related influences of the microbiome have been paradigm shifting, although at an early stage, clinical research involving beneficial microbes lends credence to the notion that the microbiome may be an important target in supporting mental health (defined here along the continuum between quality of life and the criteria for specific disorders). Through metagenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and systems biology, a new emphasis to personalized medicine is on the horizon. Humans can now be viewed as multispecies organisms operating within an ecological theatre; it is important that clinicians increasingly see their patients in this context. Historically marginalized ecological aspects of health are destined to become an important consideration in the new frontiers of practicing medicine with the microbiome in mind. Emerging evidence indicates that macrobiodiversity in the external environment can influence mental well-being. Local biodiversity may also drive differences in human-associated microbiota; microbial diversity as a product of external biodiversity may have far-reaching effects on immune function and mood. With a focus on the microbiome as it pertains to mental health, we define environmental “grey space” and emphasize a new frontier involving bio-eco-psychological medicine. Within this concept the ecological terrain can link dysbiotic lifestyles and biodiversity on the grand scale to the local human-associated microbial ecosystems that might otherwise seem far removed from one another.

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Perceived Overprotection and Its Association With Quality of Life in Dementia

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000207 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 125-134

Author(s):

Mechthild Niemann-Mirmehdi ◽

Andreas Häusler ◽

Paul Gellert ◽

Johanna Nordheim

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Patient Autonomy ◽

Positive Association ◽

Well Being ◽

Negative Association ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Mental Well Being

Abstract. To date, few studies have focused on perceived overprotection from the perspective of people with dementia (PwD). In the present examination, the association of perceived overprotection in PwD is examined as an autonomy-restricting factor and thus negative for their mental well-being. Cross-sectional data from the prospective DYADEM study of 82 patient/partner dyads (mean age = 74.26) were used to investigate the association between overprotection, perceived stress, depression, and quality of life (QoL). The analyses show that an overprotective contact style with PwD has a significant positive association with stress and depression, and has a negative association with QoL. The results emphasize the importance of avoiding an overprotective care style and supporting patient autonomy.

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