Telemedicine during COVID-19: India embracing the change

Telemedicine has been around for decades but it has taken foreground in health services recently. When COVID-19 cases started to be reported in the country it brought with itself panic and chaos. At all India level, the adult literacy rate is 77.7%, this could also be linked to unawareness related to the disease in rural areas. The sudden countrywide lockdown imposed was of no help and further worsened the situation for economically weaker section of the society. During the struggle of our nation to overcome the COVID-19 Telemedicine has indeed played a vital role. People in fear of contacting the disease and due to nationwide lockdown were unable to reach their health care provider. People with pre-existing conditions that needs regular monitoring, pregnancy related queries, queries on new symptoms, psychological counselling and many more could not wait for the COVID-19 to be over before they get any help on the issues.­­ Telemedicine shall continue developing and be used in a multitude of settings by more health-care doctors and patients, and these standards of practice will be a crucial driver within this evolution.

Psychological hardness and its role in facing stressful life events among students of the Faculty of Education at the University of Idlib: الصلابة النفسية ودورها في مواجهة أحداث الحياة الضاغطة لدى طلبة كلية التربية في جامعة إدلب

The study aimed to identify the level of psychological toughness among a sample of students of the classroom teacher and psychological counselling departments in the College of Education at the University of Idlib, and to reveal the correlation between stressful life events and psychological toughness among a sample of students of the classroom teacher and psychological counselling departments in the College of Education, University of Idlib. A random sample was drawn from the classroom teacher and psychological counselling departments (first year and third year), where the total number of the sample amounted to (166) male and female students. To achieve the objectives of the study, a measure of psychological hardness and a measure of stressful life events were applied, and the study reached several results: - Level of hardness Psychology among the study sample is high - there are no statistically significant differences in the level of psychological hardness among the study sample according to the variable of gender and academic level - the level of stressful life events in the study sample came to a medium degree, and there are statistically significant differences in the level of stressful life events for the benefit of females, In favour of first year students, there is no correlation between the psychological hardness variables and stressful life events.

Not Just a ‘Breath of Death’: Indirect Consequences of Working in a COVID-19 Unit

We carried out a survey in the Czech Republic between January and February 2021 to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on doctors working in the COVID-19 unit. A rise in 250,000 cases were seen in the Czech Republic during the time of the survey. The indirect impact of the disease on doctors working in COVID-19 units and strategies to control the situation in the Czech Republic were evaluated here. About 35% doctors were concerned with health issues, 40% had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antigen, 51% reported lack of support for those who had contracted COVID-19 and 163 agreed that medical, psychological counselling and financial services should be provided. Most doctors experienced moderate and severe degrees of psychological impact. Doctors with the least working experience and those with at least 21 to 35 years were most affected. Mental fatigue was the most common reported psychosomatic effect. The effects were higher in doctors who were more concerned about working in COVID-19 units. Around 87% agreed that the best strategy in controlling the situation in the Czech Republic would be ‘preventive measures in combination with vaccination’. History shows us that pandemics can occur in multiple waves. Subsequent waves, inadequate support as well as unparalleled workload can lead to a serious rise in psychological disorders amongst HCWs worldwide.

TP9.1.5Optimizing Patient Outcomes and Improving Organization Efficiency through Enhanced Management of Low Back Ache and Sciatica

Aim This study was undertaken to tackle the rising incidence of Low Back Ache and Sciatica in a primary care government setup, which had contributed to a disabled and diminished workforce. The aim being improving patient outcomes by implementing changes in the current management protocol (measured against the standard NICE guidelines by an initial clinical audit) Method Two Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented post an initial clinical audit among 59 patients of the institution. Data was collected using self-made questionnaires and then analyzed. Re-audits were done to measure the outcome against a set standard. Results 20-30% (n = 12-18) of patients were aware of their risk category, understood various treatment modalities and use of orthotics in the initial clinical audit. 56% (n = 33), 73% (n = 43), 88% (n = 51) of the patients were absent from work or had diminished work output, were offered imaging and were put on medication respectively. 10% of the patients were offered psychological counselling. Post implementation of changes from the first PDSA cycle, the set target of 90% was achieved in most of the categories. Further, 24% (n = 14) of patients reported that they were still apprehensive about their condition. A second PDSA cycle was undertaken and post implementation of changes, the set standard of 10% or less patients being apprehensive was noted. Conclusions Increased awareness among patients through means of regular educational sessions, psychological counselling, updated management protocols have led to healthier patients, less absence from duty and improved work output thereby increasing the organizational efficiency as a whole.

Child and Adolescent Multiple Victimization and/or Polyvictimization: A Portuguese Comparative Study

Worldwide, children and adolescents are exposed to violence every day and in countless contexts, whether in the family, at school, or in the community. Child multiple victimization has been the subject of extensive international research because of the impact on child and youth development. A quantitative and comparative study aiming to understand child multiple victimization and/or polyvictimization from the perspective of children is presented. Two groups were studied, with and without psychological counselling, with 20 children each, aged 12–18 years old. All the participants answered to juvenile victimization questionnaire (JVQ). The study was approved by the University Ethics Committee responsible for the study in Portugal, and it was initiated after the obtained consent of the children’s legal guardians. The results indicated that young people frequently experience violent situations, with particular emphasis on conventional crimes, e.g., theft, robbery, vandalism, and assault with or without a weapon, with sexual victimization being less common. The results also show that there is a cumulative experience of violence, which evidences multiple victimization and polyvictimization of the child/adolescent throughout their life. These phenomena are not necessarily more common between populations with clinical follow-up. When the types of violence were compared, multiple victimization and polyvictimization, this study found no differences between the samples with and without psychological counselling. It can be concluded that the multiple victimization or polyvictimization problem is not unusual among the population in the studied age range. It is important to alert to the phenomenon of child/adolescent multiple victimization, aiming at a more effective assessment and intervention among these populations. Raising awareness of the phenomenon of multiple child and youth victimization or polyvictimization is of particular importance for preventing violence at all stages of development.

Determination of Psychological Counsellor Candidates’ Competency Levels and Educational Needs in terms of Therapeutic Conditions in the Process of Individual Counselling

The purpose of the present study is to enhance the quality of psychological counselling education by identifying needs and competencies in the field. The lack of specific studies on therapeutic conditions in psychological counseling education on a national scale has led us to conduct the current study. The study group consists of 20 students (12 female, 8 male) taking Individual Counselling course during spring term in 2019- 2020 academic year. According to the audio recordings, the participants were seen to be unable to behave at expected level under the title of concreteness of therapeutic conditions. In addition, they were observed not to provide necessary conditions under the title of transparency. However, it has been revealed that they managed to develop empathy. Moreover, they were seen to be unable to fulfill here and now principle at expected level. Finally, they were found to perform respect conditions.

Determination of Psychological Counsellor Candidates’ Competency Levels and Educational Needs in terms of Therapeutic Conditions in the Process of Individual Counselling

The purpose of the present study is to enhance the quality of psychological counselling education by identifying needs and competencies in the field. The lack of specific studies on therapeutic conditions in psychological counseling education on a national scale has led us to conduct the current study. The study group consists of 20 students (12 female, 8 male) taking Individual Counselling course during spring term in 2019- 2020 academic year. According to the audio recordings, the participants were seen to be unable to behave at expected level under the title of concreteness of therapeutic conditions. In addition, they were observed not to provide necessary conditions under the title of transparency. However, it has been revealed that they managed to develop empathy. Moreover, they were seen to be unable to fulfill here and now principle at expected level. Finally, they were found to perform respect conditions.

Osu caste system and human rights in Igboland, 1900-2017

Discrimination and caste systems are rife in every society. In Igboland, the Osu caste system is a form of discriminatory practise where the Igbo society is divided into the Diala and Osu. The problem is that this divide comes with human rights restrictions and violations on the part of the Osu which go unreported and unaddressed at both national and international discourses. Literature on the Osu caste system has majorly focused on various aspects with little attention paid to the human rights dimension of the Osu caste system. Thus, this paper seeks to examine the Osu caste system within the human rights prism. The natural rights theory of John Locke is used as framework of analysis. Findings reveal that the people call Osu face all forms of discrimination and violations of their fundamental human rights. Education and psychological counselling, among other factors were recommended in order to eliminate the caste system. Also, religious bodies as well as the social media can play a vital role in the campaign against the Osu caste system.

THE EFFICACY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES RENDERED BY PHYSIOTHERAPISTS SERVING IN COVID WARDS IN ALLEVIATING THE PANIC ATTACKS

Covid-19 can disrupt a person’s circadian rhythm, which can impair his sleep, leading to insomnia and snowball into depression, anxiety and other cognitive changes, not infrequently a panic disorder .Present pandemic also witnessed the shortage of essential medicines including oxygen ,unavailability of intensive care beds ,making the patients and attendants panicky, alike. It has been observed that all the efforts are being put forth to understand the epidemiology, clinical symptoms, transmission patterns and the management of the covid-19 outbreak ,but there has been a little concern put forward over the traumatizing effect on one’s mental health. This pandemic witnessed the utter paucity of qualified medical personnel to serve in wards hence forcing physiotherapy students and interns to compliment their medical counterparts. We understood the need of psychological counselling for these admitted patients and we deputed physiotherapists to render the same. The benefit of counselling was quantified as the fall in the incidence of weekly panic attacks. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of physiotherapists posted in covid wards in reducing the panic attacks, since physiotherapist do have a basic knowledge of the psychology as a subject and they usually also have ample spare time in the wards, after they have completed their specialized duties. We studied 552 admitted patients of covid-19 in two medical colleges, identified patients with frequent panic attacks, who were then counselled psychologically. The effects of counselling sessions were observed for average 7 days of admission. We found on an average 64% fall in the number of panic attacks in the psychologically disturbed patients. We hence conclude that the physiotherapists posted in the covid wards should also be utilized in rendering psychological counselling to minimize occurrence of the panic attacks. Keywords: psychological, physiotherapists & Covid.