Lessons from the past in the present: news from the Spanish flu pandemic to COVID-19

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the health conducts for combating the Spanish flu and its relationship with the COVID-19 pandemic in Rio de Janeiro. Methods: study from the perspective of microhistory, with analysis of articles published in Revista da Semana on the Spanish flu, having as criteria publications with the term "epidemic" referring to the Spanish flu or influenza in the period of the epidemic outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Federal District. Results: 18 records, organized in three thematic axes: political, 4; social, 11; care, 3, were found. Final considerations: the lessons left by the Spanish flu epidemic in coronavirus times will be changes in the political, social and care field as marks of major epidemics.

The Association between the Types of Exercise Motivation and Social Presence about Gerontechnology

The purpose of this study was to identify the types of exercise motivation and examine the association between the types of exercise motivation and social presence about exercise-related gerontechnology among Korean young-olds. In this study, social presence about gerontechnology implies the degree of perception of a robot that helps exercise functions as human-like socially interacting entities (Heerink, 2010). Online survey data collected from the Korean older adults over the age of 65 in February 2021 was used, and the subjects of this study were 154 young-olds aged 65 to 74 who exercise regularly. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to classify the types of exercise motivation, followed by multiple regression analysis. As a result of LCA, the types of exercise motivation was classified with two groups. These groups were named ‘for pleasure and leisure (PL, 77.2%)’ and ‘for maintenance of health (MH, 22.8%)’, respectively. The result of multiple regression showed that compared to the second group (MH), the social presence about gerontechnology was high for the first group (PL) after controlling age, gender, education level, marital status, household income and chronic disease. These results indicate the Korean young-olds’ exercise motivation may vary and expectations for social presence toward exercise-related gerontechnology differ depending on the exercise motivation. To date, the importance of social presence in gerontechnology has tended to be emphasized mainly in the care field. This study suggests that exercise-related gerontechnology devices also need to consider the aspect of social presence especially for young-olds who exercise for pleasure and leisure.

AI Democratization in Optometry: Developing a Prototype with Azure Cognitive Services Platform

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology advances, it is used in almost every aspect of our lives. However, AI is still complicated to implement without help from computer engineers. In the health care field, knowledge of medical and computer knowledge is necessary to create AI-based medical systems. Close cooperation between medical experts and computer experts is essential. For this reason, even if there has been a continuous effort to apply AI into the medical field, it has yet to be universalized. In particular, in the field of optometry and ophthalmology, more complex technology is required than in other medical fields because it is necessary to analyze an eye image to diagnose a disease. Therefore, this study explores the possibility for medical professionals with little computer knowledge in the field of ophthalmology to develop an AI-based diagnostic system without the help of computer engineers. In addition, it explores not only the possibilities but also the diagnostic accuracy of the developed system. Our results show that the diagnostic system discriminates against five common eye diseases to some extent. This study explores whether AI democratization is possible even in the field of ophthalmology that requires advanced skills and knowledge.

Development of a Care Robot Based on Needs Survey

Expectations for care robots are increasing owing to the aging of society with a declining birthrate and shortage of manpower in the care field. However, the use of care robots has not yet become widespread. In this study, we explained the artificial intelligence (AI) technology to care staff and conducted a questionnaire survey to understand their needs. Then, we began to develop a care robot that was required in the care field. In this paper, we report an overview and the current status of the study.

African migrant women in the aged care sector: Conceptualising experiences of racism, micro-aggressions and Otherness

Existing commentary rarely systematically acknowledges racism in the Australian aged care field. This article begins to address this gap through a detailed focus on the experiences of 30 African migrant women workers, one of the fastest growing groups employed in aged care across Australia. Drawing on data generated through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, we argue that racist micro-aggressions, specifically micro-insults and micro-assaults, were a commonplace experience for this group of workers. Micro-insults and micro-assaults were perpetrated interpersonally, and also drew upon and reinforced colonial discourses about backwardness, inferiority and Otherness. We conclude that for these carers, micro-aggressions have a two-fold effect: they express everyday racism in interaction, and they position African migrant carers as unwelcome and unable to care for and care about clients.

Developing Grit, Motivation, and Resilience: To Give Up on Giving In

Developing grit, motivation, and resilience within the pharmacy workforce has become a topic of increasing interest, heightened by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Even prior to the global pandemic, the health care field has been associated with a rapidly changing, challenging, and pressured work environment that can often lead to stress and burnout. Developing resilience in health care workers has been identified as a strategy to combat burnout by improving their ability to thrive in stressful situations, thus enhancing physical and mental well-being. In this commentary, we consider the use of a resilience framework that encompasses the overlapping attributes of emotional balance and physical and mental strength to develop resilience. The importance of finding purpose and meaning is also explored within the framework, as well as the association between grit, motivation, autonomy, mastery, and connection. Practical strategies and reflections are outlined to challenge, inspire, and motivate the development of grit and resilience, in order to combat the challenges faced by pharmacists in a constantly changing health care system.