Factors associated with Hospitalization among COVID-19 Home Quarantine Patients in Melaka Tengah District, Melaka, Malaysia

Background: COVID-19 is an emerging new disease, recognized in late 2019, has since caused public health pandemic worldwide. Since the establishment of the COVID-19 Assessment Centre (CAC), cases were staged in terms of the severity. The mild cases were allowed for home quarantine and the severe cases were hospitalized. This study will assist healthcare providers to identify the high-risk patients and anticipate proactively, reducing morbidity and mortality. The study aimed to determine the incidence rate of hospitalization among home quarantined patients and its associated factors. Methods: A case-control study design was conducted from 16th August until 30th September 2021 involving newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients under the CAC Melaka Tengah monitoring. A case was defined as home quarantined patient whom later required hospitalization, while a control was defined as home quarantined patient throughout the period. Analysis using Chi-square and Multiple Logistic Regression were done to determine the significant associated factors. Results: There were 13,748 COVID-19 patients; with 8,237 were home quarantined and 82 required hospitalization later (1.0%). A total of 164 patients were included (82 cases and 82 controls). Among the hospitalized, 30.5% were aged 60 and above, 39.0% with comorbidity, 70.7% were symptomatic, and 40.2% were fully vaccinated. From the analysis, the only significant factor associated with hospitalization was age > 60 years old (p<0.05). Conclusion: There were home quarantined patients that required hospitalization later, especially the elderly patients. Thus, the CAC team should give priority for hospital admission to these cases instead of home quarantine order.

Pengembangan Talenta Nasional bidang Riset dan Inovasi melalui Perencanaan Pelatihan TIK berbasis Gender untuk ASN dan Masyarakat

Di Indonesia, pengarusutamaan gender dalam pembangunan nasional telah diatur dalam Instruksi Presiden No. 9 Tahun 2000. Melalui instruksi tersebut, setiap lembaga pemerintah dan pemerintah daerah dapat mengintegrasikan program pemberdayaan perempuan ke berbagai sektor pembangunan sesuai dengan kewenangan dan fungsinya masing-masing. Persoalannya adalah implementasi atas instruksi presiden belum sepenuhnya berjalan dengan baik. Kajian mengenai “Pengembangan Talenta Nasional bidang Riset dan Inovasi TIK: Perencanaan dan Penganggaran berbasis Gender untuk ASN dan Masyarakat” adalah salah satu upaya dalam merespon peraturan tersebut. Untuk mendapatkan peta strategi dan prioritas keputusan tentang Pengembangan Talenta Nasional bidang Riset dan Inovasi TIK ini menggunakan metode Meta-SWOT. Variable input terdiri dari sumber daya dan kompetisi/tantangan, yang dianalisis menggunakan analisis internal berdasarkan rarely, imitability, dan organization V(RIO). Adapun analisis eksternal didasarkan pada aspek Politik, Ekonomi, Sosio-Kultur, Teknologi, Ekologi, dan Legal/Hukum (PESTEL). Hasil analisis internal dan eksternal selanjutnya digunakan untuk melakukan evaluasi strategi. Pada Variable output, terdiri dari Peta kompetitif, peta strategi, dan prioritas strategi. Hasil penentuan strategi pengembangan Talenta Nasional bidang Riset dan Inovasi TIK ini meliputi dua program yakni (1) Assessment Centre Program (ACP); (2) Woman in Technology Development Program (WiTDev) yang dikaji dari tiga aspek, yakni aktivitas, produktivitas, dan sustainability. Kesimpulan kajian ini adalah bahwa sektor pendidikan bagi perempuan sangat penting dalam mendorong terjadinya transformasi digital nasional berbasis gender. Pendidikan talenta digital perempuan adalah salah satu kunci pembangunan ekonomi digital berbasis gender. Strategi pembangunan sumber daya talenta bagi perempuan harus tetap dikoordinasikan dengan bidang prioritas dan tujuan pembangunan nasional yang ditetapkan oleh negara, agar ketika terjadi perubahan arah kebijakan, pembangunan sumber daya talenta bagi perempuan dapat segera menyesuaikan.

Who are people charged with rape in Croatian: The forensic psychiatric evaluation of people charged with rape

Introduction: Sexual violence is a substantial public health problem that is associated with a major impact on victims, and in Croatia, more than half of reported cases of sexual violence involve rape. To help understand their general profiles and consider any implications arising, the aim of this research was to describe the forensic psychiatric characteristics of people charged with rape. Methods: All evaluations of people charged with rape and sent for evaluation at the largest assessment centre in Croatia during the period 2010–2018 were analysed ( n = 56). Results: Alleged offences most often took place in a perpetrator or victim's home (71%), while the next most frequent location was the street (15%). Over 80% of alleged victims were known to the accused. Alcohol use and abuse were present in 73% of the accused, and 29% were drinking at the time of the alleged offence. Alcohol-related disorders were presented in 38% of the accused, while 38% had a personal history of drug use, and antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders were present in 48% and 29%, respectively. Psychotic disorders were rare (1.8%). Most of the accused were found to be criminally responsible; however, forensic psychiatric assessment procedures were inadequate when considering psychosexual assessments. Conclusions: Interventions based around public health and education should be considered in this field, and forensic psychiatric assessments should be prioritized for improvement.

Predicting SARS-CoV-2 infections for children and youth with single symptom screening

Symptom-based SARS-CoV-2 screening and testing decisions in children have important implications on daycare and school exclusion policies. Single symptoms account for a substantial volume of testing and disruption to in-person learning and childcare, yet their predictive value is unclear, given the clinical overlap with other circulating respiratory viruses and non-infectious etiologies. We aimed to determine the relative frequency and predictive value of single symptoms for paediatric SARS-CoV-2 infections from an Ottawa COVID-19 assessment centre from October 2020 through April 2021.Overall, 46.3% (n=10,688) of pediatric encounters were for single symptoms, and 2.7% of these tested positive. The most common presenting single symptoms were rhinorrhea (31.8%), cough (17.4%) and fever (14.0%). Among children with high-risk exposures children in each age group, the following single symptoms had a higher proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 cases compared to no symptoms; fever and fatigue (0-4 years); fever, cough, headache, and rhinorrhea (5-12 years); fever, loss of taste or smell, headache, rhinorrhea, sore throat, and cough (13-17 years). There was no evidence that the single symptom of either rhinorrhea or cough predicted SARS-CoV-2 infections among 0-4 year olds, despite accounting for a large volume (61.1%) of single symptom presentations in the absence of high-risk exposures.Symptom-based screening needs to be responsive to changes in evidence and local factors, including the expected resurgence of other respiratory viruses following relaxation of social distancing/masking, to reduce infection-related risks in schools and daycare settings.

Ontario COVID-19 assessment centre practices in patient counselling, education, and follow-up care: A provincial survey

BACKGROUND: In March 2020, COVID-19 assessment centres were launched across the province of Ontario to facilitate COVID-19 testing outside of emergency departments. We aimed to study the degree to which assessment centres provide education and follow-up care for patients with suspected COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted an online survey of Ontario COVID-19 assessment centre directors between September 15 and October 15, 2020. The primary outcomes studied were the types of educational modalities employed and information conveyed, methods and frequency of test result communication, and any follow-up care that was offered. Survey respondents were also asked to provide descriptions of barriers to patient education and test communication. RESULTS: A total of 56 directors (representing 73 assessment centres) completed the survey. The most frequent educational modalities employed were educational handouts (92%), direct in-person counselling (89%), and referral to website (72%). Seventy-one percent of respondents indicated patients with positive test results would be notified, and 61% of respondents indicated that follow-up care would be offered. The most frequently reported barriers to patient education were insufficient time and high volume of tests, while the most frequently reported barriers to communication of test results were difficulty accessing online health portals and high volume of tests. CONCLUSION: The ability of many assessment centres to provide patient education is limited by both individual patient and system-level factors. Assessment centres may benefit from standardization of educational materials, improved accessibility to test results for patients in marginalized groups, and virtual pathways to facilitate additional counselling and care for individuals who test positive.

Exploring spelling ability in school-aged children with literacy learning difficulties using data collected in a clinical setting

Spelling analyses can be used to investigate sources of linguistic knowledge underlying children’s literacy development and may be useful in predicting later achievement. This study explored the utility of six analysis metrics in predicting the spelling achievement of school-aged children with literacy learning difficulties via post-hoc analyses of data collected in a clinic. Participants were 48 children aged 7 to 12 years. Spelling accuracy was assessed using the Dalwood Spelling Test (Dalwood Assessment Centre, 2008) at baseline and 37–70 weeks later. Spelling attempts at baseline were analysed using metrics designed to quantify evidence of phonological, orthographic, and/or morphological awareness. Scores from each metric were associated with baseline and later conventional spelling accuracy. A metric which credits evidence of phonological, orthographic and morphological awareness shared a significantly stronger association with baseline conventional spelling accuracy as compared to the remaining metrics. There were no significant differences in the strength of associations among the baseline metrics and later spelling achievement. Supplementary analyses focused exclusively on children’s spelling errors returned a similar pattern of results with a few notable exceptions. The utility of spelling analyses is discussed.

Challenges in Assessment Centres: Lessons from Experience

The success of the assessment centre (AC) approach has been widely acknowledged and its widespread practice testifies to this. In India, its adoption as a tool for HRD is increasing slowly and steadily. Its proven success is due to its strong criterion and content-related validity. However, certain challenges during design and development of AC can undermine its very strengths. Using an interpretative, qualitative approach, this article builds on the first-hand experiences of the authors as well as 26 other Indian assessors in conducting ACs to highlight the issues faced at 3 different levels of the AC methodology—design, implementation, and inferential. It also highlights the interconnectedness between these issues at various levels and suggests interventions to minimize assessment errors. The article adds on to the AC literature by detailing the challenges faced in ACs in a developing country, which had rarely been done before. This study holds significant relevance for assessors, consulting agencies providing assessment services, and even to client organizations envisaging AC for their employees.