Diagnosis concealment is associated with psychosocial outcomes in persons with multiple sclerosis

Persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) frequently conceal their diagnosis, fearing professional and personal repercussions of disclosing. Associations of concealment behavior and expected consequences of disclosure with psychosocial outcomes were examined in 90 pwMS who completed validated self-report measures of diagnosis concealment, loneliness, social support, and self-efficacy. More frequent concealment was related to worse loneliness ( rp = 0.213, p = 0.045) and lower social support ( rp = −0.211, p = 0.047), controlling for depression. Higher anticipated negative consequences of disclosure were associated with worse loneliness ( rp = 0.263, p = 0.013), lower social support ( rp = −0.338, p < 0.001), and lower self-efficacy ( rp = −0.350, p < 0.001). Findings hold implications for the development of psychological support strategies addressing concealment/disclosure issues and their psychosocial consequences.

The use of emoji to establish student wellbeing: does the image reflect the reality?

Introduction: The impact of COVID-19 social restrictions on mental wellbeing of health professional students during placement is largely unknown. Conventional survey methods do not capture emotional fluctuations. Increasing use of smartphones suggests short message service (SMS) functionality could provide easy, rapid data. This project tested the feasibility and validity of gathering data on Therapeutic Radiography student mental wellbeing during clinical placement via emoji and SMS. Methods: Participants provided anonymous daily emoji responses via WhatsApp to a dedicated mobile phone. Additional weekly prompts sought textual responses indicating factors impacting on wellbeing. A short anonymous online survey validated responses and provided feedback on the method. Results: Participants (n = 15) provided 254 daily responses using 108 different emoji; these triangulated with weekly textual responses. Feedback concerning the method was positive. ‘Happy’ emoji were used most frequently; social interaction and fatigue were important wellbeing factors. Anonymity and opportunity to feedback via SMS were received positively; ease and rapidity of response engendered engagement throughout the 3-week study. Conclusions: The use of emoji for rapid assessment of cohort mental wellbeing is valid and potentially useful alongside more formal evaluation and support strategies. Capturing simple wellbeing responses from a cohort may facilitate the organisation of timely support interventions.

Online student support: a framework for embedding support interventions into the online learning cycle

Support is one of the crucial elements of online students’ success. Although many support strategies have been documented in the past, less is known at what stages of the learning cycle suggested interventions can be embedded into the online learning curriculum. This paper offers a systematic review of the 28 empirical studies on effective support strategies and interventions that are indexed by the SCOPUS database between 2010 and 2020. Following an Inclusive Student Services Process Model framework, identified strategies are allocated across different phases of student learning to indicate where and when they can be delivered to online students. The analysis suggests that the effectiveness of the support provision depends on the time when support is offered. Furthermore, it was found that two areas support delivery, namely support at transitions and measurement of support interventions, remain under-researched. Finally, the analysis showed two emerging trends in online students support: an increasing role of technology and social network sites to design support interventions and a shift to a more personalised yet holistic approach to student support.

Experiences, Perceptions, and Expectations of the Business Community in Mexico Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis

The objective of this chapter is to provide a contextualized perspective about the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis for companies with economic activity and fixed installations in Mexico, mainly during the second to third phases of the contingency. For this purpose, data from the INEGI ECOVID-IE 2020 survey is analyzed, which used a sampling frame of 1,873,564 Mexican companies compared by size. Relevant information is provided about the reality of the Mexican business community to report the main sanitary measures implemented, the operational actions used, the sources and types of support received, the best support policies identified, and the income expectations for the following months. Faced with a negative scenario, targeted support strategies from governmental, chambers, and business organizations must be aligned to regain the confidence of the business community to support their continuity.

Korean Clinical Nurses’ Emotional Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the emotions experienced by Korean clinical nurses during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to understand their essential meaning in depth.Methods: A qualitative study was performed using individual in-depth interviews and data were collected from 12 nurses in clinical practice from June 2020 to December 2020. Data were analyzed using the Colaizzi’s phenomenological method.Results: The following three categories were derived: ‘shock of the unprecedented new infectious disease’, ‘hardships caused by the never-ending struggle’, and ‘hope in the midst of hardship’.Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it was confirmed that there is a need to prepare an appropriate compensation system and emotional support strategies for nurses in the traumatic event of a pandemic. In addition, it is necessary to develop a recovery from trauma and emotional management program to reduce the negative emotional experiences and strengthen the positive emotional experiences.

ASSESSING THE SELF-PERCEIVED USE OF READING STRATEGIES IN ESL READING COMPREHENSION: A NEEDS ANALYSIS

Despite great appreciation on the important roles played by metacognitive reading strategies in the attainment of comprehension, heightened prevalence of reading difficulties is depicted among Malaysian learners. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the current status of self-perceived use of metacognitive reading strategies among the ESL learners in six secondary schools in one of the districts in Sabah. Utilizing an adapted version of Revised Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI-R), data was obtained from 274 ESL learners in the same district. Descriptive analysis was used to determine the mean scores of three sub reading strategies, namely global reading strategies, problem-solving strategies and support strategies. The findings revealed that despite being aware of the use of metacognitive reading strategies, little emphasis was given on optimizing the use of global reading and support strategies, resulting in only medium usage of these two strategies. Therefore, it may be concluded that the findings implied the need to develop a reading comprehension module that incorporates the use of metacognitive reading strategies within reading comprehension instruction to facilitate Malaysian ESL learners to improve their reading comprehension.

The Effect of Insight Questions Inventory and Visual Support Strategies on Carer-Reported Quality of Life for Children With Cerebral Palsy and Perceptual Visual Dysfunction in Nigeria: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Structured clinical history question inventories have previously been used to try and elicit symptoms of perceptual visual dysfunction (PVD) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) in different settings. Earlier studies have suggested that PVD may affect quality of life and specific habilitational strategies, linked to inventory responses, may improve quality of life. Through an RCT, based on a community based sample of children with CP in Cross River State, Nigeria, we aimed to determine if a structured history inventory such as the Insight question inventory (IQI) and associated tailored visual support strategies (IQI VSS) for the management of those children who have PVD, can improve quality of life and is superior to standard therapy. Children with CP were recruited by the key informant method and confirmed by clinical examination. The parent reported IQI was used to identify children with PVD. Primary outcome measures were both Pediatric Quality of Life 4.0 Generic (PedsQL 4.0 Generic) and Pediatric Quality of Life 3.0 Cerebral Palsy (PedsQL 3.0 CP) scale scores. Children were enrolled with a parallel arm allocation to either IQI and IQI VSS or to standard therapy for CP. Children were followed up for 6 weeks with weekly phone call session and the questionnaires repeated at the end of the 6 weeks’ period. Results show that the children in the treatment group (n = 191) showed no significantly different change between baseline and follow up in quality of life (PedsQL 4.0 Generic p = 0.943: and PedsQL-CP 3.0 p = 0.287), compared to the control group. There was suggestion of a better improvement (p = 0.035) in the PedsQL 3.0 CP subscale of speech and communication for the intervention group. The use of IQI VSS for the treatment of PVD in children with CP in this population does not show any superiority over current standard CP management in terms of overall quality of life. However, there was some evidence of improvement in quality of life in the area of speech and communication. Further research and refinement of these management method is required.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier [PACTR20161200188] 6396.