Satisfaction and Experience of Palliative Patients with 24/7 Hotline Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a number of shifts on healthcare. Conventional face-to-face visits were shifted during lockdown to virtual ones. Palliative care (PC) virtual visits have had high satisfaction rates, especially with patients in remote areas. Due to a number of factors, further studies are needed to develop tools that can be helpful and cost effective in improving patient’s quality of life. Objective: Our aim is to learn the main reasons palliative patients in Saudi Arabia sought help via calling the free 24/7 hotline and to discuss the hotline’s satisfaction and effectiveness in solving the palliative patient’s concerns during COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional sample analysis was obtained from 214 patients from different regions in Saudi Arabia. A total number of 843 calls were made to the 24/7 PC hotlines from the period of 17 April 2020 to 28 February 2021, shortly after COVID-19 pandemic began. The purpose of the call, the caller's relationship to the patient, the status of the complaint, and the satisfaction rate were collected at the end of the call through a voluntary phone survey. Results: The primary reasons that palliative patients called the hotline were: 30% for medication refills, (n=247), 24.7% for medical complaints, (n=205), 15.8% were for booking a new appointment (n=131). Patients themselves accounted for 27.8% of the callers and patient’s sons/daughters accounted for 51.3%. 85% of patients said that their issue had been resolved by the end of the call and 89% of our sample were happy with the service provided through the hotline. Conclusion: The 24/7 hotline service for PC patients in Saudi Arabia was successful in its application and resulted in a high level of satisfaction among a wide sample of participants. The main reasons palliative patients reached out were to request medication refills, seek assistance with a medical complaint, and to book a new appointment. Our hotline service effectively solved 85% of patients' issues.

How Do Virtual Visits Compare? Parent Satisfaction With Pediatric Diabetes Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries relaxed restrictions on telemedicine, allowing for a robust transition to virtual visits for routine care. In response, centers rapidly instituted and scaled telemedicine for pediatric diabetes care. Despite numerous center reports on their experience, little is known about parent perspectives on the widespread increase of telemedicine for pediatric diabetes appointments.ObjectiveTo assess parent satisfaction with virtual care for pediatric diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe conducted an online, cross-sectional survey of parents of youth with diabetes who receive care at a large, academic diabetes center regarding their perspectives on newly introduced virtual appointments. Parents were surveyed at two time points during the pandemic using a validated scale which was adapted for diabetes. We explored demographic and clinical factors which may influence parental satisfaction.ResultsOverall, parents expressed high levels of satisfaction (>90%) with functional aspects of the visit, though only approximately half (56%) felt the visit was as good as an in-person encounter. Nearly three-quarters (74%) would consider using telemedicine again in the future. Prior use of telemedicine significantly influenced parent satisfaction, suggesting that parent preferences may play a role in continued use of telemedicine in the future. There was no difference in responses across the two timepoints, suggesting high satisfaction early in the pandemic which persisted.ConclusionsIf permissive policies for telemedicine continue, diabetes centers could adopt hybrid in-person and virtual care models, while considering various stakeholder perspectives (providers and patients) and equity in access to virtual care.

Salar Jung Museum Library in the Heritage City of Hyderabad

This is an analytical review of engagement and outreach of Salar Jung Museum Library's collection (MSS, printed, and digital). The chapter aims to visualize the benefits of being located in a heritage city, viz., Hyderabad, in India. The method adopted is first to trace impressions of researchers and scholars and second to gather data of its presence in libraries across the world. Tracing such variety and distinctness will open doors for further exploring the impact factors. The original collector, viz., Salar Jung, had open doors for diversity and open mind to welcome all cultural depictions of the world. Its diversity is evident in artifacts and resources that represent samples from East and West. So also is its inclusiveness – the entire collection is without bias of gender, race, or religion. The data analysis shows the engagement in heritage building is reciprocal. A study in the post-COVID era with a larger variety of data (viz., survey, virtual visits, digital impression) will reveal the full picture of reciprocity and will also highlight the actual needs and demands.

Cultural Tourism

This chapter aims to know the experience of the public in the use of virtual visits to museums. For that, the authors developed a survey and gave it, through social media, between December 22, 2020 and January 5, 2021. Ninety-one valid responses were obtained. The results indicate that although most respondents say that they are aware of the possibility of carrying out virtual visits to museums, very few carry out this type of visit. One of the advantages most mentioned by respondents was the fact that it is not necessary to leave the house for the visit.

Comparativa de características de software para la creación de recorridos virtuales 360 en Web

The use of 360 virtual tours has become a technology that allows viewing from different angles, places, or spaces that, due to various circumstances, it is not possible to visit physically. Due to different restrictions existing today; of a physical, economic or health type, virtual visits to museums, archaeological sites, parks, and facilities of various kinds have become an alternative to disseminate, promote, or bring users closer to places, that through 360 panoramic images, make them feel immersed in them. Currently, creating a 360 virtual tour is available to more people, as the software and hardware tools used are increasingly accessible. However, deciding on the most appropriate software platform to publish virtual tours on the web can be a trial-and-error process, delaying obtaining these virtual products.

Pediatric neurology and telehealth before and during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Telehealth has been known in medicine for over 70 years. Until the year 2020 it has been utilized in a limited setting to provide long-distance care for individuals residing in areas lacking health facilities. SARS-CoV-2 pandemic shifted the priorities of healthcare system towards COVID-19 infections, which resulted in the transition of non-emergency consultations to telemedicine in many countries. Since pediatric neurology requires frequent follow-up and multidisciplinary care, the purpose of our work is to determine the spectrum of use of telehealth in pediatric neurology before and during the pandemic. Secondly, we would like to discuss the differences of focus in tele-neurology for children patients between the pre-pandemic and during pandemic timeframes.Within 171 articles of PubMED database, 36 substantial articles on the introduction of telehealth to pediatric neurology were included in the review. 30.5% of the articles have included the implementation of telemedicine before the pandemic, 69.5% of the articles discussed improvements made after the pandemic started. The spectrum of disorders and interventions considered for telehealth included epilepsy, cerebral palsy, rare diseases, teleneuropsychology and teleneurorehabilitation. Among major differences between pre-pandemic and pandemic research, increase in international cooperation and discussion of not only medical, but also scientific and academic impact of the pandemic could be noted.Telehealth offers sustainable alternatives to many interventions which cannot be performed in-person during public health emergency such as SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Despite high satisfaction of caregivers and healthcare professionals from the virtual visits, solutions are still far from perfection and need improvements to provide more support for the patients with various disorders, cover the concerns of privacy and confidentiality, as well as support patients from low-income and lack of electronic techology backgrounds.

Technology Use Among Older Adults to Manage their Health During a Global Pandemic

Risk of severe COVID-19 illness increases with age, and older adults are more likely to be hospitalized and die from COVID-19 and related complications as compared to their younger counterparts. This reality, combined with pandemic-related lockdown and social distancing policies, has increased in-home isolation for older adults. This includes cancelling in-person healthcare appointments and conducting many appointments via tele-health. As older adults have had to quickly pivot to learning new technologies, little is known about their experiences with navigating virtual healthcare during the pandemic. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to address that gap. One-on-one interviews (N=29) were conducted with older adults (Mean age=71.5; 86% female) via phone/Zoom. Participants were asked about their healthcare experiences during the pandemic and the role technology played. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed using Nvivo12 software. Findings demonstrate that participants used technology to schedule medical appointments, engage in virtual visits with their providers, set reminders to take medications, and undertake their daily exercise routine. Post-lockdown, some participants preferred in-person visits due to the nature of their diagnosis, personal preference, or unfamiliarity with the needed technology. Older adults encountered challenges including cancelled appointments, miscommunication with providers, and lack of skill to use technologies. Cancellation of appointments and postponement of treatments affected the health of some of the participants. Implications of this research can inform tele-health approaches with older patients, as well as provider communication and coordination of care. Leveraging technology for preventative health approaches can also assist older adults in ongoing health maintenance and promote well-being.

A Virtual Companionship Intervention Reduces Loneliness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Loneliness and social isolation are established risk factors for many clinical conditions yet few scalable interventions exist. Papa Inc. is a national service that pairs older adults with “Papa Pals” (empathetic, laypeople) who provide companionship and assistance with everyday tasks. Participants have free access if their Medicare Advantage plan offers it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Papa provided virtual companionship visits via telephone or video. This study evaluated the impact of virtual companionship visits on loneliness status (UCLA 3-item Loneliness Scale) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample (N=894) included adults ages 65+ who identified as lonely at baseline and who completed at least one virtual visit between March 18, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Virtual visits were classified into four categories based on participants’ total number of visit minutes: Low (124 ave min), Medium Low (ML) (305 ave min), Medium High (MH) (567 ave min), and High (1360 ave min). Lonely and severely lonely participants engaged a mean of 573 and 673 minutes in the program, respectively. Improvement in loneliness status was associated with greater use of minutes for the ML and MH participants compared to Low participants (ML OR: 1.46 95CI: 1.00 - 2.11, MH OR 1.65 95CI: 1.13 - 2.40). These findings indicate that a virtual companionship intervention can be an impactful and scalable tool for older adults who want to age at home and have limited social support, especially during the uncertain COVID landscape. Further research is warranted to understand persistent loneliness.