Brain, behavior, & immunity - health
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Brain Behav Immun Health · Aug 2021
ReviewCOVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in Hispanics and African-Americans: A review and recommendations for practice.
COVID-19 vaccines were approved for use in the general American public by late 2020 and early 2021. Media reports started highlighting COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in racial and ethnic minorities. However, little is known about the extent of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in racial and ethnic minorities and whether there are unique sociodemographic and cognitive correlates associated with vaccine hesitancy. ⋯ In contrast, the overall pooled prevalence rate of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy for African-Americans was 41.6% (95%Ci = 34.4-48.9) and for Hispanics, it was 30.2% (95%Ci = 23.2-37.7). The major predictors of vaccine hesitancy in African-Americans and Hispanics were: sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, income, education, and household size); medical mistrust and history of racial discrimination; exposure to myths and misinformation, perceived risk of getting infected with COVID-19; beliefs about vaccines and past vaccine compliance, and concerns about the safety, efficacy, and side effects from the COVID-19 vaccines. Given the high COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy rates in racial/ethnic minorities and the unique factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in African-Americans and Hispanics, several clinic-based and community-oriented practice recommendations have been included in this article.
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Brain Behav Immun Health · Mar 2021
Vaccines are not yet a silver bullet: The imperative of continued communication about the importance of COVID-19 safety measures.
COVID-19 vaccines are by no means a silver bullet. With more COVID-19 vaccines expecting approval in the coming months, it is necessary to note that vaccine availability does not equate to vaccine accessibility, nor vaccine efficacy. ⋯ These insights combined, in turn, emphasize the fact that even though COVID-19 vaccines are becoming more available, safety measures (e.g., face masks, personal hygiene, and social distancing) are still of pivotal importance in protecting personal and public health against COVID-19. Furthermore, this paper argues for the continued imperative for health experts and government officials to communicate and emphasize the importance of COVID-19 safety measures with the public, to make sure people are protected against COVID-19 till the pandemic ceases to pose a threat to personal or public health.
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Brain Behav Immun Health · Oct 2020
ReviewThe psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review.
As the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline health care workers (HCWs) are among the most vulnerable groups at risk of mental health problems. The many risks to the wellbeing of HCWs are not well understood. Of the literature, there is a paucity of information around how to best prevent psychological distress, and what steps are needed to mitigate harm to HCWs' wellbeing. ⋯ This review can inform current and future research priorities in the maintenance of wellbeing amongst frontline HCWs. Change needs to start at the level of policy-makers to offer an enhanced variety of supports to HCWs who play a critical role during largescale disease outbreaks. Psychological implications are largely negative and require greater attention to be mitigated, potentially through the involvement of psychologists, raised awareness and better education. The current knowledge of therapeutic interventions suggests they could be beneficial but more long-term follow-up is needed.
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Brain Behav Immun Health · Aug 2020
Persistent pain induces mood problems and memory loss by the involvement of cytokines, growth factors, and supraspinal glial cells.
Lesions of peripheral nerves lead to pain, hyperalgesia, and psychological comorbidities. However, the relationship between mood disorders and neuropathic pain is unclear, as well as the underlying mechanisms related to these disorders. Therefore, we investigated if nerve injury induces depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment and if there were changes in cytokines, growth factors, and glial cell activation in cortical sites involved in processing pain and mood in animals with nerve injury. ⋯ There were increases in proinflammatory cytokines as well as Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in the injured nerve. In the spinal cord, there were increases in both pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines, as well as of BDNF and Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). Further, in our data was a decrease in the density of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampus and increased microglial density in the prefrontal cortex, areas associated with neuropathic pain conditions.
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Brain Behav Immun Health · Apr 2020
Knowledge and attitudes of medical staff in Chinese psychiatric hospitals regarding COVID-19.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus COVID-19 a pandemic. There are patients in psychiatric hospitals in China who have been infected with COVID-19, however, the knowledge and attitudes of psychiatric hospital staff towards infectious diseases and their willingness to work during the COVID-19 outbreak has not yet been investigated. This study was performed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of medical staff in two Chinese mental health centers during the COVID-19 outbreak. ⋯ Furthermore, about 77.17% of participants expressed a willingness to care for psychiatric patients suffering from COVID-19 virus infection. Independent predictors of willingness to care for patients included advanced training and experience of caring for patients with COVID-19. In conclusion, this study suggests that increased attention should be paid to the knowledge and attitudes of medical staff at psychiatric hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak.