International journal of environmental research and public health
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Corona Virus (COVID-19) "Infodemic" and Emerging Issues through a Data Lens: The Case of China.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a humanitarian emergency, which started in Wuhan in China in early December 2019, brought into the notice of the authorities in late December, early January 2020, and, after investigation, was declared as an emergency in the third week of January 2020. The WHO declared this as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 31th of January 2020, and finally a pandemic on 11th March 2020. As of March 24th, 2020, the virus has caused a casualty of over 16,600 people worldwide with more than 380,000 people confirmed as infected by it, of which more than 10,000 cases are serious. ⋯ Being inviable and non-measurable (unlike radioactive exposure), appropriate and timely information is very important to form the basic foundation of mitigation and curative measures. Infodemic, as it is termed by WHO, is a key word, where different stakeholder's participation, along with stricter regulation, is required to reduce the impact of fake news in this information age and social media. Although different countries will need different approaches, focusing on its humanitarian nature and addressing infodemic issues are the two critical factors for future global mitigation efforts.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Association of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) with Muscle Strength in Community-Dwelling Elderly with Knee Osteoarthritis.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between muscle strength and knee symptoms (pain, stiffness, and functional limitation) regardless of the presence of radiologic knee osteoarthritis (RKOA) in community-dwelling elderly. ⋯ Muscle strength as measured by grip strength and knee extension was statistically significantly correlated with the WOMAC scores in patients with knee symptoms regardless of whether radiologic signs of knee osteoarthritis were observed.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Demoralization and Its Relationship with Depression and Hopelessness in Suicidal Patients Attending an Emergency Department.
Emergency departments (EDs) play an increasingly crucial role in the management of patients with suicidal behavior (SB). Demoralization has been associated with SB in various populations and conditions, but little is known about the effect of this construct in SB patients who attend an ED. Therefore, a more inclusive SB assessment which considers the demoralization construct could be useful in clinical practice. ⋯ Formal support for the association of demoralization with SI was provided. Demoralization can improve SB assessment in EDs, particularly among patients whose suicide risk can be unnoticed. Furthermore, demoralization represents a clinically useful concept to increase comprehension of the suffering of the suicidal patient and a possible target for psychotherapeutic interventions.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Effect of Gig Workers' Psychological Contract Fulfillment on Their Task Performance in a Sharing Economy-A Perspective from the Mediation of Organizational Identification and the Moderation of Length of Service.
Workers' isolation may occur in gig employment in the sharing economy, which generates a weak perception of the organization and unpredictable work performance. Drawing on social exchange theory, this paper proposes a framework to explore the effect of psychological contract fulfillment on gig workers' task performance from the perspective of the mediation of organizational identification and the moderation of the length of service. A total of 223 samples were recruited from Didi (a ride-hailing company in China) drivers. ⋯ Transactional psychological contract fulfillment exhibits the same significant effect on gig workers' task performance in both groups. By contrast, relational psychological contract fulfillment has a stronger effect on long-serving Didi drivers than on those who joined the company within the year. These findings generate certain theoretical and practical implications for gig employment management in the sharing economy.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Adult Smokers' Awareness and Interest in Trying Heated Tobacco Products: Perspectives from Mexico, where HTPs and E-Cigarettes Are Banned.
We evaluated smokers' perceptions of heated tobacco products (HTPs) in Mexico, where industry publically lobbied to introduce HTPs into this country that banned both HTPs and e-cigarettes. ⋯ Interest in HTPs is high among smokers in Mexico, which already has a large black market for illegal e-cigarettes. HTPs use should be monitored in this context, especially given the public health impacts of HTPs are unclear.