Articles: pandemics.
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2020
Health Anxiety and Mental Health Outcome During COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy: The Mediating and Moderating Roles of Psychological Flexibility.
The COVID-19 emergency has severely affected the Italian population. During a pandemic, those with high health anxiety are at risk of adverse mental health outcomes, including peritraumatic distress and mood disturbance. No prior research has explored the role of psychological flexibility in protecting people at high risk of poorer mental health impacts due to health anxiety during a pandemic. ⋯ Consistent with the ACT conceptualization of psychological flexibility, findings suggest embracing (rather than avoiding) inner discomfort and observing associated unhelpful thoughts, while also engaging in values-based action, increases resilience during adversity. Evidenced-based large-scale online public health interventions that target psychological flexibility in those experiencing health anxiety in the context of a pandemic are urgently needed. Many empirically-based ACT interventions are suited for this purpose.
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Wellcome open research · Jan 2020
COVID-19 and Guillain-Barre Syndrome: a systematic review of case reports.
Background: Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a neurological autoimmune disease that can lead to respiratory failure and death. Whether COVID-19 patients are at high risk of GBS is unknown. Through a systematic review of case reports, we aimed to summarize the main features of patients with GBS and COVID-19. ⋯ Although limited, preliminary evidence appears to suggest that GBS occurs after COVID-19 onset. Practitioners and investigators should have GBS in mind as they look after COVID-19 patients and conduct research on novel aspects of COVID-19. Comparison with GBS patients in the context of another viral outbreak (Zika), revealed similarities and differences that deserves further scrutiny and epidemiological studies.
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2020
A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2.
Vaccination hesitancy-the reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated-is a leading global health threat (World Health Organization, 2019). It is imperative to identify the prevalence of vaccination hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 in order to understand the scope of the problem and to identify its motivational roots in order to proactively prepare to address the problem when a vaccine eventually becomes available. ⋯ Vaccination hesitancy is a major looming problem for COVID-19. To improve vaccine uptake, it is imperative that the vaccine is demonstrated to the public to be rigorously tested and not perceived as rushed or premature in its dissemination.
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The Novel-coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-2019) outbreak was declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020. To reduce the spread of the virus, Americans were asked to physically distance and to increase disinfecting behaviors such as hand washing. Previous research indicates that one's mindset about health, or the degree to which they view health as fixed or modifiable, influences health behaviors. ⋯ In AI adults, health mindset predicted frequency of physical distancing behaviors and disinfecting behaviors, with individuals who viewed health as less fixed engaging in more physical distancing and disinfecting behaviors, while individuals who viewed health as more fixed reported less physical distancing and less disinfecting behaviors. In AIs, growth health mindsets predicted physical distancing and disinfecting behaviors, both of which are important in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Interventions which are designed to promote growth mindsets of health may promote health-protective behaviors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) · Jan 2020
COVID-19 and health literacy: the yell of a silent epidemic amidst the pandemic.
The emergence of a new form of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) exposed weaknesses of health services in several countries, with overcrowding of hospitals, and lack of supplies and professionals in combating the disease, which sometimes contributed to the installation of social, political, and economic chaos. The critical situation experienced made the subject widely publicized so that the current pandemic also deals with an information epidemic. ⋯ The exponential increase in the number of confirmed cases shows the world population's inadequacy and difficulty in understanding basic prevention guidelines. The COVID-19 pandemic warns of gaps in the health literacy levels of the world population and exposes the need for a comprehensive mapping to identify the overall health literacy status in more countries.