In this essay, we argue that by taking a systems lens, sustainability researchers can better understand the implications of COVID‐19 on business and society and prevent future pandemics. A systems ...lens asks management researchers to move from a firm‐level perspective to one that also considers the broader socioecological context. We argue that for business to prevent future pandemics and assure future prosperity, business must recognize the limits to growth, alternative temporalities that do not pit the short against the long term, the nestedness of local phenomena in global systems, and leverage points that can reduce entrenched systems of social inequalities.
Face masks are an avenue to curb the spread of coronavirus, but few people in Western societies wear face masks. Social scientists have rarely studied face mask wearing, leaving little guidance for ...methods to encourage these behaviours. In the current article, we provide an approach to address this issue by developing the 32‐item and 8‐dimension Face Mask Perceptions Scale (FMPS). We begin by developing an over‐representative item list in a qualitative study, wherein participants’ responses are used to develop items to ensure content relevance. This item list is then reduced via exploratory factor analysis in a second study, and the eight dimensions of the scale are supported. We also support the validity of the FMPS, as the scale significantly relates to both face mask wearing and health perceptions. We lastly confirm the factor structure of the FMPS in a third study via confirmatory factor analysis. From these efforts, we identify an avenue that social scientists can aid in preventing coronavirus and illness more broadly – by studying face mask perceptions and behaviours.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is an ongoing pandemic, which affected around 45 million confirmed cases of COVID‐19, including more than 6 million deaths. However, on November 24, 2021, the ...World Health Organization announced a new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variant designated as the B.1.1.529, a variant of concern (VOC), and the variant has been named as “Omicron.” Available preliminary evidence suggests that, as compared with previous VOCs, it has an increased risk of infectivity. Studies have shown that protection from various vaccines effectiveness against hospitalization and death from severe COVID‐19 disease is decreasing slowly after a two‐dose schedule of COVID‐19 vaccines. In response to experiencing a new COVID‐19 variant and ongoing resurgence of cases, the importance of COVID‐19 vaccine booster dose and durability of the effect of the third dose of vaccine against COVID‐19 Omicron variant is controversial yet. To address this, we conducted a systematic literature survey on effectiveness of the third or booster dose of COVID‐19 vaccine against the Omicron variant. We have performed a systematic search in PubMed (Medline), Google Scholar, and MedRXiv database, from inception to January 2022 using the MeSH terms and keywords “Corona Virus Disease‐2019 OR COVID‐19 AND Omicron AND COVID‐19 Booster Vaccine.” We have identified a total of 27 published studies. We have reviewed all the eligible available studies on the effectiveness of the COVID‐19 vaccine booster shots against the Omicron variant. This review may be helpful in accelerating the COVID‐19 booster dose vaccination.
COVID‐19 and Older Adults: What We Know Shahid, Zainab; Kalayanamitra, Ricci; McClafferty, Brendan ...
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS),
20/May , Letnik:
68, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), a novel virus that causes COVID‐19 infection, has recently emerged and caused a deadly pandemic. Studies have shown that this virus ...causes worse outcomes and a higher mortality rate in older adults and those with comorbidities such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). A significant percentage of older American adults have these diseases, putting them at a higher risk of infection. Additionally, many adults with hypertension, diabetes, and CKD are placed on angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers. Studies have shown that these medications upregulate the ACE‐2 receptor, the very receptor that the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus uses to enter host cells. Although it has been hypothesized that this may cause a further increased risk of infection, more studies on the role of these medications in COVID‐19 infections are necessary. In this review, we discuss the transmission, symptomatology, and mortality of COVID‐19 as they relate to older adults, and possible treatments that are currently under investigation. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:926–929, 2020
There is an established literature on the symptoms and complications of COVID‐19 but the after‐effects of COVID‐19 are not well understood with few studies reporting persistent symptoms and quality ...of life. We aim to evaluate the pooled prevalence of poor quality of life in post‐acute COVID‐19 syndrome (PCS) and conducted meta‐regression to evaluate the effects of persistent symptoms and intensive care unit (ICU) admission on the poor quality of life. We extracted data from observational studies describing persistent symptoms and quality of life in post‐COVID‐19 patients from March 10, 2020, to March 10, 2021, following PRISMA guidelines with a consensus of two independent reviewers. We calculated the pooled prevalence with 95% confidence interval (CI) and created forest plots using random‐effects models. A total of 12 studies with 4828 PCS patients were included. We found that amongst PCS patients, the pooled prevalence of poor quality of life (EQ‐VAS) was (59%; 95% CI: 42%–75%). Based on individual factors in the EQ‐5D‐5L questionnaire, the prevalence of mobility was (36, 10–67), personal care (8, 1–21), usual quality (28, 2–65), pain/discomfort (42, 28–55), and anxiety/depression (38, 19–58). The prevalence of persistent symptoms was fatigue (64, 54–73), dyspnea (39.5, 20–60), anosmia (20, 15–24), arthralgia (24.3, 14–36), headache (21, 3–47), sleep disturbances (47, 7–89), and mental health (14.5, 4–29). Meta‐regression analysis showed the poor quality of life was significantly higher among post‐COVID‐19 patients with ICU admission (p = 0.004) and fatigue (p = 0.0015). Our study concludes that PCS is associated with poor quality of life, persistent symptoms including fatigue, dyspnea, anosmia, sleep disturbances, and worse mental health. This suggests that we need more research on PCS patients to understand the risk factors causing it and eventually leading to poor quality of life.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) has been documented in a large share of nursing homes throughout the United States, leading to high rates of mortality for residents. To ...understand how to prevent and mitigate future outbreaks, it is imperative that we understand which nursing homes are more likely to experience COVID‐19 cases. Our aim was to examine the characteristics of nursing homes with documented COVID‐19 cases in the 30 states reporting the individual facilities affected.
DESIGN
We constructed a database of nursing homes with verified COVID‐19 cases as of May 11, 2020, via correspondence with and publicly available reports from state departments of health. We linked this information to nursing home characteristics and used regression analysis to examine the association between these characteristics and the likelihood of having a documented COVID‐19 case.
SETTING
All nursing homes from 30 states that reported COVID‐19 cases at the facility‐level.
PARTICIPANTS
Nursing home residents in states reporting data.
MEASUREMENTS
Whether a nursing home had a reported COVID‐19 case (yes/no), and conditional on having a case, the number of cases at a nursing home.
RESULTS
Of 9,395 nursing homes in our sample, 2,949 (31.4%) had a documented COVID‐19 case. Larger facility size, urban location, greater percentage of African American residents, non‐chain status, and state were significantly (P < .05) related to the increased probability of having a COVID‐19 case. Five‐star rating, prior infection violation, Medicaid dependency, and ownership were not significantly related.
CONCLUSION
COVID‐19 cases in nursing homes are related to facility location and size and not traditional quality metrics such as star rating and prior infection control citations. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1653‐1656, 2020.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
Physical distancing during the COVID‐19 pandemic may have unintended, detrimental effects on social isolation and loneliness among older adults. Our objectives were to ...investigate (1) experiences of social isolation and loneliness during shelter‐in‐place orders, and (2) unmet health needs related to changes in social interactions.
DESIGN
Mixed‐methods longitudinal phone‐based survey administered every 2 weeks.
SETTING
Two community sites and an academic geriatrics outpatient clinical practice.
PARTICIPANTS
A total of 151 community‐dwelling older adults.
MEASUREMENTS
We measured social isolation using a six‐item modified Duke Social Support Index, social interaction subscale, that included assessments of video‐based and Internet‐based socializing. Measures of loneliness included self‐reported worsened loneliness due to the COVID‐19 pandemic and loneliness severity based on the three‐item University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale. Participants were invited to share open‐ended comments about their social experiences.
RESULTS
Participants were on average aged 75 years (standard deviation = 10), 50% had hearing or vision impairment, 64% lived alone, and 26% had difficulty bathing. Participants reported social isolation in 40% of interviews, 76% reported minimal video‐based socializing, and 42% minimal Internet‐based socializing. Socially isolated participants reported difficulty finding help with functional needs including bathing (20% vs 55%; P = .04). More than half (54%) of the participants reported worsened loneliness due to COVID‐19 that was associated with worsened depression (62% vs 9%; P < .001) and anxiety (57% vs 9%; P < .001). Rates of loneliness improved on average by time since shelter‐in‐place orders (4–6 weeks: 46% vs 13–15 weeks: 27%; P = .009), however, loneliness persisted or worsened for a subgroup of participants. Open‐ended responses revealed challenges faced by the subgroup experiencing persistent loneliness including poor emotional coping and discomfort with new technologies.
CONCLUSION
Many older adults are adjusting to COVID‐19 restrictions since the start of shelter‐in‐place orders. Additional steps are critically needed to address the psychological suffering and unmet medical needs of those with persistent loneliness or barriers to technology‐based social interaction.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
Previous studies have reported that older patients may experience worse outcome(s) after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 than younger individuals. ...This study aimed to identify potential risk factors for mortality in older patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) on admission, which may help identify those with poor prognosis at an early stage.
DESIGN
Retrospective case‐control.
SETTING
Fever ward of Sino‐French New City Branch of Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China.
PARTICIPANTS
Patients aged 60 years or older with COVID‐19 (n = 244) were included, of whom 123 were discharged and 121 died in hospital.
MEASUREMENTS
Data retrieved from electronic medical records regarding symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings on admission, and final outcomes of all older patients with COVID‐19, were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to explore risk factors for death.
RESULTS
Univariate analysis revealed that several clinical characteristics and laboratory variables were significantly different (ie, P < .05) between discharged and deceased patients. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that lymphocyte (LYM) count (odds ratio OR = 0.009; 95% confidence interval CI = 0.001‐0.138; P = .001) and older age (OR = 1.122; 95% CI = 1.007‐1.249; P = .037) were independently associated with hospital mortality. White blood cell count was also an important risk factor (P = .052). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve in the logistic regression model was 0.913. Risk factors for in‐hospital death were similar between older men and women.
CONCLUSION
Older age and lower LYM count on admission were associated with death in hospitalized COVID‐19 patients. Stringent monitoring and early intervention are needed to reduce mortality in these patients. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:E19–E23, 2020.
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