During the COVID-19 pandemic there have been numerous reports of increases in psychiatric morbidity and a deterioration of status among existing patients. There is little information about how this ...increase has affected youth and rates of adolescent psychiatric hospitalization. Our study was aimed at examining trends in youth psychiatric hospitalization during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: We used medical records to compare trends in hospitalization rates from 2019 to 2020, among psychiatric youth wards from five different centers in Israel. Results: The number of patients that were hospitalized in youth psychiatric wards decreased significantly from 2019 (Mean ± SD=52.2 ± 28.6 per month) to 2020 (M ± SD = 40.8 ± 22.0; unstandardized B = −11.4, 95% CI = −14.4 to −8.3, p < 0.0001). There was a significant decrease in the number of patients that were hospitalized due to internalizing disorders from 2019 (M ± SD = 22.3 ± 9.3 per month) to 2020 (M ± SD = 16.8 ± 7.7; B = −5.5, 95% CI = −8.0 to −3.0, p = 0.0002) and a marginally significant increase in the number of restraints per month (2019: M ± SD = 2.8 ± 6.8, 2020: M ± SD = 9.0 ± 14.5; Z = −1.96, Rosenthal’s r = 0.36, p = 0.07). Conclusions: There was a significant decline in psychiatric hospitalizations during the pandemic, specifically among patients suffering from internalizing disorders. The reasons for this decline, and the future impact these changes had on hospitalizations during the pandemic demand further research. Study limitations: This is a retrospective multicenter study from five medical centers in Israel, therefore generalizability of our findings is limited.
(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2022 7(2), 561-572 | European Forum Insight of 30 July 2022 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduzione. - II. Le misure restrittive ...contro l'Iran riattivate nel 2018 dagli Stati Uniti. - III. La risposta europea: l'aggiornamento del regolamento 2271/96. - IV. Il caso Bank Melli Iran. - V. La sentenza della Corte. - VI. Rilievi conclusivi. | (Abstract) On 21 December 2021, the Court of Justice decided the case Bank Melli Iran v Telekom Deutschland GmbH (case C-124/20, ECLI:EU:C:2021:1035), relating to the interpretation of Regulation 2271/96 protecting against the effects of extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, better known as the "blocking regulation". According to this Regulation, EU operators are inter alia bound to disregard the extraterritorial effects of US restrictive measures against Iran, and thus continue contractual relationship with Iranian counter-parts, irrespective of the risk of undergoing se-vere economic consequences under US law. In this context, the Court is required inter alia to strike a fair balance between the freedom to conduct business, including freedom of (and from) contract, as protected under art. 16 of the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU and the effectiveness of the blocking Regulation. A fundamental role, in this respect, rests on the judges of the Member States. As the Insight highlights, the case illustrates some of the main flaws in the application of the Regulation. More generally, it is pointed out that the protection afforded by the Regulation seems implemented mainly through "punitive" tools (such as direct effect and national sanctions) vis-à-vis the beneficiaries of the protection, i.e. EU operators. Also for this reason, the revision process of the blocking Regulation currently pending at EU level should be welcome, with a view to provide the EU legal system with more effective instruments to protect EU industry and citizens from the increasing pressure deriving from coercive practices and policies implemented by third countries.
Questions related to the EU’s ability to foster change in the behaviour of third countries through sanctions have gained salience over the past three decades. This article explores how the nature and ...type of EU restrictive measures, initially conceived as targeted, preventive and temporary measures, have evolved considerably since then. The EU sanctions against Belarus are used as an illustrative case study in order to shed light on the evolutions within the EU’s sanctions practice. This article first examines the erosion of the targeted character of EU sanctions against Belarus through the broadening of listing criteria and the increasing recourse to sectoral sanctions. It then questions the temporary character of EU sanctions against Belarus by highlighting their indefinite duration and cyclicity. Last but not least, it is argued that EU sanctions against Belarus have an increasingly punitive character. The article concludes with an analysis of the implications that the EU’s evolving sanctions practice can have for the current EU’s sanctions policy toward Belarus as well as for its other sanctions regimes.
The prevalence of the COVID 19 virus from an epidemic evolved into a pandemic and that was proclaimed by the WHO. Managing health problems has inherently come in a direct connection with a range of ...systems and industries such as health, economy, and national security. The measures that are taken to curb the virus have had an extremely adverse effect on the EU and its Member States, which are among the most affected ones. Achievements such as the common market and internal security that are built on the free movement of the four freedoms are limited for the first time in a way that affects the whole Union and its Member States. In most of the EU Member States state of emergency is established and the governments apply restrictive measures. The article examines the impact of the health problem and the achievements of the common market and concludes further normalization of free movement in the EU. The economic effects of the COVID pandemic will prevent emerging countries from providing key services. This will lead to trust undermining in government and internal security challenges.
COVID-19 pandemic represented a unique stressful event that affected the physical health and psychological well-being (PWB) of individuals and communities. Monitoring PWB is essential not only to ...clarify the burden on mental health effects but also to define targeted psychological-supporting measures. This cross-sectional study evaluated the PWB of Italian firefighters during the pandemic.
Firefighters recruited during the pandemic period filled out a self-administered questionnaire, the Psychological General Well-Being Index, during the health surveillance medical examination. This tool is usually used to assess the global PWB and explores six subdomains: anxiety, depressed mood, positive well-being, self-control, general health, and vitality. The influencing roles of age, gender, working activities, COVID-19, and pandemic restrictive measures were also explored.
A total of 742 firefighters completed the survey. The aggregate median PWB global score was in the “no distress” range (94.3 ± 10.3), which was higher than that observed in studies conducted using the same tool in the Italian general population during the same pandemic period. Similar findings were observed in the specific subdomains, thus suggesting that the investigated population was in good PWB condition. Interestingly, significantly better outcomes were detected in the younger firefighters.
Our data showed a satisfactory PWB situation in firefighters that could be related to different professional factors such as work organization and mental and physical training. In particular, our results would suggest the hypothesis that in firefighters, maintaining a minimum/moderate level of physical activity (consisting of even just going to work) might have a profoundly positive impact on psychological health and well-being.
Background
Restrictive measures (RM) are prevalent in services for people with intellectual disabilities. This study investigates managerial awareness of RM and the nature of organisational supports ...required to reduce their use.
Method
A survey asked front‐line managers and staff what (RM) were used, their purpose, impact and importance (10‐item Likert scales) and what organisational changes were required (free text). Responses were analysed using descriptive methods and content analysis.
Results
Managers reported a lower use of RM, compared with staff. According to managers, RM were mainly used to keep service users from harm, their use having a significant impact. Opportunities to change practices were limited by a lack of resources and organisational support.
Conclusion
Front‐line managers seem to lack the capacity to address the use of RM due to organisational drift; limited manager time and opportunity to allocate resources; inadequate environments; and lack of skilled staff, knowledge and relevant professional input.
This work aims to quantify potential pollution level changes in an urban environment (Madrid city, Spain) located in South Europe due to the lockdown measures for preventing the SARS-CoV-2 ...transmission. Polluting 11 species commonly monitored in urban zones were attended. Except for O
3
, a prompt target pollutant levels abatement was reached, intensely when implanted stricter measures and moderately along those measures' relaxing period. In the case of TH and CH
4
, it is evidenced a progressive diminution over the lockdown period. While the highest decreasing average changes relapsed on NOx (NO
2
: − 40.0% and NO: − 33.3%) and VOCs (C
7
H
8
: − 36.3% and C
6
H
6
: − 32.8%), followed by SO
2
(− 27.0%), PM
10
(− 19.7%), CO (− 16.6%), CH
4
(− 14.7%), TH (− 11.6%) and PM
2.5
(− 10.1%), the O
3
level slightly raised 0.4%. These changes were consistently dependent on the measurement station location, emphasizing urban background zones for SO
2
, CO, C
6
H
6
, C
7
H
8
, TH and CH
4
, suburban zones for PM
2.5
and O
3
, urban traffic sites for NO and PM
10
, and keeping variations reasonably similar at all the stations in the case of NO
2
. Those pollution changes were not translated in variations on geospatial pattern, except for NO, O
3
and SO
2
. Although the researched urban atmosphere improvement was not attributable to meteorological conditions' variations, it was in line with the decline in traffic intensity. The evidenced outcomes might offer valuable clues to air quality managers in urban environments regarding decision-making in favor of applying punctual severe measures for quickly and considerably relieving polluting high load occurred in urban environments.
Modern European integration entails the common foreign and security policy. In February 2022, the Russian aggression against Ukraine moved the deplorable situation from 2014 to another level calling ...for an EU reaction via legal instruments. Based on them, ten sanctions packages have emerged with significant consequences. The aim of this paper is to analyze it, in particular the connection of these ten sanctions packages and foreign trade between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. This aim is achieved by addressing three sets of goals: (i) the legal analysis of EU trade policy instruments, (ii) an advanced statistical and critical analysis of the trade between Czech Republic and Russian Federation and (iii) a creation of a timeline of the application and its ramifications. This reveals interesting propositions about the impact of these sanctions packages on the Czech foreign trade and about the effectiveness of the EU´s trade policy.
