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BACKGROUND: Computer vision syndrome is a group of eye and vision-related problems that result from prolonged computer use. The worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) lockdown has led to an increase in the digital screen exposure as jobs as well as academic learning have majorly shifted online. This has caused an increase in digital eye strain (DES) globally. The aims and objectives of this study were to compare the knowledge, attitude, and practices among medical and nonmedical professionals with regard to DES in a background of COVID-19 lockdown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional, observational, online questionnaire-based research survey analysis was conducted among medical professionals with age- and sex-matched nonmedical professionals. Responses were collected over a week and analyzed. The level of significance was set at a P < 0.05. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 23.0 was used for the result analysis. RESULTS: Our study included 353 (50.4%) medical and 347 (49.6%) nonmedical personnel. It was noted that 266 (75.4%) of medical professionals and 268 (77.2%) of nonmedical professionals experienced eye problems after prolonged digital screen exposure. A significant proportion of respondents experienced an increase in symptoms following COVID-19 lockdown with 140 (52.6%) being medical professionals and 163 (60.8%) nonmedical professionals (P = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: DES is a preventable lifestyle-associated disorder. Awareness among the masses can reduce the adverse effects. Proper lighting, adequate viewing distance, voluntary blinking, and using lubricating eye drops are a few ways to reduce the chances of DES. Further studies are needed to formulate standardized guidelines for the management of DES.

ABSTRACT During the coronavirus pandemic, second-year students on the B.Sc. molecular biology and genetics degree at Istanbul Technical University sat an open-ended online exam for a microbiology course in which one of the compulsory questions asked how the course had helped them during the first phase of the pandemic (April–July 2020). Fifty of 69 students gave consent for their (anonymous) responses to be analysed in order to discern any key ways in which their knowledge had been applied. The aim of the study was to investigate whether taking an advanced microbiology course increases understanding of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and has a positive impact on student behaviours with respect to public health practices. Findings were divided into four major themes: course content (information), application of course content to behavioural change (practice), professionalism and their ‘audience’ whilst at home in lockdown (family and friends). Social distancing, wearing face masks, and hand and surface hygiene were described as important behaviours, with this practice informed by their basic microbiology knowledge. This paper describes a scenario where rote assessment can be used to assess wider scientific literacy with respect to application in society, providing students with an opportunity to incorporate and apply their learning into real-life situations, whilst tutors can assess constructivist learning, conceptual understanding and impact on student behaviour. The microbiology examination assignment at Istanbul Technical University during the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent example of assessing wider scientific literacy with respect to application in society.

Seasonally, the East Asian particulate matter (PM) level is higher in the winter–spring period than in summer, at which time the level rapidly decreases due to the summer monsoon migration. Attempting to attribute East Asian PM pollution to a source without considering such natural factors is challenging. However, to what degree the effect of season on an attribution bias remains controversial; the bias may even be implicated in PM-related health effects. This study examined seasonal dynamics including the unusual precipitation evolution during 2020—a year in which coronavirus-related lockdowns occurred frequently worldwide—and suggested a large-scale effect from the removal of PM pollutants from most of the coastal cities in East Asia. In winter–spring 2020, compared with that of previous years, a deeper and farther southward intrusion of the East Asian coastal trough and a stronger surface monsoon flow acted jointly to transport air pollutants over the Korea–Japan region. In summer 2020, the strength and migration of the western North Pacific (WNP) high increased precipitation and removed air pollutants in mid-latitude East Asia, whereas it reduced precipitation in the subtropical WNP. Consequently, the reduced PM level in the subtropical region (including Taiwan) may be irrelevant to the anomalous seasonal pattern. Although an artificial effect is conceivable and may be primarily responsible for the marked decrease in 2020 East Asian PM pollutants in some subtropical cities, the modulation of a large-scale and precipitating effect also deserves consideration.

Occupations refer to the everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life. It is not always limited to just paid employment. Occupations of the global population have been adversely affected in one way or the other because of this COVID-19 pandemic. Four different key sects of occupations were majorly affected. These are the occupations of those who are or were COVID-positive, occupations of healthy individuals affected by COVID-19/lockdown, occupations of the population highly susceptible and vulnerable of contracting COVID-19 and occupations having a direct impact on global market, supply chain or economy. These occupations were locked up due to the pandemic lockdown. Occupational therapists can scientifically analyse occupations and help formulate exit strategies for the lockdown. They are experts who understand and study the different ways of measuring participation in occupation to develop innovative strategies and therapeutic interventions to facilitate individuals’ engagement in occupations. They can unravel the pragmatic strategies for preventing transmission (physical distancing, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment usage and decontamination) despite engaging in occupations safely and effectively. Nourishing this niche and essential science is pertinent, not just in this pandemic context but also against a backdrop of health and social care research, policy, practice and education for the future.

The study concerns psycho-social domains experienced in a diverse suburban middle-class community, reporting the most positive cases and the deepest suffering, and interactions towards adaptation in stressful situations, such as the Coronavirus pandemic. This qualitative investigation used a descriptive design, with a strengths-based perspective directing a two-phased method. Through non-probability convenience sampling, 80 participants completed a web-based qualitative questionnaire (phase one). From those, 20 purposely selected volunteers participated in individual, face-to-face, open-ended, and unstructured interviews (phase 2). Themes, interpreted as one set, show how strengths and resilience appear, despite extreme shock and uncertainty. Transitional processes in psycho-social spheres reveal conscious decisions towards dynamic engagement, embracing change, reflecting on life’s value, and regarding novel meaningful priorities in contrast with “before”. Most prominent relational spaces have human connections in the inner (close) and outer (community) circles. Personal, meaningful relationships strengthen social bonds. Appreciative inquiry (AI) assisted in the transitional process to co-construct awareness of the positive core, emotional agility, and pride in embracing and expanding on newly developed strengths. Interpreted inductively, meaning described in abstracted knowledge can be transferred to and integrated with other contexts, identifying new initiatives and trans-, multi-, and inter-disciplinary debates mitigating psycho-social consequences and fostering resilience during disasters.

[LANGUAGE= \"English\"] Objectives: In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, physical inactivity and health anxiety which are common risk factors for musculoskeletal pain have become widespread due to strict precautions and isolation. Thus, we aimed to com-pare physical activity, health anxiety, and spinal pain history in people experiencing and not experiencing spinal pain during the COVID-19 lockdown.Methods: This study was designed as a case–control study. Assessments including the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory were performed through an online questionnaire using Google forms during the COVID-19 lockdown. We reached 494 volunteers, and 348 were eliminated by the exclusion criteria. One hundred and fifty-six participants were classified as the spinal pain group (n=70) and the asymptomatic group (n=86) based on the NMQ.Results: The total amount of physical activity was less in the spinal pain group than the asymptomatic group (p<0.05). The spi-nal pain group had higher levels of health anxiety than the asymptomatic group (p<0.05). Further, the percentage of people who experienced spinal pain in the past year was higher in the spinal pain group (p<0.05).Conclusion: People experiencing spinal pain during the COVID-19 lockdown were physically less active and more concerned about their health. These results may be useful to improve the management of spinal pain during the lockdown or possible pandemic wave scenarios.[LANGUAGE= \"Turkish\"] Amaç: Koronavirüs hastalığı (COVID-19) salgınında, kas-iskelet ağrısı için yaygın risk faktörleri olan fiziksel inaktivite ve sağlık anksiyetesi, katı önlemler ve izolasyon nedeniyle yaygınlaşmıştır. Bu nedenle, COVID-19 kapanması sırasında omurga ağrısı yaşayan ve yaşamayan kişilerde fiziksel aktivite, sağlık kaygısı ve spinal ağrı öyküsünün karşılaştırılması amaçlandı.Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışma, bir vaka kontrol çalışması olarak tasarlanmıştır. Nordik Kas-İskelet Sistemi Anketi (NKİA), Ulusla-rarası Fiziksel Aktivite Anketi-kısa form ve Sağlık Anksiyetesi Ölçeği-kısa formu içeren değerlendirmeler, COVID-19 kilitlenmesi sırasında Google Formlar kullanılarak çevrim içi bir anket aracılığıyla gerçekleştirildi. Çalışma için 494 gönüllüye ulaşıldı ve 348’i dışlama kriterlerine göre elendi. Katılımcıların 156’sı NKİA’ya göre omurga ağrısı grubu (n=70) ve asemptomatik grup (n=86) olarak sınıflandırıldı.Bulgular: Omurga ağrısı grubunda toplam fiziksel aktivite miktarının asemptomatik gruba göre daha az olduğu saptandı (p<0,05). Spinal ağrı grubu, asemptomatik gruba göre daha yüksek düzeyde sağlık anksiyetesine sahip bulundu (p<0,05). Ayrıca son bir yıl içinde spinal ağrı deneyimleme oranı, spinal ağrı grubunda daha yüksek tespit edildi (p<0,05).Sonuç: COVID-19 kapanması sırasında omurga ağrısı yaşayan kişilerin fiziksel olarak daha az aktif oldukları ve sağlıkları hakkın-da daha fazla endişe duydukları tespit edildi. Bu sonuçların, kapanma veya olası pandemik dalga senaryoları sırasında omurga ağrısının yönetimini iyileştirmek için yararlı olabileceği düşünüldü.

Background During the recent Coronavirus pandemic, many universities realized that the traditional delivery of educational content was not adequate in the context of imposed restrictions. Adoption of e-learning was one obvious way to foster continuity of learning. Despite its rapid implementation during the lockdown in Uganda, it was not known whether health professional students were willing to adopt e-learning as a way to foster continuity of learning. We, therefore, adopted a Technology Acceptance Model to determine the predictors for the adoption of e-learning using learner and information technology variables. Methods A cross-sectional study among 109 health professional students ≥18 years of age at Clarke International University was conducted. Adoption of e-learning was measured as a self-report. Data were obtained using a smart survey and descriptively summarized. The differences in the study outcome were compared using the chi-square test. The factors that independently influenced the adoption of e-learning were determined using binary logistic regression and reported as adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Of the 109 respondents, 71 (65.1%) adopted e-learning. Our data showed low odds of adoption of e-learning among participants in first year (aOR, 0.34: 95%CI, 0.14–0.79), low e-learning expectations (aOR, 0.01: 95%CI, 0.01–0.34), no confidence in using IT devices (aOR, 0.16: 95%CI, 0.00–0.77), no prior experience in e-learning (aOR, 0.11: 95%CI, 0.02–0.68), not considering e-learning flexible (aOR, 0.25:95%CI, 0.08–0.86) and high cost of internet (aOR, 0.13: 95%CI, 0.02–0.84). Conclusion We identified predictors of e-learning adoption which include having completed at least 1 year of study, high e-learning expectations, confidence in using IT devices, prior experience in e-learning, considering e-learning to be flexible and internet access. This information can be used by universities to enhance infrastructure and prepare potential e-learners.

Purpose>The purpose of this paper is to study the phenomenon of abrupt shift by both doctors and patients to telemedicine during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated economic lockdown in India. The study explored various drivers of telemedicine technology awareness, adoption and usage. These drives were studied from both the doctors and the patients’ perspectives using the Push–Pull–Mooring (PPM) theoretical model.Design/methodology/approach>An exploratory qualitative research was carried out with 24 doctors and 32 patients. This research was conducted in major urban cities of India. It was carried out during the economic lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was collected based upon a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire using telephonic interviews. Once thematic saturation was achieved, thematic content analysis was conducted. Finally, the themes were classified and analyzed using the PPM theoretical modelFindings>The data analysis indicated that there was the presence of all three factors, namely, push, pull and mooring. For the doctors, pull and push factors were more substantive than mooring factors. Although for the patients push and mooring factors were more important and pressing than pull factors.Research limitations/implications>This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic lockdown in India. The interview respondents were located only in urban India. Future studies could be conducted to explore similarities and differences in telemedicine adoption patterns during non-crisis times vis-a-vis crisis times in urban and rural settings.Practical implications>The insights from this study could be used by medical service providers to leverage telemedicine technology to improve the business model, service delivery, pricing strategy, value proposition and behavioral characteristics. Patients on the other hand could gather perspectives regarding how best to use telemedicine technological services.Originality/value>The authors provided an integrated perspective regarding telemedicine technology awareness, adoption and usage in an emerging economy of India during the critical times of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and the associated prolonged economic lockdown. This was one of the first studies that applied PPM theory for telemedicine adoption

In low and middle-income countries (LMICs), strict social distancing measures (e.g., nationwide lockdown) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are unsustainable in the long-term due to knock-on socioeconomic and psychological effects. However, an optimal epidemiology-focused strategy for ‘safe-reopening’ (i.e., balancing between the economic and health consequences) remain unclear, particularly given the suboptimal disease surveillance and diagnostic infrastructure in these settings. As the lockdown is now being relaxed in many LMICs, in this paper, we have (1) conducted an epidemiology-based “options appraisal” of various available non-pharmacological intervention options that can be employed to safely lift the lockdowns (namely, sustained mitigation, zonal lockdown and rolling lockdown strategies), and (2) propose suitable application, pre-requisites, and inherent limitations for each measure. Among these, a sustained mitigation-only approach (adopted in many high-income countries) may not be feasible in most LMIC settings given the absence of nationwide population surveillance, generalised testing, contact tracing and critical care infrastructure needed to tackle the likely resurgence of infections. By contrast, zonal or local lockdowns may be suitable for some countries where systematic identification of new outbreak clusters in real-time would be feasible. This requires a generalised testing and surveillance structure, and a well-thought out (and executed) zone management plan. Finally, an intermittent, rolling lockdown strategy has recently been suggested by the World Health Organization as a potential strategy to get the epidemic under control in some LMI settings, where generalised mitigation and zonal containment is unfeasible. This strategy, however, needs to be carefully considered for economic costs and necessary supply chain reforms. In conclusion, while we propose three community-based, non-pharmacological options for LMICs, a suitable measure should be context-specific and based on: (1) epidemiological considerations, (2) social and economic costs, (3) existing health systems capabilities and (4) future-proof plans to implement and sustain the strategy.

The COVID-19 lockdown clearly affected the lifestyle of the population and entailed changes in their daily habits, which involved potential health consequences, especially on patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to examine the impact of the lockdown caused by COVID-19 pandemic on both nutrition and exercise habits, as well as the psychological effects in patients with T2DM, compared to their usual diet and physical activity level previous to the complete home confinement. We also intended to analyse any potential variables that may have influenced these lifestyle modifications. A Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Food Craving Questionnaire-State (FCQ-S) and Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait (FCQ-T) were used. Our results showed an increase in vegetable, sugary food and snack consumption. An association between levels of foods cravings and snack consumption was also found. Data also showed a high percentage of physical inactivity before the COVID-19 lockdown, which was exacerbated during the home confinement. These findings emphasise the great importance to do further research with larger study samples to analyse and explore dietary habits and to develop public health policies to promote a healthy lifestyle in terms of diet and physical activity in these patients, especially after this strict period of lockdown.