Psychological and social wellbeing of paramedics in Riyadh City during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Our research sought to assess the psychological and social wellbeing of paramedics in Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia during the COVID 19 pandemic. It also aimed to assess the therapeutic assistance provided to pre-hospital care givers during the pandemic. Methods In this quantitative cross-sectional analysis an assessment of 106 paramedics was undertaken from data obtained from 28 September to 10 November 2020. The authenticity and durability of Pilot and the Cronbach have been added. Results Of the 106 paramedics surveyed, 60 (56.6%) were 30–39 years of age; 101 were male (95.3%). The mean average psychological wellbeing of the paramedics was 6.41 with the standard deviation of 2.42. Family and friends’ average social support score was 9.2 in norm 2.6 deviation. Conclusion Our study showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic paramedics suffered from social and psychological depression. Paramedics must be protected from the socioeconomic and psychological difficulties they face every day in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When the first session may be the last!”: A case report of the implementation of “rapid tele-psychotherapy” with single-session music therapy in the COVID-19 outbreak

Objective Conventional psychotherapy with a lengthy and regular number of meetings is no longer relevant in the case of COVID-19, when persons with psychiatric problems, especially COVID-19 patients/clients, really require immediate psychological assistance. It is recognized as a “rapid test” in the field of body health to rapidly decide whether or not a person is affected by COVID-19. So, we should now be able to use the term “rapid tele-psychotherapy” with Single-Session Music Therapy (SSMT) in the field of mental health to characterize the mechanism of assistance provided to persons who seek therapeutic assistance virtually during this COVID-19 outbreak, so that they will easily and reliably be freed from troubling psychiatric issues. Method The author reports the case of a 33-year-old widow with asymptomatic COVID-19 who was admitted to her own home. Results The author describes the effectiveness of the implementation of rapid tele-psychotherapy with SSMT in reducing the scale of anxiety, panic, fear, depression, acute stress, insomnia, and delusions of death. Significance of results This case can provide new inputs or ideas for counselors/psychologists/psychiatrists/therapists who work in hospitals/institutions to provide rapid tele-psychotherapy with SSMT as therapeutic assistance for individuals who need psychotherapy in this COVID-19 outbreak, especially for COVID-19 patients/clients. Besides that, this concept is not only suitable for rapidly screening individuals that may face psychological problems and helping them better seek therapeutic assistance, but can also be used as an adjuvant therapy for psychiatric patients.

Oncological Assistance in the Emergency Room Setting: The Role of a Dedicated Oncology Unit

Background: The appearance of symptoms that may be related to the worsening of the disease, as well as the toxicity of chemotherapy treatment or an acute complication, are the most frequent reasons for access to the emergency room (ER) for patients with cancer. To date, the Italian territorial health services, as well as local preventive medicine, are unable to provide adequate management of patients with cancer and, for this reason, diagnostic delays and inappropriate hospitalization in the oncology departments have occurred; moreover, it has been observed that many patients receive the first diagnosis of cancer directly in the ER, where the experience in the oncology field is often inadequate. Objectives: Cardarelli Hospital, in Naples, started twenty-two month Experimental Oncological Emergency Service, under the supervision of its own Oncology Department, with the double main objectives of encouraging de-hospitalization and improving diagnostic and therapeutic performance. Methods: We have developed a methodological protocol for patients’ admission to the ER, assuming that the host physician transfers patients with suspected cancer to a new hospital figure, the ER oncologist, who acts as supervisor and coordinator. The first consultation was carried out together with one or more specialists, identified by the supervisor. Based on their characteristics, the patients were divided into 4 categories: (1) Patients with a known diagnosis of cancer and already undergoing anticancer treatments; (2) patients who show complications due to ongoing cancer treatments; (3) patients who no longer respond to anticancer treatments due to the worsening of the disease; (4) patients who are first diagnosed with cancer in the ER. Each individual cohort of patients was directed towards what we have called diagnostic-therapeutic assistance paths (PDTA), specific protocols for each type of patient, which allowed us to reduce the time to diagnosis. Results: According to the data, the average hospitalization time for patients with lung cancer who followed the study was 10 days, compared to 16 days for patients who did not undergo cancer screening in the ER. Another relevant result demonstrated the improvement in the quality and efficiency of medical services by including first aid in the management of cancer patients regards de-hospitalization. In fact, thanks to the experimental protocol we applied, we were able to de-hospitalize 484 patients directly from the ER, which are over 34% of the total. Conclusions: Close integration between hospital medical fields and territorial medicine could improve the quality of cancer treatment and the efficiency of health services management. All of this without affecting the costs of public healthcare because of the considerable improvement in performance which allowed important savings.

The role of the general practitioner in the system of providing cardiac care to the population

Diseases of the cardiovascular system continue to occupy a leading position in the structure of the general morbidity of the population, and mortality from this pathology ranks first in almost all countries of the world. In most cases, a general practitioner is the first person to whom patients turn for help, so s/he must have a fairly extensive knowledge base and be able to navigate a complex variety of nosological forms and syndromes. In many cases, a correct diagnosis and a correctly prescribed treatment can significantly improve the quality of life of people suffering from pathology of the cardiovascular system. Under the condition of provision of the necessary material and technical equipment, the professional training of a general practitioner allows this specialist to consider a wide range of outpatient cardiac problems, provide preventive and therapeutic assistance to the assigned contingent, and be responsible for the health of the population served.

A Qualitative Study of Dyadic Coping among Couples Dealing with Burden of Chronic Illness

The present qualitative study aimed in-depth exploration of dyadic coping among couples dealing with chronic illness. There were 12 couples (six females and six males) with chronic illness and their healthy partners were interviewed. The in-depth interviews were conducted through interview guide based on Systematic Transactional Model (STM) (Bodenmann, 1995) and lived experiences of participants. The results were analyzed by using (Braun & Clarke, 2006) method of thematic analysis. The results revealed that female diagnosed partners showed less supportive dyadic coping to deal with physical and emotional burden of their chronic illnesses as compared to chronically ill male partners. However, the economic hardships is equally stressful for both members of the couples resulted in negative dyadic coping. The therapeutic assistance should be given to improve the dyadic coping among couples to deal with burden of chronic illness and live with better quality of life.

Emerging Potential of Naturally Occurring Autophagy Modulators Against Neurodegeneration

Background: Naturally-occurring products derived from living organisms have been shown to modulate various pharmacological and biological activities. Natural products protect against various diseases, which could be used for therapeutic assistance. Autophagy, a lysosome-mediated self-digestion pathway, has been implicated in a range of pathophysiological conditions and has recently gained attention for its role in several neurodegenerative diseases. Methods: In this current review, we emphasized the recent progress made in our understanding of the molecular mechanism of autophagy in different cellular and mouse models using naturally-occurring autophagy modulators for the management of several neurodegenerative diseases. Results: Accumulating evidence has revealed that a wide variety of natural compounds such as alkaloids, polyphenols, terpenoids, xanthonoids, flavonoids, lignans, disaccharides, glycolipoproteins, and saponins are involved in the modulation of the autophagy signaling pathway. These natural products have been used to treat various neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinocerebellar ataxia, neuroblastoma, and glioblastoma. Although a number of synthetic autophagy regulators have been recognized as encouraging neurodegenerative therapeutic candidates, natural autophagy- regulating compounds have been of further interest as potential disease therapeutics, as they cause insignificant side effects. Conclusion: Existing in vitro and in vivo data are promising and highlight that naturally-occurring autophagyregulating compounds play an important role in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Psychological and Pedagogical Rehabilitation of Children Subjected to Violence and Abuse as Part of the Implementation of the Set of Measures “The World Begins with the Family” in the Volgograd Region

The article describes the practice of psychological and pedagogical rehabilitation of children who have been subjected to ill-treatment and criminal attacks in the Volgograd region as part of the on-going set of measures aimed at the development of the system for ensuring safe childhood “The World Begins with the Family”. Special attention is paid to the traumatic consequences of violence and abuse, the manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as the need for timely psy-chological and pedagogical rehabilitation and assistance to children who have been subjected to violence and abuse. The potential of using psychotherapeutic tools used in pivotal schools when working with children is analyzed. These schools are offices of emergency psychological assis-tance in their scientific and methodological district of the Volgograd educational cluster. The cluster allows environmentally friendly, fast and effective provision of one-time therapeutic assistance to the injured child, as well as build a system of long-term psychotherapeutic relationships.

Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Underserved Latin Americans

Latin Americans experience an especially large gap between their mental health needs and treatment availability. Access to treatment is limited by attitudes and stigma, the lack of substantial treatment infrastructures, and shortages of mental health professionals. The treatments that underserved populations do obtain are often informed by models imported from North America and Europe, without sufficient cultural adaptation. This chapter describes the work that Fundación Aiglé is doing to address this treatment gap. This includes its graduate training programs and supervision networks that extend regionally, beyond Argentina; its publications; and its treatment model, the integrative model of psychotherapy. The chapter also describes Aiglé’s Therapeutic Assistance Program for People with Limited Resources (PATER) as one approach to providing treatment to underserved populations. The work that Aiglé is doing provides a model for other nongovernmental agencies to adapt to their own circumstances.

Lean Six Sigma approach to reduce LOS through a diagnostic-therapeutic-assistance path at A.O.R.N. A. Cardarelli

Purpose The rise of the mean age incremented the occurrence of femur fractures with respect to the past, leading thus to serious consequences, as regards morbidity and socio-economic impact. The direction of the A.O.R.N. Cardarelli of Naples has introduced a DTAP whose aim was the reduction of LOS. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The aim of this paper is to analyze the introduction of DTAP, employing Lean Thinking and Six Sigma methodology based on the DMAIC cycle. To evaluate the effectiveness of DTAP, two groups of patients have been observed for 14 months (before and after the implementation of DTAP). Findings Statistical tests were performed on the groups and graphics were provided to visualize the decrease of LOS (29.9 per cent). The overall population was also divided in subgroups according to six variables potentially influencing LOS. Research limitations/implications Authors considered six variables of influences; yet, others could be taken into account in the future. Practical implications The decrease of costs due to the management of elderly patients with femur fracture, the optimization of care processes in hospitals and a faster recovery for patients is the tangible contribute of DTAP. Originality/value The implementation of DTAP allowed the hospital to obtain a significant reduction of LOS with a consequently decrease of costs alleviating the hospital and the society from the socio-economic burden and the morbidity of this pathology.