Typologies of stress appraisal and problem-focused coping: associations with compliance with public health recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic

The factors associated with the caregiving burden among family caregivers of pediatric patients with fractures: A descriptive cross-sectional study

PURPOSE

To investigate the factors linked to the caregiving burden among family caregivers of pediatric patients with fractures.

METHODS

This descriptive cross-sectional research used non-probabilistic sampling involving 200 pediatric patients (0-14 years) with fractures and their family caregivers. Data was collected between November 2019 and June 2020. The Chinese version of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) assessed caregiving burden and coping styles. We examined clinical data of patients and caregivers, identifying factors influencing caregiving burden by integrating findings from parallel studies, and conducted statistical analyses on these factors.

RESULTS

Most family caregivers in this study were women (80.5%), with mothers comprising 56% of the total. The average ZBI score was 40.65 ± 17.27, and 81.5% of caregivers had moderate or severe burden. Factors associated with caregiving burden included caregiver gender, co-caregivers, positive and negative coping scores, and monthly income. The significant factors that were identified accounted for approximately 42.4% of the variability in the caregiving burden.

CONCLUSIONS

This study concluded that family caregivers of pediatric patients with fractures often experience moderate to severe burdens, especially female caregivers, those without co-caregivers, using negative coping strategies, and from low-income families. Thus, it is essential to provide these families with professional information, policy support, and affordable, effective care services.

IMPLICATIONS TO PRACTICE

Healthcare professionals should prioritize addressing the caregiving burden of family caregivers of pediatric patients with fractures. Nurses can actively improve the health of these pediatric patients and ease parental burden by providing information about social support systems.

Effects of perceived risk of COVID-19 on fear among visiting workers: Mediating role of perceived stress

With the creation of a social distancing policy due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), home visit workers are under mental stress as they are treated as the source of infection for COVID-19. Since door-to-door rental equipment examiners and gas inspectors must perform their duties even in the COVID-19 situation, they are being discriminated against so severely. The purpose of study was to examine the mediating role of perceived stress on the relationship between risk perception and fear. Data was collected data through labor unions among 275 home visiting workers who examine rental home appliance equipment or inspecting gas. On-line survey was conducted to assess COVID-19 risk perception, fear, perceived stress, and demographic characteristics. The data was analyzed using PROCESS Macro (Model 4). The results of the study showed that stress plays an important role in increasing COVID-19 fears when COVID-19 risk perception increases. Meanwhile, it was found that COVID-19 fear decreased when the level of perceived stress decreased. To reduce the impact of COVID-19 risk perception on COVID-19 fears, appropriate educational programs to reduce stress should be developed for home visit workers. Policymakers need to develop online or mobile Infectious disease education programs for COVID-19 risk at work and establish policies to apply legal education.

Coping style and mental health amid the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a culture-moderated meta-analysis of 44 nations

In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid transmission of a novel virus and the unprecedented disease-mitigation measures have elicited considerable stress in many countries worldwide. Coping with pandemic stress may be differentially related to psychological symptoms across countries characterised by distinct cultural values. This study aimed to: (a) synthesise the literature by investigating the associations between some major types of coping style and psychological symptoms, and (b) investigate the moderating effects of culture on these associations. We performed a three-level random-effects meta-analysis, which included 151 independent samples from 44 countries across eight world regions (n = 137,088, 66% women, Mage = 36.08). For both problem-focused and avoidant coping styles, their hypothesised associations with psychological symptoms were robust across the countries (anxiety: rs = -.11 and .31; depression: rs = -.19 and .33; ps < .0001). For both emotion-focused and social support seeking styles, their associations with psychological symptoms were moderated by two Hofstede's cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance (intolerance of ambiguity) and masculinity (concern for achievement and success). The hypothesised negative coping style-symptom associations were found only in the countries with lower levels of uncertainty avoidance or masculinity, but opposite patterns of findings were found in those with higher levels of either of these two cultural dimensions.

Predictors of poor psychological functioning of healthcare workers based in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Poor psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported in several studies of healthcare workers from around the world. Factors that might predict this have yet to be established.

Objectives

First, to ascertain which factors were associated with poor psychological functioning in a cohort of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, to characterize key sociodemographic aspects of this cohort. Third, to determine the degree to which any predictors of poor psychological functioning were associated with each other.

Methods

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted of 144 healthcare workers in Patras, Greece, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire consisted of: (1) demographic survey questions; (2) the Psychological Consequences Questionnaire scale; (3) the Kessler Psychological Distress scale; and (4) Toulouse's scale for coping strategies. The data were analyzed using general linear modeling.

Results

The statistical model (p < 10-10) indicated that smoking or taking drugs to calm anxiety, feeling ashamed, and being overwhelmed by one's feelings were all predictors of poor psychological functioning. Conversely, income was a protective factor. A post hoc network analysis showed that smoking or taking drugs to calm anxiety was relatively strongly associated with feeling ashamed; the latter was also associated with feeling overwhelmed. There was a weak negative association between income and feeling ashamed.

Conclusion

This study highlights the critical importance of psychological functioning in shaping the mental well-being of healthcare professionals during pandemics. Prioritizing the mental health of frontline workers is crucial for their well-being and for the overall functioning of healthcare systems.

COVID-19 stress and coping strategies among older adults: a systematic review of qualitative evidences

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about far more stressful conditions for people worldwide. As a vulnerable group, older adults have suffered various psychological problems, such as stress, because of this pandemic and have applied various strategies to cope with the dire consequences. This study aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence regarding coping strategies for stressful situations among older adults throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

We searched electronic databases, including Scopus, Embase, PubMed, ProQuest, and the Cochrane Library, based on PRISMA standards. The protocol of this systematic review was registered on the PROSPERO (registration code: CRD42022364831). All relevant English-language articles published between 2019 and November 10, 2022, were searched. We reviewed the reference lists for all the included studies and key references. Two reviewers conducted screening, data extraction, and quality appraisal independently, with disagreements resolved by consensus with all team members. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist was used to assess the quality of studies. A thematic synthesis of the selected studies was conducted.

RESULTS

We included 13 studies in our review. Most studies were conducted in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was classified into six categories: health management challenges, stress caused by quarantine, economic challenges, media and bad news stress, virus threats, and challenges related to the use of communication technologies. The strategies used by older adults to cope with these challenges were categorized into five categories: protective strategies, avoidance strategies, maintaining social connections, meaning-based strategies, and fun strategies. This research showed that depending on the situation and conditions, older adults use various strategies to cope with COVID-19.

CONCLUSION

Older adults experience much stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. In most cases, older adults can cope with these challenges with simple strategies from previous experiences and learnings. Older people require educational interventions in some cases, such as those involving communication skills. A better understanding of older adults coping strategies may enable policymakers to develop more effective policies and manage the problems of older adults in post-COVID situations.

Identification of factors associated with non-adherence to recommended COVID-19 preventive behaviours: a cross-sectional study based on a survey among 1004 French primary care professionals

OBJECTIVES

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, adherence to preventive behaviours to limit virus spread has been a major issue. The study objective was to identify factors associated with non-adherence to preventive behaviours among general practitioners (GPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic using data from a questionnaire completed during the French National Congress of General Medicine in June 2021.

DESIGN

This descriptive study relied on data collected with a questionnaire during the national congress on general medicine in Bordeaux, France, from 16-18 June 2021.

SETTING

The study was conducted in primary care in France.

PARTICIPANTS

Out of a total of 1004 GPs and GP trainees, 755 completed the questionnaire during conferences and 249 were contacted by mail.

RESULTS

The questionnaire included questions on sociodemographic characteristics and COVID-19 related preventive behaviours, beliefs and experiences. Answers to questions that explored the Health Belief Model components were selected and then compared among participants who reported appropriate preventive behaviours (wearing face masks and social distancing) and participants who reported non-adherence. Analysis was based on multivariate logistic regression.The responders' mean age was 35.8 years; 61.64% were women, 61.9% were practising GPs and 37.2% were GP trainees. Moreover, 96.6% of participants had completed the COVID-19 vaccination schedule. Non-adherence (reported by 72/1004 participants) was more frequent among smokers (OR=2.57, 95% CI 1.29 to 4.83, p=0.005) and younger participants (OR=0.95, 95% CI 0.92 to 0.98, p=0.005). Complete COVID-19 vaccination or a previous infection was not associated with non-adherence and has been poorly described.

CONCLUSION

More studies are needed to confirm the factors involved in the adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviours by healthcare professionals and to explore the beliefs and barriers to the adoption of these behaviours.

A serial mediation model of negative life events on school adjustment of left-behind adolescents in rural china: the central role of hope and gratitude

Adjustment difficulties of school students are common and their school adjustment has gained wide concern in recent years. Negative life events (NLEs) hope, and gratitude have been associated with school adjustment. However, the potential effect of NLEs on hope and gratitude and whether hope and gratitude mediate the association between NLEs and school adjustment among high students have not been studied. Thus, this study aims to investigate the association between NLEs, hope and gratitude, and school adjustment in high school students in China. Additionally, the study aims to examine the mediating role of hope and gratitude in the association between NLEs and school adjustment. A total of 700 junior high school students in Guangxi Province (336 boys, 364 girls, M age = 15 years) completed the questionnaire. The results indicated significant mediating effects of hope and gratitude in the sequential positive association between NLEs and school adjustment. Furthermore, this study unraveled the complexity of the link between NLEs and school adjustment with the combination of hope and gratitude. The findings emphasized the importance of fostering hope and gratitude in left-behind adolescents to combat the negative consequences of NLEs. The study is also one of the first to investigate a serial mediation model to determine which NLEs influence Chinese left-behind adolescents' school adjustment.

Resilience, Coping, and the Covid-19 Pandemic Across the Globe - an Update: What Have we Learned?

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic is a mass traumatic event that has universally and indiscriminately negatively affected the world. The adverse consequences of the pandemic have globally impacted psychological health and well-being via increased stressors, such as uncertainty, health anxieties, and financial instability. During the initial months of the pandemic, we (Polizzi et al., 2020) identified coping strategies that may be well-suited to address the sequelae of the pandemic. These strategies included behavioral activation, acceptance-based coping, mindfulness practice, and loving-kindness meditation. We argued that these coping skills may foster resilience and recovery during the pandemic by generating a sense of social connection, encouraging meaning-making, and enhancing feelings of control amid uncertainty. Three years later, we update our initial suggestions by providing a narrative review that considers empirical evidence collected during the pandemic to support the utility of the previously identified coping strategies as well as additional strategies. We also discuss cross-cultural similarities and differences among these strategies and how research supports their application across diverse countries and groups. Finally, we conclude by synthesizing the literature within a regulatory flexibility framework that emphasizes flexible skill implementation with respect to sensitivity to context, coping repertoires, and feedback from the environment.