The coronavirus pandemic has taken a detrimental toll on the lives of individuals globally. In addition to the direct effect (e.g., being infected with the virus), this pandemic has negatively ravaged many industries, particularly food retail, food services, and hospitality. Given the novelty of the disease, the true impact of COVID-19 remains to be determined. Because of the nature of their work, and the characteristics of the workers, individuals in the food retail, food service, and hospitality industries are a group whose vulnerability is at its most fragile state during this pandemic. Through this qualitative study, we explored workers' perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health and coping, including screening for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder symptoms. Twenty-seven individual interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Four key themes emerged: being infected and infecting others, the unknown, isolation, and work and customer demands. Considering the many uncertainties of COVID-19, workers in these three industries were experiencing heightened levels of mental distress because of where they worked and the already existing disparities they faced on a daily basis before the pandemic started. Yet they remained hopeful for a better future. More studies are needed to fully understand the magnitude, short-term, and long-term effects of COVID-19. Based on this study's findings, programs are critically needed to promote positive coping behaviors among at-risk and distressed workers. Recommendations for employers, occupational health and safety professionals, and policy stakeholders to further support these service workers are discussed.
Hospital-based protocols to support pet care needs for hospitalized patients may have potential to benefit patient health and wellbeing, but must be informed by experiences of hospitalized pet owners. The aim of this study was to determine the scope and need for pet care services among hospitalized patients. A panel of prior inpatients and their family members at a tertiary care center were surveyed about preferences, experiences, and need for assistance with pet care during hospitalization. Respondents (n = 113) expressed interest in a low/no-cost pet-boarding or foster program for adult patients struggling to find pet care assistance. The majority of respondents (n = 71; 63%) reported challenges securing pet care during a prior hospitalization, and/or knew someone who encountered similar challenges. Respondents also indicated that these challenges had a negative impact on health, recovery, or their own decision to receive medical care. Pet care challenges during hospitalization are likely common and have the potential to hamper medical decision-making and health outcomes of inpatients.
Introduction: Stress and adversity during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood could impact the present and future health and well-being of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS); however, a lifespan approach and nuanced stressor data are scarce in this nascent area of research. Our aim was to examine relationships among comprehensively measured lifetime stressors and two self-reported MS outcomes: (1) disability and (2) relapse burden changes since COVID-19 onset.
Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from a nationally distributed survey of U.S.-based adults with MS. Hierarchical block regressions were used to sequentially evaluate contributions to both outcomes independently. Likelihood ratio (LR) tests and Akaike information criterion (AIC) were used to evaluate additional predictive variance and model fit. Results: A total of 713 participants informed either outcome. Most respondents (84%) were female, 79% had relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), and mean (SD) age was 49 (12.7) years. Childhood (R 2 = .261, p < .001; AIC = 1063, LR p < .05) and adulthood stressors (R 2 = .2725, p < .001, AIC = 1051, LR p < .001) contributed significantly to disability, above and beyond prior nested models. Only adulthood stressors (R 2 = .0534, p < .001; AIC = 1572, LR p < .01) significantly contributed above the nested model for relapse burden changes since COVID-19. Conclusions: Stressors across the lifespan are commonly reported in PwMS and could contribute to disease burden. Incorporating this perspective into the "lived experience with MS" could facilitate personalized health care by addressing key stress-related exposures and inform intervention research to improve well-being.
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