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Various changes have affected health services delivery in response to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this may exhibit unprecedented effects on healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to explore the lived experience of physicians and nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in Jordan. An interpretative phenomenology approach was used, and sampling was purposively performed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using an online meeting platform (Zoom®). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed. The data were obtained from 26 physicians and nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. The mean age of the participants was 29.41 years (SD = 2.72). Six main themes and 17 subthemes were identified: (i) emotional reactions; (ii) preparation; (iii) source of support; (iv) extreme workload; (v) occupational challenges, and (vi) work-related concerns. The results showed that nurses and physicians caring for COVID-19 patients in Jordan were experiencing mental and emotional distress and were practicing under inadequate work conditions. This distress could be multifactorial with personal, organizational, or cultural origins. Our findings may guide policymakers to consider the potential factors that significantly affect working environment in healthcare settings, the physical and mental wellbeing of HCWs, and the required professional training that can help in enhancing resilience and coping strategies amidst crises.

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Objective: Pandemics are claimed to result in certain stressors. However, the potential psychological impact of a pandemic is often overlooked. The current study aimed to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Jordanians and to evaluate the influence of the socio-demographic variables on this impact.Method: The current study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design using the Impact of Event Scale—Revised (IES-R) via a web-based questionnaire. The researchers utilized convenience sampling which led to a total of 2,854 participants from the 12 governorates of Jordan.Results: The average score of the participants' responses on the IES-R questionnaire turned out to be 22.5 ± 11.7. Females were found to have more than double the odds of having an increased IES-R score [odds ratio (OR) = 2.2, confidence interval (CI) = 1.76–2.67] and participants who were older than 65 years had triple the odds of having the same risk compared to young adults aged 18–25 years (OR = 3.1, CI = 1.3–7.4). Significantly, having a family member diagnosed with COVID-19 placed individuals at a 7-fold higher risk of having an increased IRS-R score compared to their counterparts who did not have a family member diagnosed with COVID-19 (OR = 7, CI = 3.7–13.3).Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant level of psychological burden on Jordanians, especially among females. Governments should collaborate with psychiatrists, mental health professionals and local institutions to offer high-quality, timely crisis-oriented psychological services to the affected individuals for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Introduction This study aimed to isolate bacterial pathogens from the dominant hand and mobile phones and to determine their antibiotic susceptibility profiles. The dominant hand and mobile surfaces were swabbed to detect the transmission of bacterial pathogens among university students. Methods Two hundred and twenty hand and mobile phone swabs were collected from the students of four different colleges in a Jordanian university between October and December 2017. The swabs were collected and transported to the Microbiology laboratory within one hour. At the lab, swabs were inoculated on nutrient agar, MacConkey agar, blood agar and mannitol salt agar. The subsequent bacterial isolates were identified by their cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. Results Eight bacterial species were isolated and identified in the current study, namely Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Micrococcus spp. and Escherichia coli. The percentage of isolated bacteria was 54.5%, 25.5%, 14.5% and 5.5% from veterinary, biology, biomedical engineering and chemistry students, respectively. Many isolates were highly resistant to most tested antibiotics. Conclusions Pathogenic bacteria were detected with multiple antibiotic resistance indexes. Hands and mobile phones can act as carriers for infectious agents, suggesting the need for proper hand hygiene and disinfecting mobile phones surfaces. Keywords Hand hygiene, mobile phone, students, bacterial pathogens, antibiogram. Introduction1 Human pathogens can be transferred to hands from contaminated surfaces with which they come into contact in daily life. Hands can easily transmit infectious diseases either to oneself or to others. Hand washing with soap is the most

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