The COVID-19 pandemic represents a traumatic event that has profoundly changed working conditions with detrimental consequences for workers' health, in particular for the healthcare population directly involved in addressing the emergency. Nevertheless, previous research has demonstrated that traumatic experiences can also lead to positive reactions, stimulating resilience and feelings of growth. The aim of this narrative review is to investigate the positive aspects associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible health prevention and promotion strategies by analyzing the available scientific evidence. In particular, we focus on the constructs of resilience, coping strategies and posttraumatic growth (PTG). A literature search was performed on the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Psycinfo databases. Forty-six articles were included in the literature synthesis. Psychological resilience is a fundamental variable for reducing and preventing the negative psychological effects of the pandemic and is associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety and burnout. At the individual and organizational level, resilience plays a crucial role in enhancing wellbeing in healthcare and non-healthcare workers. Connected to resilience, adaptive coping strategies are essential for managing the emergency and work-related stress. Several positive factors influencing resilience have been highlighted in the development of PTG. At the same time, high levels of resilience and positive coping strategies can enhance personal growth. Considering the possible long-term coexistence and consequences of COVID-19, organizational interventions should aim to improve workers' adaptive coping skills, resilience and PTG in order to promote wellbeing.

Resilience, Coping Strategies and Posttraumatic Growth in the Workplace Following COVID-19: A Narrative Review on the Positive Aspects of Trauma.

The Global Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and, Insomnia and Its’ Changes among Health Professionals during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The evaluation of esophageal adenocarcinoma using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

The general population has reported experiencing anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the validity and utility of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6) scale for measuring the anxiety response of the general population to the viral epidemic. About 1,009 respondents participated in an online survey. Of these, 501 (49.7%) participants were rated as having at least a mild degree of anxiety response to the viral epidemic (SAVE-6 score ≥ 15), while 90 (8.9%) and 69 (6.8%) participants were rated as having moderate degree of depression and anxiety, respectively. The SAVE-6 scale showed a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.815). Parallel analysis suggested a one-factor structure for the measure. The SAVE-6 scale was found to be a reliable, valid, and useful brief measure that can be applied to the general population.

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The Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 Items (SAVE-6) Scale: A New Instrument for Assessing the Anxiety Response of General Population to the Viral Epidemic During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose
This phase II study evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of one cycle of induction chemotherapy, followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) featuring capecitabine/cisplatin, followed in turn by surgery, in the treatment of patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Phase II study of use of a single cycle of induction chemotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy containing capecitabine/cisplatin followed by surgery for patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: long-term follow-up data

We aimed to investigate the relationship between mental health problems and unhealthy behaviors among healthcare workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an online survey, we collected data on healthcare workers’ perception regarding COVID-19 exposure in a work unit. Workers’, depression, insomnia, and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Insomnia Severity Index, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, respectively. Work-related stress and anxiety in response to the viral epidemic were measured using the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemic-9 (SAVE-9) scale. We found that, work-related stress and anxiety in response to the viral epidemic was associated with female sex, perception of the workplace as being dangerous, and depressive symptoms. Unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and drinking as coping behaviors during the pandemic, were associated with male sex, young age, depression, and insomnia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to closely observe the patterns of work-related stress and anxiety reactions among healthcare workers to reduce their burnout.

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Risk Perception, Unhealthy Behavior, and Anxiety Due to Viral Epidemic Among Healthcare Workers: The Relationships With Depressive and Insomnia Symptoms During COVID-19

The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties and validity of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6) among medical students who are at high risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. A total of 212 medical students participated in the online anonymous survey that used SAVE-6, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 items (GAD-7), and Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS). We observed that the single-factor structure model of the SAVE-6 scale showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.756) and a good convergent validity with GAD-7 (rho = 0.320, p < 0.001), CAS (rho = 0.229, p < 0.001), and WSAS (rho = 0.278, p < 0.001). The appropriate cut-off score of the SAVE-6 scale was determined as 15 points in accordance with at least a mild degree of generalized anxiety (GAD-7 score of 5) among medical students. In conclusion, the SAVE-6 scale can be applied to medical students as a reliable and valid rating scale to assess anxiety response to the present viral pandemic.

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Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 for Medical Students: Psychometric Properties of the Anxiety Measure for the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the effect of nursing professionals' resilience on their mental health, work-related stress, and anxiety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted an online survey in the Asan Medical Center and Ulsan University Hospital, South Korea. We extracted data of 824 nursing professionals who consented to participate, including demographic variables and the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9), PHQ-9, GAD-7, and Brief Resilience Scale scores. RESULTS: Resilience was negatively correlated with Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) (rho=-0.23), Generalized Anxiety Scale-7 items (GAD-7) (rho=-0.25), Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidem-ics-6 items (SAVE-6) (rho=-0.15), and Stress And anxiety to Viral Epidemics-3 items (SAVE-3) (rho=-0.13, all, p<0.001). Logistic regression analysis adjusting age, marital status, and years of employment revealed that high level of general anxiety [adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.31-1.50], work-related stress during viral epidemics (aOR=1.16, 95% CI=1.03-1.29), and a low level of resilience (aOR=0.91, 95% CI=0.85-0.97) were expecting variables for the depression of healthcare workers. CONCLUSION: Nursing professionals' level of resilience may be associated with low level of work-related stress and anxiety induced by a viral epidemic. We need to explore further the possibility of resilience as coping strategy of healthcare workers in this pandemic era.

/pdf/resilience-and-work-related-stress-may-affect-depressive-40r5v92lvy.pdf

Resilience and Work-Related Stress May Affect Depressive Symptoms in Nursing Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Conventional treatment of esophageal cancer with surgery or radiation alone has afforded few long-term survivors. In order to improve outcome and determine the efficacy of a combined modality approach, this prospective study was performed. Between May 1993 and August 1994, 27 patients with loco-regional squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus were treated with 2 courses of combined fluorouracil(1000mg per square meter of body-surface area daily for 5 days) and cisplatin(60mg per square meter on the first day)(D1 and D29) plus 48Gy of radiation therapy(RT) over 4 weeks. A transhiatal esophagectomy was planned 3-4 weeks after chemoradiotherapy. Twenty-seven patients completed a full course of therapy. Clinical response was evaluable in 26 patients: 22 patients showed improvement and relief from dysphagia, 2 patients stable disease, and 2 patients progression. One patient died of sepsis 1 week after completion of chemoradiotherapy and was excluded from the analysis. Ten patients underwent operation after chemoradiation. Of them, 5 showed complete histologic response. One of the complete responders died of recurred disease 8.5months after operation, the other 2 patients died of sudden death, and sepsis from wound deheiscence 7 days after operation, respectively. Nine patients refused operation because of excellent relief of their dysphagia and 6 patients were denied because of disease progression(2), fear of operations(2), old age and family member's disapprovement(1), and underlying liver cirrhosis(1). The last one patient was awaiting for operation. Of 13 patients who refused or denied operation, 6 patients finished further chemotherapy and radiatherapy(external radiation 1200 cGy+intracavitary radiation 900 cGy, 2 cycles of 5FU+cisplatin). This intensive preoperative chemoradiotherapy is feasible, and allows for a high rate of resectability and a high rate of complete pathologic response in a locoregional esophageal cancer. Toxicity is considerable but manageable. This study warrants further investigation.

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy for locoregional esophageal cancer: preliminary report

BACKGROUND Noise has been a major issue in children due to its effect on emotional symptoms and sleep problems. The present study investigated the effect of noise on sleep and autonomic activity in children according to three variables, namely, road traffic noise, aircraft noise, and noise sensitivity (NS). METHODS The study is epidemiological in nature. A total of 474 subjects of four elementary schools were evaluated in conjunction with the 2014 noise map data gathered from two metropolitan regions, Seoul and Ulsan, in South Korea. Each subject completed the children's sleep habits questionnaire, and heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded. Analysis of covariance was performed using monthly income as a covariate. RESULTS Aircraft noise was associated with night waking (P = 0.047), whereas no significant association was observed between sleep and road traffic noise. After stratifying by NS, no significant results were obtained for road traffic noise. However, high levels of aircraft noise in the high-NS group were associated with high degrees of bedtime resistance (P = 0.049). In terms of HRV, no significant difference was observed in the results between groups. CONCLUSION Road traffic noise did not significantly alter sleep or autonomic activity in children, whereas aircraft noise exerted a negative effect on sleep. The findings suggest that the impact of noise on sleep in children varies depending on noise sources.

https://jkms.org/pdf/10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e234

Jukab Lee

Papers

Risk Perception, Unhealthy Behavior, and Anxiety Due to Viral Epidemic Among Healthcare Workers: The Relationships With Depressive and Insomnia Symptoms During COVID-19

Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 for Medical Students: Psychometric Properties of the Anxiety Measure for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Resilience and Work-Related Stress May Affect Depressive Symptoms in Nursing Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy for locoregional esophageal cancer: preliminary report

Effect of Noise on Sleep and Autonomic Activity in Children according to Source