State and local governments imposed social distancing measures in March and April 2020 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These measures included bans on large socia...

Strong Social Distancing Measures In The United States Reduced The COVID-19 Growth Rate.

http://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140673621027963/pdf

Estimating excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis of COVID-19-related mortality, 2020–21

https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/191169/1/1-s2.0-S027795362030589X-main.pdf

Non-compliance with COVID-19-related public health measures among young adults in Switzerland: Insights from a longitudinal cohort study.

Israel is a small country, with just over 8 million citizens and a modern market-based economy with a comparable level of gross domestic product per capita to the average in the European Union. It has had universal health coverage since the introduction of a progressively financed statutory health insurance system in 1995. All citizens can choose from among four competing, non-profit-making health plans, which are charged with providing a broad package of benefits stipulated by the government. Overall, the Israeli health care system is quite efficient. Health status levels are comparable to those of other developed countries, even though Israel spends a relatively low proportion of its gross domestic product on health care (less than 8%) and nearly 40% of that is privately financed. Factors contributing to system efficiency include regulated competition among the health plans, tight regulatory controls on the supply of hospital beds, accessible and professional primary care and a well-developed system of electronic health records. Israeli health care has also demonstrated a remarkable capacity to innovate, improve, establish goals, be tenacious and prioritize. Israel is in the midst of numerous health reform efforts. The health insurance benefits package has been extended to include mental health care and dental care for children. A multipronged effort is underway to reduce health inequalities. National projects have been launched to measure and improve the quality of hospital care and reduce surgical waiting times, along with greater public dissemination of comparative performance data. Major steps are also being taken to address projected shortages of physicians and nurses. One of the major challenges currently facing Israeli health care is the growing reliance on private financing, with potentially deleterious effects for equity and efficiency. Efforts are currently underway to expand public financing, improve the efficiency of the public system and constrain the growth of the private sector.

Israel: Health System Review.

To contain the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, health and government authorities have imposed sweeping self-quarantine orders for communities worldwide. Health officials assume that the public will have high rates of compliance. However, studies suggest that a major obstacle to compliance for household quarantine is concern about loss of income. A cross-sectional study of the adult population of Israel was conducted in the last week of February 2020 to assess public attitudes toward the COVID-19 outbreak. In particular, public compliance rates with self-quarantine were assessed, depending on whether lost wages would be compensated for. When compensation was assumed, the compliance rate was 94 percent. When compensation was removed, the compliance rate dropped to less than 57 percent. This study demonstrated that providing people with assurances about their livelihoods during self-quarantine is an important component of compliance with public health regulations.

Self-Isolation Compliance In The COVID-19 Era Influenced By Compensation: Findings From A Recent Survey In Israel.

Objective: The effects of televised trauma on the emotional well-being of television viewers has received some scientific attention in recent years, suggesting that the general public is placed at risk of developing distress and possibly posttraumatic psychopathology as a result of secondary exposure via mass media. At the break of a recent war in Gaza, we assessed the psychological effects of the extensive news broadcasting. Method: An omnibus survey was performed two weeks into Operation Protective Edge with a sample of 500 participants representing the adult (> 18) Jewish population of Israel. Results: The results suggest that a vast majority (87.2%) of the population tuned in to the newscasts and the majority (76.7%) of viewers increased their news consumption compared to normal. Increased frequency of viewing newscasts was associated with reported anxiety reflected in uncontrolled fear, physiological hyperarousal, sleeping difficulties, and fearful thoughts. A regression model revealed that viewers w...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00332747.2015.1069658

Anxiety-Inducing Media: The Effect of Constant News Broadcasting on the Well-Being of Israeli Television Viewers.

The outbreak of a new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses dramatic challenges to public health authorities worldwide. One measure put in place to contain the spread of the disease is self-quarantine of individuals who may have been exposed to the disease. While officials expect the public to comply with such regulation, studies suggest that a major obstacle to compliance for self-quarantine is concern over loss of income or employment due to the prolonged absence from work. A cohort study of the adult population of Israel was conducted in two time points during the COVID-19 outbreak, the last week of February and the third week of March 2020, in order to assess public attitudes. In particular, public compliance rates to self-quarantine with and without State-sponsored compensation for lost wages were assessed. The results suggest that public attitudes changed as the threat increased, making people more compliant with regulations. In February 2020, compliance rate for self-quarantine dropped from 94% to less than 57% when monetary compensation for lost wages was removed; however, in March 2020 this drop became more moderate (from 96 to 71%). The multivariate logistic regression revealed that older, non-Jewish, worried over COVID-19, and trusting the Ministry of Health were more likely than their counterparts to comply with self-isolation, even when monetary compensation was not assumed. Despite the effects of threat on people’s obedience with regulations, this study demonstrates that providing people with assurances about their livelihood during absence from work remains an important component in compliance with public health regulations.

/pdf/income-assurances-are-a-crucial-factor-in-determining-public-4x48ibv985.pdf

Income assurances are a crucial factor in determining public compliance with self-isolation regulations during the COVID-19 outbreak - cohort study in Israel.

The current paradigm in disaster risk planning and reduction is the All-Hazards Approach (AHA) framework, which suggests that different hazards share commonalities allowing for the generalization of parts of the preparedness to all A growing body of literature suggests that this approach has many flaws, rendering it suboptimal in promoting disaster readiness The Novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak is a major wake-up call in this regard This perspective article uses the experience from the COVID-19 pandemic that disproves or at least undermines, many aspects of the AHA, including early warning, medical public health response, reliance on international assistance, lead agency, and politicization of the crisis A pandemic is a unique disaster with little relationship to other disaster types and requires an entirely different way of planning The COVID-19 pandemic is a call to action for a consolidated alternative framework called the Top-Hazards Approach (THA), arguing that inherently different events require different planning and mitigation tactics, and therefore should be prioritized according to likelihood and severity in each local context

The COVID-19 Pandemic Challenge to the All-Hazards Approach for Disaster Planning

INTRODUCTION: Injury patterns are closely related to changes in behavior. Pandemics and measures undertaken against them may cause changes in behavior; therefore, changes in injury patterns during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak can be expected when compared to the parallel period in previous years. STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare injury-related hospitalization patterns during the overall national lockdown period with parallel periods of previous years. METHODS: A retrospective study was completed of all patients hospitalized from March 15 through April 30, for years 2016-2020. Data were obtained from 21 hospitals included in the national trauma registry during the study years. Clinical, demographic, and circumstantial parameters were compared amongst the years of the study. RESULTS: The overall volume of injured patients significantly decreased during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 outbreak, with the greatest decrease registered for road traffic collisions (RTCs). Patients' sex and ethnic compositions did not change, but a smaller proportion of children were hospitalized during the outbreak. Many more injuries were sustained at home during the outbreak, with proportions of injuries in all other localities significantly decreased. Injuries sustained during the COVID-19 outbreak were more severe, specifically due to an increase in severe injuries in RTCs and falls. The proportion of intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations did not change, however more surgeries were performed; patients stayed less days in hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The lockdown period of the COVID-19 outbreak led to a significant decrease in number of patients hospitalized due to trauma as compared to parallel periods of previous years. Nevertheless, trauma remains a major health care concern even during periods of high-impact disease outbreaks, in particular due to increased proportion of severe injuries and surgeries.

/pdf/covid-19-changed-the-injury-patterns-of-hospitalized-2ikzxobs4y.pdf

Moran Bodas

Papers

Self-Isolation Compliance In The COVID-19 Era Influenced By Compensation: Findings From A Recent Survey In Israel.

Anxiety-Inducing Media: The Effect of Constant News Broadcasting on the Well-Being of Israeli Television Viewers.

Income assurances are a crucial factor in determining public compliance with self-isolation regulations during the COVID-19 outbreak - cohort study in Israel.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Challenge to the All-Hazards Approach for Disaster Planning

COVID-19 Changed the Injury Patterns of Hospitalized Patients.