University of Jordan

About: University of Jordan is a education organization based out in Amman, Jordan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 7796 authors who have published 13764 publications receiving 213526 citations.

Acute stress disorder, coping self-efficacy and subsequent psychological distress among nurses amid COVID-19.

Abstract: Purpose Health care professionals, particularly nurses, are considered a vulnerable group to experience acute stress disorder (ASD) and subsequent psychological distress amid COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to establish the prevalence of acute stress disorder and predictors of psychological distress among Jordanian nurses. Methods A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive and comparative design was used. Data were collected using a Web-based survey. A total of 448 Jordanian nurses (73% females) completed and returned the study questionnaire. Results The majority of nurses (64%) are experiencing ASD due to the COVID-19 pandemic and thus are at risk for PTSD predisposition. More than one-third of nurses (41%) are also suffering significant psychological distress. Among our sample, age, ASD and coping self-efficacy significantly predicted psychological distress. More specifically, younger nurses are more prone to experience psychological distress than older ones. While higher scores on ASD showed more resultant psychological distress, coping self-efficacy was a protective factor. Conclusion Given that individuals who suffer from ASD are predisposed to PTSD, follow-up with nurses to screen for PTSD and referral to appropriate psychological services is pivotal. Coping self-efficacy is found to ameliorate the effect of psychological distress on nurses' traumatic experience. Such findings warrant intensive efforts from health care institutions to provide psychosocial support services for nurses and ongoing efforts to screen them for traumatic and psychological distress symptoms. Implications for nursing management Nursing leaders and managers are in the forefront of responding to the unique needs of their workforces during the COVID-19 crisis. They need to implement stress-reduction strategies for nurses through providing consecutive rest days, rotating allocations of complex patients, arranging support services and being accessible to staff. They also need to ensure nurses' personal safety through securing and providing personal safety measures and undertake briefings to ensure their staff's physical and mental well-being, as well as providing referrals to appropriate psychological services.

Coral mucus fuels the sponge loop in warm- and cold-water coral reef ecosystems

Abstract: Shallow warm-water and deep-sea cold-water corals engineer the coral reef framework and fertilize reef communities by releasing coral mucus, a source of reef dissolved organic matter (DOM). By transforming DOM into particulate detritus, sponges play a key role in transferring the energy and nutrients in DOM to higher trophic levels on Caribbean reefs via the so-called sponge loop. Coral mucus may be a major DOM source for the sponge loop, but mucus uptake by sponges has not been demonstrated. Here we used laboratory stable isotope tracer experiments to show the transfer of coral mucus into the bulk tissue and phospholipid fatty acids of the warm-water sponge Mycale fistulifera and cold-water sponge Hymedesmia coriacea, demonstrating a direct trophic link between corals and reef sponges. Furthermore, 21–40% of the mucus carbon and 32–39% of the nitrogen assimilated by the sponges was subsequently released as detritus, confirming a sponge loop on Red Sea warm-water and north Atlantic cold-water coral reefs. The presence of a sponge loop in two vastly different reef environments suggests it is a ubiquitous feature of reef ecosystems contributing to the high biogeochemical cycling that may enable coral reefs to thrive in nutrient-limited (warm-water) and energy-limited (cold-water) environments.