The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had different effects on different occupations. The present study was designed to systematically review the available evidence to investigate the pandemic on occupational effects. The academic databases of Scopus, PubMed Central, ProQuest, Science Direct, and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched systematically between December 2019 and February 2021. COVID-19-related fear, concern, worry, anxiety, and stress in combination with job-related MeSH terms were used to search the databases. The methodological quality of included papers was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale checklist. To synthesize data, a qualitative synthesis of findings was performed due to the small number of included studies (n = 4) and the heterogeneity of the assessed outcomes. Four studies were included in the final analysis. All four studies were cross-sectional, collected the data online, and comprised 1654 participants from four different countries. Fear of COVID-19 was associated with increased future career anxiety, perceived job insecurity, organizational and professional turnover intentions, and decreased job satisfaction. COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome was associated with scores on the Work and Social Adjustment Scale. As so few studies have been conducted, there are no conclusive findings. More studies using valid and reliable measures to assess fear/anxiety related to COVID-19 and its' association with job attributes are needed. It is also recommended that these associations are examined in variety of different jobs.

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In Africa, a systematic appraisal of the associated pattern of psychiatric disorders (PDs) among health-care workers (HCWs) is lacking. We, therefore, aimed to ascertain the pattern of PDs and their associated risk factors among HCWs in Africa during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. We identified 12 studies for inclusion after searching four databases: Web of Science, PubMed, AJOL, and EBSCOhost for articles written in English from January 2020 to April 2021. Anxiety disorder with rates from 9.5% to 73.3% and depression, 12.5% to 71.9%, were the most reported PDs. Availability of protective gear and information regarding preventive measures reduced the risk of developing any PDs, while psychoactive substance use, history of chronic medical illness, low level of resilience, and low social support increased these risks. A considerable proportion of HCWs manifest various psychological problems such as their counterparts in other parts of the world. Multiple factors were also implicated as risk, albeit associations were not consistently established across the studies. There is a need to increase research capacity tailored to the HCW population's needs in the continent.

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Introduction: The spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new public health concern that has shaken the whole world and possesses a challenge to the mental health of the public. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the perceived stress, anxiety level, and mental health of medical students as well as to explore the knowledge of COVID-19 among Indian medical students. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among the undergraduate medical interns and postgraduate medical residents using the online data collection form. The form consisted of five domains (sociodemographic details, knowledge assessment, perceived stress assessment, generalized anxiety disorder-7 assessment, and assessment of the perceived level of change in social habits and personal hygiene related to COVID-19 outbreak). The statistical analysis of the responses was carried out by the Mann–Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Results: Two hundred participants filled the distributed survey, 61% (n = 122) were males. The mean knowledge score of 200 participants was 4.27 ± 1.45. The participant had a mean perceived stress score of 18.35 ± 6.28, and the females had a significantly higher perceived stress level than the male (P = 0.037). About 10% (n = 20) of the participants reported high perceived stress level (27–40), and moderate stress (score 14–26) was reported in 69% (n = 138) of the participants. However, only 21% (n = 42) of the participants reported low stress (0–13). While only moderate anxiety (score 10–14) was reported in 16% (n = 32) of the participant and 4% (n = 8) of the participants reported severe anxiety (score >14). Conclusion: There is an increased stress and anxiety in Indian medical students due to overburdened responsibilities and lack of adequate resources.

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Introduction: With the rapid increase in the prevalence of the Internet and/or smartphone usage worldwide in the last decade, engagement in internet gaming and social media may be problematic and may lead to negative consequences on mental and physical health among young adults. The main objectives of the present study are (1) to investigate how internet gaming and social media impact on physical activity, sleep quality, quality of life (QoL), and academic performance of university students in Hong Kong and (2) to investigate how physical activity and sleep associate with QoL and academic performance of university students in Hong Kong. Methods: This study employed a longitudinal design with 3-month duration. Hong Kong university students (n = 15; 4 males; mean age = 26.87 years) completed the questionnaires, wore a device to measure their physical activity and sleep, provided screen time data showing the time usage of applications on gaming and social media categories, and academic transcript for the study. Results: Internet gaming was negatively correlated with physical activity and psychological QoL (r_s = −0.49 to −0.62); social media use was negatively correlated with physical activity and sleep quality (r_s = −0.48 to −0.63); internet gaming and smartphone addiction were negatively correlated with academic performance (r_s = −0.51 to −0.53); physical activity was positively correlated with psychological QoL (r_s = 0.49). Conclusion: The results emphasized that internet gaming and smartphone addiction tend to have negative impact on physical activity, psychological QoL, sleep, and academic performance. The findings may be regarded as a direction for health-care providers to develop and evaluate the intervention to treat the specific type of internet/smartphone overuse.

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Introduction: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global threat and has affected physical as well as mental health adversely. There had been an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases in India from May to October 2020. Isolation, hospitalization, and stigmatization were significant issues in COVID-19 crisis. The literature is sparse on the mental health effects on hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to describe the psychological consequences and coping strategies of COVID-19 patients admitted to tertiary health-care hospital. The objectives were (1) to assess the psychological consequences in COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital, (2) to assess the coping strategies in these COVID-19 patients, and (3) to find correlations of sociodemographic characteristics, psychological consequences, and coping strategies of these COVID-19 patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional qualitative study, 100 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection participated. In-depth interviews were conducted using semi-structured questionnaire. The narratives were coded into themes and correlations of variables generated were done using Chi-square test. Results: The most common themes about the psychological state of patients were loneliness and isolation (56%), adjustment issues in the hospital (54%), and concerns about family members (32%). Patients who had family members also suffering from COVID-19 illness (24%) had more concerns about their health (Chi-square 25.209, P = 0.00) and had worries of their future (Chi-square 7.023, P = 0.008). Females had more worries about family members (Chi-square 16.295, P = 0.00) and had more concerns about their own health (Chi-square 5.71, P = 0.01). The most common coping strategies used by patients were digital communication with family members (82%), distraction (58%), and communicating with other co-patients (30%) to deal with their psychological distress. Conclusion: COVID-19 infection leads to psychological distress due to multiple factors. Timely interventions with support for effective coping mechanisms can help in alleviating the distress.

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Estimations of the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 are important to plan the vaccination process and also to coordinate efforts to reach herd immunity.Aims and Objectives: In this article, we test standard measures of vaccination willingness against systematic biases caused by misunderstandings and lack of information. We use a survey among 730 persons living in Germany at the start of the official vaccination program. We elicit willingness to vaccinate first in a standard form, and then again after clarifications and after providing additional information. We find that a substantial number of persons who state initially that they do not want to get vaccinated does so simply because they want to let people with higher risk be vaccinated first. Appropriately rephrasing the question increases the willingness by around 5 percentage points. Information about herd immunity increases the willingness by additional 7%, confirming previous findings. Standard survey-based estimates of vaccination willingness might underestimate the real number of persons who want to get a vaccination. This number can be increased even further by simply providing appropriate information on herd immunity. In our sample this increased vaccination willingness from 71.4% to 83.6%.

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Introduction: The Internet has become an integral part of our lives and tool for social interaction and communication and it is becoming worrisome; Internet use among students is assuming a dimension of profound preoccupation over other activities of daily living. Internet addiction (IA) may raise risk for sleep problem, and contribute to the development of some psychiatric disorders and worsening mental health. The aim of this study was to study the interrelationship between IA and psychological well-being of medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the Ekiti State University College of Medicine among both preclinical and clinical medical students. The study population was the entire medical students. A total of 129 study participants (86 clinical and 43 preclinical students) were purposively enrolled, 83 males and 46 females. Data were collected from the students using a questionnaire that comprised four components: (i) Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, (ii) Young IA Test (YIAT), (iii) World Health Organization Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and (iv) Insomnia Severity Index. Results: About half (51.9%) of the students who engaged the Internet dwelled on social media. Moreover, the least reason for using the Internet was for their academic assignments. Twenty-two (17.1%) of the participants scored below the minimum score for addiction on YIAT. This study revealed a statistically insignificant negative correlation between the pairs of IA score and mental well-being (r = −121, P = 0.198) and alcohol use and mental well-being (r = −0.10, P = 0.279). There existed a statistically significant positive correlation between IA and insomnia (r = 0.320, P = 0.000) and IA and alcohol use (r = 0.428, P = 0.000). There was an insignificant positive relationship between alcohol use and insomnia (r = 0.072, P = 0.414). Conclusion: IA and its associated problems among students would require earnest intervention to curb problematic use in order to attain good mental well-being.

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Introduction: Social networking sites (SNSs) are popular, and there is a concern regarding its addiction among the young adults. The present study aimed to find the correlates of SNS addiction among the undergraduate health professionals. Methods: This was a 6-month, cross-sectional, and observational study of 730 undergraduate health professionals of government medical, dental, and physiotherapy colleges of Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. Participants were selected using stratified random sampling from the medical, dental, and physiotherapy government colleges. The Social Media Disorder Scale was used to detect the SNS addiction, the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Scale was used to find the severity of FOMO, the Perceived Stress Scale was used to detect the severity of stress, and the Insomnia Severity Index was used to detect the severity of insomnia in health professionals. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and multiple regression analysis were used for analysis of data. Results: The prevalence rate of SNS addiction was 15.02% among the undergraduate health professionals. Participants with addiction were using SNS widely (hostel, home, college, and leisure hours), spent more time and money on Internet, started SNS use before 5 years, and reported FOMO. They also reported moderate-to-severe stress and insomnia. Conclusion: SNS addiction is prevalent in undergraduate health professionals. High level of FOMO, perceived stress, and insomnia among the health professionals are important correlates with SNS addiction.

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Introduction: Nepal has one of the highest prevalences of hypertension in South Asia, which also causes other cardiovascular diseases. However, no studies investigated the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension by urban-rural stratification. Methods: We used a machine learning, Boruta algorithm to select risk factors and a tenfold random forest classifier to evaluate their performance. Finally, multivariate logistic regression estimated crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for knowledge generation. Results: The study included 7825 participants (urban: 4939; rural: 2886), where rural participants were slightly older (median: 37 years; interquartile range: 26–53) and females were more hypertensive (urban: n = 606, 34.5%; rural: n = 308, 31.2%). The prevalence of hypertension was 35.6% in urban and 34.1% in rural regions. The odds of hypertension increased in rural regions for advancing age, provinces (province 4 and 5), and ecological zones (hill and terai). Overweight and obese participants were more likely to have hypertension in both regions. Conclusion: The study recommends the rigorous improvement of public health programs in rural regions of province 4 and 5, concentrating on Dalit and Janajati older males from hill and terai ecological zones. Overweight and obese people from both regions also need special focus. Finally, policymakers and government officials have to tailor campaigns differently for robust implementation of the essential health-care package and multisectoral action plans to prevent and control hypertension.

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Introduction: Quality of life of couples may be affected by infertility. Information about their quality of life can be used for developing health promotion programs by the nurses. The purpose of this study was to predict the factors that affect the quality of life of infertile couples based on marital adjustment, factors related to infertility, and background characteristics. Methods: In this descriptive correlational study, 131 women and 79 men referred to an infertility center were recruited using a convenience method. Data were collected using the quality of life and Spiner's marital adjustment questionnaires. Regression analysis was used for the data analysis through the SPSS software version 16. Results: The means of the females and males' age were 35.74 ± 6.11 years and 32.45 ± 5.72 years, respectively. Of variables with a P < 0.1 that entered the regression analysis, marital adjustment (β = −0.444, P < 0.001), gender (β = 0.138, P < 0.023), and insurance (β = 0.199, P < 0.001) accounted for 78% of the observed variance in the quality of life of the infertile couples. Conclusion: The results revealed that fundamental interventions are needed to improve the quality of life of infertile couples. Providing the necessary training when couples go to the infertility clinic and improving insurance coverage for infertility treatment is recommended based on the results.

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Introduction: Internet pornography use is a sexual behavior, and it comprises a variety of online sexual activities, including watching pornography, online pornography exchange, and engaging in sex chats. Due to rise in Internet access and technologies, online pornography and other type of repetitive behaviors have increased. The current study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of problematic pornography consumption among undergraduate medical students. Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was carried out at seven different centers of Gujarat from October 2020 to December 2020. Online structured questionnaire in two different parts: (1) Demographic details and usage pattern of pornography among students, (2) Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale was prepared and shared with all undergraduate students through designated faculty. Logistic regression analysis was used for problematic pornography consumption (as dependent variable) and other categorical variables as independent variables. Results: A total of 1926 participants completed the study. The prevalence of problematic pornography consumption among participants was 14.6% (95% confidence interval 12.4–16.1). Male participants and participants who are in a romantic relationship have higher problematic pornography consumption. Participants' gender (odds ratio OR = 3.562), relationship status (OR = 1.636), weekly (OR = 1.749), and daily (OR = 1.733) pornography consumption emerged as statistically significant with the problematic pornography consumption from the logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Problematic pornography consumption is more prevalent among male under graduate medical students than females. It is important to educate the students about the potential harmful adverse effects of pornography and to develop a positive attitude toward sex.

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Introduction: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is truly a multidimensional issue having long-lasting effect on subject's physical and psychological health. The study was conducted with an aim to study various aspects of self-reported childhood sexual abuse in a sample of students from South India. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out during July to September 2018 among 399 students of two colleges located at Puducherry using a self-administered questionnaire. The desired sample size was calculated considering the proportion of college students suffered from childhood sexual abuse as 53.2%. In each college, the line listing of students from 1^st year to final year was done and simple random sampling technique was used for selecting the study subjects. The study was initiated after obtaining institutional ethical approval, and every student was ensured of complete confidentiality and privacy. Results: Of total 399 students, 130 (32.7%) students reported experiencing one or other form of CSA. Majority (40.0%) did not inform or share the instance of CSA to anyone. Fear of negative consequences (48.1%) and feelings of guilt (32.7%) were two top most factors that made them not to inform such abuse to their family members. Conclusion: Approximately one-third of students reported an incident of sexual abuse at least once in his/her life in Puducherry; thus, roots of CSA are deep in the society in which we live.

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Introduction: Participation in leisure activities is greatly associated with the health and well-being of older adults. This study investigated the role of leisure activities in predicting the quality of life of community-dwelling older adults. Methods: In this descriptive and cross-sectional study, 141 older adults were selected by cluster sampling method from public places. Data were collected through demographic characteristics, leisure time activities, and Lipad QoL questionnaires. The questionnaires were completed through face-to-face interviews. A regression model was used for data analysis. Results: The mean age of older adult participants was 70.36 years (standard deviation = 8.99; range: 60–100 years) and 63.8% were male. The results also showed a low level of leisure time engagement and high level of QoL among older adults. The results of the current study indicated that education level and leisure time activity engagement were associated with a better QoL. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, engagement in leisure activities is related to improvements in the QoL of community-dwelling older adults. It is recommended that policymakers and families plan for and implement leisure time activities for older adults.

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