Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Covid-19 Symptom-based Severity at Admission

Background: Increased Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) is an independent risk factor for mortality in Covid-19 patients and is considered as an early warning sign of Covid-19 severity. This study aimed to observe the differences in NLR at admission between patients with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms of Covid-19 treated in a referral hospital in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.Methods:  A total of 114 patients with Covid-19 admitted to a referral hospital in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, during March–September 2020 were included in this study. Demographic information and baseline laboratory data, including the NLR, were collected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: The median NLR at admission was higher among patients with moderate to severe symptoms than those with mild symptoms [6.54 (2.80–97.00, IQR 4.81–9.44) vs 2.27 (0.79–5.07, IQR 1.43-2.98), p <0.001]. Covid-19 patients who died had a higher NLR than those who survived [10.88 (4.17–47.50, IQR 7.00–15.17) vs 6.15 (2.80–97.00, IQR 4.63–8.50), p 0.02]. Patients with moderate-severe symptoms had an initial NLR of 4.63–8.50 and decreased to 2.75–5.43 at the end of the treatment had a greater chance of survival. There was an increased probability of death in patients with moderate-severe symptoms whose initial NLR was 7.00–15.17, which was then elevated to 14.33–23.25.Conclusion: Different NLR at admission is seen among Covid-19 patients with mild and moderate-severe symptoms, leading to significantly different outcomes. The NLR can be used as a simple parameter to determine the severity of the disease and predict the outcome of Covid-19 patients

Aceh Free Pasung: Releasing the mentally ill from physical restraint

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physical restraint and confinement of the mentally ill (called <it>pasung </it>in Indonesia) is common in Aceh. In early 2010, the local government initiated a program called <it>Aceh Free Pasung </it>2010. The main goal of the program is to release the mentally ill in the province from restraint and to provide appropriate medical treatment and care. The aim of the paper is to report the findings of a preliminary investigation of the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who have been admitted to the Banda Aceh Mental Hospital as part of the <it>Aceh Free Pasung </it>program.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the Banda Aceh Mental Hospital, where people who had been restrained or confined in the community are being admitted for psychiatric treatment and, where necessary, physical rehabilitation, as part of the <it>Aceh Free Pasung </it>program.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-nine of former ex-<it>pasung </it>patients were examined. The majority (88.1%) of the patients were male, aged 18 to 68 years. The duration of <it>pasung </it>varied from a few days to 20 years, with a mean duration of 4.0 years. The reasons for applying <it>pasung </it>are many, with concerns about dangerousness being most common. The great majority (89.8%) had a diagnosis of schizophrenia.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The development of a community mental health system and the introduction of a health insurance system in Aceh (together with the national health insurance scheme for the poor) has enabled access to free hospital treatment for people with severe mental disorders, including those who have been in <it>pasung</it>. The demographic and clinical characteristics of this group of ex-<it>pasung </it>patients are broadly similar to those reported in previous studies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Aceh Free <it>Pasung </it>program is an important mental health and human rights initiative that can serve to inform similar efforts in other parts of Indonesia and other low and middle-income countries where restraint and confinement of the mentally ill is receiving insufficient attention.</p

Panic buying: An insight from the content analysis of media reports during COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Panic buying is an emerging phenomenon observed during, but not restricted to, pandemic. Aim: We aimed to evaluate the nature, extent, and impact of panic buying as reported in the media. Methods: This study was conducted by collecting the information from the English media reports published till 22nd May 2020. A structured format was developed to collect data. Searching was done by using the keyword “panic buying”. We have excluded the social media posts discussing the panic buying. Results: The majority of media reporting was from the USA (40.7 %), and about 46 % of reports highlighted the scarce item. Approximately 82 % of the reports presented the causes of panic buying whereas almost 80 % report covered the impact of it. About 25.7 % of reports highlighted the rumor about panic buying and only 9.3 % of reports blamed the government. Only 27.1 % reports described the remedial measures, 30.8 % reports conferred the news on the psychology behind panic buying and 67.3 % news displayed the images of empty shelves. Conclusion: A high proportion of reports on panic buying have been found from the developed countries discussing the causes & impact of panic buying on the basis of expert opinion

Media portrayal of panic buying: A content analysis of online news portals

Objectives: Media reporting has an influential role in panic buying (PB). We aimed to evaluate the media portrayal of PB during this COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We searched, collected, and analysed the news reports from the English media discussing the PB events. The search was done between 23 and 30 May 2020. Results: A total of 525 news reports were analysed. Approximately half (49.3%) discussed the government action to handle the situation, 36.4% discussed the expert opinion regarding PB, 20.6% discussed the psychology of PB, 21.5% discussed the rumours, and 18.5% suggested remedial measures. Concerning the negative aspects, 96.6% of the titles mentioned panic buying, 75.4% mentioned the cause, and 62.3% mentioned the photos of empty shelves. The media in low–middle-income countries are 1.5 times more likely to include expert opinion (p = 0.03), 2.1 times more likely to discuss rumours regarding PB (p = 0.001), almost thrice more likely to report the cause of PB (p = 0.001), and thrice more likely to mention its impact (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Media has been portraying more negative aspects of PB. Further, there are variations in reporting patterns between highincome and low–middle-income countries

Hubungan Faktor Sosial Ekonomi dengan Kesehatan Mental pada Anak Korban Seksual di Provinsi Aceh

Sexual violence against children will have an impact on the development of children's mental health and the case is like an iceberg phenomenon. this study examines the relationship between the socio-economic and mental health of child victims of sexual in Aceh Province, this type of analytic observational research uses a cross-sectional design, the population of children experiencing sexual violence is based on data from UPTD-PPA Aceh, Aceh Province in 12 districts, totaling 123 children, total population sample, the results showed that the factors associated with the development of mental health of children were the father's secondary education (OR = 3.6; p = 0.002), the father's basic education (OR = 2.8; p = 0.025), the father's occupation was self-employed (OR = 3.6; p=0.03), environmental influence (OR=2.7; p=0.009), family support was not supportive (OR=9; p=0.0001) and the counselor's behavior was not supportive (OR=2.3 ; p = 0.026), the results of the multivariate analysis concluded that children who experienced sexual abuse tend to experience abnormal mental health development 15 times greater than the other variables.  Kekerasan seksual terhadap anak akan berdampak terhadap perkembangan kesehatan mental anak dan kasusnya seperti fenomena gunung es. Penelitian bertujuan mengetahui hubungan faktor sosial ekonomi dengan kesehatan mental pada anak korban sexueal di Provinsi Aceh,  metode penelitian observasional analitik desain cross sectional, populasi anak yang mengalami kekerasan seksual berdasarkan data dari UPTD-PPA Aceh Provinsi Aceh di 12 Kabupaten yang berjumlah 123 anak, sampel total populasi, pengumpulan data dengan wawancara, analisa data menggunakan regresi logistik, hasil penelitian diketahui faktor yang berhubungan dengan perkembangan kesehatan mental anak adalah adalah pendidikan ayah menengah (OR= 3,6; p = 0,002), pendidikan ayah dasar (OR=2,8; p= 0,025), pekerjaan ayah wiraswasta (OR=3,6; p=0,03), pengaruh lingkungan (OR=2,7; p= 0,009), dukungan keluarga tidak mendukung (OR=9; p=0,0001)dan perab konselor  tidak mendukung (OR=2,3; p= 0,026), hasil penelitian disimpulkan, bahwa anak yang mengalami kekerasan seksual cenderung mengalami perkembangan kesehatan mental abnormal 15 kali lebih besar dibandingkan dengan variabel lainnya

Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Covid-19 Symptom-based Severity at Admission

Background: Increased Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) is an independent risk factor for mortality in Covid-19 patients and is considered as an early warning sign of Covid-19 severity. This study aimed to observe the differences in NLR at admission between patients with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms of Covid-19 treated in a referral hospital in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.Methods:  A total of 114 patients with Covid-19 admitted to a referral hospital in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, during March–September 2020 were included in this study. Demographic information and baseline laboratory data, including the NLR, were collected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: The median NLR at admission was higher among patients with moderate to severe symptoms than those with mild symptoms [6.54 (2.80–97.00, IQR 4.81–9.44) vs 2.27 (0.79–5.07, IQR 1.43-2.98), p <0.001]. Covid-19 patients who died had a higher NLR than those who survived [10.88 (4.17–47.50, IQR 7.00–15.17) vs 6.15 (2.80–97.00, IQR 4.63–8.50), p 0.02]. Patients with moderate-severe symptoms had an initial NLR of 4.63–8.50 and decreased to 2.75–5.43 at the end of the treatment had a greater chance of survival. There was an increased probability of death in patients with moderate-severe symptoms whose initial NLR was 7.00–15.17, which was then elevated to 14.33–23.25.Conclusion: Different NLR at admission is seen among Covid-19 patients with mild and moderate-severe symptoms, leading to significantly different outcomes. The NLR can be used as a simple parameter to determine the severity of the disease and predict the outcome of Covid-19 patients

Association between Suicide Rate and Human Development Index, Income, and the Political System in 46 Muslim-Majority Countries: An Ecological Study

Very little has been researched assessing the relationship between the suicide rate and the ecological perspectives of the country, especially in the Muslim majority countries. We aimed to determine the association between suicide rate and the ecological parameters of 46 Muslim majority countries. We extracted the Muslim majority countries and their suicide rate, income distribution, distribution of the WHO region and continents, and Human Development Index (HDI). We assessed the correlation of the proportion of Muslim populations, the total population of the countries, number of suicides, continent, income group, political system, and HDI score with the suicide rate. The median suicide rate was 5.45 (IQR = 4.8); 2.9 (IQR = 4) in females and 7.45 (IQR = 8.2) in males per 100,000 population. The males had a significantly higher rate and the highest suicide rate was found in Africa. There are inverse associations between the total suicide rate, the rate in males, and females with HDI, and the income of the country. Furthermore, the suicide rate was significantly higher in countries with democratic systems compared to non-democratic countries. The findings suggest that ecological parameters may have an etiological role on suicides in Muslim countries where HDI and income are inversely associated with suicide rates

Association between Suicide Rate and Human Development Index, Income, and the Political System in 46 Muslim-Majority Countries: An Ecological Study

Very little has been researched assessing the relationship between the suicide rate and the ecological perspectives of the country, especially in the Muslim majority countries. We aimed to determine the association between suicide rate and the ecological parameters of 46 Muslim majority countries. We extracted the Muslim majority countries and their suicide rate, income distribution, distribution of the WHO region and continents, and Human Development Index (HDI). We assessed the correlation of the proportion of Muslim populations, the total population of the countries, number of suicides, continent, income group, political system, and HDI score with the suicide rate. The median suicide rate was 5.45 (IQR = 4.8); 2.9 (IQR = 4) in females and 7.45 (IQR = 8.2) in males per 100,000 population. The males had a significantly higher rate and the highest suicide rate was found in Africa. There are inverse associations between the total suicide rate, the rate in males, and females with HDI, and the income of the country. Furthermore, the suicide rate was significantly higher in countries with democratic systems compared to non-democratic countries. The findings suggest that ecological parameters may have an etiological role on suicides in Muslim countries where HDI and income are inversely associated with suicide rates

Quality of media reporting of suicidal behaviors in South-East Asia

Background: Suicide is a major global public health problem whilst sensible media reporting in an important population-level prevention strategy. Objectives: We reviewed the quality of media reporting of suicidal behaviors in the World Health Organization (WHO)-South-East Asia Region (SEAR) countries. Methods: We searched and scrutinized the contents of 12 articles published from SEAR countries (5 from India, 4 from Bangladesh, one from Indonesia, one from Sri Lanka and one from Bhutan) against suicide reporting guidelines. Results: Five out of the eleven SEAR countries, media reporting of suicide has been studied. All the studies have been carried out in the last decade with gross heterogeneity in the methods. All the articles report about poor adherence to media guidelines for suicide by most of the newspapers. Most countries in the region either lack country-specific media guidelines or poor implementation and monitoring of guidelines or both. Conclusion: The quality of reports of suicidal behavior in the SEAR region is poor. There is a need to develop country-specific media reporting guidelines and stringent monitoring on it to improve the quality of media reporting on suicide which may be beneficial for the prevention of suicide in the region