What Factors Influence Symptom Reporting and Access to Healthcare During an Emerging Infectious Disease Outbreak? A Rapid Review of the Evidence

During any emerging infectious disease outbreak, people with symptoms of the illness are asked to report to a health service immediately to facilitate contact tracing. Several factors may influence a person's willingness to report symptoms and their ability to access healthcare services. Understanding these factors has become urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic. To determine which factors influence symptom reporting during an emerging infectious disease outbreak, we conducted a rapid review of the evidence. Studies included in the review were based on primary research, published in a peer-reviewed journal, written in English, included factors associated with symptom reporting or accessing healthcare, and were related to a major public health incident involving an infectious disease outbreak. Five themes were identified as facilitators of symptom reporting or accessing healthcare: accurate and informative communication about the disease and the need to seek help, symptom severity, concern about disease exposure, ease of access to healthcare facilities, and relationship with the healthcare provider. Seven themes were identified as barriers to symptom reporting or accessing healthcare: lack of knowledge of the disease and its treatment, fear of the disease and fear of subsequent treatments or requirements, stigmatization attached to having a disease, invasion of privacy, low concern about symptoms, economic consequences of disease diagnosis, and challenges related to attending a healthcare facility. For contract tracing services to be effective, members of the public need to have the capability, opportunity, and motivation to use them. The themes identified should be used to evaluate information provided to the public to ensure as many people as possible with relevant symptoms report them to a healthcare provider

Light intensity influence on strontium Titanate based photo-electrochemical cells

The influence of light intensity on photo-electrochemical cells (PECs) consisting of an n-type strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) photoanode and nickel cathode in potassium hydroxide electrolyte is studied. The band levels of an electrolyte metalsemiconductor-electrolyte system are presented and the effect of different light intensities on the energy levels is investigated. Photocurrent density, quantum efficiency, and open circuit potential measurements are performed on the processed PECs under different light intensities (375 nm). It is demonstrated that a threshold value of the light intensity has to be reached in order to obtain positive photo activity and that beyond this value the performance remains nearly constant

Facilitators and barriers to engagement with contact tracing during infectious disease outbreaks: A rapid review of the evidence

BACKGROUND: Until a vaccine is developed, a test, trace and isolate strategy is the most effective method of controlling the COVID-19 outbreak. Contact tracing and case isolation are common methods for controlling infectious disease outbreaks. However, the effectiveness of any contact tracing system rests on public engagement. Numerous factors may influence an individual's willingness to engage with a contact tracing system. Understanding these factors has become urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: To identify facilitators and barriers to uptake of, and engagement with, contact tracing during infectious disease outbreaks. METHOD: A rapid systematic review was conducted to identify papers based on primary research, written in English, and that assessed facilitators, barriers, and other factors associated with the uptake of, and engagement with, a contact tracing system. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Four themes were identified as facilitators to the uptake of, and engagement with, contact tracing: collective responsibility; personal benefit; co-production of contact tracing systems; and the perception of the system as efficient, rigorous and reliable. Five themes were identified as barriers to the uptake of, and engagement with, contact tracing: privacy concerns; mistrust and/or apprehension; unmet need for more information and support; fear of stigmatization; and mode-specific challenges. CONCLUSIONS: By focusing on the factors that have been identified, contact tracing services are more likely to get people to engage with them, identify more potentially ill contacts, and reduce transmission

Lowering the sintering temperature of barium strontium titanate bulk ceramics by barium strontium titanate-gel and BaCu(B₂O₅)

In this paper the influence of barium strontium titanate (BST) xerogel as a sinter additive and BaCu(B$_{2}$O$_{5}$) (BCB) as a liquid phase sintering aid on the sintering behavior of BST bulk ceramics is investigated. BST as well as BCB powders were synthesized via a mixed oxide route and BST gel via a sol-gel process. Compared to pure BST bulk ceramics, BST gel reduces the sintering start (onset temperature) by up to 174°C and increases the density for a sintering temperature of 1200°C. By adding BCB to the BST powder the sintering was completed much faster and the onset temperatures were reduced by 281°C and 312°C for 1 mol. % and 2.5 mol. %, respectively. With 2.5 mol. % BCB, the highest density of 96 % (5.41 g∙cm$^{-3}$) was achieved at 950°C