Attitudes and Feelings towards the Work of Teachers Who Had a School Nurse in Their Educational Center during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of the availability of a health professional on the beliefs, attitudes, and work feelings of teaching staff when facing the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a two-phase study: In the first one, the Delphi technique was used to update an instrument used by the authors in a previous investigation in 2020. The second phase was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and comparative study, carried out through an electronic questionnaire distributed among the teaching staff of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Spain), during the first two months of the 2021/22 academic year, in the midst of the fifth wave of COVID-19. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-squared test and the linear trend test. The reasons for advantages were analyzed and the dimensions of the questionnaire were compared between the groups studied (with or without a healthcare professional in the center). Out of 640 teachers in the study, 14.7% (n = 94) stated that they had a reference professional with health training in their educational center (a school nurse) for the management of possible cases of COVID-19. Significant differences were found in five of the nine dimensions studied between the groups of teachers analyzed. Teachers who had a health professional, specifically a nurse, during the pandemic indicated that they felt safer in their educational center, as they perceived that they had more personal protective equipment (OR = 2.03, [95% CI: 1.23–3.35]; p = 0.006). They were also more committed (OR = 1.89, [95% CI: 1.04–3.46]; p = 0.038) with their educational work and assumed more obligations (OR = 1.87, [95% CI: 1.01–3.44]; p = 0.045) and risks (OR = 2.82, [95% CI: 1.13–7.07]; p = 0.027). In addition, they presented fewer feelings of burnout (OR = 0.63, [95% CI: 0.41–0.98]; p = 0.041). These results indicate that having nurses in educational centers improves teachers’ ability to cope with a pandemic situation

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Attitudes and Feelings towards the Work of Teachers Who Had a School Nurse in Their Educational Center during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of the availability of a health professional on the beliefs, attitudes, and work feelings of teaching staff when facing the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a two-phase study: In the first one, the Delphi technique was used to update an instrument used by the authors in a previous investigation in 2020. The second phase was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and comparative study, carried out through an electronic questionnaire distributed among the teaching staff of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Spain), during the first two months of the 2021/22 academic year, in the midst of the fifth wave of COVID-19. Data were analyzed using Pearson&rsquo;s chi-squared test and the linear trend test. The reasons for advantages were analyzed and the dimensions of the questionnaire were compared between the groups studied (with or without a healthcare professional in the center). Out of 640 teachers in the study, 14.7% (n = 94) stated that they had a reference professional with health training in their educational center (a school nurse) for the management of possible cases of COVID-19. Significant differences were found in five of the nine dimensions studied between the groups of teachers analyzed. Teachers who had a health professional, specifically a nurse, during the pandemic indicated that they felt safer in their educational center, as they perceived that they had more personal protective equipment (OR = 2.03, [95% CI: 1.23&ndash;3.35]; p = 0.006). They were also more committed (OR = 1.89, [95% CI: 1.04&ndash;3.46]; p = 0.038) with their educational work and assumed more obligations (OR = 1.87, [95% CI: 1.01&ndash;3.44]; p = 0.045) and risks (OR = 2.82, [95% CI: 1.13&ndash;7.07]; p = 0.027). In addition, they presented fewer feelings of burnout (OR = 0.63, [95% CI: 0.41&ndash;0.98]; p = 0.041). These results indicate that having nurses in educational centers improves teachers&rsquo; ability to cope with a pandemic situation

Creencias, actitudes y sentimientos laborales de los sanitarios y de los docentes de Canarias durante la pandemia de COVID-19

Compendi d'articlesLa presente tesis doctoral se basa en el compendio de cuatro publicaciones científicas. El objetivo principal fue conocer y comparar las creencias, actitudes y sentimientos laborales de los profesionales sanitarios y del personal docente de Canarias durante el periodo de pandemia por COVID-19. Para ello, en primer lugar, se llevó a cabo una actualización y validación de dos instrumentos mediante el proceso de Delphi para objetivar las creencias, las actitudes y sentimientos laborales de la población diana. En segundo lugar, se aplicó un enfoque metodológico cuantitativo, realizando un estudio descriptivo de carácter transversal, mediante cuestionario electrónico. Los resultados de esta tesis doctoral aportan elementos que pueden ayudar a gestionar futuras crisis sanitarias y reorganizar el sistema sanitario y el educativo para afrontarlas más eficazmente.This doctoral thesis is based on the compendium of four scientific publications. The main objective was to know and compare the beliefs, attitudes and feelings towards work of healthcare workers and teaching staff in the Canary Islands during the COVID-19 pandemic period. To achieve this, firstly, an update and adaptation of two instruments was carried out using the Delphi method to objectify the beliefs, attitudes and working feelings of the target population. Secondly, a quantitative methodological approach was applied, carrying out a cross-sectional descriptive study using an electronic questionnaire. The results of this thesis provides elements that can help manage future health crises and reorganize the health and educational system to face them more effectively.Programa de Doctorat en Ciències de la Infermeri

Feelings of the health personnel in Spain, towards their work, after five waves of the COVID-19 pandemic

Health personnel have faced highly adverse circumstances in the workplace since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prolonged exposure to stressful situations at work is considered to affect the physical, psychological, and emotional health of these workers, as well as job performance. The objective of this study was to analyze the beliefs, attitudes, and feelings of health personnel from one Spanish region towards their work after five waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out using an electronic questionnaire, adapted, and validated through the Delphi technique. A convenience sampling of 783 was recruited among health personnel from the Canary Islands during the fifth wave of the pandemic in September 2021. Bivariate analyzes have been performed by the Chi-square test accepting statistical significance (p 0.050). The 94.3% (n=738) of the respondents considered the pandemic to have highlighted the shortcomings of the Spanish health system. A clear level of exhaustion and/or a reduction in the level of commitment can be observed in these workers as the pandemic continues, as participants reported feeling both mentally and physically exhausted when finishing their shifts, and even “burned out by their work”. This study highlights the resilience and vocation of healthcare professionals, who even considering the effects of the pandemic would choose the same profession. On the other hand, these professionals felt undervalued by their institutions, and almost one of every five, precised psychological support in some point during the health crisis

The Need for Psychological Support of Health Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Influence on Their Work

The aim of this research was to analyze how the need for psychological support of health workers (HCWs) influenced the beliefs, perceptions and attitudes towards their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and to predict the need of psychological assistance. A descriptive transversal study was conducted based on a self-administered questionnaire distributed to health professionals working in the Canary Islands, Spain. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-squared test and the linear trend test. The correlation test between ordinal and frequency variables was applied using Kendall’s Tau B. Multiple logistic regression was used to predict dichotomous variables. The sample included 783 health professionals: 17.8% (n = 139) of them needed psychological or psychiatric support. Being redeployed to other services influenced the predisposition to request psychological help, and HCWs who required psychological support had more negative attitudes and perceptions towards their work. After five waves of COVID-19, these HCWs reported to be physically, psychologically and emotionally exhausted or even “burned out”; they did not feel supported by their institutions. The commitment of health personnel to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic decreased after the five waves, especially among professionals who required psychological support

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data