The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lifestyle and behaviours, mental health and education of students studying healthcare-related courses at a British university

Background- The COVID-19 pandemic has affected most industries, including health education. In this study, we surveyed students studying healthcare-related courses at our university on how their lifestyles and behaviours, mental health and education had been affected by the pandemic. Methods- Mixed methods cross-sectional study. Results- Two hundred thirty-three students responded to the questionnaire. Lifestyle and behaviours: 51.5% of the participants changed their diet (n=120); 45.5% (n=106) exercised less; 66.5% (n=155) experienced a change in sleep; 51.1% (n=119) reported a change in appetite. Mental health: 84.2% (n=196) reported worrying too much about different things; 61.9% (n=144) could not stop or control worrying; 71.2% experienced trouble relaxing on several days or more (n=166). At least sometimes, 72.1% (n=168) felt unable to cope with things they had to do; 8.5% (n=20) never, or almost never, felt confident about handling personal problems. Education: 65.7% (n=153) struggled to complete learning outcomes with online delivery; 82% (n=191) worried about practical skills being affected; 60.5% (n=141) worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their future career. Almost half (48.9%, n=114) believed that online teaching should be part of the standard curriculum. Conclusion- In general, there was a negative impact on behaviours, lifestyle and mental health and virtual education was perceived as necessary in making up for the loss of face to face experiences. Students’ mental health and educational needs have been affected by the current pandemic and healthcare educational facilities must respond to these needs to ensure students continue to receive the support they need

Establishing UK research priorities in smell and taste disorders: A James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership

Objectives: To determine the top 10 research priorities in Smell and Taste Disorders (SATD). Design: After steering group was established, an electronic survey was disseminated to determine the list of questions. After removing out-of-scope responses, the remainder were consolidated to create summary questions. A literature search was conducted to remove already answered questions. A second survey was used to determine the top questions that formed the subject of final debate at a workshop attended by clinicians and patients to determine the top 10 priorities. Setting: A James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership (JLAPSP) was established by FifthSense to identify the top 10 research questions in SATDs in the United Kingdom. Participant: All stakeholders in SATDs (patients, healthcare professionals, family, carers, researchers). Main outcome measures: Final 10 research priorities. Results: The 665 respondents to the initial survey provided 1698 research questions. Thirteen were out-of-scope and removed; remaining 1685 were then consolidated to form 147 summary questions. Following literature search and discussion with the steering group, 37 questions remained for the second survey, which 235 people responded. The top ten priorities agreed upon in the workshop covered themes of improved understanding of pathophysiologlogy, improving health services, and managing long-term effects of smell/taste disorders. The most important research question agreed was “How can we further our understanding of the mechanism of disease in the nerve pathways that affect smell and taste disorders, including where parosmia and phantosmia exist.”. Conclusion: We report the top 10 research priorities in smell and taste disorders. These priorities will now empower researchers to secure research funding and provide the basis of the FifthSense research hub

Perceptions and priorities of perioperative staff and the public for sustainable surgery: a validated questionnaire study

This project looked to examine the opinions of key stakeholders with respect the introduction sustainability initiatives into peri-operative care. It develope and validated a questionnaire which was sent out to peri-operative care staff and the publi