Articles: pandemics.
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Most research on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) health burden has focused on confirmed cases and deaths, rather than consequences for the general population's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It is also important to consider HRQoL to better understand the potential multifaceted implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in various international contexts. This study aimed to assess the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in HRQoL in 13 diverse countries. ⋯ In this study, we observed that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a reduction in perceived HRQoL globally, especially with respect to the anxiety/depression health domain and among younger people. The COVID-19 health burden would therefore be substantially underestimated if based only on mortality. HRQoL measures are important to fully capture morbidity from the pandemic in the general population.
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The newly described SARS-CoV-2 respiratory virus is now righteously presenting as an ominous threat, based on the speed with which it originated a zoonosis from bats; advancing at a similar rate, the virus has placed mankind before a pandemic, with an infection toll of some 431 million, and a lethality of 5,9 million (as of February 25, 2022). The size of the harm that this agent can unleash against us is appallingly wide, from brain ischemia to foot chilblain, passing by heart massive infarction. ⋯ This will have to be avoided, and surveillance of society on psychological terms will be one tenet. Needless to say, the role of the enteric tract in these issues is growing higher, and it will be narrated to seal the matters with the last (not the least) touch of glue.
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The hospitalist workforce has been at the forefront of the pandemic and has been stretched in both clinical and nonclinical domains. We aimed to understand current and future workforce concerns, as well as strategies to cultivate a thriving hospital medicine workforce. ⋯ Five focus groups were held with 18 participants from 13 academic institutions. We identified five key areas: (1) support for workforce wellness; (2) staffing and pipeline development to maintain an adequate workforce to match clinical growth; (3) scope of work, including how hospitalist work is defined and whether the clinical skillset should be expanded; (4) commitment to the academic mission in the setting of rapid and unpredictable clinical growth; and (5) alignment between the duties of hospitalists and resources of hospitals. Hospitalists voiced numerous concerns about the future of our workforce. Several domains were identified as high-priority areas of focus to address current and future challenges.