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"About Navigating Chaos": Latin American and Caribbean Mental Health Workers' Personal Impact Due to SARS-CoV-2 in the First Hundred Days.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: The personal impact of COVID-19 on mental health care workers (MHWs) has received scarce attention despite their work addressing the emotional wellbeing of those affected by the pandemic. This study aims to analyze Latin American and Caribbean's MHWs' subjective impact in connection to working during the initial times of the pandemic. Methods: One hundred and fifty-five persons (n = 155) from seventeen countries were contacted in May-June 2020 through a snowball approach. Complementary methodological strategies of analysis used for data triangulation included content analysis, thematic analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Participants reported feelings of fear, anxiety, anguish, and fatigue. Milder negative impacts (e.g., uncertainty, concern), and complex feelings (e.g., ambivalence) were also frequent. One third of participants acknowledged their capacity to learn from this situation and/or experience satisfaction. Conclusion: Mental health of MHWs in Latin America and the Caribbean were under severe strain and the ongoing mental health reforms at risk during the pandemic's beginning. More research and additional care may be needed to offer support to those involved in caring for the wellbeing of others.

SUBMITTER: Agrest M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9485453 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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"About Navigating Chaos": Latin American and Caribbean Mental Health Workers' Personal Impact Due to SARS-CoV-2 in the First Hundred Days.

Agrest Martin M Rosales Melina M Fernández Marina M Kankan Tanvi T Matkovich Andrés A Velzi-Díaz Alberto A Ardila-Gómez Sara S

International journal of public health 20220906

Objectives: The personal impact of COVID-19 on mental health care workers (MHWs) has received scarce attention despite their work addressing the emotional wellbeing of those affected by the pandemic. This study aims to analyze Latin American and Caribbean's MHWs' subjective impact in connection to working during the initial times of the pandemic. Methods: One hundred and fifty-five persons (n = 155) from seventeen countries were contacted in May-June 2020 through a snowball ...[more]

PMID: 36147883

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Project description:BackgroundLatin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is among the most unequal regions in the world in terms of wealth and household income. Such inequalities have been shown to influence different outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the disruption of routine health services. The aim of this paper is to examine socioeconomic inequalities in household experiences of healthcare disruption in LAC countries from mid-2020 to late 2021.MethodsWe used household-level data from the COVID-19 High Frequency Phone Surveys (HFPS), conducted in 14 LAC countries in one round in 2020 and 24 countries in two rounds in 2021. Ordinary least square and Logit multivariate regressions were conducted to examine the correlation between reported healthcare disruptions with household characteristics for 2020 and 2021. Since household income levels were not directly collected in the HPFS, we created an index of inequality and estimated the relative index of inequality.ResultsWhen analyzing 2020-2021 together, reported healthcare disruptions were lower if the respondent was employed or did not report lack of food in the last month; if the household had more people aged 65 or older or more rooms to sleep in. When analyzed separately in 2020 and 2021, having more people aged 65 or older or not experiencing food insecurity remained stable factors for lower odds of disruption in both years. In addition, being employed was associated with lower odds of disruption in 2020, while being male or having more rooms to sleep in were associated with lower odds of disruption in 2021. Regarding wealth differences in 2021 (it was not possible to compute it for 2020), households with the lowest wealth were 27.3% more likely to report a care disruption than households with the highest wealth.ConclusionsThe socioeconomic status of households in LAC was a relevant factor in explaining the disruption of healthcare during the COVID19 pandemic, with a clear social gradient where the wealthier a household, the less likely it was to experience disruption of care. Food security, employment, and gender policies should be integral to preparing for and responding to future shocks such as pandemics. Prioritizing the most affected populations, like the elderly during COVID-19, can enhance the health system effectiveness.

Project description:BackgroundMultiple epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to pesticides is associated with adverse health outcomes. However, the literature on pesticide-related health effects in the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region, an area of intensive agricultural and residential pesticide use, is sparse. We conducted a scoping review to describe the current state of research on the health effects of pesticide exposure in LAC populations with the goal of identifying knowledge gaps and research capacity building needs.MethodsWe searched PubMed and SciELO for epidemiological studies on pesticide exposure and human health in LAC populations published between January 2007 and December 2021. We identified 233 publications from 16 countries that met our inclusion criteria and grouped them by health outcome (genotoxicity, neurobehavioral outcomes, placental outcomes and teratogenicity, cancer, thyroid function, reproductive outcomes, birth outcomes and child growth, and others).ResultsMost published studies were conducted in Brazil (37%, n=88) and Mexico (20%, n=46), were cross-sectional in design (72%, n=167), and focused on farmworkers (45%, n=105) or children (21%, n=48). The most frequently studied health effects included genotoxicity (24%, n=62) and neurobehavioral outcomes (21%, n=54), and organophosphate (OP) pesticides were the most frequently examined (26%, n=81). Forty-seven percent (n=112) of the studies relied only on indirect pesticide exposure assessment methods. Exposure to OP pesticides, carbamates, or to multiple pesticide classes was consistently associated with markers of genotoxicity and adverse neurobehavioral outcomes, particularly among children and farmworkers.DiscussionOur scoping review provides some evidence that exposure to pesticides may adversely impact the health of LAC populations, but methodological limitations and inconsistencies undermine the strength of the conclusions. It is critical to increase capacity building, integrate research initiatives, and conduct more rigorous epidemiological studies in the region to address these limitations, better inform public health surveillance systems, and maximize the impact of research on public policies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9934.

Project description:IntroductionThe "greying" of the HIV epidemic necessitates a better understanding of the healthcare needs of older HIV-positive adults. As these individuals age, it is unclear whether comorbidities and their associated therapies or the ageing process itself alter the response to antiretroviral therapy (ART). In this study, HIV treatment outcomes and corresponding risk factors were compared between older ART initiators and those who were younger using data from the Caribbean, Central and South America Network for HIV Epidemiology (CCASAnet).MethodsHIV-positive adults (?18 years) initiating ART at nine sites in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico and Peru were included. Patients were classified as older (?50 years) or younger (<50 years) based on age at ART initiation. ART effectiveness was measured using three outcomes: death, virologic failure and ART treatment modification. Cox regression models for each outcome compared risk between older and younger patients, adjusting for other covariates.ResultsAmong 26,311 patients initiating ART between 1996 and 2016, 3389 (13%) were ?50 years. The majority of patients in both ?50 and <50 age groups received a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimen (89% vs. 87%), did not have AIDS at baseline (63% vs. 62%), and were male (59% vs. 58%). Older patients had a higher risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.64; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.48 to 1.83) and a lower risk of virologic failure (aHR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.63 to 0.84). There was no difference in risk of ART modification (aHR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.06). Risk factors for death, virologic failure and treatment modification were similar for each group.ConclusionsOlder age at ART initiation was associated with increased mortality and decreased risk of virologic failure in our cohort of more than 26,000 ART initiators in Latin America and the Caribbean. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study from the region to evaluate ART outcomes in this growing and important population. Given the complexity of issues related to ageing with HIV, a greater understanding is needed in order to properly respond to this shifting epidemic.

Dataset Information

"About Navigating Chaos": Latin American and Caribbean Mental Health Workers' Personal Impact Due to SARS-CoV-2 in the First Hundred Days.

Publications

"About Navigating Chaos": Latin American and Caribbean Mental Health Workers' Personal Impact Due to SARS-CoV-2 in the First Hundred Days.

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