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COVID-19 : factors associated with psychological distress, fear, and coping strategies among community members across 17 countries

- Rahman, Muhammad Aziz, Banik, Biswajit, Salehin, Masudus, Joseph, Bindu, Lam, Louisa, Watts, Mimmie, Cross, Wendy

  • Authors: Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Banik, Biswajit , Salehin, Masudus , Joseph, Bindu , Lam, Louisa , Watts, Mimmie , Cross, Wendy
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Globalization and Health Vol. 17, no. 1 (2021), p.
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  • Description: Background: The current pandemic of COVID-19 impacted the psychological wellbeing of populations globally. Objectives: We aimed to examine the extent and identify factors associated with psychological distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study across 17 countries during Jun-2020 to Jan-2021. Levels of psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale), fear of COVID-19 (Fear of COVID-19 Scale), and coping (Brief Resilient Coping Scale) were assessed. Results: A total of 8,559 people participated; mean age (±SD) was 33(±13) years, 64% were females and 40% self-identified as frontline workers. More than two-thirds (69%) experienced moderate-to-very high levels of psychological distress, which was 46% in Thailand and 91% in Egypt. A quarter (24%) had high levels of fear of COVID-19, which was as low as 9% in Libya and as high as 38% in Bangladesh. More than half (57%) exhibited medium to high resilient coping; the lowest prevalence (3%) was reported in Australia and the highest (72%) in Syria. Being female (AOR 1.31 [95% CIs 1.09-1.57]), perceived distress due to change of employment status (1.56 [1.29-1.90]), comorbidity with mental health conditions (3.02 [1.20-7.60]) were associated with higher levels of psychological distress and fear. Doctors had higher psychological distress (1.43 [1.04-1.97]), but low levels of fear of COVID-19 (0.55 [0.41-0.76]); nurses had medium to high resilient coping (1.30 [1.03-1.65]). Conclusions: The extent of psychological distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping varied by country; however, we identified few higher risk groups who were more vulnerable than others. There is an urgent need to prioritise health and well-being of those people through well-designed intervention that may need to be tailored to meet country specific requirements. © 2021, The Author(s). **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the Federation University Australia affiliates are named “Muhammad Aziz Rahman, Biswajit Banik, Masudus Salehin, Joseph Bindu, Louisa Lam, Mimmie Watts and Wendy Cross” are provided in this record**

COVID-19 in Africa : rethinking the tools to manage future pandemics

- Emahi, Ismaila, Watts, Mimmie, Azibere, Samuel, Morrison, Joseph, Sarpong, Kwabena

  • Authors: Emahi, Ismaila , Watts, Mimmie , Azibere, Samuel , Morrison, Joseph , Sarpong, Kwabena
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: African Health Sciences Vol. 21, no. 4 (2021), p. 1509-1517
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  • Description: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains an incurable, progressive pneumonia-like illness characterized by fever, dry cough, fatigue, and headache during its early stages. COVID-19 has ultimately resulted in mortality in at least 2 million people worldwide. Millions of people globally have already been affected by this disease, and the numbers are expected to increase, perhaps until an effective cure or vaccine is identified. Although Africa was initially purported by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be severely hit by the pandemic, Africa recorded the least number of cases during the first wave, with lowest rates of infections, compared to Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This statistic might be attributed to the low testing capacity, existing public health awareness and lessons learnt during Ebola epidemic. Nonetheless, the relatively low rate of infection should be an opportunity for Africa to be better prepared to overcome this and future epidemics. In this paper, the authors provide insights into the dynamics and transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) during the first wave of the pandemic; possible explanations into the relatively low rates of infection recorded in Africa; with recommendations for Africa to continue to fight Covid-19; and position itself to effectively manage future pandemics. © 2021 Emahi I et al.

Sahara : Piercing the thatch Ceiling

- Watts, Mimmie

  • Authors: Watts, Mimmie
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Book
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  • Description: Sahara, Piercing the Thatch Ceiling' narrates the story and journey of Sahara, a composite character through an intersectional gender lens. It is an intercultural, African, intergenerational, migrant, refugee and an Australian story. The characters in this book have to navigate trials and obstacles experienced across the whole spectrum of the African diaspora from skilled migrants to refugees.Yet it is a story of ultimate triumph, thanks to the collective power of this group of women, the strength of their relationships, the will to persist through any hardship, and the determination to succeed. Cultural elements are woven through the stories in a way that gleans understanding while letting the narrative flow. In the humanweaknesses and strengths that it reveals, Sahara and her friends and other characters in the book embrace the migrant dream.
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