Query: people ailed from covid-19 and mask

title: Maintaining Our Humanity Through the Mask: Mindful Communication During COVID 19
abstract: When it comes to communication, we rely on language at the expense of the rest of our communication toolbox. However, nonverbal communication is just as important as the words we use. In times of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic, the use of face masks has become ubiquitous in many countries. Many facial expressions are the same across cultures, like happiness, sadness, anger, and fear, and our faces can express emotions without saying a word. Given widespread masking, this nonverbal communication has become increasingly difficult. The COVID 19 pandemic for older, frail, and cognitively impaired patients in particular is challenging. For example, it must be jarring for older people to discuss serious challenges, such as the importance of advance care planning or decisions about do not resuscitate orders, with a physician wearing a face mask. Nonverbal communication is thought by many to be the most effective element of communication to connect with a person who has dementia. Though people with dementia increasingly lose the ability to communicate verbally, body language skills are retained longer than verbal skills in the vast majority of forms of dementia. People with dementia are usually able to interpret facial signals correctly: they interpret a smile as a sign of joy and compressed lips as a sign of anger. They can tell from the sound of our voice, our posture, and our speed whether we are relaxed or stressed, in a good mood or angry. A lot of this is missing right now and many of us do not even realize it! Physicians and nurses who are more sensitive to nonverbal cues reinforce the perception of sincerity, dedication, and competence, which, in turn, improves measures around utilization of health services, functional status, and the overall provider patient relationship. Nonverbal communication is a unique opportunity to connect. Therefore, it is important that we take intentional control of our nonverbal communication in this time of social distancing and masked faces. The following three steps, based on our ABC mnemonic, can, when embraced with intentionality, positively impact healthcare providers' interactions with older patients.

title: Association Between Depression, Health Beliefs, and Face Mask Use During the COVID 19 Pandemic
abstract: The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic is associated with increases in psychiatric morbidity, including depression. It is unclear if people with depressive symptoms understand or apply COVID 19 information differently to the general population. Therefore, this study aimed to examine associations between depression, health beliefs, and face mask use during the COVID 19 pandemic among the general population in Hong Kong. This study gathered data from 11,072 Hong Kong adults via an online survey. Respondents self reported their demographic characteristics, depressive symptoms (PHQ 9) face mask use, and health beliefs about COVID 19. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to identify independent variables associated with depression. The point prevalence of probable depression was 46.5% (n 5,150) Respondents reporting higher mask reuse (OR 1.24, 95%CI 1.17 1.34) wearing masks for self protection (OR 1.03 95%CI 1.01 1.06) perceived high susceptibility (OR 1.15, 95%CI 1.09 1.23) and high severity (OR 1.33, 95%CI 1.28 1.37) were more likely to report depression. Depression was less likely in those with higher scores for cues to action (OR 0.82, 95%CI 0.80 0.84) knowledge of COVID 19 (OR 0.95, 95%CI 0.91 0.99) and self efficacy to wear mask properly (OR 0.90 95%CI 0.83 0.98) We identified a high point prevalence of probable major depression and suicidal ideation during the COVID 19 outbreak in Hong Kong, but this should be viewed with caution due to the convenience sampling method employed. Future studies should recruit a representative probability sample in order to draw more reliable conclusions. The findings highlight that COVID 19 health information may be a protective factor of probable depression and suicidal ideation during the pandemic. Accurate and up to date health information should be disseminated to distressed and vulnerable subpopulations, perhaps using digital health technology, and social media platforms to prompt professional help seeking behavior.

title: THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID 19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN
abstract: To study the perception of COVID 19 and its prevention in the general public.  In Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from 1st Apr to 12th Apr 2020.  An online questionnaire was made on Google Forms Inc. It was modified from an online ques tionnaire available free on the internet. The sample size was 1042. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. Mean and standard deviation was calculated for continuous data and chi square and t test were applied for statistical significance between healthcare providers and non healthcare providers.  A total of 97% people thought that older adults were more likely to develop complications. Most of the participants thought that use of face mask (91% washing hands (99.4% avoiding close contact with sick people (97.8% and not touching the face with unwashed hands (98.7% should be used as a preventive measure. Majority were aware of the common symptoms of the disease. Statistically significant difference between some perceptions of healthcare providers and non health care providers was observed with myths prevailing more in the health care providers, these are; rinsing mouth and nose with saline for prevention (59.9% and skin rash (8.9% and watery diarrhea (47.8% as common symptoms. 85.2% of the participants believed that "kalonji" and 81.6% believed that antimalarials may be effective in prevention or treatment of the disease.  The participants showed a high level of knowledge regarding the pandemic but certain myths are also prevalent.

title: COVID 19 and Face Masks To Use or Not to Use!
abstract: COVID 19 has evolved into a pandemic in quick time and being a droplet infection, it was quickly understood that prevention is the key People started to use all types of masks and there was a panic as stocks started running out Health care workers must use a triple layered surgical mask and those exposed to aerosol generating procedures must use an N 95 mask and these should be kept reserved for them, especially in a resource limited setting Though initial advice from experts to the general public was not to use a mask in community settings unless they are sick or taking care of someone sick, the advice had to be later modified Though CDC Atlanta currently advices everyone with no symptoms to wear cloth masks in the community, WHO opines there is no clear evidence to advise for or against mask use in the community However, WHO encourages countries advising community mask use as it can generate useful evidence Along with mask use, practicing all other preventive measures such as handwashing, cough etiquette, social distancing, quarantine and isolation are of utmost importance, without which, using surgical masks or even N95 masks, will not be much effective in the community setting (c) 2020, Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine All rights reserved

title: COVID 19 preventive behaviors among people with anxiety and depression: Findings from Japan
abstract: Little is known about COVID 19 preventive behaviors among individuals with mental health problems. This study used cross sectional online survey data from 2000 Japanese adults collected in April and May, 2020, to examine the association between anxiety and depression and COVID 19 preventive behaviors. Results from logistic regression analyses showed that both anxiety and depression were associated with lower odds for engaging in preventive behaviors such as wearing a face mask and hand washing. Our results highlight the importance of facilitating the performance of preventive behaviors in individuals with mental health problems to prevent the spread of COVID 19 in this population.

title: Why Do Japanese People Use Masks Against COVID 19, Even Though Masks Are Unlikely to Offer Protection From Infection?
abstract: Wearing masks against 2019 coronavirus (COVID 19) is beneficial in suppressing pandemic spread, not through preventing the wearer from being infected but by preventing the wearer from infecting others. Despite not providing much protection, the custom of wearing masks has prevailed in East Asia from the early stages of the pandemic, especially in Japan, to such an extent that it caused a shortfall in supply. Why do many Japanese people wear masks during the COVID 19 pandemic, even though masks are unlikely to prevent them from getting infected? We examined six possible psychological reasons for wearing masks: three involved expectations about the risk of infection and three involved other driving psychological forces. The results of our nationwide survey revealed that people conformed to societal norms in wearing masks and felt relief from anxiety when wearing masks. However, risk reduction expectations did not affect mask usage. The social psychological motivations successfully explained much about mask usage. Our findings suggest that policymakers responsible for public health should consider social motivations when implementing public strategies to combat the COVID 19 pandemic.

title: COVID 19 pandemic and the incidence of community acquired pneumonia in elderly people
abstract: The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the incidence of community acquired pneumonia in elderly people remains uncertain. We compared the number of elderly patients admitted to our hospital for community acquired pneumonia from January to June 2020 to the numbers from the same period in each of the last three years. The number of patients began decreasing in February 2020, and by April 2020 the number was significantly lower than those from the same period in the three years prior. There is no evidence regarding the impact of general infection control measures, such as wearing a face mask or washing one's hands, on the development of community acquired pneumonia, because causative bacteria are not believed to be transmitted from human to human. However, these measures might have indirectly contributed to a decreased number of cases through the prevention of common viral infections which could be a trigger of community acquired pneumonia.

title: Preventive behavior of Vietnamese people in response to the COVID 19 pandemic
abstract: We sought to evaluate the adherence of Vietnamese adults to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) preventive measures, and gain insight into the effects of the epidemic on the daily lives of Vietnamese people. An online questionnaire was administered from March 31 to April 6, 2020. The questionnaire assessed personal preventive behavior (such as physical distancing, wearing a face mask, cough etiquette, regular handwashing and using an alcohol hand sanitizer, body temperature check, and disinfecting mobile phones) and community preventive behavior (such as avoiding meetings, large gatherings, going to the market, avoiding travel in a vehicle/bus with more than 10 persons, and not traveling outside of the local area during the lockdown) A total adherence score was calculated by summing the scores of the 9 personal and the 11 community prevention questions. In total, 2175 respondents completed the questionnaire; mean age: 31.4 10.7; (range: 18 69) 66.9% were women; 54.2% were health professionals and 22.8% were medical students. The mean adherence scores for personal and community preventive measures were 7.23 1.63 (range 1 9) and 9.57 1.12 (range 1 11) respectively. Perceived adaptation of the community to lockdown (Beta (b) 2.64, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.25 4.03) fears/worries concerning one's health (b 2.87, 95% CI 0.04 5.70) residing in large cities (b 19.40, 95% CI 13.78 25.03) access to official COVID 19 information sources (b 16.45, 95% CI 6.82 26.08) and working in healthcare/medical students (b 22.53, 95% CI 16.00 29.07) were associated with a higher adherence score to anti COVID instructions. In conclusion, this study confirmed a high degree of adherence to personal and community preventive behavior among Vietnamese people. Our findings are consistent with the epidemiology of COVID 19 in Vietnam, where there have been few infections and no recorded deaths up to the first week of July 2020.

title: Mask crisis during the COVID 19 outbreak.
abstract: On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. As of February 29, 2020, the National Health Commission of China has reported 79,389 confirmed cases of SARS CoV 2 infection in 34 provinces. The masks can be used to block respiratory transmission from human to human, and are an effective way to control influenza. It is, therefore, necessary to wear a mask when respiratory infectious diseases are prevalent. China has a population of 1.4 billion. Assuming that two thirds of the people in China must wear a mask every day, the daily demand for masks will reach 900 million. The Chinese government has taken many measures to solve these problems. Additionally, more measures should be taken to properly dispose of mask garbage. Although the outbreak originated in China, person to person transmission of SARS CoV 2 has been confirmed, which means that it can be spread to anywhere in the world if prevention measures fail. The issues regarding face mask shortages and garbage in China, therefore, deserve worldwide attention.

title: Re: Esposito et al. To mask or not to mask children to overcome COVID 19
abstract: We are very happy to see that Esposito et al. raised an important question about children wearing masks[1] They obtained a meaningful conclusion that the universal use of facial masks seemed necessary when people went out. We applaud the authors for a major endeavor. We totally agree that children younger than 2 years of age do not wear any type of mask because of the small airways and risk of suffocation. However, several issues are worth supplemental noting for children over 3 years old. First, children's education. Before wearing masks, parents must have good communication with children. Children should be told how to wear and take off the mask correctly and do not touch the mask while wearing. Second, where to wear masks. In some public places that full of crowds with poor ventilation, children are recommending to wear masks. But in areas with low density of people, it may not be necessary to wear masks. Third, some interventions to improve feasibility, safety, and efficacy of wearing masks for children. Children need to take off their masks to breathe in fresh air after wearing masks for a certain amount of time, like 1 h.Moreover, they should avoid wearing masks to do exercise, especially with N95. According to the news reported by China at least three children died of asphyxia after PE due to wearing N95 masks during convid 19 pandemic. Fourth, masks selection and modification for children. Surgical masks may be the first choice for children's daily protection. Only high risk children are encouraged to wear an N95 mask. The space between the surgical masks and children's mouth and nose is smaller than adults due to the lower nose bridge  The surgical mask should be modified to make it more suitable for children. Here, we suggest a modified method for surgical mask  This modified mask can not only fit snugly on their face, but also decreases the risk of contaminated air access. The number of children with COVID 19 has also increased significantly [2] Children of all ages appeared susceptible to COVID 19, and there was no significant sex difference  Due to children are not just a reduced version of adults, preventing children from COVID 19 transmission is a difficult and important task. Only combining all preventive measures, children can get maximum protection from infection. The behaviors of mask wearing and hand washing among children were influenced by age, gender, and other factors; therefore, parents should make efforts of behavior guidance whereas governments should enlarge medium publicity