Profile of Factors of Arduous Work among Healthcare Professionals in Healthcare Facilities in Northern Benin in 2021

Introduction: Work environments create the basis for arduous nursing work. This is what led us to research the factors of arduousness in the exercise of the health profession in North Benin, through this study. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study which focused on health professionals in the health zones of Parakou-N’dali and Tchaourou. The sampling was an exhaustive census. All health workers who had given their free and informed consent were included. The data was collected using a questionnaire. The variables studied were the factors of arduous work and socio-professional characteristics. The data collected was processed and analyzed with the Epi info 7.2.0.1 software. Results: A total of 692 were surveyed, the participation rate was 85.11% and the sex ratio (M/F) equal to 0.7. The average age was 38 years old. Nurses made up 32.66% of the sample. They were 86.42% subject to night work and 82.66% to alternating work. Overall, 70.23% worked more than 40 hours per week. Between 78.12% and 96.46% of non-specialist doctors, nurses, midwives and biomedical analysis technicians were required to work night shifts. Nurses, midwives, radiology and laboratory technicians were between 89.53% and 97.35%, organized in alternating work. In the sample, 55.20% complained about the insufficient number of work materials, 26.29% handled harmful chemical substances. Among those surveyed, 58.14% had been attacked. Conclusion: All professional categories of caregivers are subject to arduous work. Measures are needed to reverse the situation.

Malpractice or masterful practice?Navigating vicarious liability in healthcare

In the intricate landscape of healthcare,vicarious liability looms large,shaping the responsibilities and actions of healthcare practitioners and administrators alike.Illustrated by a poignant scenario of a medication error,this article navigates the complexities of vicarious liability in healthcare.It explains the legal basis and ramifications of this theory,emphasizing its importance in fostering responsibility,protecting patient welfare,and easing access to justice.The paper explores the practical effects of vicarious responsibility on day-to-day operations,leadership practices,and decision-making processes via the eyes of senior consultants,junior doctors,and hospital administrators.Through comprehensive insights and real-world examples,it underscores the imperative of fostering a culture of accountability,communication,and quality care to navigate the intricate web of liabilities inherent in modern healthcare.

Assessing healthcare workers’knowledge and confidence in the diagnosis,management and prevention of Monkeypox

BACKGROUND Monkeypox(Mpox),is a disease of global public health concern,as it does not affect only countries in western and central Africa.AIM To assess Burundi healthcare workers(HCWs)s’level of knowledge and confidence in the diagnosis and management of Mpox.METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study via an online survey designed mainly from the World Health Organization course distributed among Burundi HCWs from June-July 2023.The questionnaire comprises 8 socioprofessional-related questions,22 questions about Mpox disease knowledge,and 3 questions to assess confidence in Mpox diagnosis and management.The data were analyzed via SPSS software version 25.0.A P value<0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.RESULTS The study sample comprised 471 HCWs who were mainly medical doctors(63.9%)and nurses(30.1%).None of the 22 questions concerning Mpox knowledge had at least 50%correct responses.A very low number of HCWs(17.4%)knew that Mpox has a vaccine.The confidence level to diagnose(21.20%),treat(18.00%)or prevent(23.30%)Mpox was low among HCWs.The confidence level in the diagnosis of Mpox was associated with the HCWs’age(P value=0.009),sex(P value<0.001),work experience(P value=0.002),and residence(P value<0.001).The confidence level to treat Mpox was significantly associated with the HCWs’age(P value=0.050),sex(P value<0.001),education(P value=0.033)and occupation(P value=0.005).The confidence level to prevent Mpox was associated with the HCWs’education(P value<0.001),work experience(P value=0.002),residence(P value<0.001)and type of work institution(P value=0.003).CONCLUSION This study revealed that HCWs have the lowest level of knowledge regarding Mpox and a lack of confidence in the ability to diagnose,treat or prevent it.There is an urgent need to organize continuing medical education programs on Mpox epidemiology and preparedness for Burundi HCWs.We encourage future researchers to assess potential hesitancy toward Mpox vaccination and its associated factors.

Is current training in basic and advanced cardiac life support(BLS & ACLS) effective? A study of BLS & ACLS knowledge amongst healthcare professionals of North-Kerala

BACKGROUND:Healthcare professionals are expected to have knowledge of current basic and advanced cardiac life support(BLS/ACLS) guidelines to revive unresponsive patients.METHODS:Across-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the current practices and knowledge of BLS/ACLS principles among healthcare professionals of North-Kerala using pretested self-administered structured questionnaire.Answers were validated in accordance with American Heart Association's BLS/ACLS teaching manual and the results were analysed.RESULTS:Among 461 healthcare professionals,141(30.6%) were practicing physicians,268(58.1%) were nurses and 52(11.3%) supporting staff.The maximum achievable score was 20(BLS15/ACLS 5).The mean score amongst all healthcare professionals was 8.9±4.7.The mean score among physicians,nurses and support staff were 8.6±3.4,9±3.6 and 9±3.3 respectively.The majority of healthcare professionals scored <50%(237,51.4%);204(44.3%) scored 51%-80%and 20(4.34%)scored >80%.Mean scores decreased with age,male sex and across occupation.Nurses who underwent BLS/ACLS training previously had significantly higher mean scores(10.2±3.4) than untrained(8.2±3.6,P=0.001).Physicians with <5 years experience(P=0.002) and nurses in the private sector(P=0.003)had significantly higher scores.One hundred and sixty three(35.3%) healthcare professionals knew the correct airway opening manoeuvres like head tilt,chin lift and jaw thrust.Only 54(11.7%) respondents were aware that atropine is not used in ACLS for cardiac arrest resuscitation and 79(17.1%) correctly opted ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia as shockable rhythms.The majority of healthcare professionals(356,77.2%) suggested that BLS/ACLS be included in academic curriculum.CONCLUSION:Inadequate knowledge of BLS/ACLS principles amongst healthcare professionals,especially physicians,illuminate lacunae in existing training systems and merit urgent redressal.

The Impact of Self-Efficacy and Work Engagement on Healthcare Professionals’ Proactive Behavior

Job crafting (JC) is a form of proactive behavior and refers to the initiatives employees that could take to change their tasks or other job characteristics to achieve the best person-job fit. JC consists of six dimensions: seeking structural and social job resources, as well as challenges, hindering job demands, optimizing job demands, and delegating tasks. The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of self-efficacy and work engagement on healthcare professionals’ (HP) proactive behavior. A convenience sample of 295 HP working in Primary and Secondary healthcare structures of Northern Greece completed a questionnaire that included: 1) demographic/occupational characteristics, 2) the Job Crafting Scale, 3) the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) and 4) the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Increased age was found to be associated with decreased levels of seeking social job resources (p < 0.01). Education level was positively associated with increased levels of seeking structural job resources (p < 0.01), seeking challenges (p < 0.05), and optimizing job demands (p < 0.05), while job position was found to be negatively related to delegating tasks (p < 0.01). Self-efficacy was positively associated with increased levels of seeking structural resources (p < 0.001), challenges (p < 0.001), and increased levels of optimizing job demands (p < 0.001), while it was positively associated with decreased levels of delegating tasks (p < 0.05). In addition, increased work engagement was found to be associated with increased levels of seeking social job resources (p < 0.05), challenges (p < 0.01), and optimizing job demands (p < 0.01). Findings highlight the importance of self-efficacy, work engagement and individual characteristics in the realization of a resourceful work environment and HP’ adjustment in the organization. Thus, interventions that promote HP’ JC proactive behaviors should be encouraged.

Violence at work and its relationship with burnout, depression and anxiety in healthcare professionals of the emergency services

The aim of this study was to examine the possible relationship between physical and psychological aggression suffered in the workplace and professional burnout, depression and anxiety suffered by healthcare professionals of the emergency services. Methods: 315 physicians, nurses, orderlies and ambulance drivers of Critical Care and Emergency Devices (CCED) in the Andalusian Public Health System, in the province of Granada (Spain) participated. They were interviewed about the exposure to violence at work and answered a battery of questions that measured burnout, depression and anxiety. Results: Physical aggression was significantly related to emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment at work, depression and anxiety. Psychological aggression was associated with personal accomplishment. Logistic regression showed that the CCED professionals who have suffered physical aggression were 4.2 and 2.6 times more likely to have suffered anxiety and reduced personal accomplishment, respectively, than those who did not suffer physical aggression. On the other hand, feelings of anxiety and reduced personal accomplishment increase the professionals’ risk (3.4 and 2.1 times more likely, respectively) of suffering from physical aggression. Conclusion: The results suggest that exposure to violence is related to the other psychological problems tested: emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment (two components of burnout), depression and anxiety. In addition, physical violence is a risk factor for anxiety and diminished personal accomplishment of the CCED professionals.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental-Emotional Wellbeing of Primary Healthcare Professionals: A Descriptive Correlational Study

The present study aimed to examine work environment related factors and frontline primary healthcare profes-sionals’mental-emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in school communities of Hong Kong.A total of 61(20%)school health nurses(frontline primary healthcare professionals)participated in a cross-sec-tional online survey from March to June 2020.Outcomes of mental-emotional health were measured using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form(14-item scale with three subscales related to emotional,social and psychological wellbeing);the Perceived Stress Scale(10-item scale with two subscales related to perceived help-lessness and lack of self-efficacy);and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory(Brief COPE),a 28-item inventory with two subscales related to adaptive and maladaptive strategies.Almost half(42.6%)of par-ticipants experienced mental health problems.Those employed in government subsidized schools had signifi-cantly lower scores in mental health wellbeing than those who worked in private schools.Factors relating to increased mental health problems included lack of emotional support,inadequate training relating to infection prevention and control measures,disengagement and self-blame.A variety of factors influencing school health nurses’social,emotional and psychological wellbeing in their work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic were also reported.The mental-emotional wellbeing of school nurses may relate to their subjective feeling of lone-liness as participants were the sole frontline primary healthcare professional working in the school community during the COVID-19 pandemic.Studyfindings provide relevant evidence for management teams to build a cul-ture of psychological and social support into workplace policies and procedures.Continuous staff development and adequate social support are important to promote the mental-emotional wellbeing of primary healthcare pro-fessionals in school communities as they play a significant role in safeguarding resources during pandemics.

Relationship between Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Anxiety Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Healthcare Professionals vs.Non-Healthcare Professionals

The present study investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety levels,contamination and responsibility/control obsessions and associated OC behaviors in healthcare versus non-healthcare professionals.The study also aimed to examine the relationship between anxiety levels and obsessive-compulsive(OC)symptom levels,gender,age,educational level,and personal and family history of chronic diseases.The 664 participants included 395(59.5%)men and 269(40.5%)women and comprised 180(27.1%)healthcare professionals and 484(72.9%)non-healthcare professionals.The survey included three data collection tools:(i)Sociodemographic data form,(ii)Beck Anxiety Inventory(BAI),and(iii)the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Abriged(DOCS-A)pre-and post-pandemic forms.The BAI scores established a moderate positive correlation with post-pandemic DOCS-A total scores and a weak positive correlation with pre-pandemic DOCS-A total scores(p<0.001 for both).Pre-and post-pandemic DOCS-A total and subdimension scores were significantly higher in women than in men(p<0.05).Participants with a personal history of chronic diseases had higher BAI and DOCS-A scores compared to participants with no such history(p<0.001 and p<0.001,respectively).The results indicated a significant increase in OC symptoms during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period and a moderate correlation between the anxiety levels and OC symptom severity.It was also revealed that female gender and personal or family history of chronic diseases posed a higher risk for the increase in anxiety and OC symptoms and healthcare professionals had a higher risk of developing anxiety symptoms compared to non-healthcare professionals.

Beyond Nutrition Recommendations: What Healthcare Professionals Should Know about Dietary Supplements to Best Serve Their Patients

Although whole food nutrition will likely influence physical health more than any other lifestyle component besides exercise, the use of dietary supplements among men and women continues to be high. Due to this fact, it is imperative that healthcare professionals understand how supplements may impact overall health and wellness of their patients. With the majority of adults taking some form of dietary supplements and many concomitantly taking prescription medications, healthcare providers should be conscientious of adverse effects and interactions that may occur between dietary supplements and prescription drugs. As many consumers are misled by false marketing, healthcare providers should encourage them to be wary of exaggerated claims and direct them to products that are scientifically supported and safe. Continuing education for healthcare providers on dietary supplements is crucial, with new dietary supplement products constantly reaching the markets, in addition to new findings being made through clinical research and case studies. While some dietary supplements provide no meaningful benefit, many dietary supplements have been identified that can be used to ameliorate nutritional deficiencies and reduce the risk of some common health conditions. Others can serve to improve mental and physical performance, while truly enhancing health. This article presents relevant information on dietary supplements that will be useful to the healthcare professional.

Stalking of Healthcare Professionals by Their Clients: The Prevalence, Motivation, and Effect

It is proposed that healthcare professionals are prone to be stalked by their patients, but many feel ashamed to talk about it, believing that they might have done something to warrant the stalking. We undertook a rigorous review of the literature with the primitive goal of highlighting noteworthy issues on the stalking of healthcare professionals and psychologists by their patients. Databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar were searched to collate articles and studies on the topic with the keywords “stalker, stalking, assaults, aggression, and physicians”. From the review, the prevalence rate of stalking healthcare professionals ranged between 6% - 53%. This huge variation was largely due to the inconsistencies in the definition of what constituted stalking. The common motives of stalkers were largely due to erotomania or misguided expectation and a sense of resentment due to service dissatisfaction. Finally, it was apparently right to conclude that, medical doctors or healthcare professionals are at risk of being stalked on the grounds of service dissatisfaction, and mismanagement of treatment processes resulting in physical or perceived client injuries. Whereas psychologists and other psychiatrists are more prone to be stalked due to erotomaniac reasons.

Perceptions of Healthcare Professionals on COVID-19 in Lesotho: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Health care professionals at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic require continued support to ensure not only their well-being, but enhanced care for those infected by the disease. This study aimed to assess the perceptions of health care providers regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho. Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 190 healthcare workers who were conveniently sampled from a total of 25 health care facilities and completed structured questionnaires. Data were collected in September 2021 and analyzed using SPSS (vs23). Permission to conduct this study was granted by the relevant authorities. Informed written consent was given by the respondents in writing before they could take part in this study. Results: Respondents had positive views about the COVID-19 pandemic, and they were associated with the level of education. They understood that COVID-19 can affect anyone, including themselves and is not a disease for any particular race. They perceived that they could contract COVID-19, even despite pre-existing conditions, and there was a positive prognosis after contracting COVID-19 if necessary precautions were taken. Furthermore, they knew that the virus was affecting many people worldwide, including the elderly, who were willing to be tested. Respondents felt the testing procedure was rather painful and uncomfortable. The test providers were friendly and not rude, and respondents did not have any preferred gender for them. Respondents were also willing to discuss issues on COVID-19 with families and friends, and they lived close to health care facilities. Conclusions: This study concludes that healthcare professionals at the frontline were mostly nurses, and they had positive perceptions about the COVID-19 pandemic as they were knowledgeable and willing to test for the disease. Test providers were viewed as pleasant and healthcare facilities were accessible. Support for frontline healthcare professionals remains crucial to ensure effective service delivery. More education can be provided to enhance the general views about the COVID-19 to improve uptake of services, not only amongst healthcare professionals but the general public.

Body mass index estimation and measurement by healthcare professionals

Background: Severe obesity has increased more than three-fold in prevalence over the past fifteen years in Europe and the United States. Correctly identifying severe obesity permits access to mortality-reducing interventions. We aimed to determine the accuracy of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in recognising severe obesity and the frequency of body mass index (BMI) assessment by HCPs. Methods: We performed two cross-sectional surveys: one of 206 HCPs in Ireland and Canada and another of 515 Irish hospital healthcare records. The first survey evaluated BMI estimation from photographs and the second examined recording of weight and height during outpatient clinic visits. Results: HCPs underestimated the BMI of severely obese people by an average of 22% to 39%. For a patient with a BMI of 52 kg/m2, 35.4% of family physicians appreciated that the patient was severely obese (BMI > 40 kg/m2) compared with 81.0% of endocrinologists. During clinic visits only 18.1% (n = 75), 1% (n = 4) and 0% (n = 0) of patients had their respective weights, heights and BMIs recorded. Conclusions: HCPs frequently fail to recognise severe obesity from photographs and, in our centre, do not routinely record weight or height. Whether patient outcomes can be improved by measuring weight and height during every HCP encounter warrants further study.

Knowledge regarding celiac disease among healthcare professionals,patients and their caregivers in Turkey

BACKGROUND Celiac disease(CD)is one of the most prevalent chronic disorders.The clinical manifestations of CD are diverse and may present with gastrointestinal findings,extra-intestinal findings or no symptoms.Although there has been a marked increase in the prevalence of CD in the past 30 years,up to 95%of patients with CD remain undiagnosed.As most cases have atypical signs or no symptoms,the diagnosis of CD is either missed or delayed.In addition,one of the most important reasons for the delay in diagnosis may be the poor knowledge of healthcare professionals(HCPs)regarding CD.AIM To evaluate the knowledge of HCPs,patients and their caregivers(parents)regarding CD.METHODS The current study was carried out between June 2021 and February 2022 prospectively,as part of the Focus IN CD project.Patients with CD and their caregivers participated in the study from 6 different cities in Turkey.General practitioners,pediatricians,pediatricians with other subspecialities and pediatric gastroenterologists from different cities participated in the study.RESULTS The questionnaire was completed by 348 HCPs,34 patients with CD,and 102 mothers and 34 fathers of patients with CD.Most of the participants were general practitioners(37.07%).There were 89(25.57%)pediatricians and 72(20.69%)pediatric gastroenterologists in the study.The highest score in all categories was achieved by pediatric gastroenterologists.There were significant differences between the four groups of HCPs in terms of the subsections of overall mean score,epidemiology and clinical presentation,treatment and follow-up.No significant difference was found between the groups(patients with CD,mothers of patients with CD and fathers of patients with CD)in terms of the questionnaire subsections.CONCLUSION The level of knowledge on CD among HCPs,patients and their caregivers was unsatisfactory.We consider that it is necessary to increase awareness and to develop e-learning activities on CD among HCPs,patients and their caregivers.Consequently,they may benefit from e-learning programs similar to the one created as part of the EU-funded project Focus IN CD(https://www.celiacfacts.eu/focusincd-en).

Assessment of perception of healthcare professionals regarding the use of herbal medicines in Islamabad, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Background The usage of herbal medicine for health care has gradually expanded because of its safety,effectiveness,cultural acceptance,and lack of negative effects in recent years all around the world.Plants and plant products have been used to heal and prevent illnesses with varying degrees of effectiveness throughout history.The main objective of the study is to evaluate the perception of healthcare professionals about the use of herbal medicines.Methods The study was conducted using a cross-sectional study design.The sample size was 382 participants;however,7 questionnaires were excluded because of invalid data.The 375 questionnaires were included by expert validation from which 77 were General Physicians,75 Pharmacists,74 Nutritionists,74 Nurses and 75 Herbalists.The study settings were hospitals,pharmacies&clinics of Islamabad.The data were analyzed using Chi-square test.Results Out of 375 respondents,54.7%(n=205)were males and 45.3%(n=170)were females.The majority of the respondents used internet 50.9%(n=191)as a source of information while 77.9%of participants consider that herbal medicines are safe because they are natural.Conclusion There was a significant difference seen in the perception of healthcare professionals regarding use of herbal medicines based on demographics.

Perspectives on the Attitudes of Healthcare Professionals toward Diabetes in Community Health Settings in United Arab Emirates

Background: Diabetes is a chronic disease that is associated with high cost and health care utilization. Attitudes of healthcare professionals (HCPs) toward diabetes have a significant impact on quality of diabetes care. Although the prevalence of diabetes in the Arabian Gulf region is alarming, little is known about attitudes of HCPs toward the disease. Methods: This study evaluates the attitudes of 337 HCPs toward diabetes in United Arab Emirates (UAE) including physicians, pharmacists, nurses and dietitians using the Diabetes Attitudes Scale (DAS-3). Data were analyzed descriptively and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for comparative analyses. Overall, HCPs groups demonstrated relatively adequate attitudes toward diabetes (mean = 3.80, SD = 0.45). Results: The highest score reported by HCPs groups was on the need for special training subscale (M = 4.49, SD = 0.38) and the lowest score was seen on patient autonomy subscale (M = 3.31, SD = 0.45). Physicians showed significantly higher positive attitudes on need for special training, seriousness of diabetes, value of tight glycemic control, and psychosocial aspects of diabetes than other HCPs groups (P values < 0.005);whereas nurses scored the highest on patient autonomy subscale. Pharmacists demonstrated the lowest negative attitudes among HCPs groups on all diabetes attitudes subscales. Conclusions: We recommend conducting more continuing education programs (CEPs) on diabetes care in the UAE, with greater emphasis on patient autonomy. An interdisciplinary approach that is patients’ centered is needed to provide efficient diabetes care.

Health Professionals’ Attitudes towards Electronic Psychosocial Assessments in Youth Mental Healthcare

Psychosocial assessments can help mental health professionals establish good therapeutic relationships while simultaneously conducting holistic assessments of their young clients. Using technology to conduct assessments may increase disclosure by young people;however, the uptake of new technologies into current face-to-face practice has been slow. In the current study, we were interested in exploring the attitudes of mental health workers to using an electronic psychosocial assessment tool (e-tool) within face-to-face service delivery with adolescents and young adults. An exploratory design was used to identify and qualitatively describe the views of 46 mental health workers from services across the ACT and Victoria, Australia. Data were coded using an inductive thematic approach. Comments indicated that mental health workers held both positive and negative views about the e-tool. Some participants believed that it would allow disclosure to occur in a stepped process, normalize questions, give youth greater input, and be time efficient. However, the majority believed that the e-tool would infringe on their work because they needed to respond to their clients immediately, it would not provide an accurate representation of the client, young people did not have the necessary capabilities to engage in the process, they would miss non-verbal cues from the young person, and they were more likely to gain information from organic conversations. The results suggest that many mental health professionals may be fearful of incorporating new technologies in current practice. Specific training and supportive implementation guidelines must be developed to support use of these new technologies and change practice.

Evolutionary Neural Architecture Search and Its Applications in Healthcare

Most of the neural network architectures are based on human experience,which requires a long and tedious trial-and-error process.Neural architecture search(NAS)attempts to detect effective architectures without human intervention.Evolutionary algorithms(EAs)for NAS can find better solutions than human-designed architectures by exploring a large search space for possible architectures.Using multiobjective EAs for NAS,optimal neural architectures that meet various performance criteria can be explored and discovered efficiently.Furthermore,hardware-accelerated NAS methods can improve the efficiency of the NAS.While existing reviews have mainly focused on different strategies to complete NAS,a few studies have explored the use of EAs for NAS.In this paper,we summarize and explore the use of EAs for NAS,as well as large-scale multiobjective optimization strategies and hardware-accelerated NAS methods.NAS performs well in healthcare applications,such as medical image analysis,classification of disease diagnosis,and health monitoring.EAs for NAS can automate the search process and optimize multiple objectives simultaneously in a given healthcare task.Deep neural network has been successfully used in healthcare,but it lacks interpretability.Medical data is highly sensitive,and privacy leaks are frequently reported in the healthcare industry.To solve these problems,in healthcare,we propose an interpretable neuroevolution framework based on federated learning to address search efficiency and privacy protection.Moreover,we also point out future research directions for evolutionary NAS.Overall,for researchers who want to use EAs to optimize NNs in healthcare,we analyze the advantages and disadvantages of doing so to provide detailed guidance,and propose an interpretable privacy-preserving framework for healthcare applications.

An Intelligent SDN-IoT Enabled Intrusion Detection System for Healthcare Systems Using a Hybrid Deep Learning and Machine Learning Approach

The advent of pandemics such as COVID-19 significantly impacts human behaviour and lives every day.Therefore,it is essential to make medical services connected to internet,available in every remote location during these situations.Also,the security issues in the Internet of Medical Things(IoMT)used in these service,make the situation even more critical because cyberattacks on the medical devices might cause treatment delays or clinical failures.Hence,services in the healthcare ecosystem need rapid,uninterrupted,and secure facilities.The solution provided in this research addresses security concerns and services availability for patients with critical health in remote areas.This research aims to develop an intelligent Software Defined Networks(SDNs)enabled secure framework for IoT healthcare ecosystem.We propose a hybrid of machine learning and deep learning techniques(DNN+SVM)to identify network intrusions in the sensor-based healthcare data.In addition,this system can efficiently monitor connected devices and suspicious behaviours.Finally,we evaluate the performance of our proposed framework using various performance metrics based on the healthcare application scenarios.the experimental results show that the proposed approach effectively detects and mitigates attacks in the SDN-enabled IoT networks and performs better that other state-of-art-approaches.

The healthcare environment—The importance of aesthetic surroundings: Health professionals’ experiences from a surgical ward in Finland

There is a growing acceptance of the vital role patient centered design plays in shaping the environment. Art can be of use in every area of health care. It is within the power of each person to share and interpret experience by means of the arts, by viewing the work of others, and by using feelings and imagination. Health professionals [n = 24 of a total of n = 35], answered the Wheel Questionnaire test instrument. It measures structure, motivation/engagement, and degree of emotional investment in a situation. Participants were requested to describe, in their own words, their perception of the enrichment of the ward interiordesign and the double-sided photos with a short poetic text, and the photo-book placed at each patient room. The results demonstrate that participants are motivated, structured and emotionally engaged when describing the new enrichment. The domains and themes are: Social interaction domain;rising thoughts and conversations. Comfort domain;atmosphere. Aesthetic do main;enrichment of the working environment. It could be concluded that the surgical ward environmental enrichment stimulated conversations between health professionals and between health professionals and patients and should be regarded as an important aspect in hospital planning.

COVID-19-induced anxiety,depression and stress among healthcare professionals in Sri Lanka

Objective:To assess the degree of anxiety,depression and stress due to the COVID-19 epidemic among healthcare professionals in Sri Lanka.Methods:Healthcare professionals from 6 selected government and private hospitals located in Gampaha District were recruited for the study.The socio-demographic factors,knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals on COVID-19 was collected through a self-administered questionnaire,while Depression,Anxiety and Stress Scale score was used to assess the psychological wellbeing.Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression techniques were used for data analysis.Results:Totally 324 healthcare professionals were included and the respondents had a high overall level of knowledge towards COVID-19.Twenty-five percent of the respondents had different levels of anxiety,while 10.8%had mild depression,and 4.6%had moderate depression.Interestingly,40.4%of the respondents had mild stress,and 11.1%had moderate stress.Young people(20-35 years),medical laboratory technologist and nursing officer,being quarantined,having a SARS-CoV-2-infected family member,involvement in COVID-19 patient care,and limited availability of personal protection equipment,were recognized as significant risk factors associated with anxiety,depression and stress.Conclusions:The healthcare professionals are high-risk groups to experience psychological impacts from COVID-19.Continuous monitoring and implementing appropriate intervention activities and provision of counseling support are highly recommended.