scholarly journals Longitudinal Study of Pandemic and Natural Disaster Distress

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Bulbulia ◽  
Sofia Piven ◽  
Lara Greaves ◽  
Danny Osborne ◽  
Geoffrey Troughton ◽  
...  

Recent research in New Zealand, Australia, China, and the United States finds that COVID-19 increased psychological distress as measured by the Kessler-6 inventory. It is theorised that health risks, loss of employment, and economic downturn precipitated by COVID-19 produced distress, and that confidence in government, social belonging, and sense of community may mitigate against pandemic distress. However, theories of pandemic distress mitigation remain untested. Here, we compare longitudinal responses from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS), March 26th to April 12th, 2020 (lockdown), with participants’ pre-COVID-19 baselines from the previous year (N=940) to investigate pandemic distress mechanisms during New Zealand's first stringent national lockdown.

Significance The USMCA represents continuity with NAFTA in most sectors, but introduces new rules governing the automotive trade, a key industry for Mexico’s economy. The challenges of USMCA implementation come on top of a severe economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts The USMCA provides some commercial certainty for investors in Mexico, in a context of political and health risks. The new rules bring opportunities for new auto investment in Mexico, but these may come at the expense of higher overall production costs. The agreement’s immediate impact will depend on the pace of economic recovery in Mexico and the United States.


2020 ◽  
pp. 106362
Author(s):  
Joshua Breslau ◽  
Melissa L. Finucane ◽  
Alicia R. Locker ◽  
Matthew D. Baird ◽  
Elizabeth A. Roth ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Del Campo ◽  
Marisalva Fávero

Abstract. During the last decades, several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of sexual abuse prevention programs implemented in different countries. In this article, we present a review of 70 studies (1981–2017) evaluating prevention programs, conducted mostly in the United States and Canada, although with a considerable presence also in other countries, such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The results of these studies, in general, are very promising and encourage us to continue this type of intervention, almost unanimously confirming its effectiveness. Prevention programs encourage children and adolescents to report the abuse experienced and they may help to reduce the trauma of sexual abuse if there are victims among the participants. We also found that some evaluations have not considered the possible negative effects of this type of programs in the event that they are applied inappropriately. Finally, we present some methodological considerations as critical analysis to this type of evaluations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Newton-Howes ◽  
M. K. Savage ◽  
R. Arnold ◽  
T. Hasegawa ◽  
V. Staggs ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims The use of mechanical restraint is a challenging area for psychiatry. Although mechanical restraint remains accepted as standard practice in some regions, there are ethical, legal and medical reasons to minimise or abolish its use. These concerns have intensified following the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Despite national policies to reduce use, the reporting of mechanical restraint has been poor, hampering a reasonable understanding of the epidemiology of restraint. This paper aims to develop a consistent measure of mechanical restraint and compare the measure within and across countries in the Pacific Rim. Methods We used the publicly available data from four Pacific Rim countries (Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States) to compare and contrast the reported rates of mechanical restraint. Summary measures were computed so as to enable international comparisons. Variation within each jurisdiction was also analysed. Results International rates of mechanical restraint in 2017 varied from 0.03 (New Zealand) to 98.9 (Japan) restraint events per million population per day, a variation greater than 3000-fold. Restraint in Australia (0.17 events per million) and the United States (0.37 events per million) fell between these two extremes. Variation as measured by restraint events per 1000 bed-days was less extreme but still substantial. Within all four countries there was also significant variation in restraint across districts. Variation across time did not show a steady reduction in restraint in any country during the period for which data were available (starting from 2003 at the earliest). Conclusions Policies to reduce or abolish mechanical restraint do not appear to be effecting change. It is improbable that the variation in restraint within the four examined Pacific Rim countries is accountable for by psychopathology. Greater efforts at reporting, monitoring and carrying out interventions to achieve the stated aim of reducing restraint are urgently needed.


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