Background: The rapid shift to online education due to COVID-19 quarantine challenged students’ ability to accept pure online learning without negative consequences for their physical, emotional and mental health. Some educational institutions introduced new strategies to reduce the psychosocial burden associated with online learning during home confinement. Thus, the primary aims were to determine the consequences of COVID-19 for the psychological well-being and fatigue levels of higher education students and to explore the effects of a new academic assessment approach in reducing home confinement stress. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among students, from 30 August to 30 September 2020, of 7 disciplines in all 16 higher colleges of technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Mental Well-being and Learning Behaviours Scale and the modified Copenhagen Burnout Inventory were used to evaluate students’ psychological well-being and fatigue levels. A Welch t-test and Welch ANOVA were performed to determine the differences in perceived psychological well-being associated with students’ characteristics. Second, Kruskal_Wallis and Mann_Whitney were performed to determine the differences in fatigue level based on students’ characteristics. Results: One thousand four hundred students participated. The majority were female (78.5%) and aged from 21–25 years (58.1%). Around 14% of respondents were married with children. Nearly 40% were satisfied with the new assessment approach introduced during the COVID pandemic and 45.5% perceived it as having reduced their home confinement stress. The mean psychological distress score of 3.00 (SD ± 0.71) indicates a moderate impact of COVID-19 on psychological well-being. Students’ psychological distress was positively correlated with fatigue level (0.256, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with the perceived impact of the new assessment approach on student lifestyle (− 0.133, p < 0.001), physical health (− 0.149, p < 0.001) and coping with stress (− 0.125, p < 0.001). Male students experienced significantly lower fatigue and better psychological well-being than female students. Conclusion: The study reveals that new assessment approaches which emerged during home confinement reduced students’ perception of stress and of impaired lifestyle. However, students still had a considerable burden of psychological distress, requiring further preventive measures to maintain their psychological well-being during future outbreak events. Educational institutions should consider additional strategies to improve students’ preparedness for online teaching, which could help maintain their psychological well-being.

Background: Palliative care (PC) is integral to improving the quality of life and mitigating suffering for individuals with serious illnesses. This interdisciplinary-led study aims to comprehensively evaluate the prevalence of distressing problems and unmet needs among both cancer and non-cancer chronic disease patients and explore their need for PC. Methods: A cross-sectional, comparative, and multicenter design was conducted, involving 458 patients from eight hospitals, utilizing a self-reported Problems and Needs in Palliative Care-sv questionnaire. Results: The study included 276 (60.3%) patients with cancer and 182 (39.7%) with non-cancer chronic diseases. Most were 45-64 years old (n = 216, 47.2%). Patients with cancer reported a higher prevalence of physical symptoms, notably pain (n = 240, 87%) and anorexia (n = 192, 69.6%), while non-cancer patients faced more social challenges, including issues in companion relationships (n = 77, 42.3%) and discussing their disease with life companion (n = 78, 42.9%). Unmet needs were prevalent in both groups, with cancer patients having an average of 75.6% (n = 120) unmet needs, predominantly in the information (n = 145, 91.75%) and spiritual domains (n = 123, 77.8%). Non-cancer patients emphasized financial (n = 71, 66.6%) and autonomy (n = 59, 55.0%) problems. Moreover, patients in both groups with severe Charlson Comorbidity Index scores demonstrated significantly higher PC needs across all health domains. Conclusion: The study highlights the universal demand for comprehensive PC for patients with both cancer and non-cancer chronic diseases. The findings underscore the need for enhanced PC provision, especially for patients with multiple comorbidities. Further research is needed to comprehensively address psychological, social, and spiritual problems in both patient groups.

Background: Since COVID-19 surfaced in December 2019, health-care organizations across the globe have struggled to maintain the safety and well-being of health-care professionals (HCPs). Purpose: This study investigates the HCPs’ general understanding of the health risks of COVID-19 and to what extent they are equipped with the knowledge to protect themselves and others against this contagion. Methods: This cross-sectional study used a web-based structured questionnaire posted on the UAE government electronic survey portal. A collection of 941 HCPs from diverse general and specialty hospitals in the UAE responded to an electronic participation invite. Results: Our analysis showed that the majority of HCPs (97.6%) had updated information about COVID-19 modes of transmission, risks of contamination, high-risk groups, and the potential consequences of testing positive. Furthermore, the results of the chi-squared testing revealed that the HCPs’ confidence and vigilance of the COVID-19 threats were significantly increased (p< 0.01) by being experienced, having had infection control training, or/and having undergone COVID-19 education. Conclusion: We conclude that HCPs have an evidence-based understanding of the ways their own health is at risk while they are performing their duties in hospital setups. Further, the study found that HCPs who undergo special infection control training and who are kept posted on the official updates on COVID-19 are more likely to remain vigilant at all times to minimize the risks to themselves and their patients. Although the generalizability of the study findings should be considered with caution, the results could be generalizable to health-care professionals who received similar COVID-19 related training in the UAE or other regional countries.

Background: Childhood vaccination is one of the World Health Organization's strategies to reduce vaccine-preventable diseases and children's mortality and morbidity rates. Adequate and accurate knowledge, as well as positive attitudes regarding vaccination, may increase parents’ compliance with their children’s vaccines. Objective: This study aimed to identify the determinants of parents’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward childhood vaccination in Jordan. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The stratification method of sampling technique was used to split Jordan into three regions. The sample included 1477 participants. A total number of eleven Maternal and Child Health Care centers were selected as the study’s site. Results: Results showed that parents have sufficient knowledge regarding the importance of vaccines in maintaining a child’s health, with a mean percentage of correctly answered questions of 78.7%. However, they have inadequate knowledge regarding the adverse reactions (57.5%) and the contraindications of vaccines (61.8%). Parents had positive attitudes regarding the National Immunization Program where 97% agreed with it. However, 83% of parents had negative attitudes toward vaccine safety. Parents’ work, residency, income, and age are significant determinants of parents’ attitudes, knowledge, and practice regarding children's vaccines. Conclusion: The study may motivate nurses to implement more educational interventions regarding children’s vaccination to upgrade parents' knowledge with particular emphasis on parents with a low level of education and the residents of rural areas.

Background: A comprehensive assessment of patients' problems and needs is essential for all patients with chronic diseases, including cancer. Aim: This study assesses the problems, unmet needs and requirement for palliative care (PC) among patients with cancer. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed using a valid self-reported questionnaire. Results: On average, 62% of patients had problems that were unresolved. The need for patients to have more information about their health was identified (75.1%), followed by financial problems because of the illness and ability to afford healthcare (72.9%), and psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety and stress (67.1%). Patients stated that their spiritual needs were not being met (78.8%), and that they were experiencing psychological distress and problems with daily living that needed to be addressed through PC (78%, 75.1%, respectively). A chi-square test revealed that all problems are significantly associated with the need for PC (P<.001). Conclusion: Patients needed more assistance in psychological, spiritual, financial and physical domains, and this can be provided by palliative care. Palliative care in low-income countries is a human right for patients with cancer.