Dataset Information

The Effects of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak on Academic Staff Members: A Case Study of a Pharmacy School in Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT: Background:The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has required governments to implement preventive policies to control the spread of the virus. Temporarily closing schools and other educational institutions has been adopted in many countries, including Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess academic staff satisfaction with suspending face-to-face teaching and turning to web-based education. Additionally, this study assessed how the suspension of face-to-face classes has affected the administrative work, research, and community at the College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University. Methods:This study used a cross-sectional, self-administered, anonymous online questionnaire. A total of 59 academic staff were included. Results:More than half the participants (55.9%) agreed or strongly agreed that the sudden shift to online education was done smoothly, more than half (57.6%) agreed or strongly agreed that virtual lectures were more flexible than face-to-face lectures, and a majority (79.7%) agreed or strongly agreed that the technology used for online education was reliable. A minority of participants agreed or strongly agreed that research (20.4%), community service (11.4%), and participation in scientific meetings (15.2%) had not been affected by the suspension. Conclusion:Suspending classes without stopping education has been implemented effectively, and administrative work has continued to run smoothly. However, research, community service, and attending scientific meetings have been negatively impacted by the suspension.

SUBMITTER: Almaghaslah D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7369415 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Effects of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak on Academic Staff Members: A Case Study of a Pharmacy School in Saudi Arabia.

Almaghaslah Dalia D Alsayari Abdulrhman A

Risk management and healthcare policy 20200715

<h4>Background</h4>The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has required governments to implement preventive policies to control the spread of the virus. Temporarily closing schools and other educational institutions has been adopted in many countries, including Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess academic staff satisfaction with suspending face-to-face teaching and turning to web-based education. Additionally, this study assessed how the suspension of face-to-face classes has affec ...[more]

PMID: 32765134

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Project description:Background: Neurological manifestations have increasingly become recognized in COVID-19. People from different ethnic backgrounds are experiencing different outcomes related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Several cohort studies reported the common neurological manifestations and complications associated with COVID-19 disease around the world however, the prevalence of neurological complications associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Arab countries and Saudi Arabia is still unknown. Objective: To study the prevalence, risk factors, and characteristics of the neurological complications associated with COVID-19 and their relationship with clinical outcomes. Methods: We conducted a prospective, single-center, observational, cohort study of consecutive hospitalized adults COVID-19 patients with and without neurological manifestation admitted between March 2020 until the end of December 2020. Data was collected prospectively using electronic medical records; Cases and controls were observed until they either get discharged from the hospital or died. The primary outcomes were death, survival, and survival with sequalae. Results: Among 497 patients with COVID-19, 118 patients (23.7%) had neurological complications, 94 patients (18.9%) had encephalopathy, and 16 patients (3.2%) had cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). Patients with COVID-19-related neurological complications were older and more likely to have a pre-existing neurological disease. The most common neurological syndrome associated with COVID-19 were encephalopathy (18.9%) and headache (13.7%). Pre-existing neurological disease and an elevated neutrophil count were the strongest predictors of developing any neurological complications. Death form COVID-19 was associated with age (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.10, P = 0.001), invasive ventilation (OR 37.12, 95% CI 13.36-103.14), COVID-19-related-neurological complications (OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.28-8.21, P = 0.01), and elevated CRP level (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01, P = 0.01). Conclusions: COVID-19 is associated with a wide range of neurological manifestations in people living in Saudi Arabia, with older individuals and those with underlying neurological disorders being most at risk. The presence of neurological complications was associated with increased mortality and poor outcomes.

Project description:Serological assays are valuable tools for tracking COVID-19 spread, estimation of herd immunity, and evaluation of vaccine effectiveness. Several reports from Saudi Arabia describe optimized in-house protocols that enable detection of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies and measurement of their neutralizing activity. Notably, there were variations in the approaches utilized to develop and validate these immunoassays in term of sample size, validation methodologies, and statistical analyses. The developed enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs) were based on the viral full-length spike (S), S1 subunit, and nucleocapsid (NP), and enabled detection of IgM and/or IgG. ELISAs were evaluated and validated against a microneutralization assay utilizing a local SARS-CoV-2 clinical isolate, FDA-approved commercially available immunoassays, and/or real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Overall, the performance of the described assays was high, reaching up to 100% sensitivity and 98.9% specificity with no cross-reactivity with other coronaviruses. In-house immunoassays, along with commercially available kits, were subsequently applied in a number of sero-epidemiological studies aiming to estimate sero-positivity status among local populations including healthcare workers, COVID-19 patients, non-COVID-19 patients, and healthy blood donors. The reported seroprevalence rates differed widely among these studies, ranging from 0.00% to 32.2%. These variations are probably due to study period, targeted population, sample size, and performance of the immunoassays utilized. Indeed, lack of sero-positive cases were reported among healthy blood donors during the lockdown, while the highest rates were reported when the number of COVID-19 cases peaked in the country, particularly among healthcare workers working in referral hospitals and quarantine sites. In this review, we aim to (1) provide a critical discussion about the developed in-house immunoassays, and (2) summarize key findings of the sero-epidemiological studies and highlight strengths and weaknesses of each study.

Dataset Information

The Effects of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak on Academic Staff Members: A Case Study of a Pharmacy School in Saudi Arabia.

Publications

The Effects of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak on Academic Staff Members: A Case Study of a Pharmacy School in Saudi Arabia.

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