The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in millions of patients
infected worldwide and indirectly affecting even more individuals through disruption of
daily living. Long-term adverse outcomes have been reported with similar diseases from
other coronaviruses, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Emerging evidence suggests that COVID-19 adversely affects
different systems in the human body. This review summarizes the current evidence on the
short-term adverse health outcomes and assesses the risk of potential long-term adverse
outcomes of COVID-19. Major adverse outcomes were found to affect different body systems:
immune system (including but not limited to Guillain-Barré syndrome and paediatric
inflammatory multisystem syndrome), respiratory system (lung fibrosis and pulmonary
thromboembolism), cardiovascular system (cardiomyopathy and coagulopathy), neurological
system (sensory dysfunction and stroke), as well as cutaneous and gastrointestinal
manifestations, impaired hepatic and renal function. Mental health in patients with
COVID-19 was also found to be adversely affected. The burden of caring for COVID-19
survivors is likely to be huge. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to develop
comprehensive strategies in providing resources and capacity in the healthcare system.
Future epidemiological studies are needed to further investigate the long-term impact on
COVID-19 survivors.
Landmarks play an important role in guiding navigational behavior. A host of studies in the last 15 years has demonstrated that environmental objects can act as landmarks for navigation in different ways. In this review, we propose a parsimonious four-part taxonomy for conceptualizing object location information during navigation. We begin by outlining object properties that appear to be important for a landmark to attain salience. We then systematically examine the different functions of objects as navigational landmarks based on previous behavioral and neuroanatomical findings in rodents and humans. Evidence is presented showing that single environmental objects can function as navigational beacons, or act as associative or orientation cues. In addition, we argue that extended surfaces or boundaries can act as landmarks by providing a frame of reference for encoding spatial information. The present review provides a concise taxonomy of the use of visual objects as landmarks in navigation and should serve as a useful reference for future research into landmark-based spatial navigation.
COVID‐19 research from China suggests health care workers are at risk of distress, have specific concerns, and need support. It remains unknown whether findings are applicable to UK health care staff and whether psychological support based on generic approaches is effective. We administered an online survey at a leading neuroscience hospital in the UK to examine how individual staff characteristics contribute to distress, concerns, and interventions most valued during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We found a high incidence of distress, particularly in females and staff with previous mental health history. Concerns fell into three factors: ‘risk of infection’, ‘work challenges’, and ‘social change’, and were affected by professional role and contact with COVID‐19 patients. These three factors predicted distress. Psychological support and clear updates were deemed most useful, with specific needs affected by age, professional role, and contact with COVID‐19 patients. This is the first documentation of a high incidence of psychological distress predicted by three types of concerns in health care workers of a neuroscience hospital. Distress, concerns, and interventions most valued were all affected by individual staff characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of providing stratified, one to one support interventions, tailored to professional group, and background, rather than more generic approaches.
Practitioner points
The COVID‐19 pandemic has resulted in a high incidence of psychological distress in UK health care staff.
Distress, concerns, and interventions most valued are influenced by individual staff characteristics.
Stratified, one‐to‐one support interventions, tailored to professional group, and background, rather than more generic approaches for stress reduction and resilience, are crucial.
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