S ince the identification of the first case in December 2019 in Wuhan (Hubei, China), the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly throughout the world and resulted in an ongoing pandemic. Turkey, with the first confirmed case on March 11, 2020, is also seriously affected by the outbreak like the rest of the world. [1] Many countries, among them Turkey, took prompt and radical public health measures to slow down the contagion, especially in the beginning phase including curfews, travel restrictions, and calls for self-isolation which profoundly changed our lives in many ways. More than 4 billion people around the world were called on compulsory or recommended to remain at Objectives: Self-isolation seems to be the best way to slow down the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, but it may also have negative impact on physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in physical activity habits during the outbreak and also the impact of the pandemic on musculoskeletal pain and mood in correlation with physical activity in healthcare workers. Methods: This study is conducted through Google Forms web survey platform. A total of 310 hospital staffs completed the Google Forms questionnaire in 2 weeks during lockdown and curfew period in Istanbul. The questionnaire included 60 questions including demographic, occupational, COVID-19 exposure data, physical activity habits, musculoskeletal pain, and mood. Results: There was a significant difference between physical activity habits before and after the pandemic (p<0.001). Individuals engaged in regular physical activity (regardless of duration) had significantly higher happiness ratings (p=0.002). No statistically significant difference was found between the duration of physical activity and the musculoskeletal pain during the pandemic. Conclusion: Pandemic caused a decrease in physical activity, an unhappy and anxious mood, and an increase in musculoskeletal pain of healthcare workers. Participants who were doing regular physical activity were less unhappy, but no relationship between exercise and musculoskeletal pain was found which might be related to psychosocial state of the participants who worked under great stress with high effort during the pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Upper extremity injuries may cause not only physical but also serious social and psychological problems in workers. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare demographic and work-related features of persons with hand injuries who sustained a work-related or a non-work-related injury to gain insights into possible predisposing factors for work-related injuries as well as psychosocial consequences of hand injuries from the social work perspective. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted on 30 work-related and 30 non-work-related hand injury patients. The patients were evaluated using a questionnaire designed by the authors based on the principles of social work involving demographics, work-related features, thought-emotion-behaviour features, family and friend relationships, need for family support and professional psychosocial support. Survey data from both groups were statistically analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fisher Exact test. RESULTS: When compared with the non-work-related hand injury group, the majority of the subjects of the work-related hand injury group were blue-collar workers (p = 0.003), had a lower level of education (p < 0.001), worked off-the-clock (p = 0.015), held the employer responsible for the accident (p < 0.001), needed more time to return to work (p = 0.014), were worried about the future (p = 0.045), and expressed loss of joy (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Hand injuries, regardless of their relation to work, lead to important psychosocial problems which need to be evaluated widely and carefully focusing on the patient and patient’s environment, work environment in this case.

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely impacted the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) residency training program in many countries. Aims and Objectives: To describe and analyse the issues and challenges faced by PRM trainees in Asia, Eastern Mediterranean and Oceania, and to discuss strategies to encounter the training and educational challenges amidst the pandemic. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was completed by Country Ambassadors of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) World Youth Forum Task Force, to assess the COVID-19 impact on PRM trainees across Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and Oceania. Results: Participants reported issues including training program disruption, limited practical skills training, examination postponement, negative psychological consequences, PRM service delivery restructuring, and deployment to acute services. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has variably impacted PRM residency training programs in the countries. The role of National Societies, training programs, and ISPRM is crucial to support trainees during the pandemic.