Objectives The study examined the predictive strengths of self‐esteem, and positive and negative self‐compassion for hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being as well as assessed the relative mediating roles of positive and negative self‐compassion for the relationships among self‐esteem, and hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being. Design A correlational design was employed through which self‐esteem, self‐compassion, and hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being were measured. Methods One hundred thirty‐four male (M = 25.11, SD = 1.66) and 138 female (M = 21.89, SD = 1.87) participants were chosen by a convenient sampling. Results The findings evinced that there were significant positive correlations among self‐esteem, positive self‐compassion, and hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being while negative self‐compassion exhibited small positive correlations with both the well‐being measures (criterion). The regression analyses showed that self‐esteem and positive self‐compassion reflected significant predictive strengths for hedonic as well as eudaimonic well‐being while negative self‐compassion did not. This was also true for the social and psychological aspects of well‐being. The β values reflected that positive self‐compassion did show a higher contribution for both the well‐being measures as compared to self‐esteem. Conclusions The findings evinced that positive, not negative, self‐compassion mediated the relationship between self‐esteem and hedonic well‐being as well as self‐esteem and eudaimonic well‐being. Moreover, self‐esteem and self‐compassion have predictive strengths for both kinds of well‐being. The findings showed the relevance of self‐esteem and self‐compassion to underscore well‐being. The implications and directions for future researchers have been discussed. Practitioner points Contrary to the earlier findings suggesting self‐esteem and self‐compassion carrying relevance to explicate performance and well‐being of people with individualistic and collectivistic cultures, respectively, the findings of this study suggest both the constructs to be useful to understand the well‐being of people with both the values belonging especially to the fast‐changing societies like India. The study also suggests reconceptualization and empirical verification of self‐compassion that will make it more effective for enhancing and promoting interventions for positive life outcomes.

The study explored the lockdown and quarantine on the perceived psychological distress and other life outcomes of children after the outbreak of COVID-19 in recent past. The study employed the Narrative Thematic Research Design and chose a heterogeneous sample of 20 full-time mothers to report the experiences of the restrictions of their children aged 9-11 years. These mothers were the primary source of data about the impacts of lockdown and quarantine on their children. A telephonic semistructured interview protocol was used to collect data. Four themes were generated: poor social and emotional responsivity, decreased interest in studies and other creative activities, psychological distress symptoms and negative health outcomes. Anxiety, irritation, quarrelling behaviours, anger, frustration, low feeling, reduced interest in games, boredom etc. were observed in children. Sleep disturbances, complaints of indigestion and multiple complaints of body aches were major negative health outcomes. The findings showed a variety of negative psychological and health outcomes for children due to the extreme restrictions, uncertainty, apprehension, reduced positive engagement and lowered social connection after the outbreak of the pandemic. Preventive and protective measures are recommended with concerted efforts of parents, school and community to guard children against the ill-consequences of current and future pandemics.

Background Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has become an integral tool in the management of acute and chronic respiratory failure. Studies have shown that use of NIV decreases the length of hospital stay, improves symptoms and also reduces the need for invasive mechanical ventilation in patients with respiratory failure. However, NIV is not used sufficiently in our country. Objective To find out the outcome of Non Invasive Ventilation in Respiratory failure in Nepal. Methods Retrospective analysis of data of 28 patients in between June 2010- November 2010 was done. All the patients selected had respiratory failure. Records were analysed for documentation of clinical diagnosis. Arterial blood gases were assessed prior to, after starting and after discontinuation of NIV. The outcome of NIV and the need for domiciliary oxygen was evaluated at discharge. Results Thirty four patients received NIV out of which 6 were excluded from the study due to insufficient documentation. Out of these 28 patients, 27 received bi-level and one patient received Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. Mean age of patients was 66.5 years and ranged from 42-87 years. Majority (19, 79%) were from age group 60-80 years. Most common cause for the use of bi-level ventilation was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with type 2 respiratory failure in 19 patients (67.8%). Others included obesity hypoventilation syndrome two, acute interstitial pneumonia two, cardiogenic pulmonary oedema two, Interstitial lung disease one, bronchogenic carcinoma one, and bronchiectasis one. Arterial blood gas analysis was done on admission and 12 hours or earlier after the onset of bi-level ventilation. At the time of admission, 89.3% of the patients had type 2 respiratory failure, of which 60.6% had respiratory acidosis and 67.9% of patients had pCO2 above 60 mm Hg. Arterial blood pH prior to admission ranged from 7.19 to 7.50. Twelve hours after bi-level ventilation, only 21.3% had pH <7.35 and 42.8% had pCO2 above 60 mm Hg. Non invasive ventilation was successful in 27 patients (96.4%). All patients were advised domiciliary oxygen and all patients had respiratory follow up arranged. Conclusions COPD patients with type 2 respiratory failure were seen to benefit most with NIV. It is a very cost effective and safe method of treatment and should be used first in patients with COPD with type 2 respiratory failure.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/kumj.v9i4.6340 Kathmandu Univ Med J 2011;9(4):256-59

Since its inception in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, the etiological agent for coronavirus disease 2019 , is spreading rapidly both locally and internationally, and became certified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Working in an environment of high risk, coupled with adherence to quarantine and stressors related to the job, has been found to exacerbate the psychological health of frontline healthcare workers. AimsTo assess the perceived stressors, combat strategies, and motivating factors among health care service providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting and designA cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare workers at a tertiary care hospital in the northcentral region of India from May to September 2020. Methods and materialsA convenience sample of 150 health care workers was taken. A self-reported pretested structured "COVID 19 staff questionnaire" was used as a study tool. The health care workers (HCWs) included nurses, physicians, laboratory technicians, and radiology technicians who worked in high-risk areas (isolation ward, COVID intensive care unit, emergency department, and outpatient cough outdoor walk-in clinics) during the outbreak constituted our study population. Statistical analysis usedThe varying levels of stress or effectiveness of measures were reported as mean and standard deviation, as appropriate. Descriptive statistics were used for data presentation. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyse differences between two groups of non-normally distributed data. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. ResultsAs compared to doctors, paramedical staffs were more stressed with frequent protocol changes (88%), emotional exhaustion (68%), and conflicts with duties (62.7%). The factors like seeing colleague getting better (78.7%) and hoping for financial compensation (49.3%) were reported as stress busters; family compensation in case of death at the workplace and disability benefits in case of disease-related disability development were more effective motivational factors for paramedical staff in case of future outbreaks (pvalue <0.05). ConclusionsIt is needful that secondarily traumatized team members should be always observed, educated, and properly handled. Certain personal coping strategies adopted by health workers should be well addressed and motivated if scientifically sustainable. We have to include psychiatric preparedness and stress monitoring also for health care teams along with emphasizing hygiene, temperature monitoring, and fever management, in planning to fight the pandemic.

This study explored the nature, dynamics and role of collective-affirmation in attracting mass cooperation and support to check further spreading and to motivate people to observe preventive measures to reduce the casualties of COVID-19. A Narrative Thematic Analysis Design was employed in which a heterogeneous sample (N= 32, Age range = 36-61 years) was chosen through a purposive sampling method. The participants were interviewed about their experiences of lockdown. The novelty, suddenness and incurability of COVID-19 caused a set of perceived psychological distress and danger to individual and collective life. The Janata (public) curfew was perceived as a curfew of the people, by the people and for the people. The lockdown denoted a strong faith of the Indian government in the positive virtues of Indian People and vice versa. The mass support and adherence to the suggested preventive government measures were facilitated by collective-affirmation in the well-known positive Bhartiya (Indian) cultural and moral values. Collective-affirmation inherent in the Bhartiya collective cultural values catalyzed mass behaviours change in the form of adherence to the essential restrictions and recommendations. Collective-affirmation may have occurred due to the faith of the government in the virtues of the Indians and their perceived administrative capability of the government. A culture-specific collective-affirmation seems to emerge which initiated mass behavioural changes. The findings may have implications for changing people to face difficult situations, to accept social policies aimed at eradicating poverty, illiteracy, corruption and violence, and to adopt a healthy lifestyle to enhance their well-being.