Experts have argued that we tend to use our memories of the past to imagine the future, which is why so much future gazing is essentially a form of nostalgia.
Source: Where I call bullshit on the way we do the PhD – The Thesis Whisperer
Some good points from Inger about the need to reimagine the purpose and process of PhDs, and that we should stop preparing HDR students for a world that no longer exists.
The aim of this collection is to ensure immediate access to systematic reviews most directly relevant to remote health care through telehealth. The measures adopted internationally to curb the spread of COVID-19 have led to significant changes in how health care is accessed and provided. As face-to-face consultations between healthcare workers and patients pose a potential risk to both parties, remote care and telehealth offer alternatives.
Special Collection – Coronavirus (COVID-19): remote care through telehealth
Useful for people looking at telehealh interventions, or scaling up telehealth activity for specific conditions.
Well before the impacts of the 2020 pandemic, large numbers of lower income Australian households were struggling to find affordable housing and there were long wait lists for social housing. AHURI research estimated that in 2016, there was a shortfall of around 431,000 social housing dwellings, and that this deficit would grow to 727,300 dwellings by 2036. The research concluded that 36,000 new social housing dwellings per year were required to meet this need.
With high unemployment and increased incidence of homelessness a likely outcome of the economic downturn, new social housing will be essential to ensure housing outcomes do not worsen. Industry and community organisations and peak bodies are calling for a social housing building program as part of the economic stimulus response. For example, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), in a recent report, proposes building 30,000 social housing dwellings as a way to reduce homelessness and to boost employment.
Source: AHURI – Why building housing infrastructure after the pandemic can benefit Australia
The mental health effects of COVID-19 on the general population might be profound and long-lasting, and deserve serious attention; but they cannot be the exclusive focus of conversation. Those who wish to build fairer societies and health systems after the pandemic ends must learn about and prioritise the needs of people living with severe mental illness as a matter of urgency.
American University of Beirut webinar recording on smoking cessation and water pipe use during COVID-19:
The Institute for Public Policy Research in the UK has released a report based on IPPR/YouGov polling of healthcare workers called Care Fit for Carers.
It shows high degrees of dissatisfaction with the UK government’s response, and that many health care workers are considering leaving their professions .
The report also raises the prospect of the longer term-impacts on health care workers, which are likely to include physical health impacts, as well as PTSD and other mental health conditions. These impacts are not abstract and hypothetical, as shown in a BBC article on the impacts of SARS ten years after the 2003 outbreak:
Bruce England was a paramedic on duty in Toronto during the early days of the Sars outbreak and, having attended a patient with a chest infection, found himself falling ill.
For him, and many others affected by the Sars outbreak in Toronto, the effects of that experience are still being felt today. Ten years on Bruce still experiences weakness and difficulty with his breathing.
“I had Sars. It’s left a lasting impact on me and my life. So did I survive it? Maybe not, it’s still there for me,” he says.
SARS: The people who risked their lives to stop the virus, Kevin Fong, BBC, 2013.
An important from David Gunnell and colleagues in Lancet Psychiatry:
These are unprecedented times. The pandemic will cause distress and leave many people vulnerable to mental health problems and suicidal behaviour. Mental health consequences are likely to be present for longer and peak later than the actual pandemic.
Source: Suicide risk and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic – The Lancet Psychiatry
They present a range of potential public health responses, including targeted and universal interventions.
Some worrying parallels between Italy and Australia’s health system challenges, as outlined in this commentary in The Lancet:
There are lessons to be learned from the current COVID-19 pandemic. First, the Italian decentralisation and fragmentation of health services seems to have restricted timely interventions and effectiveness, and stronger national coordination should be in place. Second, health-care systems capacity and financing need to be more flexible to take into account exceptional emergencies. Third, in response to emergencies, solid partnerships between the private and public sector should be institutionalised. Finally, recruitment of human resources must be planned and financed with a long-term vision.
Source: The Italian health system and the COVID-19 challenge – The Lancet
Reminds me of most of the Deeble Institute briefs I’ve read over the past decade.
Here’s how it works in practice. On Wednesday March 18, the Australian government announced a $715 million rescue package for the nation’s stricken aviation sector. Qantas management, grateful for the assistance, immediately sacked 20,000 workers
— Read on meanjin.com.au/blog/bastard-pandemic-v-bastards/
An important resource that’s being updated daily.
In response to the current crisis, we are maintaining an up-to-date map of the current evidence that we partition into broad domains for easy exploration. We are open to feedback on how we maintain and categorise this evidence base, so do get in touch if you have suggestions.
— Read on eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Projects/DepartmentofHealthandSocialCare/Publishedreviews/COVID-19Livingsystematicmapoftheevidence/tabid/3765/Default.aspx
