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| Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain |
Higher levels of depressive symptoms have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with other times in history, and as much as three times higher than prior to the pandemic. A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has found that social isolation may have been a contributing factor. Their findings are published in JAMA Network Open.
In surveys conducted between May 2020 and April 2022 that were completed by 192,271 adults living the all 50 US states and the District of Columbia, the average county-level proportion of individuals not leaving home on a daily basis was associated with a greater level of depressive symptoms.
"We integrated our data with another data set compiled by Facebook that looked at aspects of mobility on the basis of an app, including how often people in a particular area left home," explains lead author Roy H. Perlis, MD, MSc, associate chief of research in the department of psychiatry and director of the Center for Quantitative Health at MGH. "We found that in communities and at times when fewer people left home, levels of depression in our survey were greater."
This link held even after considering local COVID-19 activity, weather, and county-level economics. Certain pandemic restrictions—in particular, mandatory mask-wearing in public and policies canceling public events—were modestly related to depressive symptom severity, but these associations were substantially smaller than the magnitude of the association with community mobility. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com |
Oversight of state-run nursing homes for military veterans in New Jersey should be removed from the military and be turned over to a newly created agency that focuses on health care, according to a new report released Tuesday by an independent fact-finding agency.
The recommendation by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) is the first and most drastic offered in its 16-page report, which centers on how "massive absenteeism" by front-line staff at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, poor communication and faulty building designs helped exacerbate health risks among residents.
The pandemic "presented a perfect storm of circumstances that exposed systemic and, in some cases, enduring problems in the administration and supervision of the veterans homes,” SCI Chair Tiffany Williams Brewer said in a statement.
The administration of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has been intensely scrutinized for its management of these homes, where more than 200 residents died during the pandemic due to "systemic and persistent problems."
The report comes less than a month after the publication of a more in-depth investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that a lack of preparation, deficient infection control practices, a growing distrust between managers and staff, and policies against mask-wearing helped the virus spread at two nursing homes.
The widespread dysfunction and inadequate care at these homes left residents unprepared for the pandemic, causing them to be at high risk for serious infections and illness. The Justice Department's report also noted that poor conditions in the homes continue to persist today. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
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