COVID-19 is among the tremendous negative pandemics that have been recorded in human history. The study was conducted to give a breakdown of the effect of post-COVID-19 mental health among individuals residing in a developing country. The two scales, namely DASS-21 and IES-R, were employed to collect the essential related data. The findings indicated that anxiety was a typical and common mental issue among the population, including up to 56.75% of the participants having extremely severe anxiety, 13.18% reporting severe anxiety. Notably, no one has anxiety and depression under moderate levels. Additionally, there is 51.92% depression and 43.64% stress ranging from severe to extremely severe levels. Furthermore, there were significant statistical differences among the data on stress, anxiety, and depression according to gender (males and females) and subgroups (students, the elderly, and medical healthcare workers). Besides, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in the study was relatively high, especially when compared to the figures reported by the World Health Organization. Moreover, stress, anxiety, and depression all displayed positive correlations with post-traumatic stress disorder. This is big data on the mental health of the entire population that helps the country’s government propose policy strategies to support, medical care and social security for the population.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the imperative of physical distancing has underscored the necessity for telemedicine solutions. Traditionally, telemedicine systems have operated synchronously, requiring scheduled appointments. This study introduces an innovative telemedicine system integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable asynchronous communication between physicians and patients, eliminating the need for appointments and providing round-the-clock access from any location. The AI-Telemedicine system was developed utilizing Google Sheets and Google Forms. Patients can receive dietary recommendations from the AI acting as the physician and submit self-reports through the system. Physicians have access to patients’ submitted reports and can adjust AI settings to tailor recommendations accordingly. The AI-Telemedicine system for patients requiring daily dietary recommendations has been successfully developed, meeting all nine system requirements. System privacy and security are ensured through user account access controls within Google Sheets. This AI-Telemedicine system facilitates seamless communication between physicians and patients in situations requiring physical distancing, eliminating the need for appointments. Patients have round-the-clock access to the system, with AI serving as a physician surrogate whenever necessary. This system serves as a potential model for future telemedicine solutions.

Financial inclusion and social protection have been recognised as the primary essential stimuli from the potential they carry as avenues for economic development, especially with respect to reduction in poverty and inequalities, the creation of employment and the enhancement overall welfare and livelihood. However, inclusive access to financial resources and equitable access to social protection interventions have remained a significant concern in Nigeria. In addition, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the weakness of Nigeria in all sectors of the economy such as energy, health, education and food systems and low-level inclusive access to financial resources and social protection coverage. On the other hand, this study argues that financial inclusion and social protection has the potential to mitigation shocks orchestrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study empirically examines how social protection interventions and access to financial resources responded to COVID-19 pandemic. The study made use of data sourced from the World Bank’s COVID-19 national longitudinal phone survey 2020 and applied the logit regression. The findings show that social protection and access to financial resources significantly associated with the likelihood of shock mitigation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that social protection intervention reduces the probability of being severely affected by shocks by 0.431. Given this result, the study recommends that the government should put more effort into proper social protection intervention to mitigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic had an adverse impact on the mental health of frontline workers including firefighters. To better understand this occurrence, this cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among 105 operational team and elite team firefighters in Kota Bharu, Kelantan State, Malaysia before and after the pandemic. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), a validated self-reporting survey tool, was used to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among the survey respondents. Findings revealed that firefighters had an increased level of anxiety and depression during the post-pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period. However, there was a decrease in the stress levels (20%) reported by study participants. Respondents belonging to the operational team had a higher reported level of depression, anxiety, and stress than those from the elite team. This may be attributed the operational team being more exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection on account of their routine and more voluminous workload. The findings of this study suggest that firefighters, in general, are at an increased risk of mental health problems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing this, it is important to consider these findings when addressing the prevention and management of mental health among firefighters. This includes providing additional support and devoting more resources to those who are most at risk for experiencing symptoms of mental health such as firefighters performing functions aligned with that of an operational team.

This study investigated changes in lifestyles and psychological anxiety among Koreans during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using the 2020 data from the nationwide Korean Community Health Survey. The study outcomes were psychological anxiety about the infection and death, due to COVID-19. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the relationship between psychological anxiety and lifestyle changes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people who practiced healthy behaviors and followed social distancing and quarantine regulations experienced increased psychological anxiety for infection and death. Daily life changes during the COVID-19 pandemic were not associated with psychological anxiety. The result of this study can provide baseline measures for further study on psychological anxiety during re-infection of COVID-19 and future pandemics in Korea.

Buru Regency is the primary hub for producing eucalyptus oil, a highly valued commodity in the region. The oil extracted from the eucalyptus epidemic plant possesses antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal characteristics. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous industries require it as a fundamental component of pharmaceuticals. An essential factor in the eucalyptus oil production process is the presence of eucalyptus leaves. Therefore, leaf-sorting workers, including women, are required to ensure this availability. However, in reality, the daily lives of eucalyptus leaf massagers are characterized by challenging economic conditions and a socio-economic environment that lags behind workers in other sectors. This study aims to examine and investigate the roles and work patterns of employed women and the strategies they employ to ensure the consistent flow of household income. The research employed a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological approach. A total of 24 informants were purposefully selected based on their involvement in achieving the research objectives. The results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the circumstances of women who collect leaves and rely heavily on eucalyptus trees as a natural resource. Physical adaptation strategies are the preferred methods used to fulfill household requirements. Implementing physical adaptations does not deter women leaf-sorters from continuing their work. Their commitment to meeting their basic needs significantly motivates them to persist in their role as leaf sorters. The income of women engaged in sorting eucalyptus leaves in their households during the COVID-19 pandemic.