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Item Stress and coping resources of divorced women in the Maldives(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Aboobakuru, Shifaza; Riyaz, AminathThe paper explores the stress level and the coping resources utilized by divorced women in the Maldives. While the study is designed as a quantitative investigation, the general objectives are not to generalize findings but to gain an understanding of divorce demographic and coping strategies of women after divorce. The Taylor’s manifest anxiety scale was used to assess stress, and a second questionnaire assesses divorcees’ current situation and their coping strategies. Both the questionnaires were self-administered by 60 participants identified through snowball sampling strategy. The findings show that divorced women exhibit notable psychological stress, with 46.7% of the participants having high stress, 51.7% having low stress and only 1.7% exhibiting no stress. While other unknown stressors in their life cannot be ruled out, the findings suggest that better socioeconomic, cognitive and emotional resources such as education, employment, adequate finance including child maintenance from the father of the child, emotional support from immediate family as well as friends have a positive impact on reducing stress. Contrarily, the findings also show lack of employment, rental expenses, dependency on an external party for child maintenance support, the uncertainties of a new romantic relationship, and the experience from a painful divorce process can have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing. Furthermore, in adjusting to life after divorce, most of the participants seek financial independence through upskilling and employment, while some divorced women seek remarriage for financial and emotional security.Item Determinants of socioeconomic experiences during COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2020-12) Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna; Riyaz, Aminath; Moosa, Sheena; Abdul Raheem, Raheema; Naeem, Aishath ZeenThis paper evaluates the individual experiences and perceptions of the public about the COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives. The data was collected from a probability sample comprising 1026 respondents using an online survey. The results show that less than 1% of the respondents tested positive for COVID-19 at the time. The fear of the pandemic, in terms of probable health and economic impact, was significantly higher than the actual experience of the pandemic with 6.8 percent reporting loss of employment. Participants who considered religion as very important show a higher psychological wellbeing. Over 12% of the participants believed that the pandemic to be a hoax. The findings showed inclination of the people lay more towards solidarity rather than hostility during these trying times, with at least one third of the respondents identifying with complete solidarity. The findings provide suggestions for health practitioners to communicate more effectively with the public during the crisis.Item Risk communications in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic : the Maldives’ experience(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2020-12) Usman, Thasleema; Moosa, SheenaRisk communication strategies and modalities are at the heart of the pandemic response containment and mitigation. As the pandemic unfolded across the world, a small island country like the Maldives in democratic transition and highly dependent on other economies perceived risks beyond that of health effects to the economic and political spheres. In this context, the multi-media approach adopted in communicating risks and response interventions were effective in building confidence in the national response towards transmission of COVID-19 specific knowledge and prevention behaviour. Despite best efforts, shortcomings were experienced in reaching vulnerable segments such as migrants and persons with disabilities. The prolonged pandemic demands re-focussing risk communication towards empowering institutions for providing low risk modalities for individuals returning to work and daily life with preventive behaviours.Item Clinical manifestations and progression of COVID‑19 : a case report from the Maldives(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2020-08) Dey, Rajib Kumar; Hilmy, Abdullah Isneen; Zaadhee, Ali; Jaleel, Zaidhoon; Zooshan, Ahmed; Ibrahim, Afa; Waheed, Azna; Waseel, Saifullah; Hishma, Mariyam; Naseem, Mariyam; Mufeed, Mariyam Shahana; Mustafa, Mihunath; Thaufeeq, Dhunya; Nabil, Rania; Imad, Hisham Ahmed; Yoosuf, Abdul Azeez; Nazeem, Ali; Latheef, Ali AbdullaA cluster of pneumonia was reported from Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019. The causative agent was named as novel coronavirus “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease as COVID‑19. The disease rapidly spread to several countries and WHO declared the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and as a pandemic on 11th March 2020. In the Maldives, the first case of COVID‑19 was detected on the 7th of March. At the time of writing, there are 3103 cases of confirmed COVID‑19 including 15 fatalities. The SARS-CoV-2 causes mild to severe pneumonia complicated by ARDS, sepsis, and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome. Other manifestations include anosmia, ageusia, fatigue, and rash. In many requiring hospitalization, hypoxemia is a key clinical finding. The clinical manifestations including the clinical progression of COVID‑19 is being described in this report. The case was conservatively managed in a makes-shift hospital, with the utilization of the awake prone positioning which had resulted in better oxygenation and aided in the improvement of hypoxemia.Item Use of aminoquinolines as a prophylactic agent against COVID‑19 in frontline workers : a critical review(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2020-08) Rashmee, FathmathEmerging and reemerging pathogens are global challenges for public health. The infectious disease COVID‑19 caused by SARS- CoV-2, a newly emerged beta coronavirus is spreading throughout the globe. There is currently no specific treatment nor a vaccine available for the disease, though the pandemic continues to grow, the scientific community is searching eagerly to employ a prophylactic drug that could decrease COVID‑19 spread. As chemoprophylaxis is an acceptable approach in mitigating infectious diseases, discovering an efficient chemoprophylactic agent could be one way to potentially control COVID‑19. There have been several existing drugs repurposing for the treatment and prevention of COVID‑19. Most research efforts are focused on the 4-aminoquinoline derivative compounds hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ). A literature search was performed using Google Scholar and PUBMED to find articles about the role of CQ/HCQ as a prophylaxis to COVID‑19. In addition, a review of all the clinical trials registered in clinical trials.gov focusing on HCQ and its role as prophylaxis for COVID‑19 in frontline workers is also included in this review. A total of 59 publications are included, of these 24 are ongoing clinical trials, and 35 publications including pre-clinical and clinical studies as well as systematic reviews, research letters/ correspondence, opinions, and viewpoints have been included, in the intention to outline the current evidence regarding the benefits and harms of using HCQ/CQ as a prophylactic for COVID‑19 in frontline workers, in addition, to provide an overall picture of the use of these drugs around the world, for this purpose. In conclusion, the literature does not yet present well-designed clinical studies that demonstrate HCQ/COQ effectiveness in COVID‑19, However, we are in a race against time to find effective treatments and preventive measures against the growing pandemic, considering the repositioning drugs like 4-aminoquinoline derivatives CQ and HCQ, that shows antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 , which are easily available, affordable, and have a good safety profile, in a resource-poor country, like the Maldives, will benefit the healthcare system and augment the safety of frontline workers against COVID‑19.