Nurunnabi Mohammad, Almusharraf Norah, Aldeghaither Dalal
Department of Accounting, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
St Antony's College, University of Oxford, UK.
J Public Health Res. 2021 Jan 27;9(Suppl 1):2010. doi: 10.4081/jphr.2020.2010. eCollection 2020 Nov 17.
The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has resulted in a drastic alteration to billions of individuals' emotional, physical, mental, social, and financial status. As of July 21, 2020, there had been 14.35 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 0.60 million deaths in 216 countries. The study explores health and wellbeing in universities within the G20 countries (19 member countries and the European Union) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample selection of these countries was considered since it serves around 80% of the world's economic output, two-thirds of the global population (including more than half of the world's poor), and 75% of international trade. Specifically, due to this public health concern, schools' nationwide closures are impacting over 60% of the world's student population to promote their quality of life and well-being. This study investigates the G20 policies and procedures within higher education regarding health and well-being measures during the COVID-19 epidemic. The findings reveal that the lockdown, social distancing, and self-isolation requirements are stressful and detrimental for many individuals and have caused students' health and well-being concerns. Several countries within the G20 have taken significant steps to support health and well-being issues for university students; however, numerous countries are far behind in addressing this issue. Hence, government leaders of G20 countries, policymakers, and health providers should promptly take the necessary measures to regulate the outbreak, improve safety measures to decrease disease transmission, and administer those who demand medical attention.
新型冠状病毒（COVID-19）的传播已导致数十亿人的情绪、身体、心理、社交和经济状况发生巨大变化。截至2020年7月21日，216个国家已累计报告1435万例COVID-19确诊病例，其中包括60万例死亡病例。本研究探讨了在COVID-19大流行期间，二十国集团（G20，由19个成员国和欧盟组成）国家内各大学的健康与福祉状况。之所以选择这些国家作为样本，是因为它们的经济产出约占全球的80%，人口占全球的三分之二（包括全球一半以上的贫困人口），国际贸易占全球的75%。具体而言，出于对这一公共卫生问题的担忧，各国学校在全国范围内关闭，这影响了全球60%以上的学生群体，进而影响了他们的生活质量和幸福感。本研究调查了G20国家高等教育领域针对COVID-19疫情期间健康与福祉措施所制定的政策和程序。研究结果显示，封锁、社交距离和自我隔离要求给许多人带来了压力，对他们有害，并引发了学生对健康和福祉的担忧。G20中的一些国家已采取重大举措来支持大学生的健康与福祉问题；然而，许多国家在解决这一问题上仍远远落后。因此，G20国家的政府领导人、政策制定者和医疗服务提供者应立即采取必要措施来控制疫情爆发，改进安全措施以减少疾病传播，并为有医疗需求的人提供治疗。
