https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/67014 2026-04-10T18:02:52Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/67000 Title: Public health nutrition : current challenges and reflections Abstract: Public Health Nutrition is that branch of nutrition that deals with the promotion of health and disease prevention and encompasses nutrition-related topical global and community health issues. Public health nutrition priorities and recommendations are continuously reviewed and updated to remain relevant for the times and populations in context. Many populations face health-related challenges, which can be attributed, at least partly, to poor quality diets. Today there is strong evidence on the role diet plays in overall health and wellbeing and the ensuing health consequences due to the consumption of unhealthy diets. [excerpt] 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/66998 Title: Fear of COVID-19 and its impact on Maltese university students’ wellbeing and substance use Authors: Bonnici, Jamie; Clark, Marilyn; Azzopardi, Andrew Abstract: The present study examines the psychological aspect of fear, in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, in an attempt to understand the effects of this pandemic on University of Malta students’ substance use and wellbeing. Participants (n = 777) completed an online survey which utilised the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, as well as items relating to religiosity and substance use prior to, and during, the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that significant associations exist between fear of COVID-19 and self-reported increase in alcohol use, as well as impacts of COVID-19 fear on negative emotional conditions such as depression, exhaustion, and loneliness. Significant associations were also found between fear of COVID-19 and gender and religiosity, with females and more religious participants experiencing higher levels of fear of COVID-19. These findings reveal the multifaceted interactions between fear of COVID-19, religiosity, and gender on students’ wellbeing and substance use, with potential recommendations for further research and practice. 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/66997 Title: COVID made me do it… : the physiotherapist’s role in self-management Authors: Dimech, Amy Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has been the trigger and instigator of behaviour change in a very marked way in the field of Paediatric Physiotherapy locally. It has challenged and forced physiotherapists to adapt working practices and transition from face-to-face operation to remote online methods. Young patients and their caring families have had to move away from face-to-face interventions and learn to accept what physiotherapists have always been trying to advocate and teach, and that is self-management. Physiotherapists aim to encourage active participation in the rehabilitation journey, thereby teaching the patient and their carers how to cope and self-manage the chronic neurological condition. Due to the pandemic, families with children with complex and multiple needs, suddenly and unexpectedly lost access to almost all services in the national lockdown. Albeit, the enforced situation allowed one to appreciate the need and importance of psychological and physical self-care. Indeed, a new definition for health has been proposed by a group of researchers as “the ability to adapt and to selfmanage”. The preferred view on health must be adapted to encompass a new conceptual framework of health. This can support clinicians and health practitioners when communicating with patients as it focuses on empowerment of the patient. Change only happens when action is taken; when patients and their families are empowered and given the right tools to apply to their lives, they will learn how to become more independent and physiotherapists become merely the consultants and no longer a constant provider. 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z