New contributions to the social sciences in the face of COVID-19 – Juventud Rebelde

The contribution of the social sciences to confronting COVID-19 was systematically stimulated – since the beginning of the epidemic – by the First Secretary of the Party and the President of the Republic, who led a session in which the consequences of psychosocial care on health were presented. Individuals and the impact of the pandemic on public and higher education.

It was at the meeting this week of comrade Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez, and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, with scientists and experts who are engaged in scientific and technological innovation activities in the face of the novel coronavirus.

The Cuban government’s persistent concern about the negative consequences that social isolation has caused for more than a year in girls, boys, adolescents and young adults in one of its aspects, the educational aspect, was addressed in an investigation by the Enrique University of Educational Sciences José Varona.

Dr.. Luis Alvarez Dorta, Dean of the College of Educational Sciences, presented a summary of the research characterizing the educational impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-psycho-educational conditions of the public education community and the university.

Among the expected results of the study are the re-design, modeling and implementation of specific pedagogical actions towards children, adolescents, youth, educators and families, according to the results of diagnosis in each region, and the mobilization, clarification and integration of the socio-educational network in it with the aim of preventing health effects and developing this socio-demographic sector.

It is also proposed, among other findings, to identify children, adolescents, youth, teachers and families who need immediate psychiatric or psychiatric assistance for their attention by regional health centres.

The first secretary agreed with the scientific analysis and insisted that in so far as we return to normal life and the school year begins according to circumstances, assessments should be made and differentiated attention paid to all who need them.

In a meeting this week with scientists and experts involved in confronting the novel coronavirus, Deputy Prime Minister Ines Maria Chapman Wu and Jorge Luis Perdomo de Lilla, as well as Jorge Luis Broch Lorenzo, a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, participated.

Dr.. Lydia Caridad Hernandez Gómez, a professor at the National School of Public Health, spoke about an investigation into psychosocial care measures for health workers helping COVID-19 patients.

The objectives of the study include identifying the psychosocial risks present in these health workers and designing a prevention and care program for them, as well as promoting the mental health of these workers.

An update on the behavior of scientific publications related to COVID-19 was provided at the meeting. Dr.. Eliana Alfonso Sanchez, director of the National Center for Information on Medical Sciences at Minsap, reported that of the 70 journals that make up the SciELO Cuba group, 57 have been published related to COVID-19.

The analysis also revealed that there are more Cuban authors in foreign journals (62), while in the ranking by country, Cuba ranks 67th out of 240 among the most cited books in specialized publications on COVID-19.

He commented on the increase in the presence of Cuban authors in Scopus – a database of abstracts and citations of articles from scientific journals – and that Cuban scientific production had increased, with greater visibility in international databases.

There is scientific work in Cuba, but sometimes we do not organize well to publish it, explained the First Secretary of the Party, who noted that efforts are continuing to produce new scientific publications, other than those related to the epidemic and in the future.

At the meeting between Diaz-Canel and Marrero with scientists and experts, Dr. C. Raúl Genovart Diaz, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computation at the University of Havana.

He stated that forecasts of confirmed cases for Havana municipalities tend to decline slowly; However, its epidemiological situation is complex. He predicted that the number of confirmed cases at the end of June would remain above 350 daily cases, so it is imperative that you be very demanding in terms of compliance with the provisions.

With regard to the rest of the provinces, he explained that almost all of them have an unfavorable outlook, even those in which the situation appears to be under control. In the expectations of the country, there is a certain trend of the growth of confirmed cases and that in the short term we will maintain a daily number of cases approaching a thousand cases, so the restriction measures must be attended and adhered to and not trusted.

During the day, the Government’s Interim Working Group for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19, chaired by the President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, met.

Vice President of the Republic, Salvador Valdes Mesa, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Revolution Ramiro Valdes Menendez, Ines Maria Chapman Wu and Jorge Luis Perdomo de Lilla, Jorge Luis Broch Lorenzo, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, as well as a number of ministers and first deputy ministers.

In the form of videoconferencing, the authorities from different provinces intervened, sharing with them the current complex epidemiological situation.