Back to the New Normal
As we prepare for this issue, the team takes over from Dr. Salam Al-Ablani, who led the Al-Taqaddum Al-Ilmi magazine for a decade. While we will miss his contributions, his vision will remain vivid in our minds, and his words will always echo in our ears.
في هذا العدد، نستمر في عرض عدد من أهم الأبحاث التي مولتها مؤسسة الكويت للتقدم العلمي أثناء الجائحة. ونـنقـل جانــبـا من أهم المــؤتـمرات والـفعـالـيـات التي مولتها أو أقامتها المؤسسة ومراكزها مع عودة الحياة In this issue we will continue to showcase some of the key research funded by KFAS during the pandemic. We will also be presenting some of the noteworthy conferences and activities funded or organized - with the return of the new normal - by KFAS or its centers.
In early 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic and declared a state of emergency. While many of us had to adhere to lockdown measures, healthcare workers were required to continue working in full capacity to care for infected patients. In The Hidden Face of the Pandemic: The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Workers in Kuwait, we explore the levels of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers due to stressful working conditions, and the recommendations of Sarah Al Kandari’s research for developing policies to provide for their necessary needs to ensure the well-being of healthcare workers in Kuwait.
In Predicting the Post-COVID Future, the economist Sulayman Al-Qudsi foresees the future in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse in oil prices, using CGE to assist policymakers and Kuwaitis in general in planning for the future. The research also holds insights for the average Kuwaiti about the future of work, education, commerce, and human connection. One of the study’s interesting findings that can help Kuwaitis plan for the future is “tech-celeration.”
The issue also highlights Dr. Barrak Alahmad’s public health research looking into the health impacts of heat and air pollution in Kuwait. He focuses on environmental and occupational health, and future environmental exposures we are all worried about; air pollution, extreme heat, and changes in weather patterns. Alahmad believes that Kuwait is the right place for such studies and can provide meaningful contribution based on research and evidence to bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Executive Editor
Dr. Layla Al-Musawi
