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Background: Short-term cognitive impairment is associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection but the long-term impact is yet to be examined in detail. We aim to study the evolution of these symptoms in severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) between April and December 2020 1 year after hospital discharge and to analyze its clinical correlates., Method: A total of 58 patients agreed to participate in the 6 months follow-up and 30 at 1 year after hospital discharge. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected and a comprehensive neuropsychological battery including validated tests for the main cognitive domains was administered. To test the magnitude of neurocognitive sequelae, two standard deviations below normative group were considered. To compare the neuropsychological performance at 6 and 12 months follow-up we used repeated measures tests. Finally, regression analyses were performed to test the main effects of medical and psychological factors on multiple cognition., Results: Almost half of the sample continued to have impaired performance on neuropsychological tests at 12 months follow-up. In comparison with the results obtained at 6 months, significant improvements were found in immediate recall (d = 0.49), delayed recall (d = 0.45), and inhibitory control (d = 0.53). Medical variables predicted cognitive performance at 6 months but not at 12 months follow-up, while anxiety and depression predicted cognitive deficits in the long-term., Conclusions: A generalised improvement was observed in severe COVID-19 patients at follow-up. This improvement was particularly notable in verbal memory and executive functioning. However, a considerable proportion of the sample continued to present deficits at 1 year follow-up., (© 2024 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.)

The recent unexpected impact of the global pandemic on higher education has caused universities, governments, students, and teachers to reexamine all components of existing systems, including how to become more effective and efficient in using technologies for education. We have seen that moving classes online--either blended or fully online--can be done rapidly, but early reports show huge variations in quality, acceptance, completion, and learning. Thus, it is important to examine the existing research literature on pedagogical innovations and practices that use technologies. To understand this complex situation, the present study examines the current technological, organisational, and pedagogical trends and challenges using an exploratory design carried out in three stages. In stage one, a literature review of the academic and grey literature was conducted, identifying 14 trends of interest. These trends were used in a workshop and interview discussion between leading experts in the higher education field. Stage two focused on identifying 108 initiatives that represent these trends. Finally, 30 of these were selected as cases for further exploration in stage three. Using thematic analysis, the 30 cases were condensed into 12 main themes that represent the innovative practices that led to development of the IDEAS framework as a signpost on the roadmap of next-generation pedagogy for transforming higher education. IDEAS is presented in the discussion alongside examples and ways to apply it in higher education contexts.