Special Issue "COVID-19 Driven Innovations for Inclusion and Sustainability"

This Special Issue of International Journal of Environment Research and Public Health seeks to learn from innovative approaches to inclusion and sustainability that have been accelerated by or originated from the COVID-19 crisis. Papers addressing how the pandemic has affected marginalized communities in accessing healthcare and how novel approaches have been trialed to increase the inclusion and/or sustainability of solutions are invited for consideration. We welcome papers focused on subjects adjacent to healthcare technology, such as those that address demand by reducing stigma or novel approaches to ensure inclusion (e.g., campaigns) and sustainability (e.g., local production of assistive technology).

Recent findings suggest a correlation between COVID-19 and diabetes, although the underlying causes are still little understood. COVID-19 infection tends to induce severe symptoms in patients with underlying diabetes, increasing their mortality rate. Moreover, COVID-19 itself appears to be a diabetogenic factor. In addition, mental health conditions, such as depression due to lockdown and anxiety about infection, were found to affect glycemic control and immunity, highlighting the importance of mental health care during the pandemic. Mind–Body Intervention (MBI), which includes meditation, yoga, and qigong, has emerged as a tool for mental health management due to its effects on stress reduction and the promotion of mental and physical well-being. Here, we review the latest randomized controlled trials to determine the effects of MBI on glycemic control and the immune system and discuss the underlying mechanisms by which MBI facilitates the virtuous cycle of stress management, glycemic control, and immune modulation. Furthermore, we examine the actual utilization of MBI during the COVID-19 pandemic era through recent studies. With proper online education, non-pharmacological MBI may be more widely used as an important tool for self-health care that complements the usual treatment of COVID-19 patients and survivors.