Bookending a Pandemic and Its Impact on Public Libraries: Policy and Announcement Information Provided by Libraries Throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response

This study serves as a follow-up on a 2020 study by Wang and Lund that examined the policy changes and announcement information provided by American public libraries during the early weeks of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, using the same list of libraries as the 2020 study to examine how the COVID response evolved over the past two years. Seven types of information were collected from the public libraries' websites, with the help of the Internet Archive to collect specific dates: frequency of announcement updates, date of start curbside/pickup services, date of reopening libraries, dates of posting vaccine-related information, dates of removal of COVID-19 related information, and dates of reopening face-to-face programs. The findings indicate that the timing of COVID response updates varied based on factors including the size of the municipality in which the public library is located and the political leaning of the municipality's voters. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Public Library Quarterly is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

COVID-19 experiences and psychopathology symptoms in college students at the onset of the pandemic.

Objective: The present study examined what specific aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to psychopathology symptoms among college students during the initial stages of the pandemic. Participants: One thousand and eighty-nine college students (Mage = 20.73, SDage = 2.93) enrolled at a university in New York participated in the study between March and May 2020. Methods: Participants completed self-report measures assessing pandemic-related experiences and psychopathology symptoms. Results: Results indicated that greater COVID-19-related life changes were uniquely associated with greater depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Greater concerns about school, home confinement, and basic needs were uniquely associated with greater depression symptoms. Finally, greater COVID-19 infection concerns were uniquely associated with greater generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic had a multifaceted impact on undergraduate students and that specific COVID-19 experiences contributed to higher rates of psychopathology symptoms.

Comparing health consumer search behavior and scientific research productivity related to COVID-19 vaccines in the USA: an infodemiology study

PurposeWhile vaccines are an effective preventative measure to defend against the spread and harmful symptoms of COVID-19, information about COVID vaccines can be difficult to find and conflicting in its coverage of vaccines' benefits and risks. This study aims to examine the extent to which Americans are searching for information about the three major vaccine producers (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen) in relation to the amount of reliable scholarly information that has been produced about each one.Design/methodology/approachData were retrieved from Google Trends for the US Web users alongside scientific research output of the US scientists toward three Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-authorized COVID-19 vaccines in Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed. The authors searched for descriptive statistical analyses to detect coronavirus-seeking behavior versus coronavirus releases in the USA from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021.FindingsOf the three COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer has attracted more attention from the US population. However, the greatest number of articles about COVID-19 vaccines published by the US scholars belonged to Moderna (M = 8.17), with Pfizer (M = 7.75) having slightly less, and Janssen (M = 0.83) well behind. A positive association was found between COVID-19 vaccine information-seeking behavior (ISB) on Google and the amount of research produced about that vaccine (P <0.001).Research limitations/implicationsAs the researchers use the single search engine, Google, to retrieve data from the USA, thus, selection bias will be existing as Google only gathers the data of people who chose to get the information by using this search engine.Practical implicationsIf the policymakers in the US Department of Health and Human Services or the US CDC desire to improve the country's health ISB and the scientific publication behavior (SPB) of the US researchers regarding COVID-19 vaccines studies, they should reference the results of such a study.Originality/valueFrom an infodemiological viewpoint, these findings may support the health policymakers, as well as researchers who work on COVID-19 vaccines in the USA.

Increases in depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] pandemic has introduced extraordinary life changes and stress, particularly in adolescents and young adults. Initial reports suggest that depression and anxiety are elevated during COVID-19, but no prior study has explored changes at the within-person level. The current study explored changes in depression and anxiety symptoms from before the pandemic to soon after it first peaked in Spring 2020 in a sample of adolescents and young adults (N = 451) living in Long Island, New York, an early epicenter of COVID-19 in the U.S. METHODS: Depression (Children's Depression Inventory) and anxiety symptoms (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Symptoms) were assessed between December 2014 and July 2019, and, along with COVID-19 experiences, symptoms were re-assessed between March 27th and May 15th, 2020. RESULTS: Across participants and independent of age, there were increased generalized anxiety and social anxiety symptoms. In females, there were also increased depression and panic/somatic symptoms. Multivariable linear regression indicated that greater COVID-19 school concerns were uniquely associated with increased depression symptoms. Greater COVID-19 home confinement concerns were uniquely associated with increased generalized anxiety symptoms, and decreased social anxiety symptoms, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents and young adults at an early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. experienced increased depression and anxiety symptoms, particularly amongst females. School and home confinement concerns related to the pandemic were independently associated with changes in symptoms. Overall, this report suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic is having multifarious adverse effects on the mental health of youth.

SARS-CoV-2 testing and patient waiting times in the emergency department

Aim Emergency Departments (EDs) were impacted early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with high attendance numbers. EDs relied upon SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to triage patients and facilitate admission to appropriate wards, meaning positive patients were isolated as early as possible. In October 2020, we introduced a 24-hour SARS-CoV-2 testing service. We examined the impact of this on patient experience times (PETs) in the ED, and on healthcare-associated (HA) COVID-19 infections. Methods Data on PETs before and after the introduction of 24-hour testing were available from the ED. HA COVID-19 infections were reported weekly to the Health Services Executive as a key performance indicator. Results Mean PET prior to the pandemic was 20 hours and dropped to 10 and 13 hours respectively in the first and second wave. A surge in case numbers and ED attendances during the third wave was not reflected in a rise in PETs, with a mean PET of 11 hours, significantly below pre-pandemic levels. HA-COVID-19 infections remained stable between wave one and three (83 v 92). Conclusion The introduction of 24-hour SARS-CoV-2 testing in our ED contributed to a reduction in PETs, facilitated appropriate patient placement at ward level, and kept HA-COVID-19 infections at acceptably low levels.

Gender and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Undergraduate and Graduate Students' Mental Health and Treatment Use Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted numerous people?s mental health and created new barriers to services. To address the unknown effects of the pandemic on accessibility and equality issues in mental health care, this study aimed to investigate gender and racial/ethnic disparities in mental health and treatment use in undergraduate and graduate students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted based on a largescale online survey (N = 1,415) administered during the weeks following a pandemic-related university-wide campus closure in March 2020. We focused on the gender and racial disparities in current internalizing symptomatology and treatment use. Our results showed that in the initial period of the pandemic, students identified as cis women (p < .001), non-binary/genderqueer (p < .001), or Hispanic/Latinx (p = .002) reported higher internalizing problem severity (aggregated from depression, generalized anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and COVID-19-related stress symptoms) compared to their privileged counterparts. Additionally, Asian (p < .001) and multiracial students (p = .002) reported less treatment use than White students while controlling for internalizing problem severity. Further, internalizing problem severity was associated with increased treatment use only in cisgender, non-Hispanic/Latinx White students (pcis man = 0.040, pcis woman < 0.001). However, this relationship was negative in cis-gender Asian students (pcis man = 0.025, pcis woman = 0.016) and nonsignificant in other marginalized demographic groups. The findings revealed unique mental health challenges faced by different demographic groups and served as a call that specific actions to enhance mental health equity, such as continued mental health support for students with marginalized gender identities, additional COVID-related mental and practical support for Hispanic/Latinx students and promotion of mental health awareness, access, and trust in non-White, especially Asian, students are desperately needed.

Evaluation of COVID-19 m-Health Apps: An Analysis of the Methods of App Usability Testing During a Global Pandemic (preprint)

Purpose: As the COVID-19 outbreak expanded over the world, governments looked for smartphone-based technological solutions to reduce the disease's dangers and prevent it. Most leading governments initially sought to use new smartphone-based applications (apps). In this study, we review articles that have evaluated these official government apps. The objective of this review is to answer the following question: “In evaluating or analyzing governmental apps for COVID-19, which methods have researchers used?”. Methods: This study reviews existing scholarly literature, to identify and analyze the investigations into the usability evaluation of official (governmental) mobile apps developed in the COVID-19 era. Study parameters specified that articles must be originally published in peer-reviewed journals or short articles, written in English, and must be published between 2019 and 2022 and indexed in PubMed, OVID, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus. Additionally, the articles had to analyze and evaluate at least one mobile app that was launched and/or supported by a government. Reports, letters to the editor, review articles, and meta-analyses were excluded; also excluded were articles processing non-governmental apps. Results: 11 studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. These studies evaluate a total of 40 governmental, “official”, mobile apps, developed in 41 countries from the five continents. This study finds that the heuristic method, thematic analysis, and comparative analysis are the most popular research methods used for evaluating or analyzing governmental apps for COVID-19. Conclusion:  This review of articles developed by various governments to combat COVID-19 leads the authors to conclude that most researchers sought to emphasize the strengths of these apps as opposed to limitations. Based on this review, we find that existing literature can sufficiently cover the effectiveness of these mobile applications.

Thrombotic outcomes in patients in a large clinical enterprise following COVID-19 vaccination.

Vaccination against COVID-19 reduces infection-related mortality. Unfortunately, reports of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) in individuals administered adenovirus-vector-based vaccines (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and Ad26.COV2.S) have spurred side effect concerns. To address vaccine hesitancy related to this, it is essential to determine the incidence of VITT (defined by a 50% decrease in platelet count and positive anti-PF4 immunoassay within 4-28 days after vaccination) among patients administered two doses of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination. We identified a retrospective cohort of 223,345 patients in the Cleveland Clinic Enterprise administered a COVID-19 vaccine at any location in Northeast Ohio and Florida from 12/4/2020 to 6/6/2021. 97.3% of these patients received an mRNA-based vaccination. Patients with: (1) a serial complete blood count both before and after vaccination and (2) a decrease in platelet count of ≥ 50% were selected for chart review. The primary outcome was the incidence of thrombotic events, including venous thromboembolism (VTE) and arterial thrombosis, 4-28 days post vaccination. Of 74 cohort patients with acute thrombosis, 72 (97.3%) demonstrated clear etiologies, such as active malignancy. Of two patients with unprovoked thrombosis, only one had findings concerning for VITT, with a strongly positive anti-PF4 antibody assay. In this large, multi-state, retrospective cohort, of 223,345 patients (97.2% of whom received the mRNA-based mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2 vaccines), we detected a single case that was concerning for VITT in a patient who received an mRNA vaccine. The overwhelming majority of patients with a thrombotic event 4-28 days following vaccination demonstrated clear etiologies.

SARS-CoV-2 Testing and Patient Waiting Times in the Emergency Department.

Aim Emergency Departments (EDs) were impacted early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with high attendance numbers. EDs relied upon SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to triage patients and facilitate admission to appropriate wards, meaning positive patients were isolated as early as possible. In October 2020, we introduced a 24-hour SARS-CoV-2 testing service. We examined the impact of this on patient experience times (PETs) in the ED, and on healthcare-associated (HA) COVID-19 infections. Methods Data on PETs before and after the introduction of 24-hour testing were available from the ED. HA COVID-19 infections were reported weekly to the Health Services Executive as a key performance indicator. Results Mean PET prior to the pandemic was 20 hours and dropped to 10 and 13 hours respectively in the first and second wave. A surge in case numbers and ED attendances during the third wave was not reflected in a rise in PETs, with a mean PET of 11 hours, significantly below pre-pandemic levels. HA-COVID-19 infections remained stable between wave one and three (83 v 92). Conclusion The introduction of 24-hour SARS-CoV-2 testing in our ED contributed to a reduction in PETs, facilitated appropriate patient placement at ward level, and kept HA-COVID-19 infections at acceptably low levels.

Implementing smartphone technology in practice using the Collaborative for Surgical Site Infection Surveillance (CASSIS) project: preliminary finding

Background: Understanding the burden of surgical site infection (SSI) requires comprehensive, reliable and comparable data. However, many hospitals do not routinely collect information on wound healing after the patient leaves hospital. Aim: To evaluate five post-discharge surveillance strategies that collect patient/carer reported outcomes on wound healing following adult and paediatric surgery. Method: Between March 2020 and February 2021, colleagues from five specialist hospitals in England collaborated to collect baseline and compliance data for the different methods of postdischarge surveillance. The five methods included were telephone follow-up;postal questionnaires;postal questionnaires and contacting non-responders by telephone to asking patients to install a postoperative app on their personal smartphone (Medopad, Huma) and using a SSI surveillance text link, which did not need to be installed (Isla, Islacare Ltd). Results: Overall, 1432 patients out of 2116 patients provided information about their wound after discharge. The group of patients who were asked to install an app on their smart device had the lowest return rate for information on their wound, while the system that used a text link and did not need to be installed had one of the highest return rates. Conclusion: Understanding baseline practice and evaluating different methods of discharge surveillance may help to drive improvement in this area. Our early findings suggest that in practice, a SSI surveillance approach using a text link and photos, such as Isla, which is used in hospital before discharge by staff and post-discharge by patients warrants further attention.

College student interest in teletherapy and self-guided mental health supports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened college students' mental health while simultaneously creating new barriers to traditional in-person care. Teletherapy and online self-guided mental health supports are two potential avenues for addressing unmet mental health needs when face-to-face services are less accessible, but little is known about factors that shape interest in these supports. Participants: 1,224 U.S. undergraduate students (mean age = 20.7; 73% female; 40% White) participated. Methods: Students completed an online questionnaire assessing interest in teletherapy and self-guided supports. Predictors included age, sex, race/ethnicity, sexual minority status, and anxiety and depression symptomatology. Results: Interest rates were 20% and 25% for at-cost supports (teletherapy and online self-help, respectively) and 70% and 72% for free supports (teletherapy and online self-help, respectively). Patterns emerged by age, anxiety symptom severity, and race/ethnicity. Conclusions: Results may inform universities' efforts to optimize students' engagement with nontraditional, digital mental health supports, including teletherapy and self-guided programs.The SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a severe toll on public health, with effects reaching far beyond unprecedented illness and mortality. Levels of mental health difficulties appear to be rising broadly as the pandemic has progressed, both in the general U.S. population and among college students specifically.1,2 The COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions may undermine college student mental health in myriad ways.2 Concurrently, students now face the potential for serious illness, loss of loved ones, financial strain, social isolation, loss of on-campus resources, and sudden disruption of routines-creating a "perfect storm" for the emergence or exacerbation of psychological distress.

Change from transrectal to transperineal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy under local anaesthetic eliminates sepsis as a complication.

Transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) biopsy of the prostate is associated with increased risk of post-procedural sepsis with associated morbidity, mortality, re-admission to hospital, and increased healthcare costs. In the study institution, active surveillance of post-procedural infection complications is performed by clinical nurse specialists for prostate cancer under the guidance of the infection prevention and control team. To protect hospital services for acute medical admissions related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, TRUS biopsy services were reduced nationally, with exceptions only for those patients at high risk of prostate cancer. In the study institution, this change prompted a complete move to transperineal (TP) prostate biopsy performed in outpatients under local anaesthetic. TP biopsies eliminated the risk of post-procedural sepsis and, consequently, sepsis-related admission while maintaining a service for prostate cancer diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prioritizing COVID-19 Contact Tracing During a Surge Using Chatbot Technology.

When COVID-19 cases surge, identifying ways to improve the efficiency of contact tracing and prioritize vulnerable communities for isolation and quarantine support services is critical. During a fall 2020 COVID-19 resurgence in San Francisco, California, prioritization of telephone-based case investigation by zip code and using a chatbot to screen for case participants who needed isolation support reduced the number of case participants who would have been assigned for a telephone interview by 31.5% and likely contributed to 87.5% of Latinx case participants being successfully interviewed. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(1):43-47. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306563).

How older adults in the USA and India seek information during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative study of information behavior

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant information challenges for older adults worldwide. Given the widespread disparities in information infrastructure and access between developing and developed countries, the challenges presented during this period may be even more grave in the developing world. This interview study examines how older adults (age 65+) in two countries?the USA and India?experienced information needs, sources, and barriers. The results indicate distinct experiences among the two populations, with individuals in the USA expressing more diverse needs, while Indian respondents focused on the impact of COVID-19. The American respondents also indicated much greater use of Internet resources compared to the Indian respondents, who used television and print resources more frequently. Far more Indian respondents reported significant challenges finding information to satisfy their information needs. The findings of this study have important ramifications for the design of intervention, education, and support for the information-related needs of older adults worldwide.

Neuroticism and respiratory sinus arrhythmia predict increased internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted young adults across a number of different domains. It is critical to establish the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected mental health and identify predictors of poor outcomes. Neuroticism and (low) respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) are risk factors of internalizing disorders that might predict increased psychopathology symptoms. The present study included 222 undergraduate students from [name removed] in Long Island, NY. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, participants completed self-report measures of neuroticism and internalizing symptoms and an electrocardiogram. Between April 15th to May 30th, 2020, participants again completed the measure of internalizing symptoms and a questionnaire about COVID-19 experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased distress, fear/obsessions, and (low) positive mood symptoms. There was a Neuroticism x RSA interaction in relation to distress symptoms, such that greater pre-COVID-19 neuroticism was associated with increased distress symptoms, but only in the context of low RSA. These findings suggest the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to increased internalizing symptoms in young adults, and individuals with specific personality and autonomic risk factors may be at heightened risk for developing psychopathology.

Trajectories of depression, anxiety and pandemic experiences; A longitudinal study of youth in New York during the Spring-Summer of 2020.

Initial reports suggest that mental health problems were elevated early in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have followed-up participants as the pandemic evolved and examined both between and within person predictors of symptom trajectories. In the current study, adolescents and young adults (N=532) in New York were surveyed monthly between March 27th and July 14th, 2020, a period spanning the first peak and subsequent decline in COVID-19 infection rates in the region. Surveys assessed symptoms of depression and anxiety using the Child Depression Inventory and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders, as well as experiences related to the pandemic. Multilevel growth modeling indicated that symptoms of depression and anxiety peaked around late April/early May and then decreased through May-July. Some pandemic experiences followed a similar quadratic trajectory, while others decreased linearly across the study. Specific relationships emerged between some types of pandemic experiences and depression and anxiety symptoms. While symptoms of depression and anxiety in youth may have been elevated early in the pandemic, these findings suggest they subsided across Spring-Summer of 2020, with higher levels of both corresponding to a period of peak infection rates and decreases paralleling the decline in pandemic experiences and COVID-19 infection rates.

Do established infection prevention and control measures prevent spread of SARS-CoV-2 to the hospital environment beyond the patient room?

The role of the hospital environment in the transmission of infection is well described. With an emerging infection whose mode of transmission is under investigation, strict infection prevention and control measures, including patient isolation, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment that is doffed on exiting the patient room, and environmental cleaning should be implemented to prevent spread. Environmental testing demonstrated that COVID-19 patients contaminated the patient area (11/26, 42.3% of tests) but contamination of general ward areas was minimal (1/30, 3%) and the virus was detected after cleaning on one item only (1/25, 4%) which was noted to be in disrepair.