ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has resulted in an amplified focus on mental health and wellness for post-secondary education students, educators, and administrators. Knowledge regarding the mental health and wellness of educators and administrators within post-secondary institutions and the support mechanisms available are limited, but during this time of crisis have become increasingly necessary. Relationships and interactions that were once organic in nature are now occurring through alternative virtual methods, and we propose that communal creative writing provides a space for building rapport and reenergizing ourselves and our students. A Creative Writing Community established within a Faculty of Education is mediating and modeling the types of critical-collaborative spaces needed for pre-service teachers and adult/mature educators and researchers in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world. Unnecessary divides between creative and academic approaches to writing are bridged as the skills and techniques required to compose poetry and prose reveal an innovative and independent means of expression with the potential to promote mental health and wellness among post-secondary education stakeholders. This poetic inquiry case study delivers practical recommendations for facilitating community problem-solving, promoting educator and administrator well-being, and developing pedagogical/andragogical solutions and strategies for application within online and remote teaching and learning platforms. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) and other essential workers are at risk of occupational infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several infection control strategies have been implemented. Evidence shows that universal masking can mitigate COVID-19 infection, though existing research is limited by secular trend bias. AIMS: To investigate the effect of hospital universal masking on COVID-19 incidence among HCWs compared to the general population. METHODS: We compared the 7-day average incidence rates between a Massachusetts (USA) healthcare system and Massachusetts residents statewide. The study period was from 17 March (the date of first incident case in the healthcare system) to 6 May (the date Massachusetts implemented public masking). The healthcare system implemented universal masking on 26 March, we allotted a 5-day lag for effect onset and peak COVID-19 incidence in Massachusetts was 20 April. Thus, we categorized 17-31 March as the pre-intervention phase, 1-20 April the intervention phase and 21 April to 6 May the epidemic decline phase. Temporal incidence trends (i.e. 7-day average slopes) were compared using standardized coefficients from linear regression models. RESULTS: The standardized coefficients were similar between the healthcare system and the state in both the pre-intervention and epidemic decline phases. During the intervention phase, the healthcare system's epidemic slope became negative (standardized ß: -0.68, 95% CI: -1.06 to -0.31), while Massachusetts' slope remained positive (standardized ß: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.05). CONCLUSIONS: Universal masking was associated with a decreasing COVID-19 incidence trend among HCWs, while the infection rate continued to rise in the surrounding community.