Responding to the times: Adapting an evaluation study during a dual pandemic.

This paper is a critical essay to discuss an original methodological design for an equity school evaluation in diverse-by-design schools. The evaluation was to gather a broad swathe of data necessary to provide detailed insights on diverse-by-design schools in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. We chronicle and critically explore the methodological pivots generated by the research team as we conducted this research against the backdrop of both the COVID-19 pandemic and US nationwide protests in response to the murder of George Floyd and countless other Black people at the hands of the police. We challenge our own use of equity in our research design by centering school communities through agency of partnership.

Statistical consulting in the healthcare professions: A model of student-led consulting services

Statistical consulting is a common and vital activity undertaken by those with advanced statistical training but may not be widely available to health professionals and trainees without access to dedicated statistical consulting cores. Here, we present a novel model of statistical consulting used by a student chapter of the American Statistical Association housed in a graduate health professions university. This student-led organization provides statistical consulting services for faculty, staff and students university-wide. Information on the methods of advertising consulting services, the role of a professional statistician faculty advisor, resources available to consultants and university community members and the ways in which consulting services were adapted to address the barriers introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic are addressed. Data from 108 consults performed over the past two and a half years with 88 different consultees are analysed and discussed. This article outlines an innovative model of student-led statistical consultation for healthcare professionals and trainees and aims to provide a template for future student-led organizations who similarly aim to perform university statistical consultations.

'Like building a plane and flying it all in one go': an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: General practitioners (GPs) and their staff have been at the frontline of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Australia. However, their experiences of responding to and managing the risks of viral transmission within their facilities are poorly described. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences, and infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies adopted by general practices, including enablers of and challenges to implementation, to contribute to our understanding of the pandemic response in this critical sector. DESIGN: Semistructured interviews were conducted in person, by telephone or online video conferencing software, between November 2020 and August 2021. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty general practice personnel working in New South Wales, Australia, including nine GPs, one general practice registrar, four registered nurses, one nurse practitioner, two practice managers and two receptionists. RESULTS: Participants described implementing wide-ranging repertoires of IPC strategies-including telehealth, screening of patients and staff, altered clinic layouts and portable outdoor shelters, in addition to appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE)-to manage the demands of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Strategies were proactive, influenced by the varied contexts of different practices and the needs and preferences of individual GPs as well as responsive to local, state and national requirements, which changed frequently as the pandemic evolved. CONCLUSIONS: Using the 'hierarchy of controls' as a framework for analysis, we found that the different strategies adopted in general practice often functioned in concert with one another. Most strategies, particularly administrative and PPE controls, were subjected to human variability and so were less reliable from a human factors perspective. However, our findings highlight the creativity, resilience and resourcefulness of general practice staff in developing, implementing and adapting their IPC strategies amidst constantly changing pandemic conditions.

A participatory research approach in community pharmacy research: The case for video-reflexive ethnography.

Video-reflexive ethnography (VRE) is a qualitative methodology that explores the complex nature of healthcare 'as it really is'. Its collaborative and reflexive process invites stakeholders (e.g. pharmacists and pharmacy support staff) to participate in analysing their everyday work practices as captured on video footage. Through close collaboration with practitioners and attention to their work contexts, VRE may be a useful methodology to engage a time-poor pharmacy workforce in research about themselves, encouraging more practitioner involvement in practice-based research. Aside from research, VRE has also been used effectively as an intervention to facilitate learning and change in healthcare settings, and could be effective in provoking change in otherwise resistant pharmacy environments. Much like traditional ethnographic approaches, VRE researchers have relied on being present 'in the field' to observe, record and make sense of practices with participants. The COVID-19 pandemic however, has introduced restrictions around travel and physical distancing, which has required researchers to contemplate the conduct of VRE 'at a distance', and to imagine new ways in which the methodological 'closeness' to stakeholders and their workplace contexts can be maintained when researchers cannot be on site. In this commentary, we outline the rationale for participatory methods, in the form of VRE, in pharmacy research. We describe the underlying principles of this innovative methodology, and offer examples of how VRE can be used in pharmacy research. Finally, we offer a reflexive account of how we have adapted the method for use in community pharmacy research, to adapt to physical distancing, without sacrificing its methodological principles. This paper offers not only a new methodology to examine the complexity of pharmacy work, but demonstrates also the responsiveness of VRE itself to complexity, and the potential breadth of future research applications in pharmacy both during and beyond the current pandemic.