Quality Evaluation of Consumer Health Information Websites Found on Google Using DISCERN, CRAAP, and HONcode.

Online health misinformation is a growing problem, and health information professionals and consumers would benefit from an evaluation of health websites for reliability and trustworthiness. Terms from the Google COVID-19 Search Trends dataset were searched on Google to determine the most frequently appearing consumer health information websites. The quality of the resulting top five websites was evaluated. The top five websites that appeared most frequently were WebMD, Mayo Clinic, Healthline, MedlinePlus, and Medical News Today, respectively. All websites, except Medline Plus, received HONcode certification. Based on DISCERN and CRAAP scores, MedlinePlus was found to be the most reliable health website.

Trends in Patient Characteristics and COVID-19 In-Hospital Mortality in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: In-hospital mortality rates from COVID-19 are high but appear to be decreasing for selected locations in the United States. It is not known whether this is because of changes in the characteristics of patients being admitted. Objective: To describe changing in-hospital mortality rates over time after accounting for individual patient characteristics. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a retrospective cohort study of 20 736 adults with a diagnosis of COVID-19 who were included in the US American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry and admitted to 107 acute care hospitals in 31 states from March through November 2020. A multiple mixed-effects logistic regression was then used to estimate the odds of in-hospital death adjusted for patient age, sex, body mass index, and medical history as well as vital signs, use of supplemental oxygen, presence of pulmonary infiltrates at admission, and hospital site. Main Outcomes and Measures: In-hospital death adjusted for exposures for 4 periods in 2020. Results: The registry included 20 736 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from March through November 2020 (9524 women [45.9%]; mean [SD] age, 61.2 [17.9] years); 3271 patients (15.8%) died in the hospital. Mortality rates were 19.1% in March and April, 11.9% in May and June, 11.0% in July and August, and 10.8% in September through November. Compared with March and April, the adjusted odds ratios for in-hospital death were significantly lower in May and June (odds ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.58-0.76; P < .001), July and August (odds ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.49-0.69; P < .001), and September through November (odds ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.47-0.73). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, high rates of in-hospital COVID-19 mortality among registry patients in March and April 2020 decreased by more than one-third by June and remained near that rate through November. This difference in mortality rates between the months of March and April and later months persisted even after adjusting for age, sex, medical history, and COVID-19 disease severity and did not appear to be associated with changes in the characteristics of patients being admitted.

First-Year Medical Student Experiences Adjusting to the Immediate Aftermath of COVID-19.

Problem: The COVID-19 pandemic required rapid changes to medical curricula, forcing emergent transition to purely remote learning. At Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM), all in-person sessions were suspended on March 16, 2020. One course affected included the first-year, 4-week Respiratory System course which began on March 9. Methods: On the final day of the course, students were sent surveys which assessed how they adjusted academically and personally to the campus shutdown. Results: The response rate was 137/159 (86%). Students' learning adjustments took into account changes to spaces and daily routine, their cohabitants, need for accountability, new learning resources, and anxiety. Most students were concerned about public health, the economy, and health of family and loved ones; fewer were concerned about their professional futures, restrictions on personal freedoms, and own health. Most students adjusted personally by connecting more with family, entertainment and sleep, and studying less. While a large majority of students made changes to connecting with friends and physical activity, students did not adjust uniformly.