Establishment and evaluation of scalable COVID-19 vaccine clinics at a large university.

BACKGROUND: Previous large-scale vaccination clinics have been successful before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; however, owing to the strict storage requirements and pharmaceutical preparation needed for the COVID-19 vaccines, careful thought and planning were necessary to successfully deploy these clinics immediately after vaccine availability. The focus of this manuscript is to describe the development and implementation of COVID-19 vaccination clinics in a large public university, using professionals from within and outside of its health sciences schools. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this project was to (1) implement COVID-19 vaccination clinics for university faculty, staff, students, and community members. Additional objectives of the clinics were to (2) actively incorporate pharmacy, nursing, and medical students into the clinic workflow; (3) promote interprofessional collaboration among faculty and students; and (4) assess patient satisfaction. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: The School of Pharmacy faculty, in conjunction with the Office of Strategic Initiatives, planned and coordinated COVID-19 vaccination clinics from December 2020 to July 2021. Students and faculty from schools of pharmacy, nursing, and medicine were used. COVID-19 vaccinations were offered to university faculty, staff, and students and community members based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention priority groups. The clinic processes were designed such that they could be scaled from 100 to 2,000 participants per day. PRACTICE INNOVATION: The School of Pharmacy led approach was adjustable depending on the number of patients, continuously monitored and adaptable. The importance of pharmacists as part of the interprofessional health care team was exemplified by faculty and students involved. EVALUATION METHODS: All patients receiving COVID-19 vaccinations at the clinics were e-mailed anonymous surveys for assessment of the quality of the vaccination encounter after completion of their primary vaccine series. RESULTS: More than 15,000 COVID-19 vaccinations were provided through the clinics from December 2020 to July 2021. Professional staffing totaled 3352 hours for the 48 clinics. Thirty-eight percent of the vaccinated patients responded to the clinic satisfaction survey with predominately excellent ratings. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 vaccination clinics can be successfully planned and implemented in a scalable fashion in a large university setting using an interprofessional team approach.

Protocol for Partner2Lose: A randomized controlled trial to evaluate partner involvement on long-term weight loss.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral interventions produce clinically significant weight reduction, with many participants regaining weight subsequently. Most interventions focus on an individual, but dietary and physical activity behaviors occur with, or are influenced by, domestic partners. According to interdependence theory, couples who approach behavior change as a problem to be tackled together versus independently are more likely to utilize communal coping processes to promote behavior change. We utilized interdependence theory to develop a partner-assisted intervention to increase long-term weight loss. METHODS: Community-dwelling individuals (index participants) cohabitating with a partner with 1) overweight and at least one obesity-related comorbidity or 2) obesity are randomized to participate in a standard weight management program alone or with their partner. The weight management program involves biweekly, in-person, group sessions focusing on weight loss for six months, followed by three group sessions and nine telephone calls focusing on weight loss maintenance for twelve months. In the partner-assisted arm, partners participate in half of the group sessions and telephone calls. Couples receive training in principles of cognitive behavioral therapy for couples, including sharing thoughts and feelings and joint problem solving, to increase communal coping. The primary outcome is participant weight loss at 24 months, with caloric intake and moderate-intensity physical activity as secondary outcomes. Partner weight and caloric intake will also be analyzed. Mediation analyses will examine the role of interdependence variables and social support. DISCUSSION: This trial will provide knowledge about effective ways to promote long-term weight loss and the role of interdependence constructs in weight loss. Clinical trials identifier: NCT03801174.