ABSTRACT
Outcome bias occurs when people evaluate decision quality based on the outcome rather than the intentions of the decision maker. We replicate these findings and extend them to the realms of policy and politics. Approximately equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats judged policy decisions aimed at ameliorating the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We manipulated the affiliation of the decider (Republican vs. Democrat) and the aim of the policy (benefits health vs. benefits the economy;benefits health but hurts the economy vs. benefits the economy but hurts health). The results revealed that policy decisions aimed at addressing health problems or aimed at repairing the economy without negative externalities in other spheres of life were evaluated solely as a function of outcome in which successful outcomes generated significantly greater quality ratings than failures. However, judgments of policy decisions aimed at helping one sphere of life but hurting another (i.e., business closures) were qualified by significant interactions with the political party affiliation of the decision maker and that of the participant. Republicans' responses show evidence for outcome bias while favoring Republican deciders. In contrast, Democrats exhibited a greater degree of outcome bias while favoring decisions that prioritized health over the economy relative to decisions that prioritized the economy over health.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To understand the psychosocial stressors reported by caregivers of severe acute brain injury (SABI) patients recovering from coma in neuroICUs. Background: Caregivers of SABI patients are at risk of developing long-term adverse psychological outcomes following neuroICU discharge, particularly those of patients admitted in a comatose state and remaining disabled. Understanding the top psychosocial stressors reported by these caregivers is critical for design of interventions to improve psychological outcomes. Design/Methods: At the time of neuroICU discharge, we conducted semi-structured, recorded interviews with 15 primary caregivers of SABI patients, all of whom were comatose for greater than 24 hours and needed tracheostomy and/or feeding tube placement. Participants were recruited as a convenience sample from 6 US centers. A codebook for psychosocial stressors was developed from open coding of the first 5 interview transcripts amongst 9 study team members. Using NVivo software, two team members then independently coded each transcript, refined the codebook, and resolved coding discrepancies. Results: Fourteen of 15 caregivers provided demographic data: 13 (92.9%) were female, 5 (35.7%) were racial minorities, and 9 (64.3%) reported fewer than 4 years of college. Six of the 15 (40.0%) patients had recovered to a Glasgow Coma Scale of 9 or higher at the time of interview. The psychosocial stressors most commonly reported by participants were: navigation of the healthcare system, including hospital visitor restrictions due to COVID-19;uncertainty about prognosis;communication with healthcare providers;juggling of practical matters beyond the hospitalization;and navigation of social relationships. Caregivers also referenced challenges with direct caregiving responsibilities, changes to the relationship dynamic with the hospitalized patient, and loss of normality. Conclusions: Across multiple US centers, caregivers of SABI patients in various stages of coma recovery at time of neuroICU discharge share a wide variety of psychosocial stressors. Interventions designed to improve psychological outcomes will need to acknowledge these stressors directly.
ABSTRACT
Facilities management along with health care are two important aspects in controlling the spread of infectious diseases with regard to controlling the outbreak of global COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, with the increasing outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of examining the relationship between the built environment and the outbreak of infectious diseases has become more significant. The aim of the research described in this article is to develop effective infection control and mitigation measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 pandemic in the built environment. This study seeks to answer the question of how the facilities management industry can help reduce the transmission of coronavirus. For this purpose, an online survey questionnaire was distributed internationally from 8 April to 25 July, 2020 to collect data from various key stakeholders. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software. Various methods for the prevention and control of infectious diseases transmission are evaluated through this questionnaire-based survey with regard to their effectiveness for the healthy and safe built environment. These methods were categorized into three groups, including training protocols, operation and maintenance, and design and construction. The results show that all suggested methods have a positive effect on all types of buildings. These methods have an equal effect on low-risk buildings, while for high and very high-risk buildings, training protocols and design and construction measures have the greatest impact. In addition, training protocols and the measures in operation and maintenance will have the greatest effect on medium-risk buildings. The results can help in more rational decision making in relation to controlling the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in all types of buildings. Copyright © 2022 Sarvari, Chen, Chan, Lester, Yahaya, Nassereddine and Lotfata.
ABSTRACT
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged throughout New York City and its surrounding suburbs, more than 500,000 positive cases and 30,000 deaths were recorded between early March and early May 2020. In response, built environment firms were forced to confront uncertainty, shift mindsets, and embrace new workflows to remain viable in the face of city and state mandatory stay-at-home orders and curfews. This required the creation of new internal processes for document dissemination. Firms focused on alleviating clients' concerns and boosting productivity by providing information, a hierarchy of business processes, and new codes of conduct. Utilizing case study methodology, this evolution at one architecture firm was tracked. Semi-structured interviews prior to and after the early wave of the pandemic clarified and verified findings. Participants were asked probing follow up questions to better understand the impacts, especially regarding tacit knowledge. The firm's efforts were optimized, but tacit knowledge sharing disappeared. Once this form of knowledge sharing was highlighted, participants acknowledged the loss and speculated about how to address this critical activity moving forward. © 2021 Proceedings of the 37th Annual ARCOM Conference, ARCOM 2021. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
The highly infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated with the pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread to become a global pandemic. At present, the world is relying mainly on containment and hygiene-related measures, as well as repurposed drugs to control the outbreak. The development of COVID-19 vaccines is crucial for the world to return to pre-pandemic normalcy, and a collective global effort has been invested into protection against SARS-CoV-2. As of March 2021, thirteen vaccines have been approved for application whilst over 90 vaccine candidates are under clinical trials. This review focuses on the development of COVID-19 vaccines and highlights the efficacy and vaccination reactions of the authorised vaccines. The mechanisms, storage, and dosage specification of vaccine candidates at the advanced stage of development are also critically reviewed together with considerations for potential challenges. Whilst the development of a vaccine is, in general, in its infancy, current progress is promising. However, the world population will have to continue to adapt to the "new normal" and practice social distancing and hygienic measures, at least until effective vaccines are available to the general public.