Crisis leadership: a case for inclusion in accredited Master of Public Health program curricula.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the exposure to crisis leadership theory already present in Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited Master of Public Health (MPH) programs in the United States and provide a compelling case for its future inclusion. STUDY DESIGN: This was a narrative review. METHODS: We compiled a comprehensive list of 179 CEPH schools that offered an MPH program. During January through March 2021, we examined 179 websites for the core courses and elective courses offered in the MPH degree program to determine if any courses covered the topics of leadership, crisis leadership, or crisis management in either the course title or description. RESULTS: Leadership courses were available in only 55.31% of CEPH-accredited schools. Only a single program (0.56%) offers a crisis leadership course. CONCLUSIONS: The current global COVID-19 pandemic and reality of climate-induced disasters have brought crises to the forefront for health systems. Successful leadership for the future requires public health leaders to have training in crisis leadership. The evaluation and revision of public health curricula must focus on leadership competency development to prepare graduates to lead complex multiple crisis events and system shocks simultaneously.

Hematological Changes and Pregnancy Outcome in COVID-19 Pregnant Patients: A Case–Control Study

BACKGROUND: Viral infections during pregnancy are associated with adverse maternal as well as fetal outcomes such as higher rates of miscarriage, perinatal mortality, restriction of fetal growth, and preterm delivery. AIM: The aim of the study was to explore maternal outcomes and hematological alterations in a sample of Iraqi pregnant women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in the Obstetric Department in Al Imamain Al-Kadhimain Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq, including a total of 55 full-term pregnant women who were grouped into 25 women with SARS-CoV-2 and 30 control pregnant women, starting from January 2021 to December 2021. Pregnant women admitted to hospital for the purpose of delivery were routinely examined and assessed, and then, nasopharyngeal swab was obtained for the purpose of PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2. Then, 3 ml of venous blood was obtained from the antecubital vein following sterilization and the blood was transferred to the central hospital laboratory to do complete blood count within 24 h using the automated hematological analyzer that the results were then transferred into an Office Excel sheet for the future statistical analysis. RESULTS: Among the hematological variables that were analyzed, the mean WBC count and mean lymphocyte count were lower in COVID-19 group to compared category and the variation was significant (p < 0.001);however, there was no significant difference in mean neutrophil count. There has been no significant variation in mean hemoglobin, mean RBC count, mean PCV, mean MCV, mean MCH, and mean RDW between control group and COVID-19 group (p > 0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference in mean platelet count, mean platelet distribution width, and mean platelet volume (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 at time of pregnancy is accompanied by significantly lower leukocyte and lymphocyte count in comparison with non-infected pregnant women in addition to higher rate of cesarean section due to fetal distress with no significant increase in fetal or maternal mortality rates. © 2022 Enas Thamer, Sara Al-Rawaf.