ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged healthcare systems worldwide. In the Philippines, long-term care for patients with conditions identified through newborn screening (NBS) is coordinated through Newborn Screening Continuity Clinics (NBSCCs). These clinics are integral to achieving optimal outcomes by providing follow-up oversight and assistance for individuals identified through screening. Continuity of NBSCC care for NBS during the COVID-19 pandemic was both challenging and necessary and was accomplished through innovative strategies of dedicated personnel. Following the discontinuation of the community quarantine, a situation assessment survey was completed by each NBSCC to better understand the challenges encountered and their effect on patient care. Performance data from each NBSCC were reviewed both before and after an extended community quarantine (2018-2021) to evaluate the impact of NBSCC disaster contingency plans in overcoming the resultant challenges (transportation, supply chain, etc.). Thematic analysis of the survey showed three primary challenges: Operations, communications, and safety. In 2018 and 2019, successful patient contacts were 70.6% and 70.2%, respectively. During the pandemic, successful contacts were 74.9% in 2020 and 76.8% in 2021, demonstrating that the contact approaches taken by the NBSCCs were sufficient to maintain (and even improve) patient contacts. The number of unresponsive patients decreased during the pandemic likely due to decreased mobility and improved follow-up actions from the NBSCCs.
ABSTRACT
In response to campus closures due to COVID-19, the learning environment in a foundational engineering course unexpectedly shifted from hands-on, collaborative work to remote delivery, accomplished within a short period of time. Through end-of-semester course surveys, students were asked open-ended questions to get feedback about their experience with the goal of using student feedback for curriculum planning and improvement should there be continued need to facilitate the course remotely in subsequent semesters. However, with 1,170 responses, the volume of data made it challenging to analyze, interpret and use the feedback for decision-making for following semesters. To address this challenge, we utilized Natural Language Processing (NLP) based techniques - algorithmic ways to analyze, interpret, and present words and sentiments from student responses visually, to inform a novice-led analysis to ultimately help with course planning for future semesters. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
ABSTRACT
This qualitative study investigates web pages documenting COVID-19 responses from 28 universities across the United States. Using grounded theory methodology, we inductively developed a model of universities' response to the pandemic. Four types of strategies were identified from the data and a theoretical model was developed describing (a) causal conditions that underlie the strategies for response to the pandemic, (b) the context that influenced the strategies adopted by the universities, (c) intervening conditions due to the pandemic that influenced strategy development, and (d) potential recommendations to make universities' responses more inclusive. This research has implications for improving the experience of the communities a university serves, including faculty development, especially for newer faculty who are joining the universities remotely and interacting with new colleagues only through the virtual mediums. Finally, this paper will be of use to engineering educators and administrators as they seek to improve inclusion and belonging within faculty at universities. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021