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(20171 purported that "increased nursing education enrolments to cater for possible future nursing shortages, (ii) decreased state expenditure on health services and, (iii) graduate employment dictated by staff vacancies rather than ensuring sustainability of the future workforce" (p. 251) are contributing factors. Sample and Data Collection Convenience sampling technique was used, and to ensure sufficient data sampling, two cohorts of graduating students were Invited to participate. The online survey data collection Incorporated closed and opened ended questions about participant engagement with the profession of nursing. All study participants, including the graduates with a previous Diploma of Nursing, provided a 100% response rate to their intention to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board as a registered nurse (RN).
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Each student selected books during the last week of school and during the last days of the summer program, so that they had access to books when school was not in session. Since book ownership is an important motivator for reading, the students kept their books and were treated to one additional book on the last day of the program, when they took a field trip to a bookstore. Study Design Reallocating school resources required a research focus with data collection and analysis for continued approval of summer program funding. The mixed-methods design of the study included quantitative data (e.g., registration, attendance, STAR reading scores, Likert scale questions on student and parent questionnaires) and qualitative data (e.g., student focus groups, open-ended questions on student and parent questionnaires). Parents' written consent and students' assent were provided for STAR reading, focus group, and questionnaire data collection each summer.
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BackgroundDelay in the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis may be associated with poorer outcome. However, the effectiveness of strategies to enable early detection of psoriatic arthritis in a primary care population with psoriasis have not been investigated in a prospective randomised control trial.ObjectivesThe primary objective was to determine whether early detection of undiagnosed PsA in people with psoriasis by an enhanced surveillance (ES) intervention compared to standard care (SC) improves outcome in physical function at 24 months post-registration. Secondary objectives were to compare disease activity and impact of disease between groups in those participants diagnosed with PsA.MethodsA multi-centre, prospective, parallel group cluster randomised controlled trial in patients with psoriasis with no prior diagnosis of PsA was conducted. GP practices were randomised in a 1:1 allocation ratio with stratification for GP practice list size and Central Commissioning Group (CCG). A total of 133 GP practices and 2226 participants were required to achieve a target sample size for the primary analysis population of 148 participants (74 per group) with a positive diagnosis of PsA;the latter corresponding to 80% power for detecting the MCID in the primary outcome measure of 0.35 units. Participants recruited were managed according to either SC, or ES by annual rheumatological assessment. Participants with suspected inflammatory arthritis were referred, via their GP, to the local rheumatology outpatient clinic at participating hospitals for an assessment of PsA by the ‘treating rheumatologist' (ES arm: at baseline, 12 and 24 months;SC arm: at 24 months). Participants diagnosed with PsA then entered the PsA-care pathway element of the trial. The primary outcome measure was the HAQ_DI at 24 months post registration in participants diagnosed with PsA. Secondary outcome measures, PASDAS and PsAID-12, were assessed over time in participants with a positive diagnosis of PsA.ResultsA total of 2225 participants across 135 GP practices were registered, corresponding to 1123 allocated to ES and 1102 to SC;primary analysis population consisted of 87 participants with a positive diagnosis of PsA: 64 in ES, 23 in SC (Figure one). Baseline characteristics were similar across both treatment groups. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for achieving a HAQ-DI score of 0 at 24 months post registration in ES compared to SC was 0.64 (95% CI (0.17, 2.38)), indicating no evidence of a difference between treatment groups (p=0.5075). Moreover, the adjusted OR of achieving a higher (non-zero) HAQ-DI score at 24 months post registration in ES relative to SC arm was 1.12 (95% CI: 0.67, 1.86), again indicating no evidence of a difference between the two treatment groups (p=0.6612). There was high variability on the impact of the disease between participants over time, although the impact is generally low in this group of participants with an ‘early' diagnosis of PsA. Moreover, the overall PASDAS score and component scores over time post PsA diagnosis show high variability in PsA disease activity. No adverse events were reported.ConclusionThere was insufficient evidence that early diagnosis by ES and subsequent treatment improves physical function compared to SC in patients with psoriasis. Limitations included the trial being underpowered for demonstrating the pre-specified treatment effect;only 6.2% of participants recruited had a positive diagnosis of PsA, much lower than assumed (18%). The imbalance observed between treatment groups (~ 3:1 ratio (ES:SC)), is largely explained by the lower proportion of participants especially in the SC arm attending the screening visit at 24 months, and delays between referral and attending appointment with the treating clinician, all further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a longer duration of follow-up may be necessary to detect differences in outcome and is planned.ReferencesNil.Figure 1.AcknowledgementsThis project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)Programme rants for Applied Research programme.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.
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In the Philippines, a barangay is the smallest administrative unit serving as suburban neighborhoods' first line of defense. According to Bautista, barangays conduct a manual file-based process of storing the community's health information. Therefore, the need for a single platform enables a small government unit to manage its resources while being transparent to its community. The study aims to develop a web- based barangay health information system portal for Barangay 69 District 1 in Tondo Manila. The system would be a reference tool for barangays as their platform provides inventory management, the barangay's health programs, and a dashboard for data visualization inventory management, tracking of Covid cases, administration of health activities, and a dashboard for data visualization. As a result, the web portal is functional, and different test scenarios show above-average results. The study concludes that the system provided a platform for the barangay and its residents. It also concludes that it is user-friendly and efficiently disseminates the barangay's health programs and activities. © 2023 IEEE.
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Purpose of Review: Several studies have found that medical students have a significant prevalence of sleep issues, such as poor sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, and inadequate sleep duration. The purpose of this review is to carefully evaluate the current research on sleep problems among medical students and, as a result, estimate the prevalence of these disturbances. The EMBASE, PsychINFO, PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science and retrieved article reference lists were rigorously searched and rated for quality. Random effects meta-analysis was performed to compute estimates. Recent Findings: The current meta-analysis revealed an alarming estimated pooled prevalence of poor sleep quality (K = 95, N = 54894) of 55.64% [95%CI 51.45%; 59.74%]. A total of 33.32% [95%CI 26.52%; 40.91%] of the students (K = 28, N = 10122) experienced excessive sleepiness during the day. The average sleep duration for medical students (K = 35, N = 18052) is only 6.5 h per night [95%CI 6.24; 6.64], which suggests that at least 30% of them get less sleep than the recommended 7-9 h per night. Summary: Sleep issues are common among medical students, making them a genuine problem. Future research should focus on prevention and intervention initiatives aimed at these groups. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40675-023-00258-5.
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BACKGROUND: Biologicals use in severe asthma (SA) is associated with targeted therapy (TT) availability problem. Ensuring the availability of biologicals can be resolved within the territorial compulsory medical insurance program (TCMIP) in day-stay or round-the-clock hospital. AIMS: This study aimed to develop and implement a program for immunobiological therapy (IBT) introduction for SA in Sverdlovsk Region (SR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Program for introduction of IBT for SA was developed in SR in 2018 to provide patients with expensive biologicals within the TCMIP. Program includes the following: SA prevalence study in SR;practitioners training in differential diagnosis of SA;organization of affordable therapy for patients with SA;registration of patients with SA creation and maintenance;and selection and management of patients with SA in accordance with federal clinical guidelines. RESULT(S): Atopic phenotype in SA was detected in 5%, eosinophilic - in 2.3% of all analyzed cases of asthma (n=216). Practitioners of SR were trained in differential diagnosis of SA. Orders of the Ministry of Health of SR were issued as follows: regulating the procedure for referring patients with SA to IBT, with a list of municipal medical organizations providing IBT in a day-stay or round-the-clock hospital;approving regional registration form of patients with SA requiring biologicals use;ungrouping of clinical and statistical groups of day-stay hospital was depending on INN and dosage of biologicals;and selecting patients with SA for TT and including them in the regional register. Initiating of TT in round-the-clock hospital and continuation therapy in day-stay hospital provides a significant savings in compulsory medical insurance funds. CONCLUSION(S): IBT introduction for SA in SR is carried out within the framework of the developed program. Principle of decentralization brings highly specialized types of medical care closer to patients making it possible to provide routine medical care in "allergology-immunology" profile in the context of restrictions caused by coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.Copyright © 2020 Pharmarus Print Media All rights reserved.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the bidirectional relationship between policy and data reliability has been a challenge for researchers of the local municipal health services. Policy decisions on population specific test locations and selective registration of negative test results led to population differences in data quality. This hampered the calculation of reliable population specific infection rates needed to develop proper data driven public health policy.
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Objective. To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the course of cancers and to estimate the achievement of the main indicators of a cancer service in case of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Subjects and methods. In the Nizhny Novgorod Region, data on the detection and registration of COVID-19 in patients with malignant neoplasms (MNs) were analyzed on the basis of data of the information and analytical system (IAS) <<Cancer Registry 6S>>. Results. As of December 31, 2020, there were a total of 99.477 cancer patients, including 1.470 confirmed COVID-19 cases, accounting for 1.5% of all the registered patients with MNs. Among the cancer patients with COVID-19, the females were 1.6 times more likely to be ill than the males. Analyzing the age structure of cancer patients with COVID-19 revealed that the older ablebodied persons (61.6%) were more likely to get sick than younger ones (38.0%). Cancer concurrent with COVID-19 led to a severe course of COVID-19 in 15.9% of cases and resulted in death of cancer patients in 17.8% of cases. The older able-bodied patients were more likely to die, which accounted for 89.3% of the total number of died cancer patients with COVID-19. In the structure of the causes of death of cancer patients with COVID-19, the latter comes first (51.3%), MNs ranked next (33.0%), circulatory system diseases occupied the third place (13.0%), and other causes ranked fourth (2.7%). According to the 2020 results, the Nizhny Novgorod Region during the COVID-19 pandemic displayed a 0.4% increase in the mortality rate from neoplasms, including that from malignant ones, a 5.0% decrease in the proportion of MNs detected at Stages 1-2, a 22.0% reduction in active detection rates, and a 21.0% rise in neglect rates. Conclusion. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affects the course of cancers, by aggravating the condition of cancer patients, which results in a fatal outcome in 17.8% of cases.Copyright © 2022, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
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The Medical Library Association (MLA) held its 122nd annual meeting May 3-6, 2022, in New Orleans LA. The meeting was entitled "MLA '22: Reconnect. Renew. Reflect" and utilized a hybrid model with some events in person, and some virtually. The virtual meeting was again broken into segments, all available using a variety of online platforms. Total attendance for the meeting was 1,250 with 575 attending in-person, and 675 virtually. Additional meeting content--including the meeting program and various electronic presentations from the business meetings, plenary sessions, poster sessions, and program sessions can be accessed by all meeting registrants via the MLA '22 website.
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Donald O. Besong has already documented that the online registration of unsupervised lateral flow test results poses concerns in the case of a serious pandemic where there are not enough medics to read scans or watch videos of candidates' results [1]. Scanning or videorecording requires a high number of available medics [1] in an adverse pandemic scenario. In the above paper [1], an artificial intelligence (AI) interface with image recognition was suggested as a method to prevent cheating during the online registration of unsupervised test results. The second solution suggested was a method that obscures the meaning of the result the candidate reads from their test device so that a software interface can resolve that from a database [1]. This is an entirely new method.In this paper, the latter (entirely new) method is proposed and described in detail. Precisely, this simple but new method is all about blinding the test strips so that the candidate does not know what the face values signify. The software then connects to a database of unique strip identification numbers to determine the test result when the candidate or patient registers their results. Both strip number and the value of their test must be entered to register results. This method has never been proposed or implemented. The technique will be described in detail.
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After the outbreak of COVID-19, with the stock market fluctuating and sluggish, the registration system reform of the securities issuance is steadily advanced in China. Based on this, the paper uses difference-in-differences (DID) model to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the stock price crash risk of IPOs. By comparing registration-based and approval-based new shares, the empirical results of this paper show that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the stock price crash risk of registered new shares has increased significantly. Moreover, with higher investor turnover rate and higher institutional shareholding ratio, the stock price crash risk of registered new shares affected by the pandemic is higher.
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This paper examines a tension during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic between discourses of death as an anomaly and techniques for normalising death as an inevitable outcome of life. It contends that the technology of registering a death in the Global North in 2020 was conditioned upon differentiating between the normal and the pathological, standards and variations, and an average and excess. Indeed, the registration of a death depended on the creation of a new universal nomenclature for ascertaining causation, which excluded various circumstances of a person's life in order to stabilise SARS-CoV-2 as a normative category for classification. The paper thus reveals how in the time of a pandemic, the technology of registration can be utilised to pathologise specific kinds of death, while unproblematically reifying the concept of a normal death. It argues that what the initial phase of COVID-19 exposes, particularly though the productive tension between discourses of death as both an anomaly and inevitability, is that normalising technologies are inextricable from how a panoply of institutions determine what deaths should be counted at all.
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Purpose: The implementation of the lockdown on 28th March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted business and economic activities completely, which has serious consequences for SMME survival in South Africa and the world at large. Subsequently, there was a contingent need to provide funding to SMMEs to ensure their survival. This study, therefore, explored the meaning of SMME in the South African context and their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study further investigated the palliative funds given to SMMEs during COVID-19 by the South African government, the challenges encountered during its implementation process, and the measures to improve the funding implementation. Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative research approach with an exploratory research design, and this enhanced in-depth findings through the adoption of interviews as the only source of primary data collection. Data collected from the participants were analyzed using a thematic analytical technique with the help of Atlas-ti software (Version 22). Findings: Findings obtained from the study revealed that SMMEs are separate and distinct business entities, including co-operatives and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), managed by one or more owners, including their branches and subsidiaries. Another finding revealed that during the COVID-19 period, SMMEs experienced supply chain disruptions, inventory shortages, cash flow issues, and low income due to the inability to engage in active business. In the empirical study, participants attested that the scoring system, lack of business and managerial experience, communication barriers, and business registration requirements are some of the challenges encountered in funding implementation by the government departments. Furthermore, the participants highlighted that funding based on merit, consideration of the scoring system, and the application of communication dynamics to reach SMMEs should be applied to improve SMME funding implementation. Originality/Value: This study is meant to inform the government on how to handle SMME funding and measures to assist them to enhance employment and to improve economic development.
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NEHA offers an exciting opportunity for environmental health professionals to join their private delegation to Havana, Cuba, on Nov 2-6, 2023. They will explore Cuba's rich and varied cultural heritage and go beyond tourist corridors by engaging with local environmental health professionals, officials, engineers, entrepreneurs, musicians, and artists who will offer indepth commentary on health policies, economics, environmental justice, art, history, architecture, and culture. The trip is being organized by CLE Abroad, a provider of customized educational travel programs around the world. The trip is open to all individuals over 18 years.
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This chapter assesses the practice of benchmarking in Nigerian libraries, with a focus on academic libraries. Participant observation, questionnaires, and focus group interviews were methods used to establish the situation. Results show that standards are not fully developed and implemented among libraries in the country. Benchmarks are hardly even mentioned. However, there is interest among university librarians in knowing more and implementing benchmarks which can improve the delivery of library services. The inadequate response to COVID-19 is a clear indication of the preparedness of libraries in the country. Prevention of dire effect of future pandemics or disruptions will require intentional preparedness. Nigerian librarians, especially the academic librarians as leaders, must take responsibility for improving on the present situation by taking advantage of their global networking. The regulatory body, Librarians' Registration Council of Nigeria, must also step up in preparing and monitoring the implementation of benchmarks in libraries. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The Myanmar general elections, which have been organized under the auspices of the Union Election Commission (UEC), take place in five-year terms. The 2015 elections had been regarded similar to a referendum against military rule, which led to a government with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as State Counsellor. The 2020 polls were expected to be more competitive, and the entire electoral system to become more tested than before. However, half a year prior to the 8 November 2020 general elections, neither the election date nor the further course of the COVID-19 pandemic were clear. The outbreak of the pandemic compounded already existing weaknesses and risks in the electoral process. This chapter reviews the pre-electoral situation, the legal framework for elections, the election administration, voter registration, the political party landscape, the campaign and campaign finance framework, as well as the local cancellation of elections and their impact in Rakhine State in particular. Furthermore, it also discusses social media and election observation, taking COVID-19 into account. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.
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-This Note explores the reasonable investor standard in light of recent developments in pandemic-era securities litigation. Scholars have long criticized the reasonable investor standard for determining materiality. Given the dramatic backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the limitations of the standard are becoming ever more evident. This Note provides a brief history of the development of the current standard and highlights some of its problems through two recent COVID-19 securities fraud cases. This Note argues that the reasonable investor standard is no longer sufficient to protect investors. Through examining tort law and First Amendment jurisprudence, this Note differentiates between the reasonable and average persons and recommends replacing the reasonable investor standard with the average investor standard.
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The COVID-19 pandemic strongly affected organ procurement and transplantation in France, despite the intense efforts of all participants in this domain. In 2020, the identification and procurement of deceased donors fell by 12% and 21% respectively, compared with the mean of the preceding 2 years. Similarly, the number of new registrations on the national waiting list declined by 12% and the number of transplants by 24%. The 3-month cumulative incidence of death or drop out for worsening condition of patients awaiting a liver transplant was significantly greater in 2020 compared to the previous 2 years. Continuous monitoring at the national level of early post-transplant outcomes showed no deterioration for any organ in 2020. At the end of 2020, less than 1% of transplant candidates and less than 1% of graft recipients - of any organ - had died of COVID-19.Copyright © 2021 The Author(s)
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The COVID-19 pandemic had a wide global impact on society, including the clinical laboratory workforce. This historically underrepresented group of highly skilled professionals have now started to gain the attention they deserve. There had already been dramatic changes to laboratory training over the past 2 decades resulting from advances in technology, changes to service needs, and as a consequence of Pathology reform initiatives. The pandemic has had an additional impact. Higher education institutions and students adapted to emergency remote teaching. Clinical laboratories faced unprecedented challenges to meet COVID-19 testing demands and adjust to new ways of working whilst maintaining their usual high quality service provision. Training, assessment, and development arrangements had to convert to online platforms to maintain social distancing. The pandemic also had a global impact on mental health and wellbeing, further impacting learning/training. Despite these challenges, there have been many positive outcomes. This review highlights pre- and post-pandemic training and assessment for clinical laboratory professionals, with particular emphasis on Biomedical Scientists, outlining recent improvements among a history of challenges. There is increasing interest surrounding this vital workforce, accelerated thanks to the pandemic. This new public platform has emphasised the importance of quality diagnostic services in the patient pathway and in the response to national crises. The ability to maintain a quality service that is prepared for the future is grounded in the effective training and development of its staff. All of which can only be achieved with a workforce that is sustainable, invested in, and given a voice.
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COVID-19 , Humans , Laboratories, Clinical , Pandemics , COVID-19 TestingABSTRACT
The unprecedented global public health crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused mass upheaval of social, educational, financial, health, and justice systems around the world. Technological and other responses at the national, regional, and international level, designed to contain the spread of COVID-19, have also significantly interrupted the way that we live, work, and interact. This article explores the implications of these response efforts, and their impact on human rights, existing inequalities, and entrenched forms of discrimination. In particular, the article explores the implications of using mass surveillance and registration measures to detect, surveil, and control populations and their movements within and across borders as part of public health responses. The use of digital health credentials in automated social sorting processes and other mass surveillance and registration measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic sets an alarming precedent for future responses to global public health crises.