ABSTRACT
Given that uncertainty has become the signe des temps for our students in the current Covid-19 climate, one can pose the question: what types of skills would be relevant for the current and the next generation of students that would help them make sense of the changing world? School curricula and testing still anchored in the traditional mode of the 3Rs has resulted in a cadre of gifted students who have performed well academically but who have not been educated to reflect on using their "gifts" to transform society in just and meaningful ways. As opposed to being purely speculative on what transformative giftedness could be, we describe the genesis of a gifted academy- a school within a school situated within an impoverished community grounded in the principles of equity, social justice, and transformational giftedness. In this academy, the curriculum based on both socio-emotional learning (SEL) and problem-based learning (PBL), in tandem with interdisciplinary projects, provides avenues for the potential to transform students into making sense of uncertainty in the changing world in meaningful ways. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The sudden onset of the 2019 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic required agile development of standards and efficient validation of assays to assess prevalence of infection as well as immune responses to infection and vaccination. Leveraging their experience in HPV serology and standards, the Vaccine, Immunity and Cancer Directorate (VICD) at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNCLR) pivoted to address this unmet need in SARS-Co-V2 serology clinical testing and research. This standardization effort required the collection and processing of large volumes of blood from SARS-Co-V2 infected and uninfected individuals into serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Collaborations with specimen collection sites across the United States were established. Following qualification for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM levels in independent laboratories, VICD assembled reference evaluation panels, which were used to assist the FDA's performance evaluation of commercial assays submitted for EUA approval. To date, 185 different shipments of the standard or validation panel have been sent to both domestic and international labs. These materials are also available to the SARS-CoV-2 serology community for assay calibration and performance evaluation which greatly facilitates assay data harmonization. In addition, the NCI Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet) was born from this initiative and expertise, resulting in the establishment of Capacity Building Centers (CBCs) for sample collection from different healthy, cancer and immunocompromised cohorts at Mount Sinai, Arizona State University, the University of Minnesota, and Northwell Feinstein. The NCI and FNLCR simultaneously collaborated to develop a network of investigators focused on advancing research on the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination among diverse and vulnerable populations, including cancer patients. Their research has resulted in over 326 peer-reviewed publications. The CBC's have enrolled patients in longitudinal studies, resulting in a centralized collection of annotated, well characterized serum, PBMCs and clinical data. Numerous cancer cohorts, but predominantly Multiple Myeloma, are included. Furthermore, technology development was supported at the CBC's. Based upon this success, the VICD in collaboration with NCI is pursuing an even more innovative effort in pandemic preparedness to establish a Center for Serology and Data Emergency Preparedness (CESDEP);a global network able to activate and pivot to address pandemic-level threats, while continuing to expand the development of immunological assays that can inform clinical decisions for cancer and other immunocompromised patients.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Cancer patients have a high risk of severe COVID-19 and complications from it. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the conduction of clinical trials (CTs), there is a scarcity of data on CT participation among cancer patients. We aimed to describe the level of participation in a COVID-19 CT, willingness to participate, as well as trust in sources of information for CTs among persons with and without a previous cancer diagnosis in Puerto Rico. Method(s): Data collected from November 2021 to March 2022 from two cross-sectional studies were merged and used for analysis. Informed consent, telephone, face-to-face, and online interviews were conducted among participants >=18 years old living in Puerto Rico (n=987). Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis (Fisher's exact text and chi-squared test) was done to describe the outcomes of interest, overall and by cancer status. Result(s): Mean age of participants was 41+/-15.5 years. Most participants were women (71.3%), with an educational level greater than high school (89.5%) and with an annual family income below $20,000 (75.1%). Overall, 4.4% of participants (n=43) reported history of cancer diagnosis. Only 1.8% of the population reported to have participated in a COVID-19 CT to receive either a treatment or vaccine;stratifying by cancer, none of the cancer patients had participated in a COVID-19 CT, and only 1.9% of non-cancer patients participated. While 37.0% of the participants indicated being very willing to sign up for a CT assessing COVID-19 treatment, willingness was higher in cancer patients (55.8%) than among participants without cancer (36.1%). Regarding trust in sources of information for CTs, the level of trust ("a great deal/a fair amount") was higher for their physicians (87.6%), researchers (87.0%), the National Institute of Health (86.7%), their local clinics (82.9%), and a university hospital (82.7%), while it was lower for a pharmaceutical company (64.0%), and for friend, relative, or community leader (37.6%);no differences were observed by cancer status. Conclusion(s): While participation in COVID-19 CTs was extremely low in the study population, the willingness to participate was higher among cancer patients. Education on CTs and their availability are necessary to increase participation in this understudied group. Such efforts will enhance the representation of Hispanic and vulnerable populations, such as cancer patients, on COVID-19 CTs, and thus proper generalizability of study findings in the future.
ABSTRACT
To sustain early childhood intervention services during the Covid-19 pandemic, professionals, families, and communities had to move their support services to a digital distance. This posed particular challenges for all involved, as early childhood intervention is based on face-to-face contact in its basic design. However, as digital solutions were tested, the opportunities offered by supplementing face-to-face contacts with digital offerings also became apparent. Copyright © 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston 2023.
ABSTRACT
This Article proposes expanding the legal academy's role in responding to disasters and emergencies, specifically through creating disaster clinics that take a communitybased lawyering approach. The Article is one of the first to identify the need for community-based disaster legal clinical education that goes beyond the immediate response phase. It also proposes creating a disaster legal pipeline from the clinic through post-graduation employment. The Article furthers the literature's discussion of the need for sustained disaster legal education. As the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 coronavirus continues to impact vulnerable populations and the frequency of natural disasters continues to increase, this Article provides a blueprint to law school faculty and administrators on the process of starting a new clinic or redesigning an existing clinic into a long-term disaster-related clinic. Additionally, the Article provides a timeline of disaster legislation that has evolved to provide a robust background for seminar courses. The Article draws from the author's expertise in creating two disaster clinics and multiple disaster and environmental justice courses. © 2023,Cleveland State Law Review. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
The article sought to interpret the COVID-19 pandemic through the generalization of social vulnerability, converted into a sociological concept, as it was considered as a social fact caused by the crisis of the labor society, whose basis was the management of risks and dangers, through state welfare institutions, which later, in the neoliberal economic model, it was individualized, diluting the state responsibility to attend to the dangers derived from the pandemic, exercising only its function of surveillance and control over individuals on the part of a neoliberal State, which ceased to consider them as citizens, defined by rights, which were protected with the existence of the welfare state.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: To estimate the public health impact of COVID-19 booster vaccination in the UK during Omicron predominance, and to explore the impact in counterfactual scenarios with different booster eligibility or uptake. Method(s): A dynamic transmission model was developed to compare public health outcomes for actual and hypothetical UK Spring and Autumn 2022 booster programs. Outcomes were projected over an extended time horizon from April 2022-April 2023, assuming continued Omicron predominance as in Jan-Mar 2022. Health outcomes included averted cases, hospitalizations, long COVID cases, and deaths. NHS resource use outcomes were averted general ward and intensive care unit bed days and general practitioner visits. Patient productivity loss outcomes considered productive days lost for those in and outside the paid work force. Analyses used publicly available data. Result(s): Model output suggested that actual Spring and Autumn 2022 programs, which offered boosters to older adults and vulnerable populations, would avert approximately 716,000 hospitalizations, 1.9M long COVID cases and 125,000 deaths compared to not offering boosters in Spring and Autumn 2022. In a scenario that broadened eligibility to individuals aged >=5 years, an estimated 1.6M hospitalizations, 8.3M long COVID cases, and 222,000 deaths were averted. A scenario assuming broadened eligibility and increased uptake produced the greatest benefit among scenarios analyzed: 1.6M hospitalizations, 9.2M long COVID cases, and 228,000 deaths averted;and 953M productive days saved. Scenarios offering boosters only to high-risk individuals (aged >=5 years) were also estimated to improve benefit relative to actual programs. High-risk-only programs assuming increased uptake provided about half to two-thirds of the benefit estimated for programs assuming broadened eligibility and increased uptake. Conclusion(s): UK booster vaccination programs were estimated to provide substantial benefit to public health during Omicron predominance. Public health benefits could be maximized by broadening booster eligibility to younger age groups and increasing uptake.Copyright © 2023
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The public's stated preference for public health and social measures (PHSMs), and levels of pandemic fatigue are insufficiently fixed. We aim to quantify the public's preferences for varied PHSMs, and measure population's pandemic fatigue. Method(s): We conducted a cross-sectional, nationwide sampling, survey-based experiment to assess public preference for and attitudes towards PHSMs. A set of psychometric scales, specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic fatigue scale (CPFS), was used to screen fatigue levels in the respondents. The multinomial logit model (MNL) and latent class model (LCM) were utilized for choice tasks analysis, and Mann-Whitney tests were used for CPFS statistical analysis. Result(s): There were 689 respondents, who completed the survey, and were included in the study after quality control. The discrete choice experiments revealed that respondents attached the greatest importance to the risk of COVID-19 infection within three months (45.53%), followed by loss of income within three months (30.69%). Vulnerable populations (lower-income and older respondents) are more sensitive to the risk of infection, and younger respondents are more sensitive to income loss and prefer non-suspension of socialization and transportation. Migrants, and respondents with a higher level of fatigue, have less acceptance of the mandatory booster vaccination and suspension of transportation. Additionally, a higher fatigue level was observed in females, younger respondents, migrants, and relatively lower-income respondents. Conclusion(s): Fatigue and fear of COVID-19 infection contributed to the public's mental health problem. Hence, at the late-stage pandemic, policymakers should consider reducing people's mental burden via relieving people's fear of infection when PHSMs are being relaxed. And this also provides insights for the outbreaks' PHSMs implementation in the future.Copyright © 2023
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 epidemic has caused serious and long-lasting health and social harm. Vaccination is considered as the most effective way to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic. Patients with mental disorders are at high risk of COVID-19 infection who are in urgent need to get protection. However, due to the particularity of their conditions, whether these patients should be vaccinated has become a tough issue that obsesses doctors, patients with mental disorders, and their families. In light of this issue, this article provides expert advice on the safety, legal and ethical issues of vaccination for patients with mental disorders to regulate the vaccination of these vulnerable populations against COVID-19.Copyright © 2022 Chinese Journal of Psychiatry. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
In this study, we investigated the household income of families with children. Our specific interest was the earned income losses during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and how social transfers have mitigated those losses. We assessed the monthly income levels by comparing the information on the year prior to pandemic to income levels during COVID‐19 pandemic. We found that the pandemic affected all studied subgroups of families with children, with the most negative economic influence in May 2020. In addition, our results indicate that in Finland the social transfers protected fairly well against the negative economic impacts of the pandemic among families with children, especially among vulnerable families (those with lowest income level prior COVID‐19, with low parental education, single‐parent families and families with non‐Finnish‐born parents). The information gained from this analysis can be useful in economic recovery during and after COVID‐19 pandemic, and when preparing for future challenges. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Social Welfare is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
Objective: To identify and describe the risk factors that increase susceptibility in older adults to infection by SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). Material(s) and Method(s): Descriptive, cross-sectional study in adults over 60 years, patients with a positive result (RT-PCR) were analysed to detect SARS-CoV-2. The study was carried out from May 17 to July 21, 2020. A multiple logistic regression model was used to analyse the risk factors of the study population. Result(s): 102 older adults were included with a mean age of 82.5 +/- 8.8 years, 55 (54%) were positive and 47 (46%) were negative. When analysing the risk factors related to higher mortality coupled with Covid-19 infection, the statistically significant variable was frailty, with an OR of 11.6 in frail adults compared to robust individuals (p-value = 0.024.) Conclusion(s): In the vulnerable population, risk factors must be identified and treated, but above all, such factors must be prevented in advance;early detection, isolation, effective treatment must be carried out as well as follow-up of contacts and prevention of the spread of the new virus to reduce mortality in vulnerable groups.Copyright © 2022 Sociedad Medica del Hospital General de Mexico. Published by Permanyer.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has produced mayhem and uncertainty for educational leaders in charge of organizations. This inquiry sought to provide insight into how superintendents and assistant superintendents made sense of their environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, sensemaking theory (Weick, 1995) was utilized as the conceptual framework to bring clarity and meaning-making for educational leaders as they led their organizations through local, state, national, and international crises. To this end, the focus of this inquiry was to gather school leader's insights into how they provided clarity to a disordered world, understood how they addressed vulnerable populations during the pandemic, recognized the role emotion played in constructing their realities, and determined if location within the state of Missouri played a role in the sensemaking process of superintendents and assistant superintendents.The researcher interviewed 23 participants in the state of Missouri and collected documents to answer the five research questions of the study. The study concluded participants made sense of the pandemic through a collaborative process using a political framework. Additionally, superintendents and assistant superintendents saw all students as vulnerable during the pandemic and expressed a variety of negative emotions. Finally, little variance occurred in superintendent sensemaking between small, medium, and large school districts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the elderly and people with comorbidities are most vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. With this, the challenges and threats posed to the vulnerable population require targeted interventions. While public health surveillance methods had developed recent advances to meet users' information needs, the volume and complexity of infectious disease data had increased, resulting in increasing difficulty to facilitate risk communication with the public and for decision-makers to make informed measures to protect the public's health. Moreover, the implementation of COVID-19 spatiotemporal disease surveillance strategies specifically targeting the vulnerable population in the Davao Region had been previously unexplored. This paper investigated the COVID-19 incidence in the Davao Region from 03 Mar 2020, the earliest recorded date of onset, to 31 Aug 2021 using geospatial tools. The variables were visualized through choropleth maps and graduated symbols, and subsequently examined through spatial autocorrelation and hotspot analysis. Hotspots across the region were observed to be in high-density areas. These areas pose greater risks of infection due to the presence of a high concentration of cases. However, high case fatality rates were found in far-flung municipalities where access to COVID-19 healthcare facilities is a dilemma. In the COVID-19 setting and future disease outbreaks similar to COVID-19, results from this study may provide insights to government offices and other related agencies to improve healthcare systems and programs such as providing and initiating tailor-fitted isolation and consultation mechanisms appropriate to the vulnerable population in a community. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Philippine Journal of Science is the property of Science & Technology Information Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
On Friday, March 13, 2020, academic and sport activities at a Mexican university were happening as on a normal day. However, the following Monday, students and teachers had to stay at home for an undefined period. In this work, we show how a course with problem-based learning (PBL) and social sustainability (SS) approaches was adapted to pandemic times. We start with the COVID-19 context at the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA) and then provide a theoretical overview of PBL, SS, Latin American self-produced quartiers, soccer in vulnerable communities, and general aspects about pandemic times. Following this, we discuss the methodology used for reaching out to vulnerable communities in Monterrey City, Mexico, using soccer as a strategy. The students conducted a project together with a non-governmental organization (NGO) whose main task is to promote this sport practice in vulnerable communities around the world. We conclude from our study that students need pedagogical platforms that allow them to respond to the requirements of different social groups, as well as to develop skills to face real problems.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To promote equity for intersectionally disaster-vulnerable individuals and address three literature gaps: (1) incremental effects of collective and self-efficacy as preparedness predictors, (2) differentiation of fear and perceived severity of a disaster, and (3) clarification of the relationship between fear and preparedness. METHODS: Due to infection risks associated with communal housing, early in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many universities permitted students to remain in campus housing only if they were housing insecure, including many international students. We surveyed intersectionally-vulnerable students and their partners at a southeast US university, N = 54, who were international (77.8%), Asian (55.6%), and/or housing insecure at baseline (79.6%). In 14 waves from May-October 2020, we assessed pandemic preparedness/response behaviors (PPRBs) and potential PPRB predictors. RESULTS: We examined within- and between-person effects of fear, perceived severity, collective efficacy, and self-efficacy on PPRBs. Within-person perceived severity and collective efficacy both significantly, positively predicted greater PPRBs. All effects of fear and self-efficacy were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived severity and confidence that one's actions positively impact one's community fluctuated throughout the pandemic and are linked to greater PPRB engagement. Public health messages and interventions to improve PPRB may benefit from emphasizing collective efficacy and accuracy over fear.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , Universities , Longitudinal Studies , Collective Efficacy , StudentsABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an abrupt transition from in-person to online learning in Spring 2020. Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of the transition on undergraduates during the period following the campus closure. Method: 131 psychology undergraduate students completed an online survey of how the COVID-19 closure had impacted their academics, online learning environment, and traumatic stress symptoms (using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for the DSM-5). Results: Most participants reported increased academic difficulty compared to before closure. Approximately 30% reported elevated traumatic stress symptoms. Greater traumatic stress was associated with greater difficulty completing assignments, more limited access to the internet and quiet places to study, and greater sibling-care responsibilities. Conclusions: The acute transition to online instruction posed academic and emotional challenges to many students, especially those from environments with competing demands or less access to academic supports. Follow-up evaluation is needed to determine whether these difficulties have persisted in subsequent semesters of online instruction. Teaching Implication: Instructors should anticipate the emotional and academic needs of students who are relatively unfamiliar with online instruction and consider ways to minimize negative environmental impacts and increase access to mental health resources.
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on COVID-19 and food security risk, capturing perceptions, drivers and household response measures. Using a mixed research design, the researchers investigated food security risk in Nkambe Cameroon during peak periods of COVID-19. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to 400 respondents and key informant interviews, and it was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed significant differences in the food security dynamics among COVID-19-infected and non-infected households (19% and 33%, respectively, p = 0.002), with non-infected households being more food secure than COVID-19-infected ones. Significant positive effects between variables, like age of respondent, household size, level of education and food security of affected households were identified. The regression model explains 82.8% of the food security determinants in the midst of COVID-19's peak period. Both COVID-19-infected and non-infected households responded to food insecurity through food rationing and consumption frequency rationing, instead of reducing food consumption frequency. The researchers recommend increasing the efficacy of safety nets and other social assistance programmes in the face of shocks by targeting households most vulnerable to COVID-19-induced food insecurity. Expanding this research agenda to other study sites with a gender lense can provide insights for food security policies post COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Public health emergencies impact the well-being of people and communities. Long-term emotional distress is a pervasive and serious consequence of high levels of crisis exposure and low levels of access to mental health care. At highest risk for mental health trauma are historically medically underserved and socially marginalized populations and frontline health care workers (HCWs). Current public health emergency response efforts provide insufficient mental health services for these groups. The ongoing mental health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has implications for the resource-strained health care workforce. Public health has an important role in delivering psychosocial care and physical support in tandem with communities. Assessment of US and international public health strategies deployed during past public health emergencies can guide development of population-specific mental health care. The objectives of this topical review were (1) to examine scholarly and other literature on the mental health needs of HCWs and selected US and international policies to address them during the first 2 years of the pandemic and (2) to propose strategies for future responses. We reviewed 316 publications in 10 topic areas. Two-hundred fifty publications were excluded, leaving 66 for this topical review. Findings from our review indicate a need for flexible, tailored mental health outreach for HCWs after disasters. US and global research emphasizes the dearth of institutional mental health support for HCWs and of mental health providers who specialize in helping the health care workforce. Future public health disaster responses must address the mental health needs of HCWs to prevent lasting trauma.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Disasters , Humans , Health Workforce , Pandemics , Mental Health , Emergencies , COVID-19/epidemiology , WorkforceABSTRACT
We report the case of a 19-year-old Native American woman who presented with bilateral lower extremity weakness due to spinal cord compression from late-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma. Hodgkin's lymphoma rarely has an initial presentation of spinal cord compression, except in cases of late-stage disease. The patient partially attributed her delayed pursuit of care to the difficulty of scheduling an appointment during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted access to care and the potential for early detection of disease, as seen in this patient. Additionally, Native Americans on South Dakota Reservations face unique challenges that affect access to healthcare and health outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Background: Literature on telehealth interventions for older adults has been primarily on asynchronous interventions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, older adult exercise programs transitioned to an online format. This systematic review and case study examines the effectiveness of older adult live video exercise group interventions on physical health with insights from a Los Angeles VA program, Gerofit. Methods: PubMed was searched for live video older adult exercise groups from database inception to November 2021. All eligible studies included assessments of physical health and were limited to participants with an average age of 65 years or greater. Ten Veterans, who had participated in both in-person and virtual Gerofit sessions, were surveyed in the case study. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Four studies included an equivalent in-person group as a comparator to the live video group and reported no significant between-group differences in outcomes, including energy expenditure and 6-minute walking distance test (6MWD). The other five studies reported statistically significant in-group improvement in outcomes including isokinetic knee strength. Case study participants reported similar attendance rates and perceived benefits, such as improved balance, when comparing virtual and in-person sessions. Discussion: Live video exercise groups in older adults demonstrated an improvement in physical function that was not statistically different from the comparison in-person sessions with the added benefit of averaging a higher attendance rate, providing initial support for the use of live video in older adult exercise programs. Insights from the case study supplement this by demonstrating older adults' positive attitude on these groups.