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The article focuses on the future of diagnostic testing in healthcare, highlighting the importance of testing in tracking and treating diseases like COVID-19. It discusses the advancements in diagnostic technology, including combination tests for multiple respiratory diseases and the rise of at-home testing, which will increase access to testing and empower patients to manage their health.
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The arrival of the pandemic which has affected the entire world, in addition to spreading fear due to the initial inability to manage the health crisis, has increased the fluidity and uncertainty in today's society. The system of social security itself has not only changed its contents, combining primordial material welfare with a relational type of well-being, but also its form. We have gone from the more conventional form of face-to-face relationships to the more innovative methods making us talk about e-welfare with the use of digital technology. If on the one hand the latter has removed the space-time barriers, connoting itself as smart welfare, on the other hand it has generated a digital divide, with the creation of the digitally poor. During the pandemic, schools, health care and social services have had to invent new operational methods on an experimental level by using cutting-edge organisations to meet their new needs. The aim of the article is therefore to shed light on these changes which are taking place by highlighting the operational and ethical implications of digitalisation in order to find a new approach to social work which has been seen as 'a beacon in the night of the pandemic'. L'avvento della pandemia che ha coinvolto l'intero globo, oltre a disseminare paura per l'iniziale incapacità di gestione dell'emergenza sanitaria, ha acuito le caratteristiche di fluidità e di incertezza della società attuale. Lo stesso sistema di protezione sociale ha cambiato non solo i suoi contenuti, affiancando al primordiale benessere materiale (welfare) un benessere di tipo relazionale (wellbeing), ma anche le sue forme. Si è passati da quelle più classiche che richiedevano esclusivamente un rapporto face to face a quelle più innovative che fanno parlare di un e-welfare che contempla l'uso del digitale. Quest'ultimo, se da un lato ha consentito l'abbattimento delle barriere spazio-temporali, connotandosi come smart welfare, dall'altro, ha generato un digital divide, facendo nascere il povero digitale. In piena pandemia la scuola, la sanità, il servizio sociale per fronteggiare i bisogni nuovi hanno dovuto inventare modalità operative inedite o agite solo a livello sperimentale da organizzazioni all'avanguardia. Scopo dell'articolo è pertanto quello di porre in luce questi cambiamenti in atto, evidenziando le implicazioni operative ed etiche del processo di digitalizzazione per ripensare ad un nuovo volto del lavoro sociale che ha rappresentato "un faro nella notte pandemica".
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There is minimal level of use of Computer-Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques (CAATTs) in developing nations regardless of its importance to audit productivity and cost reduction, and this holds particularly true in the public sector entities' internal audit departments. Accordingly, this article aims to explore how technological factors, such as relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, observability, and trialability, contribute to the use of CAATTs in Jordan's public sector internal audit during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on the profession's outcome. The study also seeks to evaluate how the use of these tools affects the effectiveness of internal auditing, with the IT knowledge of the auditors serving as a moderating variable. This study used 91 usable responses from the internal audit managers of Jordanian public sector institutions. The study used the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory to develop the proposed research model. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the study result indicated that technological factors, with the exception of complexity, had a positive and significant effect on CAATTs use in the public sector internal audit departments. Based on the findings, using CAATTs has a positive and significant effect on internal audit effectiveness and IT knowledge has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between CAATTs usage and internal audit effectiveness. Owing to the public sector significance to the economy of Jordan, the findings have implications for the internal audit profession, regulators, and decision-makers in proposing new legislation and regulations when it comes to internal audit. Further, through the lens of the social implications, this study proposed that CAATTs usage in public sector institutions can positively improve their capability to reach the role of internal audit in protective public funds and limiting corrupt practices in the public sector. The paper contributes to theory by providing insight into the effect of factors on the use of CAATTs in the public sector of Jordan. This study, to the best of the author's knowledge, is the first study that has tackled the moderating role of auditors' IT knowledge on the CAATTs use–internal audit effectiveness relationship in the public sector context.
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BACKGROUND: Drug overdose has become a leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Between 2000 and 2015, the rate of deaths from drug overdoses increased 137%, including a 200% increase in the rate of overdose deaths involving opioids (including opioid pain relievers and heroin). Unnecessary opioid prescribing is one of the factors driving this epidemic. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this paper is to share lessons learned while conducting a randomized trial to de-implement opioids for post-extraction pain management utilizing clinical decision support (CDS) with and without patient education. The lessons learned from conducting this trial in a real-world setting can be applied to future dissemination and implementation oral health research. METHODS: The sources informing lessons learned were generated from qualitative interviews conducted with 20 of the forty-nine dental providers involved in the study following the implementation phase of the trial. Ongoing policy, social and environmental factors were tracked throughout the study. RESULTS: Dental providers in the trial identified the impact of training that involved health professionals sharing information about the personal impact of pain and opioid use. Additionally, they found utility in being presented with a dashboard detailing their prescribing patterns related to other dentists. For the 30 general dentists with access to the CDS, use of its portal varied widely, with most using it 10%-49% of the time related to extractions. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of a downward trend in opioid prescribing and considering the influence of the COVID pandemic during the trial, dental providers indicated benefit in training about negative personal impacts of prescribing opioids, and personally relevant feedback about their prescribing patterns. Only modest use of the CDS was realized. Implementation of this trial was impacted by governmental and health system policies and the COVID pandemic, prompt the consideration of implications regarding continuing ways to limit opioid prescribing among dental providers.
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Analgesics, Opioid , COVID-19 , Humans , United States/epidemiology , Analgesics, Opioid/adverse effects , Group Practice, Dental , Practice Patterns, Dentists' , PainABSTRACT
PurposeAlthough prefabricated construction (PC) technology has attracted considerable attention worldwide because of its significant role in the global fight against COVID-19, market-driven adoption is still limited. The mechanisms for PC technology adoption have yet to be defined, which inhibits its diffusion in the construction market. This study aims to reveal the intrinsic motivation and action mechanism for PC technology adoption.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the technology acceptance model (TAM), the study integrates characteristics from the diffusion of innovation theory to propose a multifaceted model for explaining practitioners' PC technology adoption behavior from technology, organization and environment contexts. The proposed theoretical model was empirically examined via a survey of 234 professionals in mainland China using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique.FindingsThe outcomes indicated that relative advantage, corporate social responsibility and market demand are significantly positively related to practitioners' perceived usefulness from PC technology. Regulatory support and trading partner support have noticeable positive effects on practitioners' perceived ease of use from PC technology. Perceived ease of use is found to positively influence perceived usefulness, and both of them have a positive influence on the attitude toward adopting PC technology. Attitude is further confirmed as an important predictor of adoption intention, which would lead to actual PC technology adoption behavior.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to explore industry perceptions toward PC technology adoption, providing valuable guidance for the effective diffusion of PC technology and laying a reliable foundation for research on other construction innovation adoption in post-COVID-19.
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, higher education shifted from face-to-face to online education and teachers had various perspectives about remedying the challenges of this mandatory situation. Drawing on the diffusion of innovation theory as a theoretical lens to better understand the change in the adoptions of the faculty during the pandemic, we surveyed 307 academics with an online questionnaire. The results indicated that the adopters in this study were innovators (11%), early adopters (23%), early majority (18%), late majority (22%), and laggards (26%), revealing somewhat different percentages from the values in the theoretical model. This can be explained by the fact that innovations that require an emergency situation bring about changes in the values of the adopter categories. Examining the questionnaire data, we categorised the results as support, functionality, guidance, interaction, adaptation and the features of synchronous lessons influencing the diffusion of innovation during the new emergency teaching condition. The adoption process was discussed through the factors influencing these dimensions. The implications of notable findings and directions for future studies have been provided.Implications for practice or policy:* Academics may have better online learning experiences in various designs and applications at universities.* Academics may be prepared for unexpected teaching situations with adequate and appropriate organisational, technical and learning support to achieve quality outputs.* All educational institutions, academics, and universities in particular, can be guided to adopt technologies more easily and quickly in such situations as future pandemics, wars, etc.
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The world of the COVID-19 pandemic is an anomalous biosphere with nothing to be forecasted. The main concern of every individual is focused on keeping themselves safe from infection. This need of keeping oneself safe has raised an alarming situation and resulted into quasi self-quarantines and self-imposed seclusion. The pandemic has increasingly put pressure on the healthcare system of different countries, wherein the countries with the limited number of doctors and health staff are finding it increasingly difficult for all intent and purposes to treat the patients. To lay off the load of medical staff all around the world, different countries have adopted their own unique technique of handling the calamity. One of the creations is applications on smartphones. This has resulted in increasing awareness, self-detection of coronavirus symptoms among the population. These applications were designed to increase awareness among individuals of any risk in their surroundings. It has been developed by corporates, governments and NGOs. The Indian government also launched its own indigenous app named Aarogya Setu (Bridge of Health) to capacitate people to handle and self-detect coronavirus symptoms. The present case is an effort to understand the adoption of Aarogya Setu app from the eye of diffusion of innovation. Case Objective Objectives of the case are to make readers aware about the coronavirus-related applications launched during pandemic, criteria for diffusion of innovation and the concepts of adoption.
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Fern Raven, advanced nurse (clinical) practitioner, explains how her role and its associated innovations have helped to improve mental health and wellbeing among foundation year doctors at her trust.
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Purpose: Generally, the use of cloud-based services has proliferated all around the world. This tendency increased dramatically during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when many people were obliged to conduct business remotely. This research study aims to investigate the intentions to adopt (IA) cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in Jordan, as this sort of research is scarce in developing countries. Specifically, this research study combined the model of Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, in addition to looking at COVID-19 as a moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 60 participants working in Jordanian companies that currently use, or have the intention to use, cloud-based ERP systems. An online questionnaire was developed and used to collect responses. The study hypotheses were examined statistically using simple regression analysis and hierarchical multiple regression. Findings: The study results clearly indicate that complexity, observability, employee information technology (IT) skills, organizational culture (OC) and top management support significantly affect the intention to adopt cloud-based ERP systems. In contrast, relative advantage (RA), compatibility, trialability, regulatory environment and competitive pressure had no significant effect on adoption intention. Interestingly, the advent of COVID-19 increased the intention to adopt cloud-based ERP systems. Research limitations/implications: The study's findings will provide theoretical and practical suggestions for the effective adoption of cloud ERP in Jordan, as well as aiding other developing nations in comparable situations in implementing cloud-based ERP systems. Originality/value: The study enriches the knowledge and further examines the underlying reasons for adopting cloud-based ERP systems in a developing country. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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An introduction is presented in which the authors discuss various reports within the issue on topics including evidence-based building community group curriculum that can be used by group workers to facilitate multiculturalism, social justice advocacy and civic engagement, how counselors can utilize a neuroscience-informed framework to facilitate groups for children and adolescents and the impact of groups that were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In this digital age, it is imperative that elementary schools incorporate digital technology with pedagogy. The purpose of this quantitative study was to apply Rogers' (2003) Diffusion of Innovation Theory to identify factors that impact elementary teacher integration of digital technology. This study utilized digital surveys to gather data relating teacher perceptions of the attributes of digital technology, their level of technology integration in the classroom, as well as their perceptions of the technology adoption of the other teachers in their building. This study found that relative advantage had the greatest impact on teacher integration of technology prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this study found that teacher perceptions of digital technology integration changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings indicate the need for educational leaders to focus on the advantages of new innovations to increase adoption and implementation. Also, crisis situations like a global pandemic have the potential to change adopter perceptions of an innovation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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BACKGROUND: Opioid addiction and overdose is a public health problem in the United States and is expected to remain with substance use increasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities that approach this issue through multi-sector partnerships experience more positive health outcomes. Understanding motivation for stakeholder engagement in these efforts is essential to successful adoption, implementation, and sustainability particularly in the shifting landscape of needs and resources. METHODS: A formative evaluation was conducted on the C.L.E.A.R. Program in Massachusetts, a state heavily impacted by the opioid epidemic. A stakeholder power analysis identified appropriate stakeholders for the study (n = 9). The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) guided data collection and analysis. Surveys (n = 8) examined perception and attitudes on the program; motivations and communication for engagement; and, benefits and barriers to collaboration. Stakeholder interviews (n = 6) explored the quantitative findings in more detail. Surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a content analysis with deductive approach was conducted for stakeholder interviews. The Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory guided recommendations for communications to engage stakeholders. RESULTS: Agencies represented a range of sectors and the majority (n = 5) were familiar with the C.L.E.A.R. PROGRAM: Despite the many strengths of the program and existing collaboration, based on the coding densities of each CFIR construct stakeholders identified crucial gaps in the services the program provided and noted that the overall infrastructure of the program could be enhanced. Opportunities for strategic communication to address the stages of DOI align with the gaps identified in the CFIR domains to result in increased agency collaboration and expansion of services into the surrounding communities to ensure sustainability of the C.L.E.A.R. CONCLUSIONS: This study explored factors necessary for ongoing multi-sector collaboration and sustainability of an existing community-based program especially given the changing context from COVID-19. Findings informed both program revisions and communication strategies to promote the program to new and existing collaborating agencies and the community served, and identify effective communication approaches across sectors. This is essential for successful implementation and sustainability of the program, especially as it is adapted and expanded to address post-pandemic times. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study does not report results of a health care intervention on human participants, however it was reviewed and determined an exempt study with the Boston University Institutional Review Board (IRB #H-42107).
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COVID-19 , Opiate Overdose , Humans , United States , Pandemics , COVID-19/prevention & control , Delivery of Health Care/methods , CommunicationABSTRACT
The article details how Queensland University of Technology (QUT) adapted its traditional approach to simulation within the Bachelor of Nursing course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics discussed include key composition of simulation classes, opportunity to practice and consolidate skills learned during simulation, and student engagement in the traditional versus simulation approach.
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The rapid global spread of COVID-19 has put increased pressure on health and social service providers, including social workers who continued front line practice throughout the pandemic, engaging with some of the most vulnerable in society often experiencing multiple adversities alongside domestic violence and abuse (DVA). Movement restrictions and stay-at-home orders introduced to slow the spread of the virus, paradoxically leave these families at even greater risk from those within the home. Utilising a survey methodology combining both open- and closed-ended questions, this study captured a picture of social work practice in Ireland with families experiencing DVA during the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings highlight both the changes and challenges in work practices and procedures that limit social work assessment and quality contact with families, changes to the help-seeking behaviours from victims/survivors, as well as emerging innovative practice responses with enhanced use of technology. Implications for practice include an increased awareness of the risk and prevalence of DVA accelerated by the pandemic. Conclusions assert that social work assessment and intervention with families experiencing DVA must remain adaptive to the changing COVID-19 context and continue to develop innovative practice approaches.
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The article describes the condition of people with disabilities during the pandemic. Topics discussed include case of 35-year-old deaf-blind woman Diyya Goel who was denied an interpreter at two telemedicine doctors' appointments during the pandemic, proportion of adults in the U.S. who have some sort of disability according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and problem with the accelerating shift toward at-home testing that used to be done in doctors' offices.
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In this article author focuses on perspective and context on various international pharmacopoeias and regulatory requirements, monographs, reference standards, and protocols.
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This study characterises the ombuds office in higher education as an innovative practice of handling employee, staff, and student grievances. Though ombuds offices have had a place on many higher education campuses for some time, their function has evolved in response to a changing environment. Drawing on Open-Systems theory, this study views the COVID-19 pandemic as both a challenge and an opportunity for universities to revisit their grievance handling practices and to devise best practices for a post-pandemic world. This study examines this assumption in the case of public higher education institutions in the State of Texas, using data from university websites and an online survey administered between March 2021 and May 2021. The study suggests that the new practices that ombuds offices have devised during the pandemic will serve as a toolbox that has the potential to place these offices on the track of sustainability in the post-COVID time. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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Granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) can only be utilized upon declaration that a specialized set of circumstances exist which justify the authorization. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic demanded rapid communication strategies to promote treatment options available through EUA. Despite the authorizations of available monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments in November 2020, their rate of adoption among health care providers in the U.S. remained low well into 2021. This study examines the accelerators and barriers to provider adoption of COVID-19 treatment so that future adoption of treatments in emerging public health emergencies may be better communicated and hastened. We established a framework informed by adoption accelerators and barriers identified by Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) Theory and conducted a study during the rapidly evolving COVID-19 public health emergency. Most DoI public health research focuses on chronic health issues and has yet to be applied to provider adoption of new treatment under EUA. Through a series of guided interviews with health care providers, primarily physicians or nurse practitioners that were responsible for referring COVID-19 patients, we extracted tools, processes, or other mechanisms (accelerators) and barriers to validate against our DoI framework and fill the gap regarding emergency situations. Our research found that providers supported by large health systems were more inclined to adoption, due to many contributing factors such as the availability of collaborative support and availability of information. Further, communicating evidence-based summaries of treatment options and related processes was also critical to adoption.