Effects of the information-driven awareness on epidemic spreading on multiplex networks.

In this study, we examine the impact of information-driven awareness on the spread of an epidemic from the perspective of resource allocation by comprehensively considering a series of realistic scenarios. A coupled awareness-resource-epidemic model on top of multiplex networks is proposed, and a Microscopic Markov Chain Approach is adopted to study the complex interplay among the processes. Through theoretical analysis, the infection density of the epidemic is predicted precisely, and an approximate epidemic threshold is derived. Combining both numerical calculations and extensive Monte Carlo simulations, the following conclusions are obtained. First, during a pandemic, the more active the resource support between individuals, the more effectively the disease can be controlled; that is, there is a smaller infection density and a larger epidemic threshold. Second, the disease can be better suppressed when individuals with small degrees are preferentially protected. In addition, there is a critical parameter of contact preference at which the effectiveness of disease control is the worst. Third, the inter-layer degree correlation has a "double-edged sword" effect on spreading dynamics. In other words, when there is a relatively lower infection rate, the epidemic threshold can be raised by increasing the positive correlation. By contrast, the infection density can be reduced by increasing the negative correlation. Finally, the infection density decreases when raising the relative weight of the global information, which indicates that global information about the epidemic state is more efficient for disease control than local information.

Validation of a Crisis Standards of Care Model for Prioritization of Limited Resources During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Crisis in an Urban, Safety-Net, Academic Medical Center.

OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has overwhelmed healthcare resources even in wealthy nations, necessitating rationing of limited resources without previously established crisis standards of care protocols. In Massachusetts, triage guidelines were designed based on acute illness and chronic life-limiting conditions. In this study, we sought to retrospectively validate this protocol to cohorts of critically ill patients from our hospital. DESIGN: We applied our hospital-adopted guidelines, which defined severe and major chronic conditions as those associated with a greater than 50% likelihood of 1- and 5-year mortality, respectively, to a critically ill patient population. We investigated mortality for the same intervals. SETTING: An urban safety-net hospital ICU. PATIENTS: All adults hospitalized during April of 2015 and April 2019 identified through a clinical database search. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 365 admitted patients, 15.89% had one or more defined chronic life-limiting conditions. These patients had higher 1-year (46.55% vs 13.68%; p < 0.01) and 5-year (50.00% vs 17.22%; p < 0.01) mortality rates than those without underlying conditions. Irrespective of classification of disease severity, patients with metastatic cancer, congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and neurodegenerative disease had greater than 50% 1-year mortality, whereas patients with chronic lung disease and cirrhosis had less than 50% 1-year mortality. Observed 1- and 5-year mortality for cirrhosis, heart failure, and metastatic cancer were more variable when subdivided into severe and major categories. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with major and severe chronic medical conditions overall had 46.55% and 50.00% mortality at 1 and 5 years, respectively. However, mortality varied between conditions. Our findings appear to support a crisis standards protocol which focuses on acute illness severity and only considers underlying conditions carrying a greater than 50% predicted likelihood of 1-year mortality. Modifications to the chronic lung disease, congestive heart failure, and cirrhosis criteria should be refined if they are to be included in future models.

When Scarcity Meets Disparity: "Resources Allocation and COVID-19 Patients with Diabetes".

The COVID-19 pandemic raised distinct challenges in the field of scarce resource allocation, a long-standing area of inquiry in the field of bioethics. Policymakers and states developed crisis guidelines for ventilator triage that incorporated such factors as immediate prognosis, long-term life expectancy, and current stage of life. Often these depend upon existing risk factors for severe illness, including diabetes. However, these algorithms generally failed to account for the underlying structural biases, including systematic racism and economic disparity, that rendered some patients more vulnerable to these conditions. This paper discusses this unique ethical challenge in resource allocation through the lens of care for patients with severe COVID-19 and diabetes.

Hospital Nursing Staff Perceptions of Resources Provided by Their Organizations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has profoundly impacted the health and psychological well-being of hospital nursing staff. While additional support is needed to better cope with increased job stressors, little is known about what types of hospital resources have been provided and how nursing staff perceive them. This study addressed this gap by describing nursing staff perceptions of resources provided by hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. METHODS: Registered nurses and nursing assistants who were working in hospitals during the pandemic were recruited to an online survey via social media posts and emails between May and June 2020. A total of 360 free-text responses to an open-ended survey question were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Over half of participants reported being provided with hospital resources. "Basic needs" resources that included food on-site, groceries, and childcare support were the most frequently reported compared with four other types of resources (personal health and safe practice, financial support, managerial support, communication). Four themes emerged related to staff perceptions of support: community support, unequal benefits, decreasing resources, and insufficient personal protective equipment. CONCLUSION: Our findings can assist organizational leaders in the planning and allocation of different types of resources that are meaningful to nursing staff and thus ensure sustainability, optimal performance, and worker well-being during crises.

Allocation of pharmaceutical resources in maternal and child healthcare institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the outbreak of a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, the disease was later officially named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), quickly spreading globally. Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable during disasters and emergencies. Comprehensive and applicable emergency preparedness and response are definitely important methods to prevent and contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The rational allocation of pharmaceutical resources plays an important role in the medical emergency plan. This paper aimed to share experiences for the allocation of pharmaceutical resources in hospitals focusing primarily on women and children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 and food and nutritional (in)security: action by the Brazilian Federal Government during the pandemic, with budget cuts and institutional dismantlement. / COVID-19 e (in)segurança alimentar e nutricional: ações do Governo Federal brasileiro na pandemia frente aos desmontes orçamentários e institucionais.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses one of this century's greatest public health challenges, with impacts on the health and living conditions of populations worldwide. The literature has reported that the pandemic affects the hegemonic food system in various ways. In Brazil, the pandemic amplifies existing social, racial, and gender inequalities, further jeopardizing the Human Right to Adequate Food (HRAF) and the attainment of food and nutritional security, especially among more vulnerable groups. In this context, the article aims to analyze the first measures by the Brazilian Federal Government to mitigate the pandemic's effects and that may have repercussions on food and nutritional security, considering the recent institutional changes in policies and programs. A narrative literature review was performed, and the information sources were the bulletins of the Center for Coordination of Operations by the Crisis Committee for Supervising and Monitoring the Impacts of COVID-19 and homepages of various government ministries, from March to May 2020. The actions were systematized according to the guidelines of the National Policy for Food and Nutritional Security. The analysis identified the creation of institutional crisis management arrangements. The proposed actions feature those involving access to income, emergency aid, and food, such as authorization for food distribution outside schools with federal funds from the National School Feeding Program. However, the setbacks and dismantlement in food and nutritional security may undermine the Federal Government's capacity to respond to COVID-19.

A pandemia por COVID-19 representa um dos maiores desafios da saúde pública deste século, causando impactos na saúde e nas condições de vida das populações em todo o mundo. Tem sido apontado pela literatura que a pandemia afeta de diversas formas o sistema alimentar hegemônico. No Brasil, a pandemia amplifica as desigualdades sociais, raciais e de gênero já existentes, comprometendo ainda mais a garantia do Direito Humano à Alimentação Adequada (DHAA) e a concretização da segurança alimentar e nutricional, especialmente entre os mais vulneráveis. Nesse contexto, este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as primeiras ações, em âmbito federal, do governo brasileiro para a mitigação dos efeitos da pandemia que podem repercutir na segurança alimentar e nutricional, considerando as recentes mudanças institucionais das políticas e programas. Foi realizada uma revisão narrativa da literatura e utilizado como fontes de informação os boletins do Centro de Coordenação de Operações do Comitê de Crise para Supervisão e Monitoramento dos Impactos da COVID-19 e homepages de ministérios setoriais, de março a maio de 2020. As ações foram sistematizadas segundo as diretrizes da Política Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional. Foi identificada a criação de arranjos institucionais para o gerenciamento da crise. Dentre as ações propostas, destacam-se aquelas relacionadas ao acesso à renda, como o auxílio emergencial, e a alimentos, como a autorização para a distribuição de alimentos fora do ambiente escolar com os recursos federais do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar. No entanto, os retrocessos e desmontes na área de segurança alimentar e nutricional podem comprometer a capacidade de resposta do Governo Federal no contexto da COVID-19.

La pandemia por COVID-19 representa uno de los mayores desafíos de la salud pública de este siglo, causando impactos en la salud y condiciones de vida de las poblaciones en todo el mundo. Se ha señalado por parte de la literatura que la pandemia afecta de diversas formas el sistema alimentario hegemónico. En Brasil, la pandemia amplifica las desigualdades sociales, raciales y de género ya existentes, comprometiendo todavía más la garantía del Derecho Humano a la Alimentación Adecuada (DHAA) y la concretización de la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional, especialmente entre los más vulnerables. En este contexto, el objetivo de este artículo es analizar las primeras acciones, en el ámbito federal, del gobierno brasileño para la mitigación de los efectos de la pandemia que puedan repercutir en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional, considerando los recientes cambios institucionales de las políticas y programas. Se realizó una revisión narrativa de la literatura y se utilizaron como fuentes de información los boletines del Centro de Coordinación de Operaciones del Comité de Crisis para la Supervisión y Monitoreo de los Impactos de la COVID-19 y homepages de ministerios sectoriales, de marzo a mayo de 2020. Las acciones se sistematizaron según las directrices de la Política Nacional de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional. Se identificó la creación de soluciones institucionales para la gestión de la crisis. Entre las acciones propuestas, se destacan aquellas relacionadas con el acceso a la renta, como el apoyo de emergencia, y de alimentos, como la autorización para la distribución de alimentos fuera del ambiente escolar con los recursos federales del Programa Nacional de Alimentación Escolar. No obstante, los retrocesos y recortes en el área de seguridad alimentaria y nutricional pueden comprometer la capacidad de respuesta del Gobierno Federal en el contexto de la COVID-19.