Evaluation of altered environmental conditions as a decontamination approach for SARS-CoV-2 when applied to aircraft related materials.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of altered environmental conditions, specifically elevated temperature at various levels of expected relative humidity (RH), on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 when applied to U.S. Air Force aircraft materials. METHODS AND RESULTS: SARS CoV-2 (USA-WA1/2020) was spiked (∼1 × 105 TCID50) in either synthetic saliva or lung fluid, dried onto porous (e.g. Nylon strap) and nonporous materials (e.g. bare aluminum, silicone, and ABS plastic), placed in a test chamber and exposed to environmental conditions ranging from 40 to 51.7 °C and RH ranging from 0% to 50%. The amount of infectious SARS-CoV-2 was then assessed at various timepoints from 0 to 2 days. Warmer test temperatures, higher RH, and longer exposure duration resulted in higher inactivation rates per material type. Synthetic saliva inoculation vehicle was more readily decontaminated compared to materials inoculated with synthetic lung fluid. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 was readily inactivated below limit of quantitation (LOQ) for all materials inoculated using synthetic saliva vehicle within 6 hours when exposed to environmental conditions of 51.7 °C and RH ≥ 25%. Synthetic lung fluid vehicle did not follow the general trend of an increase in RH resulting in increased efficacy. The lung fluid performed best at the 20%-25% RH range to achieve complete inactivation below LOQ.

Jail-Based Competency Restoration Services in the United States: The Need, the Controversy, the Impact of COVID-19, and Implications for Future Treatment Delivery.

Jail-based competency restoration largely emerged as a method to address the backlog at forensic hospitals around the United States, as the number of justice-involved persons in need of restoration outgrew available beds. Jail-based competency restoration units (JBCRUs) appear to be highly effective and cost-saving. However, after the COVID-19 outbreak, services at some JBCRUs were stalled, as providers were forced to either quickly initiate or ramp up technology use to maintain services. The present study describes the course of programming for a JBCRU in Fulton County, Georgia, prior to and after the onset of COVID-19, during which time all treatment shifted to telehealth. A matched comparison group of prepandemic defendants was used to compare in-person versus telehealth services and findings indicated that while defendants' length of stay remained effectively the same, the restoration rate for telehealth increased remarkably over prepandemic levels (χ2 = 10.1, p = .001). Such findings suggest that telehealth services are an effective mode of delivery for competency restoration.

Capability-informed competency approach to lifelong professional development

This article highlights how syndemic processes related to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, racial injustice, and economic instability serve as catalysts for transforming psychology education and training from a competency-based approach to a capability-informed competency model. This article overviews a syndemic theory to highlight the value of focusing on capabilities to enhance competence. It details the advantages of a capability-informed competency model for doctoral health service psychology education, training, and ultimately lifelong learning in which individuals are empowered to apply the diverse competencies they amass in new ways and settings to meet needs informed by the public good. To illustrate this approach, we provide examples of trainees' engagement and leadership in an academic health center's comprehensive response to the COVID-19 crisis, including transitioning neuropsychological assessment to a virtual platform, launching innovative services for frontline healthcare workers, facilitating antiracism programming, and designing and implementing interprofessional advocacy activities related to current social, economic, and health crises. These examples highlight new foci and strategies for a collaborative approach to socially responsive growth and development in psychology, ways to facilitate trainees' application of existing competencies to new domains, and faculty and trainee reactions regarding a shift toward a capability-informed competency approach. The article concludes with guiding principles for creating and implementing a culture that maximizes trainees' acquisition of traditional competencies and nurtures their capability to respond to social problems and facilitate the public good throughout the professional lifecycle. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Public Significance Statement-The syndemic processes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, and economic instability are profoundly impacting psychology education and training. This article highlights ways to capitalize on these syndemic processes to transform psychology education and training. It offers a blueprint for a capability-informed competency-based training culture that nurtures and empowers trainees to address societal problems in novel and creative ways throughout the course of their careers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)