ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a deep influence on American life in general and on the American economy in particular. However, the burden of the pandemic has not been distributed equally among members of a population based on their social-determinants-of-health. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the median income was associated with COVID-19 total number of tests and positivity rate in Boone County, Missouri during the pandemic. We analyzed the geospatial data using three heat maps showing the Census tract-wise COVID-19 positivity rate, Census tract-wise median income, and Census tract-wise total number of COVID-19 tests to highlight our study findings. Our study results support the hypothesis that individuals with lower median income tend to have a lower total number of COVID-19 tests and higher COVID-19 positivity rates in Boone County, Missouri. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the positivity rate and median income is -0.324.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Rural Population , Humans , Pandemics , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , Urban Population , IncomeABSTRACT
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to global healthcare, and inadequate education has been identified as a major challenge by the WHO. The human , animal and agricultural sectors contribute to the emergence of AMR. Gamification has emerged as an innovative tool to improve knowledge and change behaviours. Our study provides an overview of the literature on existing games in prescribers' education across the One Health sectors, with a particular focus on the impact of gamification on learning. Methods: Using the PRISMA guidelines, we searched Cochrane, PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar for articles related to gamification for future prescribers of antimicrobials from inception until 28 March 2023. Retrieval and screening of articles was done using a structured search protocol with strict inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results: A total of 120 articles were retrieved, of which 6 articles met the inclusion criteria for final analysis. High-income countries had the most studies, with one global study incorporating low- to middle-income countries. All games were evaluated in the human sector. Board and card games, featuring scoring and point systems, were the most prevalent game types. Most games focused on improving knowledge and prescribing behaviours of medical students, with bacteria or antibiotics as the only content. All studies highlighted the significant potential of gamification in mitigating AMR, promoting antimicrobial stewardship, and improving retention of information compared with conventional lectures. Conclusions: Our review found an absence of studies in the animal and environmental sectors, disproportionately focused on medical students with questionable sample size, inadequate assessment of game content and effectiveness, and opportunities for game developers.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had deep influence on American life. However, the burden of the pandemic has not been distributed equally among members of a population based on their demographic features. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether sex, age, race, and religion were associated with COVID-19 positivity rates in Boone County, Missouri over a 22-month period (March 15, 2020 to December 2, 2021) of the pandemic. We analyzed the data using age distribution histograms, two-way delta tables, and trend analysis graphs to highlight our study findings. We evaluated those graphs with each demographic feature across a collection of defined epochs of key events, such as vaccine release, Delta variant, vaccine boosters, and initial Omicron variant. Our results supported the hypothesis that males and minority races such as Black or African Americans and All-Other are more likely to have a higher COVID-19 positivity rate across our defined epochs.
ABSTRACT
Remote sensing (RS), satellite imaging (SI), and geospatial analysis have established themselves as extremely useful and very diverse domains for research associated with space, spatio-temporal components, and geography. We evaluated in this review the existing evidence on the application of those geospatial techniques, tools, and methods in the coronavirus pandemic. We reviewed and retrieved nine research studies that directly used geospatial techniques, remote sensing, or satellite imaging as part of their research analysis. Articles included studies from Europe, Somalia, the USA, Indonesia, Iran, Ecuador, China, and India. Two papers used only satellite imaging data, three papers used remote sensing, three papers used a combination of both satellite imaging and remote sensing. One paper mentioned the use of spatiotemporal data. Many studies used reports from healthcare facilities and geospatial agencies to collect the type of data. The aim of this review was to show the use of remote sensing, satellite imaging, and geospatial data in defining features and relationships that are related to the spread and mortality rate of COVID-19 around the world. This review should ensure that these innovations and technologies are instantly available to assist decision-making and robust scientific research that will improve the population health diseases outcomes around the globe.
