Articles: pandemics.
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · May 2020
Emergency Response to COVID-19 in Canada: Platform Development and Implementation for eHealth in Crisis Management.
Public health emergencies like epidemics put enormous pressure on health care systems while revealing deep structural and functional problems in the organization of care. The current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic illustrates this at a global level. The sudden increased demand on delivery systems puts unique pressures on pre-established care pathways. These extraordinary times require efficient tools for smart governance and resource allocation. ⋯ Data and web-based approaches in response to a public health crisis are key to evidence-driven oversight and management of public health emergencies.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · May 2020
Public Health Response to COVID-19 Cases in Correctional and Detention Facilities - Louisiana, March-April 2020.
Correctional and detention facilities face unique challenges in the control of infectious diseases, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (1-3). Among >10 million annual admissions to U. S. jails, approximately 55% of detainees are released back into their communities each week (4); in addition, staff members at correctional and detention facilities are members of their local communities. ⋯ During April 8-22, CMAR telephone-based assessments were conducted with 13 of 31 (42%) facilities with laboratory-confirmed cases and 11 of 113 (10%) facilities without known cases. Administrators had awareness and overall understanding of CDC guidance for prevention of transmission in these facilities but reported challenges in implementation, related to limited space to quarantine close contacts of COVID-19 patients and inability of incarcerated and detained persons to engage in social distancing, particularly in dormitory-style housing. CMAR was a useful tool that helped state and federal public health officials assist multiple correctional and detention facilities to better manage COVID-19 patients and guide control activities to prevent or mitigate transmission.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · May 2020
Identification and Monitoring of International Travelers During the Initial Phase of an Outbreak of COVID-19 - California, February 3-March 17, 2020.
The threat of introduction of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) into the United States with the potential for community transmission prompted U. S. federal officials in February 2020 to screen travelers from China, and later Iran, and collect and transmit their demographic and contact information to states for follow-up. During February 5-March 17, 2020, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) received and transmitted contact information for 11,574 international travelers to 51 of 61 local health jurisdictions at a cost of 1,694 hours of CDPH personnel time. ⋯ Effectiveness of COVID-19 screening and monitoring in travelers to California was limited by incomplete traveler information received by federal officials and transmitted to states, the number of travelers needing follow-up, and the potential for presymptomatic and asymptomatic transmission. More efficient methods of collecting and transmitting passenger data, including electronic provision of flight manifests by airlines to federal officials and flexible text-messaging tools, would help local health jurisdictions reach out to all at-risk travelers quickly, thereby facilitating timely testing, case identification, and contact investigations. State and local health departments should weigh the resources needed to implement incoming traveler monitoring against community mitigation activities, understanding that the priorities of each might shift during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that significantly impacts people living with diabetes. Diabetes-related factors of glycemic control, medication pharmacodynamics, and insulin access can impact the severity of a COVID-19 infection. In this commentary, we explore how digital health can support the diabetes community through the pandemic. ⋯ However, the ability to share these data back to the clinic to inform virtual care and enhance diabetes coaching and guidance remains a challenge. In the end, it requires an unnecessarily high level of technical sophistication on the clinic's part and on those living with diabetes to routinely use their diabetes device data in clinic visits, virtual or otherwise. As the world comes together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, close collaboration among the global diabetes community is critical to understand and manage the sustained impact of the pandemic on people living with diabetes.