Articles: pandemics.
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The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the COVID-19 pandemic and the instructional changes implemented in response to it affected student enrollment, retention, or success on the National Board for Respiratory Care credentialing examinations at an associate degree respiratory care program in the state of Texas. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic and the instructional changes implemented in response to it decreased students' first-time pass rate on the Therapist Multiple-Choice examination in the mid-pandemic group compared with the pre- and early-pandemic groups.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2022
A mixed methods investigation of behavioural drivers influencing Emergency Department attendance in Victoria during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
To identify behavioural drivers and barriers that may have contributed to changes in ED attendance during the first 10 months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Victoria. ⋯ Patients expressed increased concerns around attending ED during the first 10 months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and frequently cited COVID-19 as a reason for delaying their presentation. These factors would be amenable to mitigation via focussed public health messaging.
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Internal medicine journal · Oct 2022
Suboptimal COVID-19 vaccine uptake among hospitalised patients: an opportunity to improve vulnerable, hard-to-reach population vaccine rates.
COVID-19 vaccination represents a key preventative part of the Australian public health approach to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Hospital inpatients are frequently high risk for severe COVID-19 and death. Anecdotes of high-risk inpatients being unvaccinated and a lack of electronic medical record (EMR) visibility of COVID-19 vaccination status prompted the present study as these patients could represent a risk to themselves, staff, other patients and service provision. ⋯ Vaccine uptake in our cohort is suboptimal. Existing public health programmes have failed to reach this high-risk, vulnerable population. Changes to the national vaccination strategy to include a parallel inhospital programme for all hospital encounters and target culturally and linguistically diverse individuals might improve uptake among this high-risk, hard-to-reach group of patients.
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Workforce development for the respiratory therapy (RT) profession is a growing concern. Upcoming staffing difficulties are expected due to retirement, attrition from the profession, and decreased enrollment in accredited RT programs nationwide. This study assessed respiratory therapists' perceptions of staffing needs and future trajectory of the RT profession. ⋯ This study indicated a consistent perception of understaffed work environments in respiratory care, and respondents expressed a perceived importance of remaining in the RT profession. This study also indicated support for raising the entry-level standard in RT and a desire for higher education to achieve professional growth and advancement.
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Emergency department (ED) crowding and hallway care has been a serious problem for the past three decades in the United States and abroad. Myriad articles highlighting this problem and proposing solutions have had little impact on its progression. ⋯ ED crowding and hallway care will continue to worsen unless hospital leadership is willing to listen to ED staff concerns and address the problem on all levels of the hospital using previously proposed solutions. Emergency physicians should not fear termination for discussing this issue and its potential for poor clinical outcomes and ED staff morale.