Articles: pandemics.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2021
Palliative Care Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Qualitative Study of Palliative Care Clinicians.
COVID-19 created unprecedented demand for palliative care at a time when in-person communication was highly restricted, straining efforts to care for patients and families. ⋯ COVID-19 forced hospital systems to consider the inclusion of palliative care in unforeseen ways due to an uncontrollable, unpredictable disease. Faced with unprecedented uncertainty, palliative care clinicians utilized strategies for integration and innovation across hospitals, particularly in intensive care units and emergency departments. A need to build capacity through increased primary palliative care access and training was identified.
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The recently discovered Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly burst into the public and scientific eye, being detected in more than 26 countries around the world. Given its more than 50 mutations, there is widespread concern about its public health impact, leading the World Health Organization to designate it a variant of concern. This Commentary provides a summary of current knowledge and unknowns about this viral variant as of December 2, 2021 and summarizes the key questions that need to be rapidly answered.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on primary care throughout Europe and globally. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impacted on primary care at both service and patient levels, and various strategies to mitigate these impacts have been described. Future research examining the pandemic's ongoing impacts on primary care, as well as strategies to mitigate these impacts, is a priority.
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People with an intellectual disability are a vulnerable group during COVID-19 due to multi-morbidity, frailty, underlying conditions/health problems, social circumstances and limitations in understanding. This place them at greater risk of more severe outcomes from COVID-19. ⋯ There is limited good quality robust research on COVID-19 and people with intellectual disability and/or their carers experiences.
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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Excess Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March to December 2020.
Although racial/ethnic disparities in U.S. COVID-19 death rates are striking, focusing on COVID-19 deaths alone may underestimate the true effect of the pandemic on disparities. Excess death estimates capture deaths both directly and indirectly caused by COVID-19. ⋯ National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program.