Project description:To understand and analyse the global impact of COVID-19 on outpatient services, inpatient care, elective surgery, and perioperative colorectal cancer care, a DElayed COloRectal cancer surgery (DECOR-19) survey was conducted in collaboration with numerous international colorectal societies with the objective of obtaining several learning points from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our colorectal cancer patients which will assist us in the ongoing management of our colorectal cancer patients and to provide us safe oncological pathways for future outbreaks.
Project description:Background:The number of cases from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has overwhelmed existing medical facilities and forced clinicians, patients, and families to make pivotal decisions with limited time and information. Main body:While machine learning (ML) methods have been previously used to augment clinical decisions, there is now a demand for "Emergency ML." Throughout the patient care pathway, there are opportunities for ML-supported decisions based on collected vitals, laboratory results, medication orders, and comorbidities. With rapidly growing datasets, there also remain important considerations when developing and validating ML models. Conclusion:This perspective highlights the utility of evidence-based prediction tools in a number of clinical settings, and how similar models can be deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic to guide hospital frontlines and healthcare administrators to make informed decisions about patient care and managing hospital volume.
Project description:The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between working conditions at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (spring 2020) and employees' mental wellbeing. According to the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, work intensification, increased difficulty in accomplishing work tasks, heightened risk of infection by COVID-19, and increasingly working from home may detrimentally relate to irritation. However, personal and job resources (e.g., occupational self-efficacy, social support) may buffer. Data from 680 employees from four European countries were analyzed by means of path analyses and polynomial regression. Work intensification was significantly positively associated with cognitive and affective irritation; other job demands were not. However, working from home prior to as well as during the pandemic was related to higher cognitive irritation. None of the moderators was of meaningful significance. Reducing work intensification as well as enduring home office seems to be crucial for interventions.
Project description:The Veterans Health Administration is chartered "to serve as the primary backup for any health care services needed…in the event of war or national emergency" according to a 1982 Congressional Act. This mission was invoked during the COVID-19 pandemic to divert clinical and research resources. We used an electronic mixed-methods questionnaire constructed using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation (COM-B) model for behavior change to study the effects of the pandemic on VHA researchers. The questionnaire was distributed electronically to 118 cancer researchers participating in national VHA collaborations. The questionnaire received 42 responses (36%). Only 36% did not feel that their research focus changed during the pandemic. Only 26% reported prior experience with infectious disease research, and 74% agreed that they gained new research skills. When asked to describe helpful support structures, 29% mentioned local supervisors, mentors, and research staff, 15% cited larger VHA organizations and 18% mentioned remote work. Lack of timely communication and remote work, particularly for individuals with caregiving responsibilities, were limiting factors. Fewer than half felt professionally rewarded for pursuing research related to COVID. This study demonstrated the tremendous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on research activities of VHA investigators. We identified perceptions of insufficient recognition and lack of professional advancement related to pandemic-era research, yet most reported gaining new research skills. Individualizing the structure of remote work and ensuring clear and timely team communication represent high yield areas for improvement.
Project description:Background/objectivesHistorical evidence shows a gender-based disproportionate effect of pandemics across different populations. In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began spreading its devastating effects worldwide. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on research productivity, work-life arrangements, and mental health of dental professionals worldwide with focus on gender differences.MethodsA 38-item survey, concerning demographics, career stage, employer support, family structure, mental health, and relationships, was distributed to 7692 active members of the International Association for Dental Research. Bivariate associations between independent variables and the primary outcome variable were tested using Spearman's correlation test. A logistic regression model was used to assess the simultaneous, independent associations between each variable and researcher productivity.ResultsA total of 722 responses were obtained, indicating a 9.4% response rate. Higher productivity was reported by male respondents (p = 0.021), and by those in senior career stages (p = 0.001). Institutional support was associated with higher productivity (p < 0.0001). Lower productivity was reported by younger researchers (p = 0.003). Remote work negatively affected productivity (p < 0.0001) and female respondents reported working more hours, regardless of work location (p = 0.004). Poor mental health was associated with low productivity (p < 0.0001).ConclusionsOur results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected dental professionals' perceived productivity and mental health around the globe. Younger individuals and women were disproportionally affected, and institutional support had a significant influence to mitigate effects of the pandemic for dental researchers.
Project description:The main objective of this study is to offer and evaluate an interim triage approach for patients waiting for surveillance colonoscopies. This will reduce the waiting period and the psychological stressors for our patients and from a scientific point of view allow us to compare the yield of findings for each approach.
Project description:There is emerging literature on the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students, but little is known about the impacts on undergraduate researchers (UGRs). On the basis of survey data collected in Summer 2020, this paper examines how less competent mentorship and COVID-19-related difficulties shaped UGRs' graduate school intentions. Results suggest that the pandemic strengthened UGRs' graduate school intentions when UGRs experienced fewer COVID-19-related difficulties. The pandemic weakened URG's graduate school intentions when they had a less competent faculty mentor. Having a more competent postgraduate mentor had a positive effect on UGRs' graduate school intentions in response to the pandemic. Those findings indicate that higher quality postgraduate mentorship may serve as an effective surrogate for lower quality faculty mentorship. Findings suggest that immediate strategies are needed to bolster graduate school aspirations among specific groups of UGRs in response to the pandemic. UGRs of particular concern include those who were highly impacted by COVID-19 with less competent mentors, were first-generation college students, had less prior research experience, had their Summer 2020 research experiences canceled, and were social/behavioral sciences majors.
Project description:BackgroundThere is a knowledge gap related to the resource needs of hospital nurses working during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.PurposeTo investigate nurses' perceptions of organizational resources and support needs approximately 18 months after the COVID-19 pandemic began.MethodCross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of 2,124 U.S. hospital nurses from July to September 2021 FINDINGS: There were some misalignments between what resources were provided to nurses and what was perceived as helpful to them. Nurses reported increased staffing, compensation, and management and leadership support most frequently as resources that could help them continue to provide safe and quality care during and after the pandemic. These were also the resources nurses most frequently reported that they wanted to be provided by their hospitals during the pandemic but were not.DiscussionThe findings offer valuable insights into how organizations can prepare to ensure workforce resilience during future crises.
Project description:Advances in Brazilian science made the country reach the 13th position in the world scientific production, and, in 2020, o Brazil was responsible for 2.39% of the world scientific production, reaching the 11th position among the countries that most published about COVID-19. The aim of this study was to contribute to and reflect on the issue of health researchers and graduate students in the scenario of COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic highlighted the importance of science in the outcome of public policies and the fragility of the research system in Brazil, where the workforce is mainly composed of graduate students, who often do not have ideal working conditions and are not included in the response plans to global public health emergencies. This text brings a reflection and a questioning on the role of health researchers and graduate students and reinforces the importance of discussing the work of researchers/scientists in a period of great uncertainty in society.