JMIR public health and surveillance
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · Jan 2021
COVID-19-Related Hospitalization Rates and Severe Outcomes Among Veterans From 5 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers: Hospital-Based Surveillance Study.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected older adults and certain racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Data quantifying the disease burden, as well as describing clinical outcomes during hospitalization among these groups, are needed. ⋯ COVID-19 surveillance at the 5 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers across the United States demonstrated higher hospitalization rates and severe outcomes among older veterans, as well as higher hospitalization rates among Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic Black veterans than among non-Hispanic White veterans. These findings highlight the need for targeted prevention and timely treatment for veterans, with special attention to older aged, Hispanic or Latino, and non-Hispanic Black veterans.
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · Jan 2021
Nowcasting for Real-Time COVID-19 Tracking in New York City: An Evaluation Using Reportable Disease Data From Early in the Pandemic.
Nowcasting approaches enhance the utility of reportable disease data for trend monitoring by correcting for delays, but implementation details affect accuracy. ⋯ Nowcasting using NobBS can effectively support COVID-19 trend monitoring. Accounting for overdispersion, shortening the moving window, and suppressing diagnoses on weekends-when fewer patients submitted specimens for testing-improved the accuracy of estimated case counts. Nowcasting ensured that recent decreases in observed case counts were not overinterpreted as true declines and supported officials in anticipating the magnitude and timing of hospitalizations and deaths and allocating resources geographically.
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · Jan 2021
YouTube Videos Demonstrating the Nasopharyngeal Swab Technique for SARS-CoV-2 Specimen Collection: Content Analysis.
Real-time polymerase chain reaction using nasopharyngeal swabs is currently the most widely used diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 detection. However, false negatives and the sensitivity of this mode of testing have posed challenges in the accurate estimation of the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. ⋯ Our findings show that over half of the videos documenting the nasopharyngeal swab test showed an incorrect technique, which could elevate false-negative test rates. Therefore, greater attention needs to be provided toward educating frontline health care workers who routinely perform nasopharyngeal swab procedures.
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · Jan 2021
Observational StudyImplementation of Telemedicine in a Tertiary Hospital-Based Ambulatory Practice in Detroit During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has forced the health care delivery structure to change rapidly. The pandemic has further widened the disparities in health care and exposed vulnerable populations. Health care services caring for such populations must not only continue to operate but create innovative methods of care delivery without compromising safety. We present our experience of incorporating telemedicine in our university hospital-based outpatient clinic in one of the worst-hit areas in the world. ⋯ There was a high acceptance of telemedicine services by the patients, which was evident by a high show rate during the COVID-19 pandemic in Detroit. With limited staffing, restricted outpatient work hours, a shortage of providers, and increased outpatient needs, telemedicine was successfully implemented in our practice.
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · Jan 2021
How Health Care Workers Wield Influence Through Twitter Hashtags: Retrospective Cross-sectional Study of the Gun Violence and COVID-19 Public Health Crises.
Twitter has emerged as a novel way for physicians to share ideas and advocate for policy change. #ThisIsOurLane (firearm injury) and #GetUsPPE (COVID-19) are examples of nationwide health care-led Twitter campaigns that went viral. Health care-initiated Twitter hashtags regarding major public health topics have gained national attention, but their content has not been systematically examined. ⋯ Tweets with health care-led hashtags expressed more positivity and more action-oriented language than the comparison hashtags. As social media is increasingly used for news discourse, public education, and grassroots organizing, the public health community can take advantage of social media's broad reach to amplify truthful, actionable messages around public health issues.