Articles: pandemics.
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To mitigate the harms of arrest and incarceration on health and racial equity, jurisdictions are increasingly enacting reforms to decriminalize drug possession through prosecutorial discretion (de facto). Impacts on health outcomes rely on whether this policy can reduce exposure to the carceral system among people who use drugs; however, data evaluating effects on arrest are lacking. This study explores the possible impacts of Baltimore City's enactment of de facto decriminalization on arrests by race. ⋯ De facto decriminalization may be a promising strategy to reduce exposure to the carceral system, an established risk factor for overdose and other drug-related sequelae and a driver of racial disparities in the U.S. Further research is needed to elucidate the drivers of persisting racial disparities and disentangle policy effects from pandemic-related closures.
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To assess the prevalence of panic disorder during the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ In non-selected consecutive primary care attendees in real-world conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of panic disorder was 5.3%, being more frequent in women. There is a need to enhance primary care resources for mental health care during the duration of the pandemic and beyond.
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This study aims to understand the learning preferences and perception of medical laboratory technologists on sudden shift from offline to online training sessions during COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Medical laboratory technologists adapted well to the sudden shift from offline to online continuous development programs. However, efficient managerial mechanisms to address the major perceived hurdles and designing a multimodal training module to accommodate the learning preferences of our technologists can ensure enthusiastic participation and effective learning among medical laboratory technologists.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2023
Evolving swabbing practices for COVID-19 in a New Zealand emergency department during the early stages of an emerging pandemic.
To review if tests for suspected COVID-19 were performed according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) case definitions, identify patterns associated with testing outside of the case definition, and discuss the potential impacts on hospital services. ⋯ There were associations found between testing outside of criteria and specific variables potentially perceived as high-risk. Poor alignment of testing with case definitions can impact hospital services through the (mis)use of limited laboratory testing capacity and implications for resource management. Improved communication and feedback between clinicians and policymakers may improve case definition implementation in a clinical setting.
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To describe trends in US health care spending in a large, national, and commercially insured population during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic induced a spending shock in 2020, and health care spending did not recover to near baseline until mid-2021, with some emerging evidence of pent-up demand. The observed spending below baseline through the end of 2021 will pose challenges to setting spending benchmarks for alternative payment and shared savings models.