Articles: pandemics.
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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fluctuating nurse resignation rates highlighted an understudied area in healthcare: post-pandemic challenges in clinical settings. This study, conducted from May to November 2023, employed a qualitative inquiry using focus groups to delve into these challenges. Six focus group sessions, involving 33 nurse participants recruited through snowball sampling from various hospital settings were conducted to explore their clinical experiences during and after the pandemic. ⋯ This research deepens understanding of post-pandemic nursing workforce challenges in Taiwan, highlighting the need for policy evolution to enhance recognition and support for the nursing industry. It is suggested to provide tangible compensation to acknowledge nurses' daily care and health education for patients. A healthier working environment can be enhanced by collaborative efforts between healthcare institutions and nurses.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Nov 2024
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAnaesthesia healthcare workers' interactions with COVID-19-positive and -suspect patients: A multi-site observational study from Queensland, Australia.
Occupationally acquired COVID-19 is a hazard for healthcare workers (HCWs). In four hospitals of the Metro North Hospitals and Health Service in Queensland, Australia, we invited HCWs to report the nature of any anaesthesia interactions with COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-suspect patients. This was to assist workforce planning in future pandemics. ⋯ Of 12 HCWs who subsequently tested positive to COVID-19, only four had cared for a COVID-19-positive patient in the two weeks prior to their diagnosis. Most responding HCWs perceived they contracted COVID-19 in the community, experiencing mild illness. We found relatively low COVID-19 case numbers, high PPE use and low transmission of COVID-19 within the hospital setting.
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Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2024
Adolescent Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen Self-Poisoning, 2017-2022.
Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are the most common agents involved in adolescent self-poisoning. With increasing suicidality observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, we sought to compare overdose trends, severity, and outcomes for both agents. ⋯ Given the increased hospitalization and treatment resources needed for acetaminophen overdoses compared with ibuprofen, it is time to implement acetaminophen packaging policy change to protect US adolescents.
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Same-day mastectomy (SDM) protocols have been shown to be safe, and their use increased up to 4-fold compared with prepandemic rates. We sought to identify factors that predict overnight patient admission and evaluate the associated cost of care. ⋯ Preoperative opioid use, American Society of Anesthesiology class, longer postanesthesia care unit length of stay, and PST after noon predict a higher likelihood of admission after planned SDM. OAM translated to higher cost but not to decreased profit for the hospital.
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Pandemic-era social and political tensions may have accelerated pre-existing trends in gun owner diversification and shifts toward protection from people as a primary reason for gun ownership. Specific ownership motivations may shape storage behaviors, use patterns, policy support, and perceptions of safety. This study's objective was to assess the importance of specific reasons for owning guns, including protection from whom and in what circumstances, among demographic subgroups of new and prior gun owners. ⋯ Concurrent, strongly held motivations may produce ambivalence or resistance to public health messaging that narrowly focuses on preventing violent firearm-related injury. Permissive firearm policies may compound behavioral ambivalence, exacerbating conditions that threaten collective safety and civic expression. These conditions call for more nuanced, multidimensional, societal efforts to assure collective safety.