Articles: pandemics.
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Rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines in the USA were opportunities to redress disparities that surfaced during the pandemic. Initial eligibility criteria, however, neglected geographic, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic considerations. Marginalized populations may have faced barriers to then-scarce vaccines, reinforcing disparities. ⋯ Increases in vaccination were smaller in socioeconomically disadvantaged Black and Hispanic communities than in more affluent, Asian, and White communities. Our findings suggest vaccine rollouts contributed to cumulative disadvantage. Populations that were left most vulnerable to COVID-19 benefited least from early expansions in vaccine availability in large US cities.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2022
It's like standing in front of a prison fence - Dying during the SARS-CoV2 pandemic: A qualitative study of bereaved relatives' experiences.
Since the onset of the SARS CoV2 pandemic, protective and isolation measures had a strong impact on the care and support provided to seriously ill and dying people at the end-of-life. ⋯ Our results indicate that the strong need for closeness when a family member was dying could not be met due to the pandemic. This led to suffering that can be prevented. Visits need to be facilitated by making considered decisions on a case-by-case basis. For easy communication with relatives, approaches should be made by healthcare professionals and support for virtual communication should be offered. Furthermore, the results of the study can help to implement or develop ideas to enable dignified farewells even during pandemics.
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Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, there have been more than 115 million cases worldwide (1). Symptoms of COVID-19 vary widely and the spectrum of clinical presentation has yet to be fully characterised (2). Many countries have detailed their early experience with COVID-19, with a focus on the clinical characteristics of the disease. However, to our knowledge, there has been no such study detailing symptoms in the Irish population. ⋯ These data represents an early picture of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in an Irish population. It also highlights the potential use of self-reported data globally as a powerful tool in helping with the pandemic.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2022
Risk factors associated with poorer experiences of end-of-life care and challenges in early bereavement: Results of a national online survey of people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Experiences of end-of-life care and early bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic are poorly understood. ⋯ Four clear risk factors were found for poorer end-of-life care and pandemic-related challenges in bereavement: place, cause and expectedness of death, and relationship to the deceased.
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Case Reports Observational Study
Screening for health-related social needs in the emergency department: Adaptability and fidelity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We sought to evaluate a screening and referral program for health-related social needs (HRSN) in our ED. Our goals were to (1) quantify successful screenings prior to and during the initial peak of the pandemic, and (2) describe the HRSNs identified. ⋯ We found that remote HRSN screening for ED patients during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in similar proportions of successfully completed screenings compared to pre-pandemic efforts. This demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing alternative methods of screening and referral to community resources from the ED, which could facilitate this type of intervention in other EDs. During the pandemic HRSN increased, likely reflecting the economic impact of the pandemic.