Digital Commons Network^™

Perspectives On Covid, Glenn Bass

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

The purpose of this paper is to delve further into the topic of Culture & Crisis: Reconciling Constitutionalism & Federalism in a Time of Crisis through Liberty University’s Helms School of Government & Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy. The United States of America is currently under siege by the COVID-19 virus. This virus has steadily killed hundreds of individuals and consequently nearly shutdown the American socio-economic system. Through a constitutional government and federal principles, the executive functions have been able to address this time of crisis. However, there are different views referencing exactly how to address the needs of …

Assessment Of Patient And Employee Mental Health During Covid-19, Lanerica Rogers, Tammy Phillips, Aerial Petty, Gabriana Freire, Carline Denis-Barnes

Research Day

Background: Many individuals in the United States have anecdotally reported a decline in their mental health due to worry and stress over the COVID-19 pandemic. Although much research has been dedicated to populations across the country, patients and employees at community health centers have been overlooked in terms of the effect of pandemic conditions on their mental health. The present study seeks to understand how the mental health of these populations has been impacted and offer recommendations for what can be done to address any unmet mental health needs.

Methods: Survey responses were compiled from patients and employees of the …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Teledermatology, Cassandra Yeboah, Nailah Harvey, Rohan Krishnan, Jules B. Lipoff

Research Day

The accelerated implementation and use of teledermatology during COVID-19 has been met with successes and challenges. This review explores first, how telemedicine was utilized in dermatology prior to the pandemic, the regulatory adaptions made in response to the pandemic and the effectiveness of the rapid implementation of teledermatology during COVID-19, and finally, how teledermatology has expanded in response to the pandemic. In sum, this review examines lessons learned, how teledermatology’s reliance on digital technologies might paradoxically exacerbate healthcare disparities, and considers the future outlook. Prior to COVID-19, teledermatology was limited due to decreased insurance reimbursement for telemedicine visits, concern about …

Rapid Return To Normal Activities At A Residential Summer Camp During Covid-19 Pandemic, Anna Klunk, Rachel Holloway, Arash Babaoff, Eric Jelin

Research Day

Aim: Infection prevention and control (IPC) within residential settings is a central focus of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Youth residential summer camps are an excellent model for such environments and have thus far had mixed results. The aim of this report is to describe the successful implementation of a seven-week overnight summer camp with rapid return to normal activities from June to August 2020

Subjects and Methods: This retrospective study includes 427 individuals who traveled from 24 US States. All staff and campers were tested by serial nasopharyngeal PCR tests in the context of strict infection prevention and …

Covid Smell Tracker: A Research-Based Mobile Application To Study Smell Loss In Subjects With Covid-19, John Pueringer, Matthew Brennan, Tory Mcknight, Mindy Rabinowitz, Elina Toskala, Gurston Nyquist, Marc Rosen, Aykut Unsal

Research Day

Introduction: Up to 60% of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 report anosmia or ageusia during their disease course. “COVID Smell Tracker” is a smart phone application (app) developed to elucidate the onset, duration and extent of anosmia and ageusia through questionnaires.

Methods: “COVID Smell Tracker” is publicly available on smart phone devices (www.covidsmelltracker.org). Users complete surveys around demographics, medical history, COVID status and symptomology. Deidentified responses were collated and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Of the 266 users included, the majority were located in Europe (43%) and North America (33%). Male, Caucasian users were most common (54.9% and 61.7% respectively), followed …

Can You Social Distance In A Crowded National Park?, Madison Vega

Student Research Symposium

Visitation to parks and protected areas is a common COVID-19 coping strategy promoted by state and national public health officials and political leadership. Crowding and congestions in parks has been a perennial problem and the ability to socially distance within them is an unproven assumption. Is it possible to socially distance in a busy national park that has been designed to concentrate use?Presentation Time: Thursday, 3-4 p.m.

Media And The Covid-19 Infodemic, Alek Nelson

Student Research Symposium

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an associated infodemic: a wave of misinformation and disinformation. From conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus to beliefs that 5G technology spreads the virus, there is no shortage of myths about the pandemic. This study focuses on where people were receiving news about the pandemic and how that affects belief in misinformation. Through an online survey, researchers also looked at how active vs. passive news consumption and political partisanship affected beliefs in disinformation. These findings can help us understand how the infodemic spreads and how misinformation thrives among certain demographics.Presentation Time: Thursday, 10-11 …

Covid 19 & Impulsive Spending, Rebekah Miller

Student Research Symposium

Everyone responds to negative emotions in a different way. One response less-frequently spoken of is shopping, commonly referred to as “retail therapy”. In 2020 the world was thrown into chaos by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lock downs, riots and overrun hospitals. In this study we wanted to look at the correlation between anxiety and shopping behaviors, primarily impulsive vs cognitive purchasing. With a voluntary survey (N=81) we found that 46% (N=37) of people used shopping therapeutically to some extent. We also found a positive correlation between those that used shopping as a way to relieve …

Medicine And The Media, Baylee Dusenberry

Student Research Symposium

PROBLEM: The media has become a normalized part of American society. The use of media in reporting COVID-19 is a prime example of how media can impact a public's medical knowledge and opinion. The main concern: are people properly filtering the influx of information between evidence-based practices and medical opinion? With the accessibility of information comes a likelihood that the public isn't doing their part to fact-check what they're given. Inaccurate information can cause health issues among the public. STUDY DESIGN: The study design will be a representational online survey sent to American Adults ages 18 years and older. Univariate-ANOVA …