Public Health Commons^™

Crisis Narratives In Crisis? A Comparative Investigation Into National Covid-19 Narratives, Mouse D. Bennett

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

On January 31, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency for only the sixth time in its history. On March 11, 2020, it was stated that COVID-19 constituted a pandemic. How did countries respond? This dissertation traces the evolution of national crisis narratives in four states and assesses their relative success. The findings of this study are that pandemic crisis narratives are not generalizable to all crisis situations but require a high level of compliance to be effective in stopping the crisis. There is no formula for government success, there are no decisive variables determining outcomes. …

Selecting A Quality Improvement Project: 5 Questions For Trainees And Mentors, Molly J Horstman, Anne M Tomolo, Blake Webb, Lindsay Vaclavik

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Seminar: Extracellular Vesicles As Mediators Of Environmental Stress In Human Disease, Vrinda Kalia, Andrea A Baccarelli, Christine Happel, Jonathan A Hollander, Anne Marie Jukic, Kimberly A Mcallister, Ramkumar Menon, Bruce A Merrick, Aleksander Milosavljevic, Lingamanaidu V Ravichandran, Matthew E Roth, Anita Subramanian, Frederick L Tyson, Leroy Worth, Daniel T Shaughnessy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-bound particles containing a variety of RNA types, DNA, proteins, and other macromolecules, are now appreciated as an important means of communication between cells and tissues, both in normal cellular physiology and as a potential indicator of cellular stress, environmental exposures, and early disease pathogenesis. Extracellular signaling through EVs is a growing field of research for understanding fundamental mechanisms of health and disease and for the potential for biomarker discovery and therapy development. EVs are also known to play important roles in mediating the effects of exposure to environmental stress.

Objectives: This seminar addresses the application …

Quality Improvement Initiative To Improve Time And Adherence To Revaccination After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Implementation Of A Revaccination Clinic Within The Transplantation Program, Caitlin Elgarten, Anne Wohlschlaeger, Ellen Levy, Katharine Tadley, Lei Wang, Megan Atkinson, Houston Roberson, Timothy Olson, Nancy Bunin, Jennifer Heimall, Brian Fisher, Stephan Grupp, Jason Freedman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background:

Revaccination after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is critical to prevent morbidity and mortality from vaccine preventable illnesses. While earlier re-vaccination after HCT is desirable, they may be ineffective if deployed before partial reconstitution of adaptive immunity. Increasingly, personalized approaches to re-vaccination after HCT have replaced time-based protocols in order to minimize unvaccinated time and enhance vaccine effectiveness. Furthermore, for revaccination to be maximally beneficial, compliance with, and timely delivery of the complete revaccination schedule is imperative, but rare, and there is little data on strategies to optimize vaccine delivery.

Objectives:

The global aim of our quality improvement initiative was …

Elearning Improves Allied Health Professionals' Knowledge And Confidence To Manage Medically Unexplained Chronic Fatigue States: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Matthew D. Jones, Sally M. Casson, Benjamin K. Barry, Sophie H. Li, Trinidad Valenzuela, Joanne Cassar, Camillo Lamanna, Andrew R. Lloyd, Carolina X. Sandler

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of eLearning by allied health professionals on improving the knowledge and confidence to manage people with medically unexplained chronic fatigue states (FS). Methods: Using a parallel randomized controlled trial design, participants were randomized 1:1 to a 4-week eLearning or wait-list control group. Knowledge and self-reported confidence in clinical skills to implement a therapeutic intervention for patients with FS were assessed at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up. Secondary outcomes (adherence and satisfaction with online education, knowledge retention) were also assessed. Data was analyzed using intention-to-treat. Results: There were 239 participants were randomized (eLearning n = 119, control …

Understanding The Gap Between Nursing Workforce In The United States And Population Needs-A Policy Brief, Mayar Al Mohajer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose  This report is intended to analyze the root causes for the current gap between the nursing workforce and population needs in the United States. It aims to consolidate what is known about these contributing reasons and provide evidence-based recommendations for action.

Methods  The report utilized the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type framework to develop the research question and the 5 Whys methodology for the root cause analysis.

Results  This report highlighted six major causative problems, including workforce market mismatch, poor financing design, inadequate governance, flawed technologies, insufficient research, and suboptimal service delivery. A detailed evaluation of …

Analyzing African American College Student Willingness To Participate In Clinical Trials, Caitlin B. Ulmer

Senior Theses

Previous studies regarding African American participation in clinical trials have found that African Americans participate at a significantly lower rate than other ethnic/racial groups. Scholars argue that this lack of participation in clinical trials is a direct result of historical trauma linked to unethical experiments and African American distrust in the healthcare system. However, there is a gap in the literature because these studies focus on African American individuals above the age of 30. This study aimed to fill the gap by examining clinical trial participation among African American college students within the ages 18 to 23. This study also …

Review Of Toxocariasis At A Children's Hospital Prompting Need For Public Health Interventions, Mary B Fortini, Timothy A Erickson, Lauren M Leining, Karina M Robinson, Megan N Carey, Sarah J Smith, Brendan Sullivan, Alisa R Nelson, Sarah M Gunter, Jill E Weatherhead

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Toxocariasis, caused the by dog and cat roundworm, is one of the most common zoonotic helminth infections in the United States and can lead to severe lifelong morbidity in children. Although historical seroprevalence studies have identified a high frequency of toxocariasis regionally in the United States, there are few studies linking epidemiology and clinical disease in children. The study objective was to examine the contemporary epidemiology of pediatric toxocariasis within an endemic US region.

METHODS: We conducted an epidemiologic study analyzing children diagnosed with toxocariasis presenting to a tertiary pediatric hospital in Texas from 2010 to 2021. We examined …

Associations Between Metabolomic Biomarkers Of Avocado Intake And Glycemia In The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis, Alexis C Wood, Mark O Goodarzi, Mackenzie K Senn, Meghana D Gadgil, Goncalo Graca, Matthew A Allison, Ioanna Tzoulaki, Michael Y Mi, Philip Greenland, Timothy Ebbels, Paul Elliott, Russell P Tracy, David M Herrington, Jerome I Rotter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Avocado consumption is linked to better glucose homeostasis, but small associations suggest potential population heterogeneity. Metabolomic data capture the effects of food intake after digestion and metabolism, thus accounting for individual differences in these processes.

OBJECTIVES: To identify metabolomic biomarkers of avocado intake and to examine their associations with glycemia.

METHODS: Baseline data from 6224 multi-ethnic older adults (62% female) included self-reported avocado intake, fasting glucose and insulin, and untargeted plasma proton nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomic features (metabolomic data were available for a randomly selected subset; N = 3438). Subsequently, incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) was assessed over an …

Time To Establish An International Vaccine Candidate Pool For Potential Highly Infectious Respiratory Disease: A Community’S View, Lan Yao, Hiam Chemaitelly, Emanuel Goldman, Esayas Kebede Gudina, Asma Khalil, Rahaman Ahmed, Ayorinde Babatunde James, Anna Roca, Mosoka Papa Fallah, Andrew Macnab, William C Cho, John Eikelboom, Farah Naz Qamar, Peter Kremsner, Miquel Oliu-Barton, Ivan Sisa, Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Florian Marks, Lishi Wang, Jerome H Kim, Xia Meng, Yongjun Wang, Alyce D Fly, Cong-Yi Wang, Sara W Day, Scott C Howard, J Carolyn Graff, Marcello Maida, Kunal Ray, Carlos Franco-Paredes, Tapfumanei Mashe, Ngashi Ngongo, Jean Kaseya, Nicaise Ndembi, Yu Hu, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez, Ken J Ishii, Gang Wang, Dianjun Sun, Lotfi Aleya, Weikuan Gu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In counteracting highly infectious and disruptive respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, vaccination remains the primary and safest way to prevent disease, reduce the severity of illness, and save lives. Unfortunately, vaccination is often not the first intervention deployed for a new pandemic, as it takes time to develop and test vaccines, and confirmation of safety requires a period of observation after vaccination to detect potential late-onset vaccine-associated adverse events. In the meantime, nonpharmacologic public health interventions such as mask-wearing and social distancing can provide some degree of protection. As climate change, with its environmental impacts on pathogen evolution and international …

A Recombinant Protein Xbb15 Rbd/Alum/Cpg Vaccine Elicits High Neutralizing Antibody Titers Against Omicron Subvariants Of Sars-Cov-2, Syamala Rani Thimmiraju, Rakesh Adhikari, Maria Jose Villar, Jungsoon Lee, Zhuyun Liu, Rakhi Kundu, Yi-Lin Chen, Suman Sharma, Karm Ghei, Brian Keegan, Leroy Versteeg, Portia M Gillespie, Allan Ciciriello, Nelufa Y Islam, Cristina Poveda, Nestor Uzcategui, Wen-Hsiang Chen, Jason T Kimata, Bin Zhan, Ulrich Strych, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez, Jeroen Pollet

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

(1) Background: We previously reported the development of a recombinant protein SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, consisting of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide (alum) and CpG oligonucleotides. In mice and non-human primates, our wild-type (WT) RBD vaccine induced high neutralizing antibody titers against the WT isolate of the virus, and, with partners in India and Indonesia, it was later developed into two closely resembling human vaccines, Corbevax and Indovac. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a next-generation vaccine adapted to the recently emerging XBB variants of SARS-CoV-2. (2) Methods: We conducted preclinical studies …

Universal Ehrs Clinical Decision Support For Thromboprophylaxis In Medical Inpatients: A Cluster Randomized Trial, Alex C Spyropoulos, Mark Goldin, Ioannis Koulas, Jeffrey Solomon, Michael Qiu, Sam Ngu, Kolton Smith, Tungming Leung, Kanta Ochani, Fatima Malik, Stuart L Cohen, Dimitrios Giannis, Sundas Khan, Thomas Mcginn

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Thromboprophylaxis for medically ill patients during hospitalization and postdischarge remains underutilized. Clinical decision support (CDS) may address this need if embedded within workflow, interchangeable among electronic health records (EHRs), and anchored on a validated model.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical impact of a universal EHR-integrated CDS tool based on the International Medical Prevention Registry on Venous Thromboembolism plus D-Dimer venous thromboembolism model.

Methods: This was a cluster randomized trial of 4 tertiary academic hospitals from December 21, 2020 to January 21, 2022. Inpatients over age 60 with key medical illnesses were eligible. We …

Five Strategies For A Safer Ehr Modernization Journey, Dean F Sittig, Edward E Yackel, Hardeep Singh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

The Interaction Between Autophagy, Helicobacter Pylori, And Gut Microbiota In Gastric Carcinogenesis, Ali Nabavi-Rad, Abbas Yadegar, Amir Sadeghi, Hamid Asadzadeh Aghdaei, Mohammad Reza Zali, Daniel J Klionsky, Yoshio Yamaoka

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori is the primary risk factor for the development of gastric cancer. Hindering our ability to comprehend the precise role of autophagy during H. pylori infection is the complexity of context-dependent autophagy signaling pathways. Recent and ongoing progress in understanding H. pylori virulence allows new frontiers of research for the crosstalk between autophagy and H. pylori. Novel approaches toward discovering autophagy signaling networks have further revealed their critical influence on the structure of gut microbiota and the metabolome. Here we intend to present a holistic view of the perplexing role of autophagy in H. pylori pathogenesis …

Spanish-Language Communication Of Covid-19 Information Across Us Local Health Department Websites, Isabelle S Kusters, Amanda M Gutierrez, Julianna M Dean, Mark Sommer, Anna Klyueva

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to a longstanding problem: the US health system is not well-equipped to accommodate the country's large limited English proficient (LEP) population in times of national emergency. We examined the landscape of Spanish-language COVID-19 website information compared to information in English provided by health departments of the top 10 cities by population in the USA. For each city, coders evaluated three score measures (amount of information, presentation quality, and ease of navigation) for six content types (general information, symptoms, testing, prevention, vaccines, and live statistics) across six delivery modes (print resources, website text, videos, …

Assessment Of The Offline Setup Correction Protocol And Thermoplastic Mask Use For Head And Neck Cancer Radiotherapy: A Single Institution Experience, Furahini Yoram, Nazima Dharsee, Khamza Maunda, Jumaa D. Kisukari, Geofrey F. Soko

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study assessed the efficiency of offline setup correction protocol and the use of a thermoplastic mask for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy at Ocean Road Cancer Institute. A prospective study was conducted from April to August 2021 to verify 62 patients’ treatment setup using an offline setup correction protocol while immobilized with a thermoplastic mask. Megavoltage images were matched with digitally reconstructed radiographs obtained during CT simulation to determine the gross set-up deviations. Box plots were used to show the deviations on three consecutive days of the first week and a successive weekly …

Deleterious Heteroplasmic Mitochondrial Mutations Are Associated With An Increased Risk Of Overall And Cancer-Specific Mortality, Yun Soo Hong, Stephanie L Battle, Wen Shi, Daniela Puiu, Vamsee Pillalamarri, Jiaqi Xie, Nathan Pankratz, Nicole J Lake, Monkol Lek, Jerome I Rotter, Stephen S Rich, Charles Kooperberg, Alex P Reiner, Paul L Auer, Nancy Heard-Costa, Chunyu Liu, Meng Lai, Joanne M Murabito, Daniel Levy, Megan L Grove, Alvaro Alonso, Richard Gibbs, Shannon Dugan-Perez, Lukasz P Gondek, Eliseo Guallar, Dan E Arking

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mitochondria carry their own circular genome and disruption of the mitochondrial genome is associated with various aging-related diseases. Unlike the nuclear genome, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can be present at 1000 s to 10,000 s copies in somatic cells and variants may exist in a state of heteroplasmy, where only a fraction of the DNA molecules harbors a particular variant. We quantify mtDNA heteroplasmy in 194,871 participants in the UK Biobank and find that heteroplasmy is associated with a 1.5-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality. Additionally, we functionally characterize mtDNA single nucleotide variants (SNVs) using a constraint-based score, mitochondrial local constraint …

Policy Implementation Analysis Of Spm Health Sector For Hypertension Sufferers In South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia In 2022, Anggi Asri Rusliana Dewi, Dumilah Ayuningtyas

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Hypertension is a major cardiovascular risk factor that causes disability throughout the world and among those who are not aware of their health condition, it is often referred to as the silent killer . The prevalence rate of hypertension in Indonesia is quite high. Based on Riskesdas (2018), South Kalimantan Province shows the highest prevalence of hypertension, but the percentage of hypertension sufferers who receive health services is still low. Banjarbaru City has the lowest percentage, namely 11.3% of the target of 100%. Health services for hypertension sufferers are included in the Minimum Service Standards (SPM) for the Health Sector …

Health Policy Reform Through Strengthening Indonesia's Health Resilience System, Wahyu Sulistiadi

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

The National Health System in Indonesia is developing and being discussed more seriously after entering the COVID-19 pandemic. With a national health system and several existing tools, Indonesia needed more time to be ready to face the challenges of that time. Upstream health policies should be optimized to mobilize resources and increase the nation's efforts to build a national resilience system. This paper was built using selected policy documents up-to-date and reliable literature. By reviewing empirical evidence, the author believes and shows the role of strengthening health policies in building a robust national health resilience system. Indonesia has several policies …

The Effects Of Vaccination Against Covid-19 Incidence: Is The Current Age-Priorities Appropriate?, Dian Ip Nugrahari, Nurhanifah Hamdah

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Age is an independent risk factor for COVID-19. Thus, the government of Indonesia prioritizes the elderly and adults with significant comorbidities for COVID-19 vaccination. To discover whether this policy is still appropriate, we evaluated the effects of vaccination against the COVID-19 incidence and infection risk.It was a retrospective cohort study of the NAR COVID-19 and Dashboard KPCPEN COVID-19 of the Depok City Health Department. The tests used to analyze the data were the chi-square and logistic regression tests. We discovered that there was a 92.7% total reduction in the COVID-19 infection rate with vaccination. The infection risk for COVID-19 in …

Feminization Of Sri Lankan Doctors And Key Specialties: 2000 To 2020, Dileep De Silva, Pamila Adikari, Mihiri S. Rubasinghe, Udeni L. Seneviratne

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

The study focused on the feminization of Sri Lankan generalist doctors in all major and selected minor specialties between 2000 and 2020. The study analyzed all relevant documents by exploring Sri Lanka's male-to-female doctor and specialist ratio over 20 years. This was determined by analyzing state medical faculty records from 1990 to 2020. For better clarity, the researchers analyzed the gender ratio changes in every five-year block from 1990 to 2020. Focus groups filled PGIM's gender data fields. Five-year medical students surged from 43% to 63% between 1990 and 2020. Linear trend analysis predicts 68% of female medical students by …

Sensitive Intervention Policy Recommendations To Reduce Stunting Rates Based On Spatial Analysis Of Sanitary Factors In Dki Jakarta Province 2021, Septiria Irawati, Ema Hermawati

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of stunting in children under five and the percentage of proper sanitation, as well as recommendations for priority areas for stunting control interventions in the Province of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta in 2021. This study used a descriptive approach to present an overview of the percentage of sanitation and prevalence of stunting in children under five by sub-district in 38 districts in DKI Jakarta. Data is displayed as a map to show distribution areas based on high, medium, and low categories. An overlay was made between the distribution …

Quality Improvement Project To Increase Hepatitis C Virus Screening For Ambulatory Gme Internal Medicine Clinic Patients, Nghia Nguyen, Karrar Al Gburi, Arturo Suplee, Jarrad Mcadams, Serag Fares, Carol Soler, Ans Albustamy, Jorge Alejandro Bernal, Sumandeep Brar, J. Paredes

Research Symposium

Background: In 2020, CDC established new guideline expanding Hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening to all adults aged 18 to 79 years. Our QI project objective is to enhance HCV screening amongst the UTRGV-DHR IM department by establishing suitable reminders and educational sessions.

Methods: We reviewed HCV screening status of all adult patients 18 to 79 years old from June 1^st 2020 to December 1^st 2020. We then provided one lecture on the new screening recommendation from CDC 2020 guideline. We also encouraged residents to educate patients on the importance of HCV screening, and to identify and overcome barriers …

Project: Center For Diabetes And Metabolism [Centro De Diabetes Y Metabolismo: Cedimet], A Collaborative Dream Comes True, Claudia Munguia-Cisneros, Edith Cantu, Carlos Ramirez-Pfeiffer, Adriana L. Perales-Torres, Esperanza M. Garcia-Oropeza, Estrella Y. Martinez-Lopez, Alvaro Diaz-Badillo, Joselin Hernandez-Ruiz, Alberto O. Chavez-Velazquez, Lucia M. Perez-Navarro, Beatriz Tapia, Juan C. Lopez-Alvarenga

Research Symposium

Reynosa urban area has 690,000 inhabitants (384,000 adults >20 years old), 35% moved from other states. The use of cell phones is in 81%, personal computer or laptop with 29%. The prevalence of overweight is 39%, obesity 36%, and T2D 13%. The expected adult population with T2D is 49,900 individuals. The are 5 clinics prepared to attend T2D, and few with specialized personnel.

The CeDiMet is a collaborative clinic involving health personnel and researchers from the Universidad Mexico Americana del Norte, Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas, Hospital General de Mexico “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga”, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the …

Proactively Preventing Medical Errors: A Student-Led Approach To Patient Safety In Pre-Clinical Curriculum, Sahar Panjwani, Daniel Nwosuocha, Nelson D. Gonzalez, Ayleen Godreau

Research Symposium

Introduction: Preventable medical errors are currently the third leading cause of death in the United States following heart disease and cancer (1). This study was designed to assess the change in knowledge from earlier education of medical students during pre-clinical years.

Methods: Patient safety trainings have been conducted for two years for interested first and second-year medical students and responses are assessed through a pre-test, immediate post-test, 3-month post-test, and 6-month post-test. The survey assesses student knowledge on aspects of patient safety and has Likert scale questions assessing if the training influenced students’ desire to learn about patient safety. …

Pharmacoeconomics Of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatment With Targeted Therapies Guided By Companion Molecular Diagnostics, Luis E. Fernández-Garza, Hector Sánchez-Ibarra, Daniela Treviño-Sáenz, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña

Research Symposium

Background: To guide the treatment with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), the FDA recommends prior companion molecular diagnosis (CMDx). It initially recommended screening for mutations in exon 2 of the KRAS gene, and most recently to extend to screening to exons 2, 3, and 4 of KRAS and 2, 3, and 4 of NRAS genes; furthermore, to evaluate the BRAF exon 15 mutation status (including V600E). To date, no studies have been done to compare the cost-benefit of these different CMDXs.

Methods: We have compared the cost of treatment without …

Malignant Colorectal Cancer In The Rio Grande Valley: A Demographical Study, Kevin M. Camstra, Vijian Dhevan

Research Symposium

Background: There is abundant demographical data available that provides an excellent general statistical overview of colorectal cancer (CRC) within the Hispanic population in South Texas. Much is known about the overarching trends regarding incidence, prevalence, mortality and screening rates among this specific population as compared to other racial and ethnic groups at the state and national levels. Despite our understanding of these broad trends, few studies have taken a step inward to provide a closer demographical analysis of a CRC population here in the Rio Grande Valley. In this study, we narrow the scope and take a closer look …

Learners Engaging With Hispanic Communities To Address Covid19 Inequities By Developing A Cultural Competence Guide For Public Health Messaging, Madeline Elaine Huff, Molly Chapman, Chasity Collier, Giuiseppe Fonseca Badillo, Shuchita Jhaveri, Ayesha Khan, Sabrina R. Orta, Zuni Ortega, Lina Pedraza Sanchez, Maria Pesantez Borja, Rosalind Reyes, Daniela Santos Cantu, Chelsea H. Chang

Research Symposium

Introduction: The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has the highest rates of obesity and diabetes nationwide which have compounded the impact of COVID-19. We propose addressing underlying mistrust and systemic racism through a resident-and-student-learner-led, community-engaged, educational public health campaign targeting the Hispanic community in the RGV.

Methods: Twelve students were provided interdisciplinary leadership skills in a community-engaged public messaging campaign covering issues of COVID-19 inequities. Learners used these skills to engage with clinic community partners in qualitative interviews regarding the patient population to guide the creation of a culturally competent public health messaging rubric for the Hispanic community.

Results: Pre-intervention survey …

Expanding Health Professional Education In The Rio Grande Valley During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sabrina R. Orta, Samantha G. Alvarado, Shuchita Jhaveri

Research Symposium

Purpose: The COVID-19 Pandemic has prompted innovation in health professional education, such that learners are able to recognize and mitigate healthcare disparities in the outcomes of vulnerable populations. The objective of our project was to increase education on preventing, preparing for, and responding to COVID-19 and other locally prevalent infectious diseases that disproportionately affect RGV communities.

Description: This project had 3 goals: (1) provide learners with virtual patient-interaction simulations (2) provide interactive training modules on the identification, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases affecting South TX and strategies to increase child vaccinations, and (3) provide learners an opportunity to coordinate …

Epidemiological Algorithm And Early Molecular Testing To Prevent Covid-19 Outbreaks In A Mexican Oncologic Center, Moises González-Escamilla, Diana C. Peréz-Ibave, Carlos H. Burciaga-Flores, Vanessa N. Ortiz-Murillo, Genaro A. Ramírez-Correa, Patricia Rodríguez-Niño, Rafael Piñeiro-Retif, Hazyadee F. Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, Orlando D. Solis-Coronado, Juan F. González-Guerrero, Oscar Vidal-Gutiérrez, María Lourdes Garza-Rodríguez

Research Symposium

Introduction: Prevention strategies and detection of latent COVID-19 infections in oncology staff and oncologic patients are essential to prevent outbreaks in a cancer center. In this study, we used two statistical predictive models in oncology staff and patients from the radiotherapy area to prevent outbreaks and detect COVID-19 cases.

Methods: Staff and patients answered a questionnaire (electronic and paper surveys, respectively) with clinical and epidemiological information. The data was collected through two online survey tools: Real-Time Tracking (R-Track) and Summary of Factors (S-Facts). According to the algorithm's models, cut-off values were established. SARS-CoV-2 qRT-PCR tests confirmed the algorithm's positive individuals. …