Patient Safety Commons^™

Patient Transport In The Time Of Covid-19: Using Health Care Failure Mode And Effect Analysis With Simulation To Test And Modify A Protocol, John Kwock, Jeffrey Holmes, Shelly Chipman, Erin Siebers, Angela Berry, Sonja Orff, Victoria Boutin, Leah Mallory

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Introduction: In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an interprofessional, interdisciplinary team at Maine Medical Center used Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (HFMEA) and in situ simulation to rapidly identify and mitigate latent safety threats (LST) in patient transport protocols.

Methods: Following HFMEA steps, stakeholders representing a variety of disciplines assembled to address transport of patients with COVID-19. A process map was created to describe the process. With hazard analysis using table-top simulation followed by in situ simulation, we identified, categorized, and scored LSTs. Mitigation strategies were identified during structured debriefing.

Results: Fourteen LSTs were identified in …

Disparities In Covid-19 Rates Among Various Demographics And Lack Of Racial Representation In Medical Texts, Diangelo Gonzalez

Celebration of Learning

The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China in December of 2019, has impacted nations all over the globe. Given the health disparities which existed within the United States prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this pandemic continued to pose a significant challenge to the health of the public. The aims of this research study were twofold: (1) to analyze the incidence rates of COVID-19 among different racial and ethnic groups within the United States and (2) to describe the occurrence of diversity within medical texts. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health disparities within the United States. Understanding …

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2021, Iujhs Full Issue

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

The full June 2021 issue (Volume 1, Issue 1) of the International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Preprocedure Covid-19 Testing In Early Phase Of Pandemic, Renuka Jain, Bradley Kruger, Robert Citronberg, Stacie Kroboth, Ana Cristina Perez Moreno, Bijoy K. Khandheria

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a nationwide shutdown of elective medical procedures. Upon resumption of services, preprocedure nasopharyngeal swab testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was introduced for all patients requiring surgical or other aerosol-generating procedures. We investigated preprocedure COVID-19 testing in one of the largest U.S. health systems. Patients included in this retrospective, observational study were asymptomatic and scheduled for a procedure or surgery. All patients underwent a nasopharyngeal swab test for SARS-CoV-2 performed 24–72 hours prior to a planned procedure. Clinical demographics, type of procedure, test results, and subsequent procedure status were evaluated. Of 38,608 …

Seroprevalence Of Sars-Cov-2 Antibody In Echocardiography And Stress Laboratory, Renuka Jain, Stacie Kroboth, Denise Ignatowski, Bijoy K. Khandheria

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Transesophageal echocardiography is an aerosol-generating procedure, and exercise stress testing is a potentially aerosol-generating activity. Concern has been raised about heightened risk of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among health care personnel participating in these procedures. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of past coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in echocardiography and stress laboratory staff.

Methods: All staff who worked in the echocardiography and stress laboratories of one high-traffic urban hospital from March 15, 2020, to June 15, 2020, were asked to voluntarily participate. Those willing to participate were consented, and past COVID-19 infection was …

Food Insecurity Measurement And Prevalence Estimates During The Covid-19 Pandemic In A Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey In Mexico, Pablo Gaitán-Rossi, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Graciela Teruel, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: To validate the telephone modality of the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) included in three waves of a phone survey to estimate the monthly household food insecurity prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Design: We examined the reliability and internal validity of the ELCSA scale in three repeated waves of cross-sectional surveys with Rasch models. We estimated the monthly prevalence of food insecurity in the general population and in households with and without children and compared them with a national 2018 survey. We tested concurrent validity by testing associations of food insecurity with socio-economic status …

Frontiers In Human Factors: Embedding Specialists In Multi-Disciplinary Efforts To Improve Healthcare., Ken Catchpole, Paul Bowie, Sarah Fouquet, Joy Rivera, Sue Hignett

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Despite the application of a huge range of human factors (HF) principles in a growing range of care contexts, there is much more that could be done to realize this expertise for patient benefit, staff well-being and organizational performance. Healthcare has struggled to embrace system safety approaches, misapplied or misinterpreted others, and has stuck to a range of outdated and potentially counter-productive myths even has safety science has developed. One consequence of these persistent misunderstandings is that few opportunities exist in clinical settings for qualified HF professionals. Instead, HF has been applied by clinicians and others, to highly variable degrees-sometimes …

Ethical Aspects Of Covid-19 Antibody Testing, Stephen S. Hanson, Demetra Antimisiaris

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

One common COVID-19 test is the test for one or more of the antibodies that the body creates when it encounters the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Because these tests are often point-of-care, rapid tests that require only a blood sample, they may appear to patients to be an easily accessible and useful tool to guide their actions in the pandemic. However, serologic antibody tests should not be offered to patients in normal practice under nearly any circumstances. They are useful in narrow diagnostic settings in later stage infections, and they serve an important public health function, but they are not of benefit …

Increased Covid-19 Risk For Adults With Intellectual And/Or Developmental Disability Living In Residential Group Homes, Scott D. Landes

Population Health Research Brief Series

Adults with intellectual and/or developmental disability living in group homes in New York are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes, including death.

Costing Of Actions To Safeguard Vulnerable Mexican Households With Young Children From The Consequences Of Covid-19 Social Distancing Measures, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Víctor Pérez, Graciela Teruel, Aranzazu Alonso, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

COVID-19 has imposed unprecedented challenges to society. As the pandemic evolves, the social distancing measures that have been globally enforced, while essential, are having undesirable socioeconomic side effects particularly among vulnerable populations. In Mexico, families who depend upon informal employment face increased threats to their wellbeing, and households who in addition have young children may face long-term consequences. The Mexican government has not yet taken actions, but a coalition of non-governmental organizations is advocating in partnership with academic institutions for social protection actions such as a cash transfer and basic services subsidies for families with young children, subsisting from the …