In an article published in MedPage Today, Bernadette Melnyk, Ph.D., RN, vice president for Health Promotion, University Chief Wellness Officer, and Professor and Dean of the College of Nursing at the Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus, was quoted as saying “We cannot pour from an empty cup”. What an impactful statement! What Ms. Melnyk was referring to are our …
In an interesting article published in the American Journal of Critical Care, a national survey-based study, conducted by the Ohio State University College of Nursing in Columbus identified that nurses who perceived high levels of wellness support from their organizations were more than twice as likely to have better health than nurses who reported not having supportive worksites. This study …
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of many, but perhaps most prominently on health care workers. The Emotional PPE Project is attempting to solve this massive problem by connecting struggling health care workers with free mental health care from licensed mental health practitioners in their state. Ariel Brown, who created the Emotional PPE Project, describes …
Many studies have been done on people who work shifts and the adverse health effects of shift work can cause including respiratory disease, diabetes, cancer, and non-COVID-19 infectious diseases. Although the mechanisms underlying these associations remain uncertain, one hypothesis is that irregular working hours could lead to circadian misalignment. In a study published in the journal Thorax, researchers set out …
Since COVID-19 was recognized in the United States in January 2020, the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) attributed to exposures in the health care workplace has been studied with conflicting results. It remains unclear whether certain job functions or specific workplace activities, including care for individuals with known and unknown SARS-CoV-2 positivity, increase the …
I recently spent a few days circling a University hospital where a family member was being treated. Visitation was limited to one person, the same person, daily. As I walked around the beautiful campus and across the street to a public park/playscape, I noticed something disturbing, facemasks and gloves disposed of in the public area, hanging from trees, settled into …
Despite the challenges faced this year and an emphasis on promoting physical distance, publications in 2020 have demonstrated that persistent efforts continue to evaluate and improve health care communication. Some of these efforts have been in direct response to changes imposed by the COVID pandemic. Moving forward, specific areas and considerations identified in the literature underscore the need for future …
The CDC has updated the Guidance on Testing Healthcare Personnel for SARS CoV-2: Criteria for Return to Work for Healthcare Personnel with Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 (Interim Guidance) – February 14, 2021 CDC Science Agenda for COVID-19 – February 15, 2021 Interim Guidance on Testing Healthcare Personnel for SARS-CoV-2 – February 14, 2021 U.S. COVID-19 Cases Caused by Variants – …
Health care personnel (HCP) caring for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) might be at high risk for contracting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Understanding the prevalence of factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among frontline HCP who care for COVID-19 patients is important for protecting both HCP and their patients. In the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report posted …
A team of researchers from UCLA and Yale University decided to examine the people who continued to enter nursing homes during the beginning of the coronavirus in March 2020, the employees! Keith Chen, a behavioral economist and UCLA professor said the key question is this: “The people who, we can infer, work in this nursing home, what other nursing homes …
