scholarly journals Tracking the Differentiation of Risk: The Impact of Subject Framing in CDC Communication Regarding COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-100
Author(s):  
Kathryn Lambrecht

Communicating risk amid moments of scientific ambiguity requires balance: Overdelivering certainty levels can cause undue alarm whereas underdelivering them can lead to increased public risk. Despite this complexity, risk assessment is an important decision-making tool. This article analyzes the circulation of the term “risk” in a corpus (74,804 words) of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention communications regarding COVID-19 from January 1 to April 30, 2020. Tracking collocations of the 147 instances of risk in this corpus reveals that experts initially framed risk away from individuals, complicating people’s differentiation between public and personal impacts. Recommendations are offered for how institutions can reframe subjectivity to promote vigilance during pandemics.

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. S185-S192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Kinlaw ◽  
Drue H. Barrett ◽  
Robert J. Levine

ABSTRACTBecause of the importance of including ethical considerations in planning efforts for pandemic influenza, in February 2005 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requested that the Ethics Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee to the Director develop guidance that would serve as a foundation for decision making in preparing for and responding to pandemic influenza. Specifically, the ethics subcommittee was asked to make recommendations regarding ethical considerations relevant to decision making about vaccine and antiviral drug distribution prioritization and development of interventions that would limit individual freedom and create social distancing. The ethics subcommittee identified a number of general ethical considerations including identification of clear goals for pandemic planning, responsibility to maximize preparedness, transparency and public engagement, sound science, commitment to the global community, balancing individual liberty and community interests, diversity in ethical decision making, and commitment to justice. These general ethical considerations are applied to the issues of vaccine and antiviral drug distribution and use of community mitigation interventions. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3(Suppl 2):S185–S192)


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Stein

According to current and former CDC officials and several outside experts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is being roiled by internal dissension as it faces such unprecedented threats as bioterrorism, a potential flu pandemic, and the obesity epidemic. The agency has been thrown into turmoil by a combination of factors, including a drawn-out restructuring, the departure of dozens of its most respected scientists, concerns about political interference, and a pending budget cut of nearly $500 million. The impact remains a matter of debate, but the uproar is causing widespread alarm among public health authorities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S50-S51
Author(s):  
Christopher Hostler ◽  
Rebekah W Moehring ◽  
Arthur W Baker ◽  
Becky Smith ◽  
Linda Adcock ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The NHSN recently updated risk adjustment models and “rebaselined” Standardized Infection Ratios (SIRs) for healthcare-associated infections. The CDC expected that hospital SIRs would generally increase. However, the impact of rebaselining on individual hospitals’ SIRs was unknown. Accordingly, we assessed the impact of rebaselining on SIRs in a network of community hospitals. Methods We analyzed 2016 SIR data for CAUTI, MRSA LabID events, CDI LabID events, colon SSIs (COLO), and abdominal hysterectomy SSIs (HYST) from 38 hospitals in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network (DICON). SIRs calculated using the old and new baselines were compared. Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed to determine whether hospitals’ SIRs changed significantly following rebaselining. Hospitals were ranked by SIR for each metric, and change in rank following rebaselining was determined. Meaningful change in rank was defined as increase or decrease by ≥4 places (greater than a decile). Hospitals that did not have an SIR calculated for a given metric were excluded from that metric’s analysis. Results Median hospital SIRs for CAUTI and CDI increased significantly after rebaselining (0.587 vs 0.307, P < 0.001; and 0.825 vs 0.783, p = 0.04, respectively). Median MRSA SIRs increased (0.903 vs 0.797, P = 0.5), and COLO and HYST SIRs decreased (0.457 vs 0.586, P = 0.1; and 0 vs 0.489, P = 0.4); however, these changes were not statistically significant (Figure 1). For all metrics, a minority of hospitals had meaningful change in SIR rank following rebaselining (Figure 2). Conclusion SIRs increased following rebaselining for CAUTI and CDI but did not change significantly for MRSA, COLO, or HYST. The majority of hospitals’ SIR rank did not change meaningfully following rebaselining. Disclosures D. Sexton, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Grant Investigator, Grant recipient; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation: Grant Investigator, Grant recipient; UpToDate: Collaborator, Royalty Recipient


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1363-1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Brown ◽  
Katy O'Brien ◽  
Kelly Knollman-Porter ◽  
Tracey Wallace

Purpose The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released guidelines for rehabilitation professionals regarding the care of children with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Given that mTBI impacts millions of children each year and can be particularly detrimental to children in middle and high school age groups, access to universal recommendations for management of postinjury symptoms is ideal. Method This viewpoint article examines the CDC guidelines and applies these recommendations directly to speech-language pathology practices. In particular, education, assessment, treatment, team management, and ongoing monitoring are discussed. In addition, suggested timelines regarding implementation of services by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are provided. Specific focus is placed on adolescents (i.e., middle and high school–age children). Results SLPs are critical members of the rehabilitation team working with children with mTBI and should be involved in education, symptom monitoring, and assessment early in the recovery process. SLPs can also provide unique insight into the cognitive and linguistic challenges of these students and can serve to bridge the gap among rehabilitation and school-based professionals, the adolescent with brain injury, and their parents. Conclusion The guidelines provided by the CDC, along with evidence from the field of speech pathology, can guide SLPs to advocate for involvement in the care of adolescents with mTBI. More research is needed to enhance the evidence base for direct assessment and treatment with this population; however, SLPs can use their extensive knowledge and experience working with individuals with traumatic brain injury as a starting point for post-mTBI care.


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