Renaming COPD exacerbations: the UK respiratory nursing perspective

Background Patients with COPD experience acute worsenings, termed ‘exacerbations’. While other terms to describe these events have been proposed there is no consensus on terminology which has led to multiple terms being used across the UK. Respiratory nurses are part of a multi-disciplinary team managing COPD patients, however, the nursing perspective on the term ‘exacerbation’ is unknown. Methods An anonymised survey of 17 questions was sent to respiratory nurses through an email invitation link. The survey link was open for one month. The aim was to understand the nurse perspective on ‘exacerbation’. Alternative terms used in the UK were compared versus the term 'exacerbation’. Results Responses were received from 113 nurses. The majority (88%) were female. There was no consensus on preference or meaning for the term ‘exacerbation’ between nurses. Less than 5% of nurses thought that patients with COPD would understand the term ‘exacerbation’. In ranked order, the nurses preferred the following terms: ‘flare-up’, ‘lung attack’, ‘crisis’, ‘exacerbation’ and ‘chest infection’. The term ‘crisis’, although new, was considered to be the term that most resonated with clinical practice. Conclusion Respiratory nurses in the UK report that the term ‘exacerbation’ is not fit for purpose for patients, and alternatives should be sought.

Correlates of COVID-19 vaccination status among college students

Objectives. Despite the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, vaccine hesitancy remains high among certain groups. This study examined the correlates of being unvaccinated among a sample of university students (N=2900) during the spring and summer of 2021, when the campus had been closed for over a year and students were preparing to return to in-person learning. Methods. Students responded to an email invitation and completed electronic surveys. Results. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, students were more likely to be unvaccinated if they were African American, identified with any political affiliation other than Democrat, were undergraduates or international students, had not traveled outside the Los Angeles during the pandemic, and/or had previously been ill with COVID-19. Conclusion. Findings indicate that culturally resonant educational interventions, and possibly vaccine requirements, are needed to promote vaccination among university students.

Transition to Independent Surgical Practice and Burnout Among Early Career General Surgeons

Background: The transition from surgical residency to independent practice is a challenging period that has not been well studied. Methods: An email invitation to complete a 55-item survey and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) was sent to early career general surgeons across Canada. The chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was used to compare demographic and survey characteristics with burnout. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. Results: Of the 586 surgeons contacted, 88 responded (15%); 51/88 surgeons (58.0%) were classified as burnt out according to the MBI-HSS. Most surgeons (68.2%) were not confident in their abilities to handle the business aspect of practice. The majority (60.2%) believed that a transition to independent practice program would be beneficial to recent surgical graduates. Conclusions: Our data showed high prevalence of burnout among recently graduated general surgeons across Canada. Further, respondents were not confident in their managerial and administrative skills required to run a successful independent practice.

Preparation for airway management in Australia and New Zealand ICUs during the COVID -19 pandemic

Background This paper aimed to describe the airway practices of intensive care units (ICUs) in Australia and New Zealand specific to patients presenting with COVID-19 and to inform whether consistent clinical practice was achieved. Specific clinical airway guidelines were endorsed in March 2020 by the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) and College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM). Methods and findings Prospective, structured questionnaire for all ICU directors in Australia and New Zealand was completed by 69 ICU directors after email invitation from ANZICS. The online questionnaire was accessible for three weeks during September 2020 and analysed by cloud-based software. Basic ICU demographics (private or public, metropolitan or rural) and location, purchasing, airway management practices, guideline uptake, checklist and cognitive aid use and staff training relevant to airway management during the COVID-19 pandemic were the main outcome measures. The 69 ICU directors reported significant simulation-based inter-professional airway training of staff (97%), and use of video laryngoscopy (94%), intubation checklists (94%), cognitive aids (83%) and PPE “spotters” (89%) during the airway management of patients with COVID-19. Tracheal intubation was almost always performed by a Specialist (97% of ICUs), who was more likely to be an intensivist than an anaesthetist (61% vs 36%). There was a more frequent adoption of specific airway guidelines for the management of COVID-19 patients in public ICUs (94% vs 71%) and reliance on specialist intensivists to perform intubations in private ICUs (92% vs 53%). Conclusion There was a high uptake of a standardised approach to airway management in COVID-19 patients in ICUs in Australia and New Zealand, likely due to endorsement of national guidelines.

Contact Modes and Participation in App-Based Smartphone Surveys: Evidence From a Large-Scale Experiment

Smartphone apps are increasingly being used for population-based survey research. Recruiting people to sign up for an app-based survey is, however, less straightforward compared to traditional surveys, which risks inflating nonresponse as well as the potential for nonresponse bias. By means of an experiment with over 44,000 recently registered job seekers, we present causal evidence on the effects of using different contact modes (email, postal letter, or preannouncement letter and email) on participation rates in an app-based panel survey. Further, using detailed administrative register data, we investigate whether contact modes differentially affect nonresponse bias. We also examine whether the mode of making contact has a lasting effect on panel participation rates and participation rates in momentary assessments collected using the experience sampling method (ESM). Overall, the preannouncement letter and email invitation strategy maximizes participation compared to stand-alone letters and emails, which do not differ significantly in terms of participation rates. Stand-alone letters and the preannouncement approach perform better than emails when it comes to panel participation and submitted ESM episodes.

Inter-Organizational Conflict (IOC) in Building Refurbishment Projects; an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) approach

Over the past years, there has been an expanding intrigued in building refurbishment projects because of the alter in financial conditions and the accentuation on sustainable development. Increasing demand for building refurbishment projects will lead to an increase in organizational interactions in the construction works as building refurbishment works involve interactions among many different organizations and it can cause Inter-Organizational conflict (IOC) among organizations involved in projects. This paper adopted an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) approach to analyses IOC in building refurbishment projects. For this study, a five-point Likert Scale was adopted to ensure the instruments of the study are reliable. The researcher ultimately sent questionnaires as a web-link and email invitation to 1050 construction firms and 733 architectural firms. The questionnaire sent to managers and professionals from construction and architectural firms in Malaysia. Finally, one-hundred-seventy-nine (179) refurbishment projects formed a database for this paper. The finding of this paper shows the IOC factors that contribute to the improve the performance of building refurbishment project can be conflict during the construction stage, conflict between the client and the consultant, task expectations, basic responsibilities, final duration, project’s goals, conflict between the client and the contractor, final cost, final quality, standards of behaviors, conflict between the contractor and the consultant, interference and conflict during the design stage.

Staff Perceptions of a Mealtime Management Educational Video for Training in Long-Term Care Homes

The purpose of this study was to determine if staff perceive a mealtime management video to be a beneficial and useful training tool in long-term care (LTC) homes. An email invitation was sent to the Dietitians of Canada Gerontology Network inviting dietitians working in LTC homes to participate. A previously used and reliable 25-item questionnaire was used to assess sustained attention/mental effort, learner satisfaction, clinical experience/relevance, and information processing of the video. Dietitians were asked to show the video to LTC staff and distribute the questionnaire to staff after viewing the video. A total of 769 surveys were completed at 28 LTC homes across Canada. Eighty-seven percent (n = 637/736) of participants felt more knowledgeable after viewing the video and 91% (n = 669/738) found the video format easy for learning. Managers had a higher Likert scores (mean = 6.2 out of 7) than continuing care assistant (mean = 5.7, P = 0.02) and food service workers (mean = 5.5, P = 0.001) for the clinical relevance scales. No differences were found for age (χ2 = 5.52, P = 0.60), gender (χ2 = 2.65, P = 0.10), and size of home (χ2 = 3.34, P = 0.34). Staff perceived the video to be useful for their work with residents living in LTC homes and it raised awareness of the importance of their roles at mealtimes.

Is Engagement in Physical Activity and Creative Activity Mutually Exclusive? An Evaluation of General and Domain- Specific Relationships

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity and creative behaviors. A random sample of 612 college students, ages 18-35, enrolled at a large Southeastern university, were recruited via an anonymous email invitation. Creative behaviors were assessed via two self-report questionnaires, includingthe Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS) and the Biographical Inventory of Creative Behaviors (BICB). Self-reported physical activity habits were assessed with the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) questionnaire. One-week test–retest reliability was established on 10% of the participants.Of the multiple regression analyses that were conducted to examine the hypothesized relation-ship, between physical activity and creative activities, physical activity participation did not meaningfully influence domain-general or domain-specific creative activities. Additional selected independent variables, such as degree of exercise enjoyment and academic major were statistically significantly associated with self-reported creative activities. This study serves to identify more inclusive, yet parsimonious research hypotheses to further scientific knowledge in this under-investigated area.

Dialogue III: Public Sociology Practices, Privatising Universities

As a dialogue, this section engaged a wider range of participants than previous attempts. The email invitation to respond to the provocation and cases generated responses from contributors to four of the six cases, interestingly reflecting the contexts of England and Scotland; early career and recently retired academics, on more or less precarious contracts; and in ancient and modern universities. To what extent is public sociology as educational practice sustainable, even possible, within the neoliberal university? The challenges of engaging with integrity in educational practice within the neoliberal university, however that is mediated and experienced, has prompted an engaging and impassioned debate which will undoubtedly continue. Moreover, the personal cost of public sociology as educational practice has also been articulated. The context of the neoliberal university makes public sociology, and indeed educational practice with any integrity, a constant battle: exhausting, upsetting and demoralising. The medium of email exchange has mediated the emotional content, but the experience of rage, and tears, and indignation, is clearly shared by the dialogical participants....

You're invited – RSVP! The role of tailoring in incentivising people to delve into their pension situation

This paper used a randomised field experiment to test if tailoring an email invitation induces pension scheme participants to delve into their online personal pension situation. Action perspective and degree of urgency conveyed in the invitation were tailored based on gender and age. Overall, our empirical findings show that such tailoring had no positive effects on (1) the probability that pension scheme participants click on the weblink to access information about their pension situation and (2) the probability to log in to a tool for pension check.