Health Science Inquiry (Journal)
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To Resist or Not to Resist? That is the Dangerous Situation: A Look at Antimicrobial Stewardship in Pediatric Care in North America
Get PDFThis article will explore the impact of antibiotic resistance on pediatric care in North America, specifically focusing on how it negatively affects patient health outcomes. The mitigation of this issue in everyday health practice will be outlined. Antibiotics are one of the most commonly prescribed medications in children, with a significant number of them being used inappropriately. Considering the growing global threat of antibiotic resistant superbugs, it is vital to develop strategies and programs for decreasing antibiotic misuse and combating antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship is one such method of reducing antibiotic resistance and has already shown evidence of improving patient outcomes, such as decreasing risk of future invasive infections, decreasing hospitalization and decreasing mortality. With more awareness to this dangerous issue, we are beginning to see the development and implementation of a variety of practices aimed at using antibiotics judiciously in pediatric patients across North America. This article will address the severity of the issue of antibiotic resistance in pediatric care in North America and highlight how this can be managed using antimicrobial stewardship principles that are practical, evidence-based and easily implementable in healthcare practices. Although there is still much work to be done, small improvements in resistance rates show that we are moving in the right direction
A Bestiary of COVID Conspiracies
Get PDFAn infodemic of false information and conspiracy theories has followed closely in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbating the public health disaster. In order to curb their spread and counter their effects, conspiratorial beliefs must be catalogued and understood. Drawing on examples from social media video and audio sharing platforms, we provide a non-exhaustive list of conspiratorial beliefs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and categorize them into three groups: A) beliefs concerning the motivation of the conspirators, including bringing down a rival nation-state, bringing about planetary depopulation, and/or imposing global tyranny; B) beliefs concerning the nature of the COVID-19 disease, including that the disease is made-up, that its impact is exaggerated, that it is caused by a bioengineered virus, and/or that it is caused by a non-viral agent; and C) beliefs concerning the public health response, including that masks and vaccines are harmful to health, and/or that vaccination is an insidious way to track and control the population. We conclude by reflecting on the necessity of tracking and understanding the continuously evolving epistemic ecosystem of pandemic-related conspiracist beliefs in order to implement effective strategies to “quarantine” harmful conspiracy theories and “vaccinate” individuals against conspiracism
Taking the Pulse on Pedagogy: Anesthesiology Training in Virtual and Augmented Reality
Get PDFAnesthesiology represents a field where clinical precision cannot be compromised when it comes to procedural task performance. As such, better pedagogical approaches can be critical in ensuring a trainee is able to acquire mastery and refine technique for anesthesiologic interventions. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies are one option that is growing in popularity due to its ability to enhance hands-on learning (albeit virtually), especially during disease outbreaks, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. A large advantage to these forms of remote learning technology is the reduction of human resources required to run a training session. This commentary explores the current state of VR/AR in anesthesiology medical education
COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa: The Need for Investment in Research
Get PDFDespite the discovery of a vaccine, there are still growing concerns about the COVID-19 virus. While many western countries have made resource investments into health research, this is a challenging aspect for a lot of African countries. For a region with a lot of experience in epidemics, there has not been efficient investment in health research. Rather, there is a lot of over reliance on the west for vaccine production and development of protocols that are challenging to implement in African countries such as storage conditions for vaccines and access to clean water. A takeaway from the COVID-19 pandemic is that even in a global economic disruption, most countries will seek to aid their citizens and improve their well-being before outsourcing resources to third-world countries. So, it is imperative that Africa as a continent invest heavily in health research, education, medical infrastructure, and development to better prepare for future pandemics
