Publications by authors named "Carolyn Blackman"
Unlabelled: Elite athletes require a delicate balance of physiological and psychological stress and recovery-essential for achieving optimal performance. Monitoring heart rate variability (HRV) provides a non-invasive estimation of both physiological and psychological stress levels, offering potentially valuable insights into health, performance, and adaptability. Previous studies, primarily conducted on male participants, have shown an association between HRV and performance in the context of rowing training.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of mRNA vaccine booster doses against SARS-CoV-2 in nursing home residents, who are particularly vulnerable to severe outcomes from COVID-19.
- The research involved analyzing data from over 15,000 residents in two large nursing home systems who had completed an initial vaccination series and were eligible for a booster.
- The outcomes measured included rates of confirmed infections, hospitalizations, and deaths up to 12 weeks after the booster was administered, with the goal of comparing these rates between those who received the booster and those who did not.
Nursing home residents continue to experience significant COVID-19 morbidity and mortality (1). On March 29, 2022, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended a second mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for adults aged ≥50 years and all immunocompromised persons who had received a first booster ≥4 months earlier.* On September 1, 2022, ACIP voted to recommend bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all persons aged ≥12 years who had completed the primary series using monovalent vaccines ≥2 months earlier (2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigen tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are sometimes discordant. We evaluated the discordance between antigen and PCR tests sampled in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to assess the relationship of symptom presence, timing between tests, and the presence of a facility outbreak.
Design: Observational study using electronic health record data.
Objectives: To examine the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 during a post-acute skilled nursing facility (SNF) stay and the associated risk of death.
Design: Cohort study using Minimum Data Set and electronic health record data from a large multistate long-term care provider. Primary outcomes included testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the post-acute SNF stay, and death among those who tested positive.
Background: We sought to compare rates of adverse events among nursing home residents who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster dose with those who had not yet received their booster.
Methods: We assessed a prospective cohort of 11,200 nursing home residents who received a primary COVID-19 mRNA vaccine series at least 6 months prior to September 22, 2021 and received a third "booster dose" between September 22, 2021 and February 2, 2022. Residents lived in 239 nursing homes operated by Genesis HealthCare, spanning 21 U.
Background: At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large nursing home chain implemented a policy to temporarily hold potentially unnecessary medications. We describe rates of held and discontinued medications after a temporary hold policy of potentially unnecessary or nonessential medications.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study uses electronic health record (EHR) data on 3247 residents of 64 nursing homes operated by a multistate long-term care provider.
Objectives: To compare rates of adverse events following Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination among nursing home residents with and without previous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
Design: Prospective cohort.
Setting And Participants: A total of 20,918 nursing home residents who received the first dose of messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine from December 18, 2020, through February 14, 2021, in 284 facilities within Genesis Healthcare, a large nursing home provider spanning 24 US states.
Many older adults will spend their final days in a skilled nursing facility because of multiple complex conditions. Patients with unclear goals of care are at higher risk of rehospitalization and burdensome care at end of life. Palliative care has been shown to improve outcomes for this patient population; however, access is limited because of the small number of boarded specialists nationwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The devastating impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic prompted the development and emergency use authorization of two mRNA vaccines in early 2020. Vaccine trials excluded nursing home (NH) residents, limiting adverse event data that directly apply to this population.
Methods: To prospectively monitor for potential adverse events associated with vaccination, we used Electronic Health Record (EHR) data from Genesis HealthCare, the largest NH provider in the United States.
Objective: To compare rates of incident SARS-CoV-2 infection and 30-day hospitalization or death among residents with confirmed infection in nursing homes with earlier versus later SARS-CoV-2 vaccine clinics.
Design: Matched pairs analysis of nursing homes that had their initial vaccine clinics between December 18, 2020, and January 2, 2021, versus between January 3, 2021, and January 18, 2021. Matched facilities had their initial vaccine clinics between 12 and 16 days apart.
Improved therapeutics and supportive care in hospitals have helped reduce mortality from COVID-19. However, there is limited evidence as to whether nursing home residents, who account for a disproportionate share of COVID-19 deaths and are often managed conservatively in the nursing home instead of being admitted to the hospital, have experienced similar mortality reductions. In this study we examined changes in thirty-day mortality rates between March and November 2020 among 12,271 nursing home residents with COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe the frequency and timing of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody detection in a convenience sample of skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents with and without confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Design: Retrospective analysis of SNF electronic health records.
Setting: Qualitative SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results were available from 81 SNFs in 16 states.
Importance: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected nursing homes. Vulnerable nursing home residents are at high risk for adverse outcomes, but improved understanding is needed to identify risk factors for mortality among nursing home residents.
Objective: To identify risk factors for 30-day all-cause mortality among US nursing home residents with COVID-19.
This cross-sectional study examines the prevalence of asymptomatic and presymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in skilled nursing facilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/objectives: Infection screening tools classically define fever as 38.0°C (100.4°F).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To identify county and facility factors associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).
Design: Cross-sectional study linking county SARS-CoV-2 prevalence data, administrative data, state reports of SNF outbreaks, and data from Genesis HealthCare, a large multistate provider of post-acute and long-term care. State data are reported as of April 21, 2020; Genesis data are reported as of May 4, 2020.
Objectives: To illustrate dissemination and asymptomatic transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during a skilled nursing facility (SNF) outbreak.
Design: Case report.
Setting And Participants: Residents of a 150-bed SNF.