Moral distress among infection prevention and control professionals: A scoping review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the vital role of Infection Prevention and Control Professionals (IPCPs) in safeguarding public health. Amid rapidly evolving guidelines, critical personal protective equipment shortages, and surging workloads, IPCPs encountered unprecedented moral and ethical dilemmas. However, their experiences, ethical challenges, and the resulting moral distress remain understudied.

Healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use at a major referral hospital in Papua New Guinea: a point prevalence survey.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and antimicrobial use (AMU) are drivers for antimicrobial resistance, and robust data are required to inform interventions and track changes. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of HAI and AMU at Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH), the largest hospital in Papua New Guinea.

Methods: We did a point prevalence survey (PPS) on HAI and AMU at PMGH in May 2023 using the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) PPS protocol.

Perceptions and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination among health professional students in Australia: a qualitative study.

Using two qualitative data sources: free-text responses to an open-ended question of an online survey and subsequent interviews and focus groups, we explored perceptions and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination among health professional students enrolled in Australian universities during the pandemic with data collected from October 2021 to April 2022. Students provided free-text responses to the open-ended question (n = 313) in the online survey and participated in interviews or focus groups (n = 17). Data analysis revealed three themes, including perceptions of COVID-19 seriousness and the risk of contracting the virus, information dissemination, and attitudes toward the vaccine mandate.

Advancements in tooth autotransplantation.

Background: Tooth autotransplantation (AT) involves the surgical relocation of a tooth from 1 site in the mouth to another site within the same patient. This approach is a good option in a growing patient when dental implant placements or fixed bridges are not suitable and when preserving natural teeth is a priority. Tooth AT is a complex procedure that requires specialized skills from a multidisciplinary team with careful patient and tooth selection and treatment planning.

Developing entrustable professional activities for general dentistry at the University of North Carolina.

Introduction: As part of curriculum innovation, the University of North Carolina (UNC) Adams School of Dentistry identified core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) that graduates must demonstrate for practice readiness. This paper describes the development of the UNC EPAs and the perceptions of the general dentistry faculty.

Methods: Upon establishing a blueprint of knowledge, skills, and attitudes of UNC graduates, using a distributed leadership approach, faculty teams developed EPAs focused on the patient care process.

Using a change management model to develop and implement dental curricula: A case study.

Curriculum transformation is a guiding principle and driving force to continued institutional growth and innovation in oral health education. The transformation process starts from the need and desire for change to achieve the strategic goals of curriculum invocation. The design and implementation process must follow a systematic approach to ensure the oral health curricula are meeting the demands of preparing learners for their future careers and are in line with the institutional strategic goals and processes.

Pharmacist and physician insight of vancomycin therapeutic drug-monitoring changes.

The updated vancomycin guideline for treatment of serious methicillin-resistant infections prompted institutions to convert from trough to area-under-the-curve monitoring. The physician perception of the transition, coupled with that of pharmacists, was measured by pre- and postimplementation surveys. Both groups believed safety would be increased without efficacy changes.

Audit of essential infection prevention and control content provided within undergraduate/postgraduate public health programs across Australian and New Zealand universities.

Background: To describe and analyse the infection prevention and control (IPC) curricula within Public Health degrees across Australian and New Zealand Universities and identify foundational IPC knowledge deficits.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of public health and related programs across tertiary education institutions within Australia and New Zealand was conducted to comprehensively illustrate the current inclusion of IPC core and elective courses and identify areas of IPC content deficit.

Results: Australian (n = 32) and New Zealand (n = 9) universities were audited, consisting of 217 public health/public health related degrees within Australia and 45 within New Zealand.

Pharmacologic Management of Infections: A Primer for Clinicians.

, a member of the complex, can cause infections in individuals after open heart surgery due to contaminated heater-cooler units. The diagnosis can be challenging, as the incubation period can be quite variable, and symptoms are nonspecific. In addition to aggressive surgical management, combination pharmacologic therapy is the cornerstone of therapy, which should consist of a macrolide, a rifamycin, ethambutol, and amikacin.

An observational study of peripheral intravenous and intraosseous device insertion reported in the United States of America National Emergency Medical Services Information System in 2016.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of intravenous and interosseous device insertion in the prehospital setting by prehospital clinicians, and the characteristics of patients receiving these devices as reported to the United States of America National Emergency Medical Services Information System.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the United States of America National Emergency Medical Services Information System public release dataset for the 2016 calendar year.

Results: A total of 20,454,975 events involving 40,438,959 procedures were analysed.

Peripheral intravenous catheter and intraosseous device insertions reported from the 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 in an Australian state ambulance service: An observational study.

Objective: To overcome the lack of larger, population-based studies reporting the prevalence of insertion of PIVCs and IO devices, and to describe the patient-related and service-related characteristics of these devices, inserted by paramedics, in an Australian state ambulance service.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the electronic Ambulance Report Form (medical record) and Computer Aided Dispatch system from the 1st July 2016 until 30th June 2017.

Results: 709,217 events were analysed.

Factors Influencing Health Care Workers' Willingness to Respond to Duty during Infectious Disease Outbreaks and Bioterrorist Events: An Integrative Review.

Background: Infectious disease emergencies are increasingly becoming part of the health care delivery landscape, having implications to not only individuals and the public, but also on those expected to respond to these emergencies. Health care workers (HCWs) are perhaps the most important asset in an infectious disease emergency, yet these individuals have their own barriers and facilitators to them being willing or able to respond.

Aim: The purpose of this review was to identify factors affecting HCW willingness to respond (WTR) to duty during infectious disease outbreaks and/or bioterrorist events.

Qualitative evaluation of an educational intervention to reduce medicolegal risks for medical doctors experiencing significantly more cases than their peers in the UK and Ireland.

Objectives: The Medical Protection Society (MPS) is a leading protection organisation for healthcare professionals worldwide. In the UK and Ireland, a small minority of MPS members experience significantly more medicolegal cases than their peers and are invited to participate in a risk education (RE) remediation process. To understand more about this educational intervention, we sought to explore participating doctors' views of their experiences of this process and identify self-reported performance improvements and what elements of the intervention could be improved.

A healthy degree of suspicion: A discussion of the implementation of transmission based precautions in the emergency department.

Background: Emergency department (ED) presentations have increased significantly domestically and internationally. Swift identification and implementation of transmission based precautions (TBP) for patients known or suspected of having an epidemiologically important pathogen is important. ED staff, particularly triage nurses, are pivotal in detecting and preventing infection, including healthcare associated infections (HAI).

'Putting it together': unfolding case studies and high-fidelity simulation in the first-year of an undergraduate nursing curriculum.

The use of simulation as a teaching strategy in undergraduate nursing education is gaining increasing credibility and popularity. This article describes a study undertaken to evaluate first-year undergraduate nursing students' level of satisfaction with a new model of teaching clinical skills using unfolding case studies in a high-fidelity simulated clinical setting. The design incorporated a case study design conducted over 4 × 6 h simulation sessions.

Preparedness for and impact of tropical cyclone Yasi in North Queensland, Australia.

Introduction: Tropical cyclone (TC) Yasi, thought to be the largest and most severe cyclone to cross the Queensland coast since 1918, made landfall on the southern tropical coast near Mission Beach and continued to track westward across Northern Queensland on February 3, 2011. The warning and response model (WRM) suggests that situational factors, personal characteristics, and social contextual variables influence the degree of threat perceived and protective actions taken. Aim The aim of this study was to examine preparation for this impending natural disaster by residents of the affected regions, and to identify the residents' resource losses and symptoms of psychological distress following TC Yasi.

Myocardial AKT: the omnipresent nexus.

One of the greatest examples of integrated signal transduction is revealed by examination of effects mediated by AKT kinase in myocardial biology. Positioned at the intersection of multiple afferent and efferent signals, AKT exemplifies a molecular sensing node that coordinates dynamic responses of the cell in literally every aspect of biological responses. The balanced and nuanced nature of homeostatic signaling is particularly essential within the myocardial context, where regulation of survival, energy production, contractility, and response to pathological stress all flow through the nexus of AKT activation or repression.

Nucleolar stress is an early response to myocardial damage involving nucleolar proteins nucleostemin and nucleophosmin.

Nucleolar stress, characterized by loss of nucleolar integrity, has not been described in the cardiac context. In addition to ribosome biogenesis, nucleoli are critical for control of cell proliferation and stress responses. Our group previously demonstrated induction of the nucleolar protein nucleostemin (NS) in response to cardiac pathological insult.

Mitochondrial translocation of Nur77 mediates cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Aims: The cascade of events leading to compromised mitochondrial integrity in response to stress is mediated by various combinatorial interactions of pro- and anti-apoptotic molecules. Nur77, an immediate early gene that encodes a nuclear orphan receptor, translocates from the nucleus to mitochondria to induce cytochrome c release and apoptosis in cancer cells in response to various pro-apoptotic treatments. However, the role of Nur77 in the cardiac setting is still unclear.

Pim-1 kinase protects mitochondrial integrity in cardiomyocytes.

Rationale: Cardioprotective signaling mediates antiapoptotic actions through multiple mechanisms including maintenance of mitochondrial integrity. Pim-1 kinase is an essential downstream effector of AKT-mediated cardioprotection but the mechanistic basis for maintenance of mitochondrial integrity by Pim-1 remains unexplored. This study details antiapoptotic actions responsible for enhanced cell survival in cardiomyocytes with elevated Pim-1 activity.

Pim-1 kinase antagonizes aspects of myocardial hypertrophy and compensation to pathological pressure overload.

Pim-1 kinase exerts potent cardioprotective effects in the myocardium downstream of AKT, but the participation of Pim-1 in cardiac hypertrophy requires investigation. Cardiac-specific expression of Pim-1 (Pim-WT) or the dominant-negative mutant of Pim-1 (Pim-DN) in transgenic mice together with adenoviral-mediated overexpression of these Pim-1 constructs was used to delineate the role of Pim-1 in hypertrophy. Transgenic overexpression of Pim-1 protects mice from pressure-overload-induced hypertrophy relative to wild-type controls as evidenced by improved hemodynamic function, decreased apoptosis, increases in antihypertrophic proteins, smaller myocyte size, and inhibition of hypertrophic signaling after challenge.