Publications by authors named "Ramona Byrkit"
Background: On 20 September 2022, the Ugandan Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Sudan ebolavirus.
Methods: From 6 October 2022 to 10 January 2023, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff conducted public health assessments at five US ports of entry for travellers identified as having been in Uganda in the past 21 days. CDC also recommended that state, local and territorial health departments ('health departments') conduct post-arrival monitoring of these travellers.
Context: In response to the first reported mpox cases in May 2022, the US government implemented plans to bring testing, treatment, and vaccines to communities disproportionately affected by mpox-including the population of men who have sex with men (MSM) and Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino men, 2 subpopulations experiencing vaccination disparities. We describe the development and implementation of the US Mpox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program (MVEPP), characteristics of completed vaccination projects, and challenges that occurred. We also discuss opportunities for reducing vaccination disparities in future outbreaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Despite high rates of reported mental health symptoms among public health workers (PHWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilization of employer-offered resources was low. Our objective was to understand what barriers and deterrents exist for PHWs accessing employer-offered resources.
Methods: Four national public health organizations disseminated a national online survey of public health department employees during March-April 2021; 26 174 PHWs completed the survey.
The first three SARS-CoV-2 phylogenetic lineages classified as variants of concern (VOCs) in the United States (U.S.) from December 15, 2020 to February 28, 2021, Alpha (B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Health departments collaborated with the Say Yes! COVID Test program to distribute 5.8 million free COVID-19 self-tests, focusing on communities with high transmission and low vaccination rates from March to November 2021.
- The study aimed to gather insights from health department leaders about their experiences and challenges with the program through structured interviews.
- Key findings indicated that engaging community partners improved access to high-risk populations, while direct-to-consumer methods were less effective, highlighting the importance of privacy in increasing community acceptance.
Article Synopsis
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health workers faced heightened violence and harassment, leading to significant mental health issues.
- A study conducted in 2021 used an online survey to assess the impact of workplace violence on mental health symptoms like depression, anxiety, and PTSD among public health workers.
- Findings indicated that experiencing workplace violence significantly increased the likelihood of mental health problems, highlighting the need for better support and training for these workers.
Purpose: To evaluate the association between risk factors, mitigating factors, and adverse mental health outcomes among United States public health workers.
Methods: Cross-sectional online survey data were collected March to April 2021. The survey was distributed to public health workers who worked in a state, tribal, local, or territorial public health department since March 2020.
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a training and supportive supervision intervention in strengthening the capacity of pharmacy staff in Vietnam to deliver client-oriented, accurate healthcare information and appropriate services for childhood diarrhoea and emergency contraceptive pills (ECP).
Methods: Pre- and post-intervention study using a cross-sectional design. Pharmacy staff participated in 3 days of training on customer relations, good pharmacy practice, childhood diarrhoea and ECP over a period of 1 month, consisting of lectures, discussion, question-and-answer sessions and role-playing.