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Microbiology Spectrum Jun 2022Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of debilitating and life-threatening diseases, and thus remains a challenging global health threat. S. aureus is remarkably...
Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of debilitating and life-threatening diseases, and thus remains a challenging global health threat. S. aureus is remarkably diverse, yet only a minority of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clones have caused pandemic proportions of diseases. The genetic drivers of the successful dissemination of some clones across wide geographical expanses remain poorly understood. We analyzed 386 recently published MRSA genomes from bloodstream infections sampled in North, Central, and South America from 2011 to 2018. Here, we show that MRSA-associated bloodstream infections were attributable to two genetically distinct lineages. One lineage consisted almost exclusively of sequence type (ST) 8, which emerged in 1964. A second lineage emerged in 1986 and consisted of STs 5, 105, and 231. The two lineages have simultaneously disseminated across geographically distant sites. Sublineages rapidly diverged within locations in the early 2000s. Their diversification was associated with independent acquisitions of unique variants of the mobile -carrying chromosomal cassette and distinct repertoires of antimicrobial resistance genes. We show that the evolution and spread of invasive multidrug-resistant MRSA in the Americas was driven by transcontinental dissemination, followed by more recent establishment and divergence of local pathogen populations. Our study highlights the need for continued international surveillance of high-risk clones to control the global health threat of multidrug resistance. Bloodstream infections due to S. aureus cause significant patient morbidity and mortality worldwide, exacerbated by the emergence and spread of methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA). This study provides important insights on the evolution and long-distance geographic expansion of two distinct MRSA lineages that predominate in bloodstream infections in the past 5 decades. The success of these two lineages partly lies on their acquisition of a diverse set of antimicrobial resistance genes and of unique variants of the mobile genetic element SCC that carries the gene conferring resistance to beta-lactams. High-risk antimicrobial resistant clones can therefore rapidly disseminate across long distances and establish within local communities within a short period of time. These results have important implications for global initiatives and local epidemiological efforts to monitor and control invasive MRSA infections and transcontinental spread of multidrug resistance.
Topics: Americas; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Evolution, Molecular; Humans; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Sepsis; Staphylococcal Infections; Staphylococcus aureus
PubMed: 35638778
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00201-22 -
JMIR Serious Games Mar 2023The COVID-19 pandemic introduced an urgent need for effective strategies to disseminate crucial knowledge and improve people's subjective well-being. Complementing more...
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced an urgent need for effective strategies to disseminate crucial knowledge and improve people's subjective well-being. Complementing more conventional approaches to knowledge dissemination, game-based interventions were developed to create awareness and educate people about the pandemic, hoping to change their attitudes and behavior.
OBJECTIVE
This study provided an overview and analysis of digital and analog game-based interventions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As major pandemics and other large-scale disruptive events are expected to increase in frequency in the coming decades, this analysis aimed to inform the design, uptake, and effects of similar future interventions.
METHODS
From November 2021 to April 2022, Scopus, Google, and YouTube were searched for articles and videos describing COVID-19-themed game-based interventions. Information regarding authorship, year of development or launch, country of origin, license, deployment, genre or type, target audience, player interaction, in-game goal, and intended transfer effects was extracted. Information regarding intervention effectiveness was retrieved where possible.
RESULTS
A diverse assortment of 23 analog and 43 digital serious games was identified, approximately one-third of them (25/66, 38%) through scientific articles. Most of these games were developed by research institutions in 2020 (13/66, 20%) and originated in Europe and North America (38/66, 58%). A limited number (20/66, 30%) were tested on relatively small samples, using a diversity of research methods to assess the potential changes in participants' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors as well as their gameplay experience. Although most of the evaluated games (11/20, 55%) effectively engaged and motivated the players, increased awareness, and improved their understanding of COVID-19-related issues, the games' success in influencing people's behavior was often unclear or limited.
CONCLUSIONS
To increase the impact of similar future interventions aimed at disseminating knowledge and influencing people's attitudes and behaviors during a large-scale crisis, some considerations are suggested. On the basis of the study results and informed by existing game theories, recommendations are made in relation to game development, deployment, and distribution; game users, design, and use; game design terminology; and effectiveness testing for serious games.
PubMed: 36634265
DOI: 10.2196/41766 -
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 2019The high prevalence of chronic pain conditions combined with an over-reliance on opioid prescriptions has resulted in an opioid epidemic and a desperate need for... (Review)
Review
The high prevalence of chronic pain conditions combined with an over-reliance on opioid prescriptions has resulted in an opioid epidemic and a desperate need for solutions. There is some debate about whether cannabis might play a role in addressing chronic pain conditions as well as the opioid epidemic. Recent surveys suggest that a large number of people are using cannabis as a treatment for pain and to reduce use of opioids, and cannabis-derived products demonstrate at least modest efficacy in the treatment of pain in randomized controlled trials. In addition, surveillance studies from countries that have approved the use of Sativex, which is a cannabis-based product, have demonstrated that a combination of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol has low potential for harm, is well tolerated, and is helpful to patients. Given the number of people in the United States who are already using cannabis to manage pain and opioid use in state-regulated markets, it is imperative to conduct additional research in these areas, and to disseminate information on how to minimize harm and maximize any benefits of using cannabinoids to mitigate pain and reduce opioid use. The purpose of this article is to call attention to the fact that cannabis is being used in the management of chronic pain. Thus, this article also provides a set of guidelines on how to approach using cannabis to treat pain.
PubMed: 31579833
DOI: 10.1089/can.2018.0052 -
BMJ Open Oct 2022Health agencies and community organisations play a crucial role in disseminating information to the public about COVID-19 risks and events, providing instructions on how...
INTRODUCTION
Health agencies and community organisations play a crucial role in disseminating information to the public about COVID-19 risks and events, providing instructions on how to change behaviour to mitigate those risks, motivating compliance with health directives and addressing false information. Social media platforms are a critical tool in risk communication, providing a medium for rapid transmission of messages as well as providing the opportunity for engagement and immediate feedback. Access to health information, services and support are especially important for marginalised and underserved ('equity-deserving') populations who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This scoping review aims to review the breadth and depth of the academic and grey literature on equity-informed social media risk communication tools to provide guidance on promising practices and principles for reaching equity-deserving populations through social media.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework guided the identification of the research question; identification and selection of relevant studies from electronic databases and hand-searches of discipline-specific journals; extraction and charting of the data; and collating and reporting of findings. The results of the screening process will be reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis-Scoping Review guidelines.
FINDINGS
We will identify reported facilitators and barriers to the development of risk communications that target equity-deserving communities. We will also identify recommendations for equity-informed risk communication for COVID-19.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
This study does not require ethics approval. We intend to disseminate the results through publication in an open-access peer-reviewed journal, conference presentations, lay summaries (eg, checklists) for health organisations and messages to be shared through social media.
Topics: Humans; Communication; COVID-19; Social Media; Systematic Reviews as Topic
PubMed: 36307165
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061851 -
The Journal of Mental Health Policy and... Dec 2023In the US, much of the research into new intervention and delivery models for behavioral health care is funded by research institutes and foundations, typically through... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
In the US, much of the research into new intervention and delivery models for behavioral health care is funded by research institutes and foundations, typically through grants to develop and test the new interventions. The original grant funding is typically time-limited. This implies that eventually communities, clinicians, and others must find resources to replace the grant funding -otherwise the innovation will not be adopted. Diffusion is challenged by the continued dominance in the US of fee-for-service reimbursement, especially for behavioral health care.
AIMS
To understand the financial challenges to disseminating innovative behavioral health delivery models posed by fee-for-service reimbursement, and to explore alternative payment models that promise to accelerate adoption by better addressing need for flexibility and sustainability.
METHODS
We review US experience with three specific novel delivery models that emerged in recent years. The models are: collaborative care model for depression (CoCM), outpatient based opioid treatment (OBOT), and the certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) model. These examples were selected as illustrating some common themes and some different issues affecting diffusion. For each model, we discuss its core components; evidence on its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness; how its dissemination was funded; how providers are paid; and what has been the uptake so far.
RESULTS
The collaborative care model has existed for longest, but has been slow to disseminate, due in part to a lack of billing codes for key components until recently. The OBOT model faced that problem, and also (until recently) a regulatory requirement requiring physicians to obtain federal waivers in order to prescribe buprenorphine. Similarly, the CCBHC model includes previously nonbillable services, but it appears to be diffusing more successfully than some other innovations, due in part to the approach taken by funders.
DISCUSSION
A common challenge for all three models has been their inclusion of services that were not (initially) reimbursable in a fee-for-service system. However, even establishing new procedure codes may not be enough to give providers the flexibility needed to implement these models, unless payers also implement alternative payment models.
IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND USE
For providers who receive time-limited grant funding to implement these novel delivery models, one key lesson is the need to start early on planning how services will be sustained after the grant ends.
IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY
For research funders (e.g., federal agencies), it is clearly important to speed up the process of obtaining coverage for each novel delivery model, including the development of new billable service codes, and to plan for this as early as possible. Funders also need to collaborate with providers early in the grant period on sustainability planning for the post-grant environment. For payers, a key lesson is the need to fold novel models into stable existing funding streams such as Medicaid and commercial insurance coverage, rather than leaving them at the mercy of revolving time-limited grants, and to provide pathways for contracting for innovations under new payment models.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
For researchers, a key recommendation would be to pay greater attention to the payment environment when designing new delivery models and interventions.
Topics: United States; Humans; Fee-for-Service Plans; Medicaid; Ambulatory Care Facilities
PubMed: 38113385
DOI: No ID Found -
Current Cardiology Reviews 2021The use of Twitter or other social media platforms for research can transcend current limitations in the dissemination of research and present new opportunities for... (Review)
Review
The use of Twitter or other social media platforms for research can transcend current limitations in the dissemination of research and present new opportunities for research networking by connecting researchers, clinicians, policymakers, the public, and other stakeholders on a global scale. As social media influence continues to expand, it becomes increasingly important for cardiovascular researchers to employ social media strategies to increase the impact of their research work, for the ultimate goal of improved outcomes for patients living with or at risk for cardiovascular diseases. Altmetrics are novel metrics that track the attention that scholarly outputs are receiving in non-traditional sources such as in the news, blogs, and social media posts. These alternative metrics record research dissemination beyond traditional journal citation indices, while also predicting and even promoting future citations. This review outlines various methods of how social media can be used to disseminate research, guidance on how to develop a social media portfolio for consideration of academic promotion, and some best practices for promoting one's research work.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Cardiology; Cardiovascular Diseases; Communication; Humans; Social Media
PubMed: 31729303
DOI: 10.2174/1573403X15666191113151325 -
Health Information and Libraries Journal Dec 2021This editorial discusses the emergence of visual abstracts within journals to disseminate findings. Published alongside Aggarwal's retrospective study reporting that...
This editorial discusses the emergence of visual abstracts within journals to disseminate findings. Published alongside Aggarwal's retrospective study reporting that visual abstracts do not increase impact scores more than conventional abstracts of clinical research, it is suggested that visual abstracts may have a greater impact for smaller, specialty journals.
Topics: Humans; Retrospective Studies; Social Media
PubMed: 34927357
DOI: 10.1111/hir.12405 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Jul 2021The COVID-19 outbreak has tremendously impacted the world. The number of confirmed cases has continued to increase, causing damage to society and the economy worldwide....
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 outbreak has tremendously impacted the world. The number of confirmed cases has continued to increase, causing damage to society and the economy worldwide. The public pays close attention to information on the pandemic and learns about the disease through various media outlets. The dissemination of comprehensive and accurate COVID-19 information that the public needs helps to educate people so they can take preventive measures.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to examine the dissemination of COVID-19 information by analyzing the information released by the official WeChat account of the People's Daily during the pandemic. The most-read COVID-19 information in China was summarized, and the factors that influence information dissemination were studied to understand the characteristics that affect its dissemination. Moreover, this was conducted in order to identify how to effectively disseminate COVID-19 information and to provide suggestions on how to manage public opinion and information governance during a pandemic.
METHODS
This was a retrospective study based on a WeChat official account. We collected all COVID-19-related information, starting with the first report about COVID-19 from the People's Daily and ending with the last piece of information about lifting the first-level emergency response in 34 Chinese provinces. A descriptive analysis was then conducted on this information, as well as on Qingbo Big Data's dissemination index. Multiple linear regression was utilized to study the factors that affected information dissemination based on various characteristics and the dissemination index.
RESULTS
From January 19 to May 2, 2020, the People's Daily released 1984 pieces of information; 1621 were related to COVID-19, which mainly included headline news items, items with emotional content, and issues related to the pandemic's development. By analyzing the dissemination index, seven information dissemination peaks were discerned. Among the three dimensions of COVID-19 information-media salience, content, and format-eight factors affected the spread of COVID-19 information.
CONCLUSIONS
Different types of pandemic-related information have varying dissemination power. To effectively disseminate information and prevent the spread of COVID-19, we should identify the factors that affect this dissemination. We should then disseminate the types of information the public is most concerned about, use information to educate people to improve their health literacy, and improve public opinion and information governance.
Topics: COVID-19; China; Humans; Information Dissemination; Retrospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Social Media
PubMed: 34129515
DOI: 10.2196/28563 -
Implementation Science : IS Oct 2020Research has the potential to influence US social policy; however, existing research in this area lacks a coherent message. The Model for Dissemination of Research... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Research has the potential to influence US social policy; however, existing research in this area lacks a coherent message. The Model for Dissemination of Research provides a framework through which to synthesize lessons learned from research to date on the process of translating research to US policymakers.
METHODS
The peer-reviewed and grey literature was systematically reviewed to understand common strategies for disseminating social policy research to policymakers in the United States. We searched Academic Search Premier, PolicyFile, SocINDEX, Social Work Abstracts, and Web of Science from January 1980 through December 2019. Articles were independently reviewed and thematically analyzed by two investigators and organized using the Model for Dissemination of Research.
RESULTS
The search resulted in 5225 titles and abstracts for inclusion consideration. 303 full-text articles were reviewed with 27 meeting inclusion criteria. Common sources of research dissemination included government, academic researchers, the peer reviewed literature, and independent organizations. The most frequently disseminated research topics were health-related, and legislators and executive branch administrators were the most common target audience. Print materials and personal communication were the most common channels for disseminating research to policymakers. There was variation in dissemination channels by level of government (e.g., a more formal legislative process at the federal level compared with other levesl). Findings from this work suggest that dissemination is most effective when it starts early, galvanizes support, uses champions and brokers, considers contextual factors, is timely, relevant, and accessible, and knows the players and process.
CONCLUSIONS
Effective dissemination of research to US policymakers exists; yet, rigorous quantitative evaluation is rare. A number of cross-cutting strategies appear to enhance the translation of research evidence into policy.
REGISTRATION
Not registered.
Topics: Communication; Humans; Policy; Research Personnel; United States
PubMed: 33059748
DOI: 10.1186/s13012-020-01046-3 -
MBio Jun 2023Pf is a filamentous bacteriophage integrated in the chromosome of most clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Under stress conditions, mutations occurring in the...
Pf is a filamentous bacteriophage integrated in the chromosome of most clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Under stress conditions, mutations occurring in the Pf genome result in the emergence of superinfective variants of Pf (SI-Pf) that are capable of circumventing phage immunity; therefore, SI-Pf can even infect Pf-lysogenized P. aeruginosa. Here, we identified specific mutations located between the repressor and the excisionase genes of Pf4 phage in the P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain that resulted in the emergence of SI-Pf. Based on these findings, we genetically engineered an SI-Pf (eSI-Pf) and tested it as a phage therapy tool for the treatment of life-threatening burn wound infections caused by PAO1. In validation experiments, eSI-Pf was able to infect PAO1 grown in a lawn as well as biofilms formed on polystyrene. eSI-Pf also infected PAO1 present in burned skin wounds on mice but was not capable of maintaining a sustained reduction in bacterial burden beyond 24 h. Despite not lowering bacterial burden in burned skin tissue, eSI-Pf treatment completely abolished the capability of P. aeruginosa to disseminate from the burn site to internal organs. Over the course of 10 days, this resulted in bacterial clearance and survival of all treated mice. We subsequently determined that eSI-Pf induced a small-colony variant of P. aeruginosa that was unable to disseminate systemically. This attenuated phenotype was due to profound changes in virulence determinant production and altered physiology. Our results suggest that eSI-Pf has potential as a phage therapy against highly recalcitrant antimicrobial-resistant P. aeruginosa infections of burn wounds. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of burn-related infections. It is also the most likely bacterial infection to advance to sepsis and result in burn-linked death. Frequently, P. aeruginosa strains isolated from burn patients display a multidrug-resistant phenotype necessitating the development of new therapeutic strategies and prophylactic treatments. In this context, phage therapy using lytic phages has demonstrated exciting potential in the control P. aeruginosa infection. However, lytic phages can present a set of drawbacks during phage therapy, including the induction of bacterial resistance and limited bacteria-phage interactions . Here, we propose an alternative approach to interfere with P. aeruginosa pathogenesis in a burn infection model, i.e., by using an engineered superinfective filamentous phage. Our study demonstrates that treatment with the engineered Pf phage can prevent sepsis and death in a burn mouse model.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Bacteriophages; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas Infections; Pseudomonas Phages; Sepsis; Burns
PubMed: 37039641
DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00472-23