Editor's Note This study led by the sports therapy and research department at Baylor Scott and White Health, Frisco, Texas, finds that cloth face masks led to a 14% reduction in exercise time and 29% decrease in VO2max. In this randomized controlled trial of 31 healthy adults (14 women, 17…
The increasing availability of COVID-19 vaccines, along with proposed healthcare industry funding from the federal government, are reasons to feel hopeful about recovering from the pandemic. For people who are fully vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has green-lighted gathering with loved ones and resuming some activities that…
Personal health and well-being have become higher priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some people who previously may have ignored preventive care or postponed procedures are taking better care of themselves. Some are reexamining life choices as a result of changes taking place over the past year. “Many of us accept…
Editor's Note The findings of this study from the University of Michigan Schools of Nursing and Medicine, Ann Arbor, suggest a significantly increased suicide risk for nurses in the US, compared to the general population, but not for physicians. This cohort study using data from 2007 to 2018 includes suicides…
Editor's Note A 12-month investigation by The Guardian and Kaiser Health News finds that more than 3,600 US healthcare workers (HCWs) died from COVID-19 during the pandemic’s first year, the April 8 Kaiser Health News reports. Key findings include: People of color accounted for two-thirds of deaths. Risk of death…
Editor's Note This survey finds that 21% of faculty, staff, and trainees at University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, have considered quitting their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 30% considered reducing hours because of COVID-19-related stress. Other findings of the survey (5,030 respondents), which looked at childcare, career…
Editor's report A new report released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) on March 23 details how the COVID-19 pandemic has created new problems and worsened existing issues at US hospitals, leaving staff frustrated, exhausted, and burned out. Among the problems outlined…
Editor's Note The findings of this study from the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Irvine, suggest that there is a high prevalence of microaggressions that stigmatize female and racial/ethnic-minority surgeons and anesthesiologists and contribute to unhealthy surgical workplaces and physician burnout. Of 588 (259 female, 329 male) respondents to a…
Editor's Note In this C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at Michigan Medicine, 46% of parents of teenagers report that their child has exhibited signs of a new or worsening mental health condition since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The poll of 977 parents also finds that more…
Editor's Note In a Gartner survey of more than 5,000 employees, 29% said they were depressed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly half (49%) of respondents sought help through their companies mental health and well-being programs. The survey also found that 64% of employers have implemented new well-being…