Attitudes and personal beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine among people with COVID-19: a mixed-methods analysis.

BACKGROUND: Little research is available regarding vaccination attitudes among those recently diagnosed with COVID-19. This is important to investigate, particularly among those experiencing mild-to-moderate illness, given the ongoing need to improve uptake of both initial vaccine series and booster doses, and the divergent ways such an experience could impact attitudes. METHODS: From September 3 - November 12, 2021, all patients enrolled in Baylor Scott & White's "COVID-19 Digital Care Journey for Home Monitoring" were invited to participate in an online survey that included questions about vaccination status and attitudes/opinions regarding COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccines. Following an item asking about accordance of COVID-19 vaccination with religious/personal beliefs, participants were asked to describe those beliefs and how they relate to taking/not taking the vaccine. RESULTS: Of 8,075 patients age ≥ 18 years diagnosed with COVID-19 and invited to join the survey during the study period, 3242 (40.2%) were fully vaccinated. In contrast, among the 149 who completed the questionnaire, 95(63.8%) reported full vaccination. Responses differed significantly between vaccination groups. The vaccinated group strongly agreed that COVID-19 is a major public health problem, the vaccines are safe and effective, and their decision to vaccinate included considering community benefit. The unvaccinated group responded neutrally to most questions addressing safety and public health aspects of the vaccine, while strongly disagreeing with statements regarding vaccine effectiveness and other preventative public health measures. The vaccinated group strongly agreed that taking the vaccine accorded with their religious/personal beliefs, while the unvaccinated group was neutral. In qualitative analysis of the free text responses "risk perception/calculation" and "no impact" of religious/personal beliefs on vaccination decisions were frequent themes/subthemes in both groups, but beliefs related to the "greater good" were a strong driver among the vaccinated, while statements emphasizing "individual choice" were a third frequent theme for the unvaccinated. CONCLUSION: Our results show that two of the three factors that drive vaccine hesitancy (complacency, and lack of confidence in the vaccines) are present among unvaccinated adults recently diagnosed with COVID-19. They also show that beliefs emphasizing the importance of the greater good promote public health participation.

Convergence innovation in the digital age and in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Sustainable innovation is imperative for organizational survival and success in the turbulent market environment of the digital age, especially more so in the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This paper presents convergence innovation (CI), powered by the exponential fusion effect of the various objects, technologies, ideas, and strategies, as a new sustainable core competence of organizations. We present the concept of CI including its autonomous ecosystem enabled by advanced technologies, unique life cycle features, relationships with other innovation approaches, and its purpose of value creation for the stakeholders and beyond (for the greater good). The paper also explores how CI can be a catalyst for managing the current COVID-19 pandemic and charting the path to post crisis. The study makes contributions to both innovation literature and to practicing managers with new insights on sustainable innovation strategies for organizational performance and beyond.

Delusional Parasitosis Impeding Delivery of Acute Care in a Cancer Patient.

Taking care of patients with delusional parasitosis can be challenging. This report illustrates the added management complexity and ethical dilemmas surrounding a patient who was newly diagnosed with an incurable lung cancer, while at the same time was suffering from delusional parasitosis. Her delusion was so profound that she blamed flukes for her respiratory failure and refused treatment of her cancer. This paper emphasizes making the right decision with the greater good in mind, even if this meant "yielding" to a patient's delusion and treating the non-existing parasitosis in order for her to allow us to also treat the cancer.

A Social Responsibility Guide for Engineering Students and Professionals of all Faith Traditions: An Overview.

The development of the various themes of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is based on numerous papal documents and ecclesiastical statements. While this paper provides a summary of a number of these documents, this paper focuses on two themes: the common good and care of the environment, and on three documents authored by Pope John Paul II in 1990, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, and by Pope Francis in 2015. By analyzing these documents from an engineer's perspective, the author proposes a model for Socially Responsible Engineering. The proposed model is intended to serve as a guide for engineering students and practicing engineers of all faith traditions and to those with no faith tradition at all who wish to incorporate CST in the daily conduct of their personal and professional lives; to provide guidance for the professional the author terms the aspiring Socially Responsible Engineer; and to offer engineers a preferred alternative to the undesirable aspects of the technocratic paradigm. While intended primarily for engineers, this document also serves as a guide for those with expertise in social justice and who, by gaining a better understanding of the thought processes of engineers, can become better mentors for engineering students and practicing engineers seeking to incorporate CST into their daily lives.