Negotiating Desire and Uncertainty on Tinder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for the Transformation of Sexual Health Communication.

Research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communication on Tinder is presented in this article. This research examines reported changes in communication about sex and health during COVID-19 and the potential implications of those changes on hookup culture and sexual health communication beyond the pandemic. Data from 29 in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 female and 9 male college students are reported. Results include discussion of how college students are managing uncertainty, particularly uncertainty about health status, changes in communication and information-seeking strategies, different COVID-19 safety measures they have employed, and the future impact on communication about sexual health post-COVID-19. Participants in this study use uncertainty reduction communication strategies to gauge whether the risks of remaining on Tinder or meeting in person are worth the benefit. Results show that the quality and quantity of communication around first time in-person meetings have been modified, as the traditional public spaces for meeting have been reduced or eliminated and replaced by private spaces. Participants stated that they communicate more frequently and more directly about health, sexual health, and infection transmission. Finally, results indicate that participants have a strong desire to be more cautious and cognizant of health and safety in the future by using some of the communication strategies they developed during COVID-19.

Understanding Patients' Perspectives on Opt-Out, Incentivized, and Mandatory HIV Testing.

BACKGROUND: Currently, widespread HIV testing is the best preventive action against further spread of the HIV epidemic. However, over 40% of the U.S. population has never been tested for HIV and 25% of those with HIV have never been tested. To increase testing rates, in 2006 the CDC advised healthcare settings to conduct testing on an opt-out basis. METHODS: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with ten seropositive patients and ten seronegative were conducted to address the lack of studies investigating patients' acceptance of and attitude towards this and more novel testing models, e.g. incentivized or anonymous mandatory testing. Participants were asked about their HIV testing history and attitudes towards opt-out, incentivized, and mandatory anonymous HIV testing. RESULTS: Major themes were identified using grounded theory data analysis. All participants were receptive to opt-out testing, and saw the removal of separate written consent as beneficial as long as patients were given the opportunity to consent in some form. CONCLUSION: Ultimately, both mandatory and opt-out testing were equally indicated by participants as being the most effective testing model at increasing testing rates. A firm understanding of patients' perspectives allows for development of effective HIV testing initiatives that are patient-sensitive and can substantially reduce HIV infection rates.

"You Never Forget Your First Mistake": Nursing Socialization, Memorable Messages, and Communication About Medical Errors.

As nurses' communication is essential to prevent, intercept, and resolve medical mistakes, it is important to understand how they learn to communicate about medical errors. In this study, we identify memorable messages about communicating about mistakes that nursing students receive during their training and how they make sense of these messages. Data were acquired through individual interviews with 68 nursing students. The data were analyzed using a thematic constant comparative method. While open and honest communication about medical errors was the overarching message participants formally and informally learned, for nursing students, communicating about medical errors is a much more complex process than using open and honest communication. When dealing with medical errors, nursing students relied on three major memorable messages to guide their communication: (a) Not everyone hears about errors, (b) hierarchy matters, and

Narrativizing Nursing Students' Experiences With Medical Errors During Clinicals.

The ways providers story their mistake experiences help to explain how providers understand medical errors and how they communicate about those errors. Communication scholars have slowly begun to explore the communicative nature of medical error experiences, with communication research becoming more abundant over the past few years. Missing from this discussion is how students in health professions, in this case nursing students, tell medical errors narratives and how the stories help them determine how to respond to mistakes. In this article, we explore how nursing students narrativize their medical errors experiences during clinicals. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 68 nursing students. The interviews were transcribed and resulted in a total of 1,261 single-spaced pages of data. We found that nursing students told three different narratives: (a) the "save the day" narrative, (b) the "silence" narrative, and (c) the "not always right" narrative. Finally, we discuss the implications of these narratives and their impact on nursing education.

Baccalaureate nursing students' accounts of medical mistakes occurring in the clinical setting: implications for curricula.

Since the Institute of Medicine's landmark report on medical mistakes, To Err Is Human, was published, considerable attention has been given to training medical professionals about medical mistakes. However, little research has been conducted to explore the experiences of nursing students with mistakes made during their clinical rotations. If nurse educators are to teach nursing students how to deal with mistakes appropriately, it is necessary to have a more complete understanding of the types of mistakes nursing students make during their training, how and if they communicate about their mistakes, and students' perceptions of how prepared they were to address the mistakes. Greater knowledge in this area will help nurse educators better prepare nursing students to intercept and report mistakes. This article presents research results from three components of a larger qualitative research study that explored the socialization processes of nursing students in regard to medical mistakes.

Pharmacy student knowledge and communication of medication errors.

OBJECTIVES: To describe and evaluate pharmacy students' knowledge of and comfort in communicating, managing, and preventing medication errors. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, a survey instrument was administered to fifth-year pharmacy students. The survey instrument included both open- and close-ended questions to describe and examine factors associated with knowledge and comfort in communication of medication errors. RESULTS: Survey instruments were completed by 93 students (90% response rate). Nearly 80% reported not having received training in communicating medication errors. The perception of having more adequate training was related to greater knowledge in the communication of medication errors (p < or = 0.001). Knowledge was also associated with students having greater comfort in communicating medication errors (p < or = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The need and value of additional training for pharmacy students in communicating medication errors was demonstrated. Educational interventions should be developed to provide consistent instruction on these communication issues.

Reflection and analysis of how pharmacy students learn to communicate about medication errors.

Medication errors are a serious and costly problem. This study focuses on the socialization of pharmacy students regarding medication errors. The qualitative interview protocol contained 28 questions on topics such as communication-related medication errors and training on how to handle medication errors. In-depth interviews were conducted with 44 students enrolled in a 6-year entry-level pharmacy program. Five main themes emerged regarding medication errors and communication: (a) pressure to be perfect, (b) feeling comfortable talking about mistakes, (c) assuming and communicating responsibility for mistakes, (d) learning how processes can contribute to errors and their prevention, and (e) inadequate and inconsistent training on how to handle medication errors. Study results indicate that pharmacy students experience both incomplete and inconsistent socialization to the role of communication in medication errors and in their prevention.

TLC-HEAT: Telephony-based self-care for overweight children.

Efforts to use information technology (IT) to link pediatric primary care patients in the home with their clinicians have been rudimentary to date. We have developed a model information system that uses a ubiquitous user-interface, the telephone, and the electronic health record (EHR) to support health behavior change and weight loss for overweight urban children and their parents. In this paper, we present the technical architecture and underlying psychological theories used to build the system.