Perceived roles of Emergency Department physicians regarding anticipatory guidance on firearm safety.

BACKGROUND: Several professional medical societies advocate for firearm safety counseling with patients. Little is known about Emergency Physicians' practices and perceptions of firearm safety counseling. OBJECTIVE: To assess Emergency Physicians' beliefs regarding firearm control and their confidence in counseling patients on firearm safety. METHODS: A national random sample (n = 500) of the members of the American College of Emergency Physicians was sent a valid and reliable questionnaire on firearm safety counseling. RESULTS: Of the 278 (56.8%) responding physicians, those who were non-white and those who were not members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) perceived firearm violence to be more of a problem than white physicians and those who were members of the NRA. The majority did not believe that patients would view them as a good source of information on firearm safety (63.3%) or that patients would accept them providing anticipatory firearm safety guidance (56.5%). The majority of the Emergency Department physicians did not believe firearm safety counseling would impact firearm-related homicides (75.2%) or suicides (70%). CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of Emergency Physicians had never been formally trained regarding firearm safety counseling, did not believe patients would see them as credible sources, and did not believe that anticipatory guidance on firearm safety would have any impact. These data may help inform Emergency Medicine residency programs on the training needs of residents regarding anticipatory guidance on firearm safety.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs of Pediatric Health Care Workers: Understanding the Response to COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: This research aims to assess knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of PHCW regarding COVID-19. METHOD: Data collected using an electronic survey sent to pediatric health care workers. RESULTS: Age was not likely to influence willingness to care for patients with COVID-19. Males were more likely to be willing to care for patients than female. Nurse practitioners were more likely to be willing to care for patients with COVID-19 than physicians. Availability of proper personal protective equipment, COVID-19 knowledge, and training did not influence willingness to care for COVID-19 patients. Healthcare workers with a higher risk of COVID-19-related sickness, and who received most of their COVID-19 information from social media, were less likely to be willing to care for COVID positive patients. As perception of hospital preparedness increased, reluctance to care for COVID-19 positive patients decreased. DISCUSSION: Hospital preparedness and social media exposure play a significant role in willingness to care for patients with COVID-19.

Sheriffs perceptions of firearm control polices.

Public health professionals can maximize their effectiveness in reducing firearm trauma by seeking partners from law enforcement professionals. This study assessed sheriff's support for various types of firearm control measures and their firearm control advocacy activities. A 29 item valid and reliable survey was used for a three- wave mailing to a national random sample of 650 sheriffs. The majority (over 50%) of sheriffs supported 4 of 14 proposed firearm control policies. Almost 55% of responding sheriffs were members of the NRA and being a member of the NRA was significantly associated with less support for 12 of the 14 firearm control policies. The majority (>70%) of sheriffs did not participate in most firearm control advocacy activities. Sheriffs were found to be far less supportive of potentially important firearm control policies than what has been previously found for police chiefs. Thus, sheriffs may be less helpful than police chiefs as colleagues for public health campaigns to reduce firearm trauma.

School nurses' role in identifying and referring children at risk of noise-induced hearing loss.

Young people are likely to experience noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), as the use of personal listening devices and other damaging factors (e.g., video games) increases. Little research has examined the role of school health personnel in the prevention and early identification of hearing impairment. A 32-item, valid and reliable survey was developed regarding elementary and middle school nurses' practices concerning hearing loss screening and prevention. The survey instrument was based on the Stages of Change theory and the Health Belief Model. A random sample of 800 nurses was obtained from The National Association of School Nurses. A two-wave mailing was used to achieve a 58% response rate. Forty eight percent indicated there were not many educational programs that addressed NIHL in students. Performing hearing screenings routinely can help identify those students at risk. School nurses need to become advocates for policies and programs that mandate hearing screenings and educational programs to help reduce hearing loss.

Superficial peroneal nerve paresis in a dancer caused by a midfoot ganglion: case report.

Ganglion cysts are common benign masses, usually occurring in the hands and feet. This report describes the case of a young female Irish dancer who presented with paresthesia of her foot due to a ganglion in near proximity to the superficial peroneal nerve. Midfoot ganglia in young girls engaged in Irish dance can limit their ability to participate. This pathology requires further epidemiological studies to investigate its prevalence. In the event of failed conservative management, surgical intervention to excise the cyst and decompress the nerve is an effective treatment to facilitate return to dancing.