Dificuldades enfrentadas pelos profissionais de saúde no atendimento de emergências em unidades básicas de saúde no Brasil / Difficulties faced by health professionals in emergency care in primary health care units in Brazil / Dificultades enfrentadas por los profesionales de salud en la atención de emergencias en unidades básicas de salud en Brasil

Objetivos: compreender as dificuldades enfrentadas pelos profissionais de saúde para o atendimento de casos de urgências/emergências em unidades básica de saúde e identificar as proposições de resolubilidade. Métodos: Pesquisa qualitativa, realizada com dez profissionais de saúde, em uma unidade básica de saúde do interior paulista. As entrevistas foram transcritas e analisadas utilizando-se a estratégia metodológica do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo. Resultados: As dificuldades foram atreladas a fatores como despreparo da equipe, falta de infraestrutura, insumos e equipamentos, carência de profissional médico, pouca aproximação das unidades básicas de saúde com o setor de emergência hospitalar e escasso investimento do município para realização desses atendimentos. As proposições de melhorias destacaram a necessidade de capacitação dos profissionais de saúde, investimentos em recursos materiais e equipamentos, permanência de médico em período integral no serviço, implantação de protocolos de atendimento e empenho dos gestores. Conclusão: Os discursos evidenciaram que o serviço não tem condições de atender casos de urgência/emergência, em virtude do despreparo da equipe e da falta de recursos humanos e materiais. Além disso, não é prioridade do município oferecer condições mínimas para a realização deste atendimento nas unidades básicas de saúde, para que sejam integrantes da rede de atenção de Atenção às Urgências no Sistema Único de Saúde.

Objective: understand the difficulties health professionals face in urgency/emergency care at primary health care units and identify the propositions of problem-solving ability. Methods: Qualitative research, conducted with ten health professionals at a primary health care unit in the interior of São Paulo. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the methodological strategy of the collective subject discourse. Results: The difficulties were linked to factors such as unpreparedness of the team, lack of infrastructure, supplies and equipment, lack of medical professional, little cooperation between the primary health care units and the hospital emergency sector and scarce investment of the municipality to carry out these services. The proposals for improvements highlighted the need for training of health professionals, investments in material resources and equipment, full-time presence of physician at the service, implementation of care protocols and commitment of managers. Conclusion: The discourse showed that the service is not able to attend urgency/emergency cases, due to the unpreparedness of the team and the lack of human and material resources. In addition, the municipality does not prioritize the supply of minimum conditions for this care in primary health care units to make them part of the emergency care network in the Unified Health System.

Objetivo: comprender las dificultades enfrentadas por los profesionales de salud para la atención de casos de Urgencias/Emergencias en unidades básicas de salud e identificar las proposiciones de resolubilidad. Métodos: Investigación cualitativa, desarrollada con diez profesionales de salud, en una unidad básica de salud del interior paulista. Las entrevistas fueron transcritas y analizadas utilizando la estrategia metodológica del Discurso del Sujeto Colectivo. Resultados: Las dificultades fueron ligadas a factores como la falta de preparación del equipo, falta de infraestructura, insumos y equipamientos, carencia de profesional médico, poca aproximación de las unidades básicas de salud con el sector de emergencia hospitalaria y escasa inversión del municipio para realizar esas atenciones. Las propuestas de mejorías destacaron la necesidad de capacitación de los profesionales de salud, inversiones en recursos materiales y equipamientos, permanencia de médico a tiempo completo en el servicio, implantación de protocolos de atención y empeño de los gestores. Conclusión: Los discursos evidenciaron que el servicio no tiene condiciones de atender casos de urgencia/emergencia, en virtud de la falta de preparación del equipo y de la falta de recursos humanos y materiales. Además, no es prioridad del municipio ofrecer condiciones mínimas para la realización de esta atención en las unidades básicas de salud, para que sean integrantes de la red de atención de atención a las urgencias en el Sistema Único de Salud.

Guia de planejamento da gestão do trabalho e da educação na saúde no âmbito estadual e municipal do sistema único de saúde (SUS) / Work management and health education planning guide at the state and municipal levels of the unified health system health (SUS)

O planejamento no SUS é um requisito legal e essencial para garantir a direção da gestão e organização das ações e serviços de saúde, bem como a alocação de recursos necessários para enfrentar os problemas do sistema de saúde e melhorar sua capacidade de resposta às demandas da população. A Secretaria de Gestão do Trabalho e da Educação na Saúde (SGTES) do Ministério da Saúde busca apoiar gestores, técnicos e conselheiros de saúde na elaboração do Plano Estadual de Gestão do Trabalho e da Educação na Saúde (PEGTES). O plano proposto será desenvolvido pelas equipes estaduais vinculadas ao setor, com oficinas regionais e encontros mensais, visando à identificação, classificação, priorização e análise dos problemas e necessidades da área de Gestão do Trabalho e da Educação na Saúde. O objetivo é alcançar metas e ações estratégicas para o período 2024-2027, fortalecendo a gestão descentralizada e participativa do SUS e melhorando as condições de trabalho e a qualidade da atenção prestada à população. A metodologia proposta inclui a elaboração de matrizes de análise e planejamento para subsidiar o processo de construção do plano estadual. O resultado esperado é que até o final do ano, cada estado tenha seu PEGTES legitimado nas instâncias de gestão e controle social do SUS.

Planning within the Unified Health System (SUS) is not only a legal requirement but also a relevant mechanism to ensure the direction of management and organization of actions and services, as well as the identification and allocation of resources needed to address and overcome health system issues, thereby improving its responsiveness to the population's health demands and needs. Through this publication, the Ministry of Health's Secretariat for Health Workforce and Education (SGTES) aims to support health managers, technicians, and health councilors in developing the State Plan for Health Workforce and Education (PEGTES). The plan will be developed by state teams linked to the Health Workforce and Education Management sector (GTES) in the 26 State Health Departments (SES), with technical support from the SGTES team, from June to November 2023. It presents a proposal for organizing the planning process, as well as the theoretical and methodological content that will underpin the development of PEGTES, including concepts, methods, and tools for identifying, classifying, prioritizing, and analyzing GTES-related problems and needs. These form the basis for setting objectives and goals to be achieved during the 2024-2027 period, through the implementation of corresponding strategic actions within each specific objective of the "operational modules" of PEGTES, along with their respective responsible parties, necessary resources, and indicators for monitoring and periodic evaluation. The PEGTES development process, based on the proposed methodology, will begin with regional workshops in June 2023, followed by monthly meetings of state teams with the national coordination, where partial products (chapters of the Plan) will be presented, simultaneously shared with the respective sectors responsible for developing the State Health Plan in each SES. Thus, it is expected that by the end of the current year, each SES will have its PEGTES, legitimized in the SUS management and social control instances of each state, i.e., in the Bipartite Intermanager Commission (CIB) and the State Health Council (CES). With this initiative, they believe in strengthening the decentralized and participatory management of SUS, with a special focus on constructing policies, plans, and projects that contribute to addressing GTES-related issues, aiming at rationalizing and improving the working conditions and adapting the professional profiles of SUS workers to the system's needs, and enhancing the quality of care provided to the population.

El planeamiento en el Sistema Único de Salud (SUS), además de ser un requisito legal, es también uno de los mecanismos relevantes para asegurar la dirección de la gestión y organización de acciones y servicios, así como la identificación y asignación de recursos necesarios para enfrentar y superar los problemas del sistema de salud, mejorando su capacidad de respuesta a las demandas y necesidades de salud de la población. A través de esta publicación, la Secretaría de Gestión del Trabajo y la Educación en Salud (SGTES) del Ministerio de Salud (MS) pretende apoyar a gestores, técnicos y consejeros de salud en la elaboración del Plan Estatal de Gestión del Trabajo y la Educación en Salud (PEGTES). El plan será desarrollado por equipos estatales vinculados al sector de Gestión del Trabajo y la Educación en Salud (GTES) en las 26 Secretarías Estatales de Salud (SES), con apoyo técnico del equipo de SGTES, de junio a noviembre de 2023. Se presenta una propuesta para la organización del proceso de planificación, así como el contenido teórico-metodológico que respaldará el desarrollo de PEGTES, incluyendo conceptos, métodos e instrumentos para la identificación, clasificación, priorización y análisis de los problemas y necesidades del área de GTES, que constituyen la base para establecer objetivos y metas a ser alcanzados durante el período 2024-2027, mediante la ejecución de acciones estratégicas correspondientes a cada objetivo específico de los "módulos operativos" del PEGTES, con sus respectivos responsables, recursos necesarios e indicadores para el seguimiento y evaluación periódica. El proceso de desarrollo de PEGTES, basado en la metodología propuesta, comenzará con talleres regionales en junio de 2023, seguidos de reuniones mensuales de los equipos estatales con la coordinación nacional del proceso, donde se presentarán productos parciales (capítulos del Plan) y se compartirán con los respectivos sectores responsables de desarrollar el Plan Estatal de Salud en cada SES. Se espera que, al finalizar el presente año, cada SES cuente con su PEGTES, legitimado en las instancias de gestión y control social del SUS en cada estado, es decir, en la Comisión Intergestores Bipartita (CIB) y el Consejo Estatal de Salud (CES). Con esto, se busca fortalecer la gestión descentralizada y participativa del SUS, con énfasis especial en la construcción de políticas, planes y proyectos que contribuyan a abordar los problemas del área de GTES, con el objetivo de racionalizar y mejorar las condiciones de trabajo y adaptar los perfiles profesionales del personal de salud del SUS a las necesidades del sistema y mejorar la calidad de la atención prestada a la población.

Evaluation Method of Human Resource Management Efficiency of Chain Retail Enterprises Based on Distributed Database.

The calculation of human resource management efficiency evaluation method is large, which affects the technical efficiency and scale efficiency of evaluation results. Based on distributed database, an evaluation method of human resource management efficiency of chain retail enterprises is proposed. Genetic algorithm is applied to the design of distributed database to realize the best data allocation scheme. The distributed database is used to store the human resource information of chain retail enterprises to ensure the data consistency and information availability. Select the input and output elements that can best reflect the human resource management status of chain retail enterprises in the distributed database, design the management efficiency evaluation index system, and construct the DEA evaluation model. After testing, the technical efficiency and scale efficiency of the design method in this paper are higher than the evaluation methods of human resource management efficiency of chain retail enterprises based on principal component analysis and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, which is conducive to management decision-making.

Design and interactive performance of human resource management system based on artificial intelligence.

The purpose is to strengthen Human Resources Management (HRM) through information management using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. First, the selection criteria of the applicant's resume during recruitment and the formulation standards of the contract salary are analyzed. Then, the resume information is extracted and converted into the data-type format. Besides, the salary forecast model in the HRM system (HRMS) is designed based on the Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN), and network structure, parameter initialization, and activation function of the BPNN are selected and optimized. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm optimized by the Nadm has shown improved convergence speed and forecast effect, with 187 iterations. Moreover, compared with other regression algorithms, the designed algorithm achieves the best test scores. The above results can provide references for designing the AI-based HRMS.

Design and Implementation of a COVID-19 Case Investigation Program: An Academic-Public Health Partnership, Arizona, 2020.

From May through July 2020, Arizona was a global hotspot for new COVID-19 cases. In response to the surge of cases, local public health departments looked for innovative ways to form external partnerships to address their staffing needs. In collaboration with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the Arizona State University Student Outbreak Response Team (SORT) created and implemented a virtual call center to conduct public health case investigations for COVID-19. SORT officially launched a dedicated COVID-19 case investigation program after 3 weeks of program design and training. From June 29 through November 8, 2020, SORT recruited and trained 218 case investigators, completed 5000 case patient interviews, and closed 10 000 cases. Our team also developed process improvements to address disparities in case investigation timeliness. A strong infrastructure designed to accommodate remote case investigations, paired with a large workforce, enabled SORT to provide additional surge capacity for the county's high volume of cases. University-driven multidisciplinary case investigator teams working in partnership with state, tribal, and local public health staff members can be an effective tool for supporting a diverse and growing public health workforce. We discuss the essential design factors involved in building a university program to complement local COVID-19 response efforts, including workflows for case management, volunteer case investigator recruitment and training, secure technology platforms for conducting case investigations remotely, and robust data-tracking procedures for maintaining quality control and timely case reporting.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nursing: The Pathway to Excellence Framework Alignment.

The promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in nursing is a topic of renewed importance, given the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd and identified disparities in health and health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its progress, the nursing profession continues to struggle with recruiting and retaining a workforce that represents the cultural diversity of the patient population. The authors completed a review of the literature on DEI in nursing and found a scarcity of studies, and that a limitation exists due to the strength of the evidence examined. This article aims to provide a review of the literature on DEI in nursing, outcomes and strategies associated with organizational DEI efforts, and knowledge on how the American Nurses Credentialing Center Pathway to Excellence® Designation Program framework supports DEI initiatives. The authors further provided recommendations for nurse leaders and a checklist of proposed questions for assessing commitment, culture, and structural empowerment initiatives toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization.

Impact of essential workers in the context of social distancing for epidemic control.

New emerging infectious diseases are identified every year, a subset of which become global pandemics like COVID-19. In the case of COVID-19, many governments have responded to the ongoing pandemic by imposing social policies that restrict contacts outside of the home, resulting in a large fraction of the workforce either working from home or not working. To ensure essential services, however, a substantial number of workers are not subject to these limitations, and maintain many of their pre-intervention contacts. To explore how contacts among such "essential" workers, and between essential workers and the rest of the population, impact disease risk and the effectiveness of pandemic control, we evaluated several mathematical models of essential worker contacts within a standard epidemiology framework. The models were designed to correspond to key characteristics of cashiers, factory employees, and healthcare workers. We find in all three models that essential workers are at substantially elevated risk of infection compared to the rest of the population, as has been documented, and that increasing the numbers of essential workers necessitates the imposition of more stringent controls on contacts among the rest of the population to manage the pandemic. Importantly, however, different archetypes of essential workers differ in both their individual probability of infection and impact on the broader pandemic dynamics, highlighting the need to understand and target intervention for the specific risks faced by different groups of essential workers. These findings, especially in light of the massive human costs of the current COVID-19 pandemic, indicate that contingency plans for future epidemics should account for the impacts of essential workers on disease spread.

[Health research in Madagascar: state-of-the-art, challenges and perspectives]. / La recherche pour la santé à Madagascar: état des lieux, défis et perspectives.

The evolution and contemporary challenges of health research (HR) in Madagascar are poorly documented. We aim to gain insights on the factors that shape Madagascar's National Health Research System (NHRS) to better understand their influence. We conducted a qualitative case study, which included a documentary review and semi-structured interviews with 38 key informants. We carried out a thematic analysis and used the WHO/AFRO NHRS Barometer to structure the presentation of the results. There is no legislative framework to support HR activities and institutions. There is, however, a policy document outlining national priorities for HS. Human resources for HR are insufficient, due to challenges in training and retaining researchers. International collaboration is almost the only source of HR funding. Collaborations contribute to developing human and institutional capacity, but they are not always aligned with research carried out locally and the country's priority health needs. Incomplete efforts to improve regulation and low public investment in research training and research implementation reflect an insufficient commitment to HR by the government. Negotiating equitable international partnerships, the availability of public funding, and aligning HR with national health priorities would constitute a solid basis for the development of the NHRS in Madagascar.

Research on multi-objective optimal scheduling considering the balance of labor workload distribution.

In order to solve the problem of unbalanced workload of employees in parallel flow shop scheduling, a method of job standard balance is proposed to describe the work balance of employees. The minimum delay time of completion and the imbalance of employee work are taken as the two goals of the model. A bi-objective nonlinear integer programming model is proposed. NSGA-II-EDSP, NSGA-II-KES, and NSGA-II-QKES heuristic rule algorithms are designed to solve the problem. A number of computational experiments of different sizes are conducted, and compared with solutions generated by NSGA-II. The experimental results show the advantages of the proposed model and method, which error is reduced 14.56%, 15.16% and 15.67%.

Investigation of population-based mental health staffing and efficiency-based mental health productivity using an information-theoretic approach.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare systems monitor and improve mental health treatment quality, access, continuity and satisfaction through use of population-based and efficiency-based staffing models, the former focused on staffing ratios and the latter, staff productivity. Preliminary evidence suggests that both high staffing ratios and moderate-to-high staff productivity are important for ensuring a full continuum of mental health services to indicated populations. METHODS & FINDINGS: With an information-theoretic approach, we conducted a longitudinal investigation of mental health staffing, productivity and treatment at the largest integrated healthcare system in American, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). VHA facilities (N = 140) served as the unit of measure, with mental health treatment quality, access, continuity and satisfaction predicted by facility staffing and productivity in longitudinal mixed models. An information-theoretic approach: (a) entails the development of a comprehensive set of plausible models that are fit, ranked and weighted to quantitatively assess the relative support for each, and (b) accounts for model uncertainty while identifying best-fit model(s) that include important and exclude unimportant explanatory variables. In best-fit models, higher staffing was the strongest and most consistent predictor of better treatment quality, access, continuity and satisfaction. Higher staff productivity was often, but not always associated with better treatment quality, access, continuity and satisfaction. Results were further nuanced by differential prediction of treatment by between- and within-facility predictor effects and variable interactions. CONCLUSIONS: A population-based mental health staffing ratio and an efficiency-based productivity value are important longitudinal predictors of mental health treatment quality, access, continuity and satisfaction. Our longitudinal design and use of mixed regression models and an information-theoretic approach addresses multiple limitations of prior studies and strengthen our results. Results are discussed in terms of the provision of mental health treatment by healthcare systems, and analytical modeling of treatment quality, access, continuity and satisfaction.

Special Report from the CDC: Readiness to surge: State health departments' workforce infrastructure during the opioid crisis.

INTRODUCTION: As part of scaling up the response to the opioid overdose epidemic, there is an opportunity to examine how state public health departments addressed workforce and other infrastructure needs to implement a large-scale opioid overdose prevention program. Understanding how this was done-and any lessons learned from the process-can inform future workforce development and capital improvement efforts. METHODS: Administrative data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States (PfS) program were analyzed to understand how states adapted to this emerging public health priority. RESULTS: Six months into the first year of funding, 6 of the 16 state health departments had filled all anticipated staffing positions. States faced challenges obtaining timely expenditure authority and hiring staff. However, states were able to overcome these challenges by strategically reassigning staff, hiring from within, and utilizing existing contract mechanisms. CONCLUSION: Our analysis revealed how planning, using existing infrastructure, and maintaining a prepared workforce are critical to ensure that public health agencies have the ability to surge to meet emerging challenges and effectively utilize resources to achieve program goals. practical applications: Greater attention should be directed toward strategically addressing known barriers and timelines in work plans and budgets during the application and selection process to ensure implementation readiness.

Challenges in providing surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic: Qualitative study among Operating Department Practitioners in Pakistan.

The surgical theatre is associated with the highest mortality rates since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) are neglected human resources for health in regards to both professional development and research for patient safety; even though they are key practitioners with respect to infection control during surgeries. Therefore, this study aims to describe challenges faced by ODPs during the pandemic. The secondary aim is to use empirical evidence to inform the public health sector management about both ODP professional development and improvement in surgical procedures, with a specific focus on pandemics. A qualitative study has been conducted. Data collection was based on an interview guide with open-ended questions. Interviews with 39 ODPs in public sector teaching hospitals of Pakistan who have been working during the COVID-19 pandemic were part of the analysis. Content analysis was used to generate themes. Ten themes related to challenges faced by ODPs in delivering services during the pandemic for securing patient safety were identified: (i) Disparity in training for prevention of COVID-19; (ii) Shortcomings in COVID-19 testing; (iii) Supply shortages of personal protective equipment; (iv) Challenges in maintaining physical distance and prevention protocols; (v) Human resource shortages and role burden; (vi) Problems with hospital administration; (vii) Exclusion and hierarchy; (viii) Teamwork limitations and other communication issues; (ix) Error Management; and (x) Anxiety and fear. The public health sector, in Pakistan and other developing regions, needs to invest in the professional development of ODPs and improve resources and structures for surgical procedures, during pandemics and otherwise.

Strategies to ensure efficient laboratory functioning while navigating through the COVID-19 crisis in developing countries: An early experience from a tertiary care centre in India.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is a zoonotic viral infection that originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization shortly thereafter. This pandemic is going to have a lasting impact on the functioning of pathology laboratories due to the frequent handling of potentially infectious samples by the laboratory personnel. To deal with this unprecedented situation, various national and international guidelines have been put forward outlining the precautions to be taken during sample processing from a potentially infectious patient. PURPOSE: Most of these guidelines are centered around laboratories that are a part of designated COVID 19 hospitals. However, proper protocols need to be in place in all laboratories, irrespective of whether they are a part of COVID 19 hospital or not as this would greatly reduce the risk of exposure of laboratory/hospital personnel. As part of a laboratory associated with a rural cancer hospital which is not a dedicated COVID 19 hospital, we aim to present our institute's experience in handling pathology specimens during the COVID 19 era. CONCLUSION: We hope this will address the concerns of small to medium sized laboratories and help them build an effective strategy required for protecting the laboratory personnel from risk of exposure and also ensure smooth and optimum functioning of the laboratory services.

Decommissioning and recommissioning a regional hospital in response to a COVID-19 outbreak.

CONTEXT: The COVID-19 outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital (NWRH) site in Tasmania, Australia in April 2020 was both rapid and tragic. Within 10 days of identification of the first healthcare worker infection, both hospitals had closed, and all patients were discharged or decanted to other facilities within the state. The entire hospital staff (approximately 1300 people) and their households (approximately 3000-4000 people) were furloughed for 14 days to halt the spread of infection. During the furlough period, a decommissioning, terminal clean and recommissioning process was undertaken alongside recovery and reorientation of the workforce to personal protective equipment. Within 4 days of closure, an Australian Defence Force and Australian Medical Assistance Team team opened the prioritised emergency department to provide emergency care for the local community, supported by modified diagnostic services. The decommissioning and cleaning rolled on over the ensuing month, in a predetermined priority order. As staff returned from quarantine, they recommissioned their clinical areas. The final ward, a modified medical isolation wing, reopened on day 29. ISSUE: Disaster management activities may be grouped under four main headings: prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. There are many opportunities for improvement and learning, and this article focuses on the local response and recovery, describing the process undertaken from the perspective of a small management group. Authors CC, HE, TB and MW were on the ground during the decommissioning process, then managed aspects of the cleaning and recommissioning remotely from furlough. Authors TA and TC provided specialist IPC support and developed education remotely. LESSONS LEARNED: Almost 2 months on, no new COVID-19 infections had been reported. The aim of this article is to provide a foundation for site-specific adaptation to include in pandemic escalation plans in other regional and rural settings.

Variation in Initial U.S. Hospital Responses to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has strained many healthcare systems. In response, U.S. hospitals altered their care delivery systems, but there are few data regarding specific structural changes. Understanding these changes is important to guide interpretation of outcomes and inform pandemic preparedness. We sought to characterize emergency responses across hospitals in the United States over time and in the context of local case rates early in the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. DESIGN: We surveyed hospitals from a national acute care trials group regarding operational and structural changes made in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic from January to August 2020. We collected prepandemic characteristics and changes to hospital system, space, staffing, and equipment during the pandemic. We compared the timing of these changes with county-level coronavirus disease 2019 case rates. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: U.S. hospitals participating in the Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury Network Coronavirus Disease 2019 Observational study. Site investigators at each hospital collected local data. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Forty-five sites participated (94% response rate). System-level changes (incident command activation and elective procedure cancellation) occurred at nearly all sites, preceding rises in local case rates. The peak inpatient census during the pandemic was greater than the prior hospital bed capacity in 57% of sites with notable regional variation. Nearly half (49%) expanded ward capacity, and 63% expanded ICU capacity, with nearly all bed expansion achieved through repurposing of clinical spaces. Two-thirds of sites adapted staffing to care for patients with coronavirus disease 2019, with 48% implementing tiered staffing models, 49% adding temporary physicians, nurses, or respiratory therapists, and 30% changing the ratios of physicians or nurses to patients. CONCLUSIONS: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic prompted widespread system-level changes, but front-line clinical care varied widely according to specific hospital needs and infrastructure. Linking operational changes to care delivery processes is a necessary step to understand the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on patient outcomes.

Workforce Mobilization From the National Institutes of Health for the Ministry of Health Malaysia: A COVID-19 Pandemic Response.

The COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in 2019 has inflicted numerous clinical and public health challenges worldwide. It was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization and activated response teams at almost all Malaysian healthcare facilities. Upon activation of the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Center in January 2020, the National Institutes of Health Malaysia established a COVID-19 operation room at the facility level to address the rise in COVID-19 infection cases each day. The National Institutes of Health COVID-19 operation room committee formed a workforce mobilization team for an effective and efficient mobilization system to fulfill requests received for human resource aid within the Ministry of Health Malaysia facilities. Selected personnel would be screened for health and availability before mobilization letters and logistics arrangements if necessary. The workforce from the National Institutes of Health, consisting of various job positions, were mobilized every week, with each deployment cycle lasting 2 weeks. A total of 128 personnel from the six institutes under the National Institutes of Health were mobilized: tasks included fever screening, active case detection, health management at quarantine centers, and management of dead bodies. A well-organized data management system with a centralized online system integration could allow more rapid deployment and answer some of the key questions in managing a similar pandemic in the future. With improving infected COVID-19 cases throughout the country, the National Institutes of Health COVID-19 operation room was effectively closed on June 15, 2020, following approval from the Deputy Director-General of Health.

Changes in surgical volume, workforce, and productivity in Sierra Leone between 2012 and 2017.

BACKGROUND: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery recommends a minimum of 20 surgical specialists and 5,000 annual operations per 100,000 population by 2030. In 2012, Sierra Leone was far from reaching these targets. This study aimed to assess the changes in surgical activity, surgical workforce, and surgical productivity between 2012 and 2017. METHODS: A nationwide, retrospective mapping of surgical activity and workforce in 2012 was repeated in 2017. All 60 facilities performing comprehensive surgery in Sierra Leone in 2017 were identified and data was obtained from surgical records and through structured interviews with facility directors. Annual estimates were calculated and compared with 2012. RESULTS: The surgical workforce increased from 164.5 to 312.8 full-time positions. The annual volume of surgeries was enhanced by 15.6% (95% CI: 7.8-23.4%) from 24,152 to 27,928 (26,048-29,808) operations. With simultaneous population growth, this led to a decrease in surgical volume from 400 to 372 procedures per 100,000 population and an unmet operative need of 92.7%. The mean productivity of surgical providers went from 2.8 to 1.7 surgeries per week per full-time position. An increasing number of caesarean deliveries were performed in public institutions, by associate clinicians. CONCLUSION: The unmet need for surgery in Sierra Leone remains very high, despite an increase in the surgical workforce, subsidizing maternal healthcare, and initiation of a surgical task-sharing program. The decline in surgical productivity with simultaneous increases in the surgical workforce calls for further exploration of the barriers to access and delivery of surgical care in Sierra Leone.

Panacea: Visual exploration system for analyzing trends in annual recruitment using time-varying graphs.

Annual recruitment data of new graduates are manually analyzed by human resources (HR) specialists in industries, which signifies the need to evaluate the recruitment strategy of HR specialists. Different job seekers send applications to companies every year. The relationships between applicants' attributes (e.g., English skill or academic credentials) can be used to analyze the changes in recruitment trends across multiple years. However, most attributes are unnormalized and thus require thorough preprocessing. Such unnormalized data hinder effective comparison of the relationship between applicants in the early stage of data analysis. Thus, a visual exploration system is highly needed to gain insight from the overview of the relationship among applicant qualifications across multiple years. In this study, we propose the Polarizing Attributes for Network Analysis of Correlation on Entities Association (Panacea) visualization system. The proposed system integrates a time-varying graph model and dynamic graph visualization for heterogeneous tabular data. Using this system, HR specialists can interactively inspect the relationships between two attributes of prospective employees across multiple years. Further, we demonstrate the usability of Panacea with representative examples for finding hidden trends in real-world datasets, and we discuss feedback from HR specialists obtained throughout Panacea's development. The proposed Panacea system enables HR specialists to visually explore the annual recruitment of new graduates.