Nasal flu vaccine: attitudes and perceptions of parents who use social media.

BACKGROUND/AIM: In October of 2020, a live attenuated Nasal Flu Vaccine (NFV) was licensed for the first time in Ireland for children aged 2&ndash17 years of age. The uptake of the NFV in Ireland was much lower than expected. The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of Irish parents towards the NFV, and to examine the relationship between the perceptions of vaccines and the uptake rate. METHODS: An 18-question online questionnaire, developed through Qualtrics software®, was distributed via various social media platforms. Data were examined using SPSS to run associations using chi-squared tests. Free text boxes were assessed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Of the 183 people who participated, 76% of parents had vaccinated their children. 81% of parents would vaccinate all their children, while 65% disagreed with vaccinating only children 5 years or older. The majority of parents agreed that the NFV was safe and effective. Analysis of the text included requests for alternative vaccine locations (22%), difficulties getting an appointment (6%), and a lack of public awareness of the vaccine campaign (19%). CONCLUSIONS: Parents are willing to have their children vaccinated but there are barriers to vaccination contributing to the low uptake of the NFV. Increasing the availability of the NFV in pharmacies and schools can increase uptake. Public health messaging around the availability of the NFV is excellent but a more succinct message is needed to highlight the importance of under 5s receiving the vaccine. Future studies should examine the promotion of the NFV by healthcare professionals and general practitioners' attitudes towards the NFV.

Access to general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic - a cross-sectional view of the opinions of adults who use social media.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of people worldwide. General practices were forced to adapt to constantly changing circumstances, leading to predominance of virtual consultations. The aim of this study was to examine the impact the pandemic had on the ability of patients to access general practice. Other focuses included determining the nature of changes to appointment cancellations or delays and the level of disruption to long-term medication regimes during this period. METHODS: A 25-question online survey was administered using Qualtrics®. Adult patients of Irish general practices were recruited via social media between October 2020 and February 2021. The data were examined for associations between participant groupings and key findings using chi-squared tests. RESULTS: 670 persons participated. Half of all doctor-patient consultations during that time were completed virtually, predominantly via telephone. Overall, 497 (78%) participants accessed their healthcare teams as scheduled, and without disruption. 18% of participants (n=104) reported difficulty in accessing their long-term medications; those who were younger, and those who typically attend general practice on a quarterly or more basis, were associated most with this disruption (p<0.05; p<0.05). DISCUSSION: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Irish general practice has maintained its schedule for appointments in greater than three quarters of cases. There was a clear shift away from face-to-face consultations to telephone appointments. Maintaining the prescription of long-term medications for patients remains a challenge. Further work needs to be done to ensure the continuation of care and undisrupted medication schedules during any future pandemics.

Access to general practice during COVID-19: a cross-sectional view of the opinions of adults who use social media.

Background/Aim: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual consultations have become commonplace, and access to healthcare more complex. The study was designed to examine the impact COVID-19 has had on access to general practice care in Ireland. Methods: A 25-question online survey was designed in Qualtrics®. Adult patients of Irish general practices were recruited via social media between October 2020 and February 2021 and volunteered their opinions. Results: 670 persons participated. Half of all doctor-patient consultations were now completed virtually-predominantly via telephone. Overall, 497 (78%) participants accessed their healthcare teams as scheduled, and without disruption. 18% of participants (n=104) reported difficulty in accessing their long-term medications; those who are younger, and those who typically attend general practice quarterly or more, were associated most with this disruption (p<0.05). Fifty-nine instances where a new health concern was subject to an appointment cancellation or rescheduling were reported. Conclusions: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Irish general practice has maintained its schedule for appointments in 78% of cases despite the challenges of the pandemic. Half of consultations were provided virtually; teleconsultation use was very infrequent. Maintaining the supply chain for long-term medications for patients remains a challenge during a pandemic. Authors accept that study participants were confined to those who use social media. A protocol may need to be designed by each practice to optimize the continuation of care and of medication schedules during any future pandemics.

Use of an Artificial Intelligence Conversational Agent (Chatbot) for Hip Arthroscopy Patients Following Surgery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of an AI conversational agent during the postoperative recovery of patients undergoing elective hip arthroscopy. Methods: Patients undergoing hip arthroscopy were enrolled in a prospective cohort for their first 6 weeks following surgery. Patients used standard SMS text messaging to interact with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ("Felix") used to initiate automated conversations regarding elements of postoperative recovery. Patient satisfaction was measured at 6 weeks after surgery using a Likert scale survey. Accuracy was determined by measuring the appropriateness of chatbot responses, topic recognition, and examples of confusion. Safety was measured by evaluating the chatbot's responses to any questions with potential medical urgency. Results: Twenty-six patients were enrolled with a mean age of 36 years, and 58% (n = 15) were male. Overall, 80% of patients (n = 20) rated the helpfulness of Felix as good or excellent. In the postoperative period, 12/25 (48%) patients reported being worried about a complication but were reassured by Felix and, thus, did not seek medical attention. Of a total of 128 independent patient questions, Felix handled 101/128 questions appropriately (79%), either by addressing them independently, or facilitating contact with the care team. Felix was able to adequately answer the patient question independently 31% of the time (n = 40/128). Of 10 patient questions that were thought to potentially represent patient complications, in 3 cases Felix did not adequately address or recognize the health concern-none of these situations resulted in patient harm. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that the use of a chatbot or conversational agent can enhance the postoperative experience for hip arthroscopy patients, as demonstrated by high levels of patient satisfaction. Levels of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic case series.