Editor's Note This study from Spring Health, New York City, and Yale University, New Haven Connecticut, finds that an employer-sponsored mental health benefit was associated with reduced symptoms for employees and positive financial return on investment (ROI) for employers. This cohort study included 1,132 employees participating in a workplace mental…

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Editor's Note US Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-Pa) and Larry Bucshon, MD, (R-Ind) on June 7 introduced a Bill to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from violence that is modeled after protections for airline workers, the June 8 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act would criminalize…

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Editor's Note This South Korean study finds that fully vaccinated individuals have a shorter duration of viable viral shedding and a lower rate of secondary transmission than partially vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals. This study uses 2 cohorts to separately determine the transmissibility of COVID-19 according to vaccination status (ie, fully…

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Editor's Note On May 9, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia signed into law SB573, which requires the evacuation of smoke during plume-producing surgical procedures. The law states: “Each hospital and ambulatory surgical center shall adopt policies for the reduction of human exposure to surgical smoke.” Brenda Ulmer, MN, RN, CNOR,…

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COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on nurses and other frontline healthcare workers. Just about everyone has been affected by shortages of basic supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), syringes, and IV tubing, and staffing issues are even more concerning, says Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead…

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Editor's Note This study by nurse researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles evaluates the effect of “serenity lounges” (ie, dedicated rooms where nurses can take breaks to relax and rejuvenate) and massage chairs on nurse anxiety, stress, and burnout, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers analyzed 67 paired…

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Editor's Note In this study, nurse researchers from DePaul University in Chicago document the emotions of 100 nurses throughout the US who cared for patients during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the findings: Nurses described many forms of frustration while providing patient care, such as frustration with healthcare…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Chicago finds that unvaccinated adults with prior COVID-19 infection had an 85% lower risk of acquiring COVID-19 again than unvaccinated adults without prior COVID-19. The researchers analyzed data from patients tested for COVID-19 at 1,300 sites of care in 6 western states…

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Editor's Note This systematic review and meta-analysis, led by researchers from the UK, finds that even relatively small doses of physical activity are associated with substantially lower risks of depression. The analysis included 15 prospective studies comprising 191,130 participants and 2 million person-years. The results show an inverse curvilinear association…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published April 8 shows that cases are rising again nationwide, for the first time since January, the April 8 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The 7-day case average as of April 6 was 26,596, which is…

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