Our COVID-19 Research Share Discussion Group
Megan Gale
The Hospital Handbook Project for Acupuncturists and Their Hospital Sponsors is a program of the Society of Hospital & Healthcare System-Based Acupuncturists, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Authors:
Megan Kingsley Gale, MSAOM, Director of the Hospital Handbook Project; Sandro Graca, MSc, Director at Evidence-Based Acupuncture; and Bobbee Vang, M.OM., clinician at Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Did you know the HHP has a discussion group for hospital and healthcare system-based acupuncturists dedicated to discussing and sharing published COVID-19 research?
The HHP created this group in early spring 2020 in response to the interest and requests of its community members Sandro Graca and Bobbee Vang to have a place where we can all share the latest COVID-19 related research and updates. At the time, the high-frequency posting rate and quantity of COVID-19 posts in the main HHP Facebook discussion group were overwhelming for many community members. We created a separate but linked group, “COVID-19 research share discussion,” to separate this topic from all the other main group discussion topics.
“The group provides an expedient way to keep up on some of the latest research. The summaries of the articles are particularly useful.”
Benefits
The discussion group helps the community sort through the information about COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and related topics. While it started as sorting through the noise, identifying data levels, and sourcing the citations, it has continued to be a source of valuable updates in the research and healthcare system news cycle.
This group is a dedicated space for posting, sharing, and constructive discussion of this rapidly evolving/changing topic. In the group, members vet COVID-19 resources and make the information more digestible for the community.
This HHP resource helps us practice research literacy while staying updated about workplace-related developments in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tagged topics in the discussion group at this time include
this list changes and adapts over time
Vaccine
Pathophysiology of COVID-19
Biology of COVID and its virus
Ongoing research human
Help request
Public health or prevention
Welcome and orientation
State of the Science presentation or paper
COVID spread tracking app or database
CHM studies
Integrative health COVID-19 general
TCM DDx and Treatment of COVID-19
Impact of the Pandemic on the Clinician Workforce
Labs and COVID test kits
Issues in Research
COVID virus variants
Case Report
COVID treatment therapies
Examples of reviews
Here are examples of recent post shares
From the journal Nature, “Coronapod: Ivermectin, what the science says,” a podcast episode, shared with the note that it is a helpful discussion to listen to (audio, podcast) on ivermectin and COVID studies with some global health perspectives. https://play.acast.com/s/nature/coronapod-ivermectin-whatthesciencesays
Back-to-school podcast episode from John Hopkins School of Public Health discusses the “5 major layering mitigation strategies” that should be combined, what the current research is on risk reduction/mitigation and public health policies that impact public schools in the U.S. https://johnshopkinssph.libsyn.com/359-the-back-to-school-episode
The NIH-NIAID serosurvey study. https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/13/601/eabh3826
SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination on ovarian function. https://academic.oup.com/humrep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/humrep/deab182/6345462
COVID long-term effects, a recorded discussion (podcast). https://johnshopkinssph.libsyn.com/341-covid-19-research-update-the-consequences-of-covid The researchers in the audio interview are part of the Hopkins Novel Coronavirus Research Consortium, https://ncrc.jhsph.edu/
“The 50 long-term effects of COVID-19, systematic review and meta-analysis” from the journal Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-95565-8
“Viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in Respiratory Aerosols Emitted by COVID-19 Patients while Breathing, Talking, and Singing.” https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciab691/6343417
Face Masks & SARS CoV-2 (Science), published June 2021. This is research on a subject related to workplace safety and PPE. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6549/1439.full
Why join this discussion group?
“We are committed to post research updates and findings, policy developments, and even opportunities to contribute to the body of evidence,” says community member Sandro Graca. We encourage engagement in research literacy by posting articles, audio (podcast episodes) interviews of researchers discussing COVID-19 publications and policy. Sandro hopes to encourage acupuncturists to feel more informed and confident in the process of “publishing Case Reports on their treatments of patients recovering from COVID-19 or tacking symptoms of long-COVID.” He continues, “With that in mind, our goal is to use this group to disseminate the latest information available and keep the members up to date.
“Anyone who wants (or needs) to stay updated either for professional reasons or simply due to being interested in this novel and ever-changing field can join and participate. This group is a safe space, free from judgment or preconceptions, and everyone is welcome to join and participate in the discussions.”
Community member Bobbee Vang is currently interested in helping others understand how their organization/workplace is tracking COVID-19 and how systems (in general) are reporting and sharing data items with each other.
“In addition to the goal of posting research updates and findings, policy developments, and opportunities to contribute to the body of evidence, I’m also interested in our friends’ and colleagues’ accounts on the ground. Particularly in the hospital and clinics.
Since most of us are hospital or health organization employees, I’d like to see the trends in PUI, positive cases, hospitalization cases, ICU use, and deaths within a health system. I know we have access to state data but not necessarily health system-specific, especially where L.Ac.s are employed.”
Wondering how we write posts to make the references, papers, or other resources more digestible?
We have found the following is a good formula for a post in the group since our goal here is practicing research literacy and discussion:
topic(s),
citation or link, why you shared it (interesting, new evidence, etc.),
a quote from abstract, discussion, or conclusion about the study.
And, if you have queries to pose to the group about the study for discussion, pose that query.
If no query for discussion, that’s okay. Posting a discussion question is not required.
Qualify the research article, when you know how to do so (meta-analysis, case study, etc.). See the research pyramid link https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/healthevidence/evidencepyramid
Pre-prints--must note in post if research article is a pre-print.
How to join
The discussion group is open to clinicians, researchers, and integrative health students, working or training in the hospital or healthcare system setting.
Discussion group rules are:
“Be kind. Cite references. Have respectful debates. Use constructive criticism. Cite your references. Report disrespectful behavior to admin or moderator.”
When you join, go to the “guides” for your orientation and prompts on introducing yourself to the community.
Come, join in, and practice your research literacy as a hospital/healthcare system-based acupuncturist today!
2024 update:
In winter 2022, we moved our COVID-19 Discussion Group from Facebook to our new (as of fall 2021) community discussion platform hosted on Mighty Networks. This decision was based on community feedback and helps us better use our limited resources. Also, the pace of change in information by 2022 has changed from a fire hose to gentle stream. The HHP’s COVID-19 discussion group is accessible through the Tier 1 subscription-based platform membership. I’ll add the link to this platform below. Subscription fees are low and help us cover the cost of hosting and maintaining the platform.