Analysis of blood type for SARS-CoV-2 and correlation for disease acquisition in various sociodemographic groups including women of childbearing age.

BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have occurred to determine if a patient\u27s blood type, Rhesus factor (Rh), and sociodemographic attributes contribute to contracting SARS-CoV-2. True association remains unknown. METHODS: Inclusion criteria included in-patients who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 with blood type assessed. Study endpoints combined ABO, Rh and all-cause inpatient mortality (ACIM) with testing positivity. Pregnancy status was one of several secondary endpoints evaluated. A logistic regression analysis was used to estimate association. RESULTS: Of the 27,662 patients who met inclusion criteria, Type A blood was associated with increased positivity [1.01 (1.0-1.21), P = .03]. Type B [1.10 (0.99-1.23), P = .08] and AB [0.98 (0.81-1.19), P = .84] showed no association. When evaluating ACIM, type A [1.18 (0.91-1.52), P = .22], B [1.13 (0.82- 1.56), P = .480], and AB [1.06 (0.62-1.81), P = .839] were not associated with increased mortality. The female subgroup was less likely to test positive [0.88 (0.82-0.986), P = .002]. Black patients demonstrated a higher likelihood of positivity when compared to White [1.96 (1.79-2.14), P \u3c .001]. Non-pregnant women exhibited a 2.5 times greater likelihood of testing positive [2.49 (2.04-3.04), P \u3c .001]. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms results of previous research which showed SARS-Co-V-2 positivity related to blood type. It also confirms more recent research demonstrating inequities related to acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 for certain sociodemographic groups. Larger studies are warranted to confirm and further explore novel pregnancy findings

Implicit Bias Training: Improving Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Care

Background: Racial and ethnic disparities persist in the United States leading to adverse maternal outcomes. Nationally, the maternal mortality rates in black women are two to three times higher than white women. Implementing implicit bias training, recommended by the Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health, is a key intervention that may help to reduce these disparities. Objectives: This quasi-experimental/mixed methods project evaluated the effectiveness of training on implicit bias to increase awareness of implicit bias among a convenience sample of registered nurses in labor and delivery and postpartum units at two community hospitals. Methods: Quantitative data was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics software and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test used. Compared were pre and post training results of the free, online race Implicit Association Test. A two-question post training survey assessed what was learned and how it will be used in practice. Demographic data of age, gender and race was analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: Completing the study were thirteen white, female participants; their mean age 49.83 years. Results of the Implicit Association Test showed that an educational session on implicit bias did not elicit a statistically significant change in participants’ association between concepts involving race and bias. (Z = -.137, p = 0.891). Conclusion/Implications: The lack of statistical significance in the results can be attributed to the small sample size which did not generate enough power to detect changes in associations between concepts. This may lay the groundwork for a replicative study with a larger sample size. One implication for practice is that respondents overwhelmingly indicated they will endeavor to be more consciously aware of their biases while recognizing that we all have biases

Tailoring Educational and Behavioral Interventions to Level of Health Literacy: A Systematic Review

Background: The relative value of universal compared to contingent approaches to communication and behavioral interventions for persons of low health literacy remains unknown. Objective: To examine the effectiveness of interventions that are tailored to individual health literacy level compared to nontailored interventions on health-related outcomes. Design: Systematic review. Data Sources: PubMed and Embase databases. Eligibility Criteria: Studies were eligible if they were in English, used an experimental or observational design, included an intervention that was tailored based on the individual’s level of education, health literacy or health numeracy, and had a comparator group in which the intervention was not tailored to individual characteristics. Review Methods: Databases were searched from inception to January 2016, and the retrieved reference lists hand searched. Abstracts that met PICOS criteria underwent dual review for data extraction to assess study details and study quality. A qualitative synthesis was conducted. Results: Of 2,323 unique citations, 458 underwent full review, and 9 met criteria for the systematic review. Five studies were positive and rated as good quality, 3 were negative with 2 of those of good quality, and 1 had mixed results (fair quality). Positive studies were conducted in the clinical domains of hypertension, diabetes, and depression with interventions including educational materials, disease management sessions, literacy training, and physician notification of limited health literacy among patients. Negative studies were conducted in the clinical domains of heart disease, glaucoma, and nutrition with interventions including medication reconciliation and educational materials. Conclusions: Tailoring communication and behavioral interventions to the individual level of health literacy may be an effective strategy to improve knowledge and indicators of disease control in selected clinical settings