VCOM 2021 Annual Report

RESEARCH

An Assessment of Mental Health Outcomes Among Community Members

Evaluating Disease Outbreaks with Syndromic Surveillance T he Clinical Rotation Evaluation and Documentation Organizer

T hree VCOM students at the Virginia and Carolinas campuses worked with Edward Magalhaes, PhD, LPC, VCOM-Virginia and Alexis Stoner, PhD, MPH , VCOM-Carolinas, to examine the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a comparison between healthcare professionals and the general adult population in their target area (13 states). Their manuscript: An Assessment of Mental Health Outcomes during

(CREDO) system was initially designed as a medical education tool providing real- time feedback on VCOM’s clinical training experiences. CREDO has recorded over 2 million entries spanning all areas of medicine to become a public health database, enabling real-time health data analysis. Gabrielle Bruzda, DO , Class of 2020, then a fourth-year student on a

Gabrielle Bruzda, DO

Edward Magalhaes, PhD, LPC

Skip Garner, PhD

research rotation, and Skip Garner, PhD , VCOM- Carolinas, found evidence in CREDO of a new found evidence in CREDO of a new influenza-like illness in the United States three days before the Chinese CDC first identified the new coronavirus, nine days before the first U.S. confirmed case, and 24 days before the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The study results were published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (PMID: 33567082). ■

Alexis Stoner, PhD

the COVID-19 Pandemic, was published in the Community Mental Health Journal in July 2021 (PMID: 34283359). They presented their results at the AACOM Educating Leaders April 2021 virtual conference. Their results constitute the first step towards understanding who is most at risk for being psychologically affected in future infectious disease outbreaks to enable planning to provide appropriate support and resources. ■

MyHealthTracer MyHealthTracer is a web-based application designed to track cases of COVID-19 at each campus. VCOM faculty, staff and students used the web application daily to record signs and symptoms, positive test results and if they have been vaccinated. The application captures critical COVID-19 exposure and testing information. It helps provide actionable information to COVID-19 officers and administration, monitors consistent participation in reporting health status, contains automated outbreak prediction and notification. The tracking of vaccination status helped the administration plan for a return to “normalcy” on each campus.

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