Pacific Eclipse - A tabletop exercise on smallpox pandemic response

Effect of a Tabletop Program for Training Emerging Infectious Disease Responses in Nurses at Small- to Medium-Sized Hospitals in Areas with Poor Healthcare Access

This study developed and evaluated a tabletop program for training nurses working in small- to medium-sized hospitals in areas with poor healthcare access for emerging a tabletop program for training emerging infectious disease responses in nurses working at small- to medium-sized hospitals in areas with poor healthcare access and evaluated infectious disease responses. A tabletop program for training responses to emerging infectious diseases was provided to 29 nurses at a general hospital with <300 beds in a region without a tertiary general hospital or healthcare institution with nationally designated inpatient wards for patients with infectious diseases. The 180 min program consisted of an online theoretical lecture (Phase 1), one-on-one drills (Phase 2), and a scenario-based tabletop exercise (Phase 3). To evaluate the program's effect, pre- and post-knowledge, awareness, and competencies related to responses to emerging infectious diseases were assessed. The mean knowledge score significantly improved from 11.41 ± 2.33 before the training to 16.69 ± 2.48 after the training (z = -4.529, p < 0.001). The mean awareness score significantly improved from 80.83 ± 11.94 before the training to 85.45 ± 7.08 after the training (z = -2.335, p = 0.020). The mean competence score significantly increased from 67.31 ± 14.75 before the training to 79.38 ± 10.39 after the training (t = -6.187, p < 0.001). The tabletop exercise program effectively enhanced the nurses' competencies in responding to emerging infectious diseases. The training program developed in this study may be utilized in addition to a simplified theoretical lecture to train nurses to improve their competency in responding to emerging infectious diseases.

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Its Impacts in a Cohort of Gay and Bisexual Men in Australia

Successful use of biomedical forms of HIV risk-reduction may have predisposed many gay and bisexual men (GBM) to vaccination against COVID-19, which may, in turn, affect their sexual behavior. A total of 622 Australian GBM provided weekly data on COVID-19 vaccination history and sexual behaviour between 17 January 2021 and 22 June 2021. We identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination, and compare sexual behavior before and since vaccination. Mean age was 47.3 years (SD 14.0). At least one-dose vaccination coverage had reached 57.2%, and 61.3% reported that the majority of their friends intended to be vaccinated. Vaccinated men reported a mean of 1.11 (SD 2.10) weekly non-relationship sex partners before vaccination and 1.62 (SD 3.42) partners following vaccination. GBM demonstrated high confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. Their sexual activity increased following vaccination suggesting that greater sexual freedom may be a specific motivation for vaccine uptake among some men.