While caring for seriously ill children is a rewarding experience, pediatric healthcare providers may experience sadness and emotional distress when their patient dies. These feelings, particularly when not addressed, can lead to negative health and occupational outcomes. Remembrance practices can provide a safe space for staff to process their grief. This study explored pediatric healthcare providers’ perceptions of an annual Pediatric Remembrance Ceremony (PRC) and a quarterly program, Good Grief and Chocolate at Noon (GGCN), to learn what components of the programs were considered meaningful and the personal impact on those who attended. The programs pivoted to a virtual platform during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the study also assessed providers’ perspectives of attending the programs virtually.

A 19 multiple choice survey instrument was designed, reviewed, piloted, revised, and re-piloted by an interdisciplinary bereavement committee prior to administration. The survey included 2 open-ended questions, inviting additional insights into personal impact and future directions for remembrance programs. The survey was administered on an encrypted online platform.

Components of the PRC respondents most valued included the opportunity for staff to choose a name of a patient they cared for and to light a candle for that patient as their name is read. Those who participated in GGCN found story sharing helpful, along with having a speaker address a topic around loss and grief during the second half of the session. Both programs provided reflection, solidarity, and memorialization. Most respondents prefer having both in-person and virtual options.

Healthcare providers are affected by the death of the children they care for and value opportunities provided to join colleagues in remembering their patients. The findings underscore the value of remembrance programs in supporting bereaved staff.

Effective doctor–patient communication is a core competency for healthcare professionals. With the pivot to online clinical education and assessment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a need to explore the views of psychiatric trainees and examiners on assessment of communication skills during online high stakes postgraduate examinations.

The study was designed as descriptive qualitative research. All candidates and examiners of the September and November 2020 sitting of online Basic Specialist Training exam (a clinical Objective Structured Clinical Examination exam completed in the first 4 years of psychiatry training) were invited to participate. The respondents were interviewed by Zoom which was transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed by NVivo20 pro and various themes and subthemes were drawn using Braun and Clarke thematic analysis.

A total of seven candidates and seven examiners were interviewed with an average duration of 30 minutes and 25 minutes, respectively. Four main themes emerged: Communication, Screen optimization, Continuation postpandemic and Overall experience. All candidates preferred to continue an online format post pandemic for practical reasons e.g., avoiding travel and overnight stay, while all examiners preferred to go back to in-person Objective Structured Clinical Examination. However, continuation of online Clinical Formulation and Management Examination was agreed by both groups.

The participants were largely satisfied with the online examination but did not consider it equal to face-to-face for picking up nonverbal cues. Overall minimal technical issues were reported. These findings may be helpful to modify current psychiatry membership examinations or similar assessments in other countries and specialties.

Older adults experience symptoms of depression, leading to suffering and increased morbidity and mortality. Although we have effective depression therapies, physical distancing and other public health measures have severely limited access to in-person interventions.

To describe the efficacy of virtual interventions for reducing symptoms of depression in community-dwelling older adults.

Systematic review.

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Libraries, PsycINFO, and gray literature from inception to July 5, 2021.

We included randomized trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy of virtual interventions to any other virtual intervention or usual care in community-dwelling adults ≥60 years old experiencing symptoms of depression or depression as an outcome.

The primary outcome was change in symptoms of depression measured by any depression scale.

We screened 12,290 abstracts and 830 full text papers. We included 15 RCTs (3100 participants). Five RCTs examined persons with depression symptoms at baseline and ten examined depression as an outcome only. Included studies demonstrated feasibility of interventions such as internet or telephone cognitive behavioral therapy with some papers showing statistically significant improvement in depressive symptoms.

There is a paucity of studies examining virtual interventions in older adults with depression. Given difficulty in accessing in-person therapies in a pandemic and poor access for people living in rural and remote regions, there is an urgent need to explore efficacy, effectiveness, and implementation of virtual therapies.

Following the national lockdown in the UK in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we instigated regular online tutorials for fourth year medical students undertaking their psychiatry placement.

The aims of these tutorials were threefold: to ensure that students covered a range of key psychiatry topics, to enable them to have the opportunity for interactive tutorials with experienced psychiatrists and, not least, to create a sense of continuity and connection with their tutors and peers across the mental health block.

Each student was allocated to a tutorial group comprising 10 – 15 medical students and a psychiatrist facilitator. These groups met weekly for 7 consecutive weeks at an agreed time for 60 – 90 minutes via an online platform and all covered the same allocated topic each week. We evaluated these groups via an online survey sent to the students following the programme.

The students rated the tutorials on average as 4.5/5 on whether they met the defined learning outcomes. On average the students did not consider that the virtual format made a significant difference to their learning, but this disguised a wide range of views that were expressed via a comment box.

The evaluation of this project supports the use of virtual tutorials as a valuable learning tool but educators need to be aware that student views’ on these can be varied and so, long-term, a blend of virtual and face to face learning is most likely to meet the needs of all students.

The Multi-Agency Autism Team (MAAT) diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children and young people using a multi-stage assessment process. In March 2020, the UK went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the MAAT’s ability to continue their typical diagnostic pathway.

This qualitative study aimed to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of a virtual ASD diagnostic pathway.

From March – September; one hundred detailed developmental history assessments were conducted over the telephone, fifteen socially-distanced BOSA (Brief Observation of Symptoms of Autism) assessments were piloted, twenty-five multi-disciplinary formulation meeting were held over a video platform, and sixty diagnosis feedback consultations were conducted via telephone or video call. Structured interviews were conducted with clinicians and service-users.

revealed that telephone developmental history assessments were generally preferable over face-to-face appointments, and video-based formulation meetings were effective, productive and resulted in higher clinician attendance. The qualitative data on feedback appointments was mixed. Clinicians felt that telephone appointments were less personable and ethical; whereas, video-based feedback appointments allowed for more empathy. However, the majority of service-users opted for tele-calls over video-calls for these appointments. Socially-distanced BOSAs obtained positive clinician feedback in general. Service-user feedback was mixed; some found the experience uncomfortable and unfamiliar, whilst others enjoyed the experience. Overall, service-users were content with the knowledge that it may support a diagnostic outcome for their child.

We concluded that the overall experience of the virtual ASD diagnostic pathway was a positive and informative process, identifying opportunities for permanent change to the service.

Community engagement is important for advancing Clinical and Translational Science (CTS), but face-to-face engagement has limited reach and scale. We examined the feasibility of a novel virtual Facebook community platform for public engagement on health research statewide in Minnesota.

The Facebook platform, MN Research Link, was evaluated from June 19, 2019 to June 30, 2020. Facebook advertisements and boosts were used to recruit followers. Content, based on prior formative work, included health research information and interactive postings (e.g., live interviews with researchers). Standard metrics obtained from Facebook analytics included participation (followers), content reach (views), and engagement (likes, shares, comments, clicks).

During the 12-month period, we acquired 1406 followers (31% rural residents), with a retention of followers of 99.7%. Mean number of views per month was 9379.83 (Mdn = 2791, range 724–41,510). Engagement metrics indicated a mean of 535.2 likes, shares, comments, and/or clicks per month (Mdn = 296.5, range 55–1535). The page continued to acquire new followers, but a slight decrease in engagement was observed in the final months after state COVID-19 mitigation strategies were implemented.

As the complexity of CTS continues to grow, along with social distancing measures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of virtual digital platforms to reach and engage community stakeholders in conversations about health and research has increasing importance. Preliminary findings from this program evaluation indicate that a Facebook community platform is feasible to engage Minnesota residents in conversations around health and research topics. Future work will evaluate its potential for reach, scale, and sustainability.