Search

In the last year a new virus (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease caused by it (COVID-19) has quickly spread around the world, leading the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency and, then, a global pandemic status. The strategies adopted by many countries to reduce the impact of the pandemic were mainly based on social distancing rules and on stay-at-home measures or lockdowns. These strategies had severe disruptive consequences on many sectors, including all levels of education. While the "traditional" (face-to-face) Higher Education (HE) system was unprepared for the lockdown (e.g., no plans for a massive shift to online teaching were available/ready), it reacted in an extremely quick and effective way, replacing face-to-face teaching with online teaching. While COVID-19 has been extremely challenging for education, the experience has undoubtedly provided positive inputs for the digitalization of the HE system. The question is however, if whether after the COVID-19 emergency everything will go back to the previous situation or instead if the pandemic has irreversibly changed HE. While we are still in the middle of the crisis, it is in our view beneficial to start to reflect on the challenges and open issues that emerged during this period and the lessons learned for the "new normal" (as it is often referred to). In this conceptual paper we seek to start this discussion by focusing on the following relevant aspects that should be considered to succeed in the digital transformation: broadband network infrastructure and hardware devices; e-learning software; organization of teaching activities; pedagogical issues; diversity and inclusivity; and a number of other issues. We conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic will irreversibly change HE and probably for the better.

PURPOSE To describe demographic and clinical characteristics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients managed in US primary care. METHODS This was an observational registry study using data from the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Optimum Patient Care DARTNet Research Database from which the Advancing the Patient Experience COPD registry is derived. Registry patients were aged [greater than or equal to]35 years at diagnosis. Electronic health record data were collected from both registries, supplemented with patient-reported information/outcomes from the Advancing the Patient Experience registry from 5 primary care groups in Texas, Ohio, Colorado, New York, and North Carolina (June 2019 through November 2020). RESULTS: Of 17,192 patients included, 1,354 were also in the Advancing the Patient Experience registry. Patients were predominantly female (56%; 9,689/17,192), White (64%; 9,732/15,225), current/ex-smokers (80%; 13,784/17,192), and overweight/obese (69%; 11,628/16,849). The most commonly prescribed maintenance treatments were inhaled corticosteroid with a long-acting [[beta].sub.2]-agonist (30%) and inhaled corticosteroid with a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (27%). Although 3% (565/17,192) of patitents were untreated, 9% (1,587/17,192) were on short-acting bronchodilator monotherapy, and 4% (756/17,192) were on inhaled corticosteroid monotherapy. Despite treatment, 38% (6,579/17,192) of patients experienced 1 or more exacerbations in the last 12 months. These findings were mirrored in the Advancing Patient Experience registry with many patients reporting high or very high impact of disease on their health (43%; 580/1,322), a breathlessness score 2 or more (45%; 588/1,315), and 1 or more exacerbation in the last 12 months (50%; 646/1,294). CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight the high exacerbation, symptom, and treatment burdens experienced by COPD patients managed in US primary care, and the need for more real-life effectiveness trials to support decision making at the primary care level. Key words: APEX; characterization; electronic medical records; patient reported outcomes; primary care, INTRODUCTION Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents an important public health challenge that is preventable and treatable. (1) For the 16 million Americans who live with it, COPD carries a [...]

The world is experiencing significant changes, including exponential growth of the global population, global warming and climate change, biodiversity loss, international migration, digitalization, smart agriculture/farming, synthetic biology, and most recently a global human health pandemic. These trends pose a set of relevant challenges for the training of new graduates as well as for the re-skilling of current workers through lifelong learning programs. Our paper seeks to answer two research questions: (1) are current study programs suitable to prepare students for their professional future and (2) are study programs adequate to deliver the needs of current and new generations of students? We analyzed the professional figures and the skills required by the job market, as well as the number of students enrolled in technical-scientific HE study programs in Europe. We discuss the needs of future students considering how the teaching tools and methods enabled by digitalization might contribute to increasing the effectiveness of training these students. Finally, we shed light on the different types of HE study programs that can meet the educational challenges of the future.