A Comprehensive COVID-19 Daily News and Medical Literature Briefing to Inform Health Care and Policy in New Mexico: Implementation Study.
LynnMarie Jarratt, Jenny Situ, Rachel D King, Estefania Montanez Ramos, Hannah Groves, Ryen Ormesher, Melissa Cossé, Alyse Raboff, Avanika Mahajan, Jennifer Thompson, Randy F Ko, Samantha Paltrow-Krulwich, Allison Price, Ariel May-Ling Hurwitz, Timothy CampBell, Lauren T Epler, Fiona Nguyen, Emma Wolinsky, Morgan Edwards-Fligner, Jolene Lobo, Danielle Rivera, Jens Langsjoen, Lori Sloane, Ingrid Hendrix, Elly O Munde, Clinton O Onyango, Perez K Olewe, Samuel B Anyona, Alexandra V Yingling, Nicolas R Lauve, Praveen Kumar, Shawn Stoicu, Anastasiya Nestsiarovich, Cristian G Bologa, Tudor I Oprea, Kristine Tollestrup, Orrin B Myers, Mari Anixter, Douglas J Perkins, Christophe Gerard Lambert
Author Information
LynnMarie Jarratt: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Jenny Situ: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Rachel D King: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Estefania Montanez Ramos: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Hannah Groves: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Ryen Ormesher: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Melissa Cossé: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Alyse Raboff: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Avanika Mahajan: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Jennifer Thompson: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Randy F Ko: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Samantha Paltrow-Krulwich: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Allison Price: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Ariel May-Ling Hurwitz: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Timothy CampBell: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Lauren T Epler: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Fiona Nguyen: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Emma Wolinsky: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Morgan Edwards-Fligner: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Jolene Lobo: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Danielle Rivera: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Jens Langsjoen: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Lori Sloane: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Ingrid Hendrix: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Elly O Munde: University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya. ORCID
Clinton O Onyango: University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya. ORCID
Perez K Olewe: University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya. ORCID
Samuel B Anyona: University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya. ORCID
Alexandra V Yingling: Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Nicolas R Lauve: Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Praveen Kumar: Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Shawn Stoicu: Health and Sciences Center Sponsored Projects Office, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Anastasiya Nestsiarovich: Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Cristian G Bologa: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Tudor I Oprea: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Kristine Tollestrup: University of New Mexico College of Population Health, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Orrin B Myers: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Mari Anixter: New Mexico Department of Health, Communications Office, Office of the Secretary, Santa Fe, NM, United States. ORCID
Douglas J Perkins: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
Christophe Gerard Lambert: Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States. ORCID
BACKGROUND: On March 11, 2020, the New Mexico Governor declared a public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Mexico medical advisory team contacted University of New Mexico (UNM) faculty to form a team to consolidate growing information on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its disease to facilitate New Mexico's pandemic management. Thus, faculty, physicians, staff, graduate students, and medical students created the "UNM Global Health COVID-19 Intelligence Briefing." OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we sought to (1) share how to create an informative briefing to guide public policy and medical practice and manage information overload with rapidly evolving scientific evidence; (2) determine the qualitative usefulness of the briefing to its readers; and (3) determine the qualitative effect this project has had on virtual medical education. METHODS: Microsoft Teams was used for manual and automated capture of COVID-19 articles and composition of briefings. Multilevel triaging saved impactful articles to be reviewed, and priority was placed on randomized controlled studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and information on health care and policy response to COVID-19. The finalized briefing was disseminated by email, a listserv, and posted on the UNM digital repository. A survey was sent to readers to determine briefing usefulness and whether it led to policy or medical practice changes. Medical students, unable to partake in direct patient care, proposed to the School of Medicine that involvement in the briefing should count as course credit, which was approved. The maintenance of medical student involvement in the briefings as well as this publication was led by medical students. RESULTS: An average of 456 articles were assessed daily. The briefings reached approximately 1000 people by email and listserv directly, with an unknown amount of forwarding. Digital repository tracking showed 5047 downloads across 116 countries as of July 5, 2020. The survey found 108 (95%) of 114 participants gained relevant knowledge, 90 (79%) believed it decreased misinformation, 27 (24%) used the briefing as their primary source of information, and 90 (79%) forwarded it to colleagues. Specific and impactful public policy decisions were informed based on the briefing. Medical students reported that the project allowed them to improve on their scientific literature assessment, stay current on the pandemic, and serve their community. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 briefings succeeded in informing and guiding New Mexico policy and clinical practice. The project received positive feedback from the community and was shown to decrease information burden and misinformation. The virtual platforms allowed for the continuation of medical education. Variability in subject matter expertise was addressed with training, standardized article selection criteria, and collaborative editing led by faculty.
