This SHEA white paper identifies knowledge gaps and challenges in healthcare epidemiology research related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a focus on core principles of healthcare epidemiology. These gaps, revealed during the worst phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, are described in 10 sections: epidemiology, outbreak investigation, surveillance, isolation precaution practices, personal protective equipment (PPE), environmental contamination and disinfection, drug and supply shortages, antimicrobial stewardship, healthcare personnel (HCP) occupational safety, and return to work policies. Each section highlights three critical healthcare epidemiology research questions with detailed description provided in supplementary materials. This research agenda calls for translational studies from laboratory-based basic science research to well-designed, large-scale studies and health outcomes research. Research gaps and challenges related to nursing homes and social disparities are included. Collaborations across various disciplines, expertise and across diverse geographic locations will be critical.

Identifying developmental endophenotypes on the pathway between genetics and behavior is critical to uncovering the mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental conditions. In this proof-of-principle study, we explored whether early disruptions in visual attention are a unique or shared candidate endophenotype of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We calculated the duration of the longest look (i.e., peak look) to faces in an array-based eye-tracking task for 335 14-month-old infants with and without first-degree relatives with ASD and/or ADHD. We leveraged parent-report and genotype data available for a proportion of these infants to evaluate the relation of looking behavior to familial (n = 285) and genetic liability (using polygenic scores, n = 185) as well as ASD and ADHD-relevant temperament traits at 2 years of age (shyness and inhibitory control, respectively, n = 272) and ASD and ADHD clinical traits at 6 years of age (n = 94).

Results showed that longer peak looks at the face were associated with elevated polygenic scores for ADHD (β = 0.078, p = .023), but not ASD (β = 0.002, p = .944), and with elevated ADHD traits in mid-childhood (F(1,88) = 6.401, p = .013, $\eta _p^2$=0.068; ASD: F (1,88) = 3.218, p = .076), but not in toddlerhood (ps > 0.2). This pattern of results did not emerge when considering mean peak look duration across face and nonface stimuli. Thus, alterations in attention to faces during spontaneous visual exploration may be more consistent with a developmental endophenotype of ADHD than ASD. Our work shows that dissecting paths to neurodevelopmental conditions requires longitudinal data incorporating polygenic contribution, early neurocognitive function, and clinical phenotypic variation.

Mobile ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light room decontamination devices are frequently used as an adjunct to standard cleaning in healthcare facilities, but their efficacy in killing Candida species is not clear. In laboratory testing, the emerging multidrug-resistant Candida auris and 2 other Candida species were significantly less susceptible to killing by UV-C than methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:94–96

Contaminated surfaces are a suspected source for dissemination of the globally emerging pathogen Candida auris. In laboratory testing, sporicidal and improved hydrogen peroxide disinfectants were highly effective against C. auris, C. glabrata, and C. albicans. The widely used quaternary ammonium disinfectants exhibited relatively poor activity against all of the Candida species.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:1240–1243

Despite West End producers' and critics' expectations that it would never turn a profit, R. C. Sherriff's Journey's End (1928) became the most commercially successful First World stage drama of the interwar period, celebrated as an authentic depiction of the Great War in Britain and around the world. This article explains why. Departing from existing scholarship, which centers on Sherriff's autobiographical influences on his play, I focus instead on the marketing and reception of this production. Several processes specific to the interwar era blurred the play's ontology as a commercial entertainment and catapulted it to international success. These include its conspicuous engagement with and endorsement by veterans of the war, which transformed the play into historical reenactment; the multisensory spectatorial encounter, which allowed audiences to approach Journey's End as a means of accessing vicarious knowledge about the war; and a marketing campaign that addressed anxieties about the British theatrical industry. Finally, I trace the reception of this play into the Second World War, when British soldiers and prisoners of war spontaneously revived it around the world. The afterlives of Journey's End, I demonstrate, suggest new ways of conceiving of the cultural legacy of the First World War across the generations.

The world's older population is projected to rise to some two billion people in the next 50 years. The health of older adults deteriorates with increasing age and creates greater demand for healthcare resources. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in older adults is causing concern due to its interplay between type 2 diabetes, obesity and associated morbidity and mortality. This call to action discusses comorbidities associated with type 2 diabetes and obesity in the older population and its impact on patients. We cover several topics to consider when designing prevention and treatment strategies for older adults and areas for improvement in our care of this special population are discussed. We know that dietary, exercise and weight-loss interventions are effective. However, these strategies require effort by both patient and physician. If all parties responsible in patient care take action, a change in lifestyle can lead to longer, healthier lives in older adults.