Report of the feasibility study of a postal enquiry into the pattern of illnesses before and after immunization of infants

In 1981 a postal enquiry of mothers was undertaken. Sixty-three mothers completed a daily record of the illnesses occurring among their babies between the ages of 8–28 weeks. During this period 56 babies had a first and 45 babies a second immunization.The results showed that the rate of illness was the same for the 6 weeks before andafter vaccination following both first and second doses. There was, however, a lower than expected number of episodes in the week prior to both doses. After vaccination there was less illness than expected during the second, third and fourth weeks followed by a compensatory rise. The illnesses, mainly respiratory, could not have been caused by vaccination and it is suggested that the selection of fit cases for immunization can affect the overall pattern of illness which occurs later.Studies of general reactions to immunization need to take into account the health of the child before as well as after the vaccination. This is particularly important in case-controlled studies.     

Rebalancing risk management—Part 1: The Process for Active Risk Control (PARC)

Risk assessment, by itself, does nothing to reduce risk or improve safety. It can only change outcomes by informing the design and management of effective risk control interventions. But current practice in healthcare risk management suffers from an almost complete lack of support for risk control. This first installment of a 2‐part series on rebalancing risk management describes a new framework to guide risk control practice: The Process for Active Risk Control.     

Mpox in the United States: Current implications for public health nursing

In 2022, mpox, an orthopoxvirus first isolated in 1958 in cynomolgus monkeys, became a global public health threat. While the virus can be communicated through skin-to-skin contact from any infected person to non-infected person, most cases in the United States have been in gay and bisexual men. Consequently, early public health and community-based efforts concentrated on reducing infections in this population. This article explores current mpox case count epidemiologic data and trends. In addition, vaccination indications, contraindications, adverse events, and national administration data are provided along with directions for nurses and other clinicians moving forward in the outbreak.