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The Skinny

Hey Siri, set a vaccine reminder

Posted on Thursday, February 18

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Weekly Skinny

Let’s start off on the right foot

“Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.” – Coretta Scott King


 

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The skinny

During the pandemic, researchers found a dramatic reduction in the health care use, especially during the first two months.

Huh.

Yeah, and it’s not a good thing. Some of the steepest declines were in preventive care like screenings, immunizations, mammograms, pap smears (down 80%) and colonoscopies (down 90%).

Not good.

Not at all. And although there was a slight rebound this fall, procedures still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Well, what does it all mean?

Health care industry insiders are speculating that deferred care could affect disease prevention down the line and may increase costs due to undiagnosed illnesses.

Telehello?

Right, telemedicine did start to fill the gap caused by COVID-19 and may have even helped offset some declines in care utilization. And a fun new twist, telehealth may possibly work better for mental health care.

What else?

Well, even for procedures like colonoscopies that typically require an in-person visit, alternatives have started cropping up.

Cropping up, like up up?

Indeed. Health care providers have had to think outside the box when it comes to getting patients the care they need. Like the Cologuard, a Food and Drug Administration-approved at-home testing kit that helps screen for colon cancer.

Well, that’s good!

Not so fast. Although new alternatives and innovations are good, the real fallout from the gap in care COVID-19 caused isn’t going to be great. It’s one thing for employers to provide coverage to employees; however, it’s another can of worms to get them to use their benefits. Especially when it comes to chronic illness management, new creative communication strategies need to emerge as well.

Like what?

Stories work! Sharing stories about how a plan member managed their diabetes successfully or sharing a real-world example of how to use telemedicine to get care are excellent ways to help. Also, communicate where employees can get alternative care and services like immunizations to help against the deferred care fall out.

Read more: Americans avoiding the dentist amid COVID-19 pandemic

Date with data: Meningococcal and HPV vaccines saw YoY declines of 75%.

Totes quotes: "The pandemic has shown us more than anything else that you can't have a productive workforce where health is an issue, but this is not anything new for [employers]." – Magda Rusinowski, VP of Business Group on Health


 

vaccine-mandate-icon
The skinny

Two new surveys find that fewer than 10% of organizations plan to require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccination.

You’re kidding?

Not this time. Given the wide range of legal and practical considerations employers must balance in establishing COVID-19 vaccination policies, most employers will be using other means to coax employees to get the vaccination.

Like what?

Many will use educational and informational campaigns along with incentives.

But, I thought…

That it would be mandated? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently said employers can require employees to get immunized with the coronavirus vaccine. But many employers don’t want to rock the boat with mandates.

Ok, no rocking the boat.

Well, maybe a little. Organizations are hoping strong encouragement will be enough. Plus, just like an empty dance floor, many organizations are waiting and looking around the room to see what everyone else will do. Good news is employees want to boogie, 56% of U.S. workers say they’ll get a COVID-19 vaccine.

That’s promising!

Indeed. What’s more, that figure rose to 61% during the survey’s final week.

Let’s talk incentives.

Let’s. Vaccine incentives may boost the willingness to get vaccinated. In fact, 56% of employees said they would get vaccinated if they were encouraged by their employers. Hope you’re ready to yell: 60% of employees are saying “show me the money,” and would line up for a shot if their employers offered a $100 award.

Show me the money!

Heard you. Now, before you get carried away, also consider offering employees PTO to get the shot, which also seems to work well. And don’t sleep on the EEOC to release further guidance on incentives breaking any anti-discrimination laws.

Deeper dive: Chobani to give it’s 2,220 workers up to 6 hours off to get COVID-19 vaccine.

Totes quotes: “We're taking our mission to keep our people safe one step further today. Our plant employees have been on the front lines of putting food on America's kitchen table 24/7 during this pandemic. They're the heart of our company and we'll do whatever we can to protect them.” - Peter McGuinness, president of Chobani


 

brain-patterns-talk-icon
The skinny

Neuroscientists have discovered that brain patterns change when talking to someone who has a different socioeconomic background.

Wut?

Yup, brain scans are getting wilder than Fat Tuesday these days. Yale neuroscientists found that when two colleagues disagree or have diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, their front brains—or prefrontal cortexes—light up when they have a conversation.

Did you say free frontal?

No, didn’t you hear? No beads this year! Let’s get brainy. The prefrontal cortex is your “thinking brain.” When this part of your brain lights up, it helps you debate your side of the argument. In contrast, when you agree with someone, you have less cognitive activity in your prefrontal cortex and greater activity in the social and attention networks.

Harmonious.

Exactly. Back to the prefrontal cortex. Fun fact: It’s also responsible for self-regulation, bias avoidance and collaboration with your emotional brain.

Interesting.

Very. Basically, your prefrontal cortex is like your conservative best friend at the bar; it’s the decider of whether or not you do what your impulsive, lightning-fast emotional brain wants you to do.

Jello shots?

Maybe after this. The good news is the neuroscientists found that despite our implicit biases and prejudices, the human brain’s frontal lobe (aka prefrontal cortex) activities during conversations among employees from diverse background assists in navigating communication and diverse attitude barriers.

Mind blown.

Totally. So, if our brains are giving us some major assists in the acceptance department, empathy can carry us all the way through. These brain findings are major fodder for arguing the importance of empathy when having a discussion with someone.

Why?

Simply because empathy neutralizes conflict. When you can walk in someone else’s shoes (or flip flops, like the last time we did Jello shots) for a while it fosters synchronization: understanding, communication and equality among diverse populations.

So, two brains become one?

A true meeting of the minds! This can lead to clearer communication and equitable solutions to settle differences.

Some encouragement: Flowering.

Further reading: How to stop having the same argument.

 

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