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Translating COVID-19 knowledge to practice: Enhancing emergency medicine using the "wisdom of crowds"
Erik J Blutinger1, Sam Shahid2, Zachary J Jarou3
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 1 Gustave L. Levy Place New York New York USA.
Insights
Emergency physicians used the "wisdom of crowds" to share COVID-19 knowledge during the pandemic. Professional organizations can leverage this approach to enhance public health responses.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
- Social Psychology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for emergency physicians with limited initial data.
- Online platforms became crucial for crowdsourcing and disseminating vital medical information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the social psychology of group decision-making and knowledge translation in a crisis.
- To analyze the American College of Emergency Physicians' (ACEP) use of the EngagED platform to create the COVID-19 Field Guide.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of crowdsourcing via EngagED compared to other social media.
Main Methods:
- Review of social psychology concepts related to group decision-making and knowledge translation.
- Case study analysis of ACEP's EngagED platform during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Comparative evaluation of EngagED's attributes against other social media platforms.
Main Results:
- The
- wisdom of crowds" facilitated rapid dissemination of clinically relevant information for COVID-19.
- The ACEP COVID-19 Field Guide served as a valuable crowdsourced resource.
- EngagED demonstrated unique attributes suitable for professional knowledge sharing.
Conclusions:
- Professional medical organizations can effectively utilize the "wisdom of crowds" to augment pandemic response.
- Crowdsourcing platforms like EngagED are powerful tools for knowledge translation in public health emergencies.
- The study highlights the potential for enhanced collaboration and information sharing among healthcare professionals during crises.
Abstract:
In the spring of 2020, emergency physicians found themselves in new, uncharted territory as there were few data available for understanding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. In response, knowledge was being crowd sourced and shared across online platforms. The "wisdom of crowds" is an important vehicle for sharing information and expertise. In this article, we explore concepts related to the social psychology of group decisionmaking and knowledge translation. We then analyze a scenario in which the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), a professional medical society, used the wisdom of crowds (via the EngagED platform) to disseminate clinically relevant information and create a useful resource called the "ACEP COVID-19 Field Guide." We also evaluate the crowd-sourced approach, content, and attributes of EngagED compared to other social media platforms. We conclude that professional organizations can play a more prominent role using the wisdom of crowds for augmenting pandemic response efforts.
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