Phoenix Police officers are required to wear Body-Worn Cameras while out on patrol and must have the cameras turned on when interacting with the public. The Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Policy was initially established as a means of accruing evidence and increasing police accountability when in the presence of the public. However, BWC technology has the ability to perform many other useful functions. The information provided by the cameras could be used to reduce the paperwork done by police officers while on duty, thus allowing them to spend more time taking calls from dispatch. The versatility of the body-worn camera and its components also make it an ideal pairing for an electrocardiograph (ECG) device to aid in the health of officers and law enforcement retention.

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of first responders in communicating with patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) in emergency situations and the impact those language barriers have on their self-efficacy. After the completion of a literature review, 20 first responders (fire, police, EMT, paramedic) were interviewed about their experiences and perceptions of language barriers. These interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically, resulting in the identification of these main themes: regional language variability, urban vs. rural language resource availability and incentives, differing language needs of police vs. non-police, language barrier impacts on the quality of care received by LEP individuals, cultural understanding vs. language proficiency, desire for a video/facetime translation resource, and the role of children as bilingual translators. Findings suggest that language barriers do have an impact on the self-efficacy of first responders and the quality of care provided to LEP patients, with 50% of participants recalling an experience in which a language barrier impacted the quality of care they provided to LEP patients. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by first responders in communication with LEP individuals and provides insights into much needed and desired strategies for overcoming language barriers to improve professional self-efficacy and equitable patient care in emergency situations.

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is an enveloped single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus that originated in China and has rapidly spread worldwide. With the Delta variant arriving before many K-12 schools in Arizona resumed in-person learning for the 2021-2022 academic year, a plethora of mitigation measures were utilized by schools. Public schools in both Maricopa and Pima county without mask mandates were found to be 3.5 times more likely to have COVID-19 outbreaks in comparison to those with mask requirements at the start of the school year. In addition, when analyzing the presence of three other mitigation measures (cohorting, random testing, and use of improved air filtration), only 5.42% were found to use all four mitigation measures.