University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
This is a randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving emergency medicine and internal medicine healthcare providers as participants. The intervention involves the administration of the seasonal influenza vaccine or a saline placebo; this protocol is used in psychoneuro-immunology to simulate a state of mild illness. The primary aim is to examine whether acute inflammation induced by receiving the vaccine affects decision-making on standardized psychological reaction time tasks and questionnaires. Participants attend two laboratory sessions on consecutive days, receive either a seasonal influenza vaccine or a saline placebo at the first session, provide blood samples to measure inflammatory cytokines, and complete a series of standardized assessments of medical decision-making and social attitudes. Participants who received the placebo during the first session will receive the vaccine during the second session. Overall, the study is designed to examine how adverse provider conditions particularly acute inflammation, burnout, and concerns about one's own health affect provider judgments and healthcare-related decision-making. The primary hypothesis is that providers experiencing greater adverse conditions at the time of research participation would have altered decision-making compared to those experiencing fewer adverse conditions.
Participants will provide informed consent during a call (Zoom, Teams, Phone) with the University of Arkansas research team. The research team member will explain the study procedures to the participants and will give them the opportunity to ask questions. During the call, they will review the electronic consent form and will sign the form after all of their questions have been answered. They will receive a paper copy of the consent documents to review one more time when they arrive at the first research session at their site. Participants will complete two lab sessions on consecutive days (s…
Inclusion Criteria: * Healthcare providers currently employed in emergency medicine or internal medicine * Must be one of the following: Resident, fellow, attending, or advanced practice provider (NP, PA) * Individual is able to travel to the research site for sessions * Has not had an acute viral or bacterial infection within the previous 14 days * Has not taken an antiviral medication such as Tamiflu in the previous 48 hours * Has not taken corticosteroids or immunosuppressants in the previous 30 days Exclusion Criteria: * Does not want to receive a flu vaccine as part of the study * Has…
A single administration of a seasonal trivalent cell-based influenza vaccine delivered by injection into the arm at the end of the first study session.
Control group will receive a saline placebo injection at the end of Session 1