Reimagining Urban Spaces: Green Spaces, Obesity, and Health Resilience in an Era of Extreme Heat.

Record-breaking heat waves intensified by climate change pose both environmental and health threats, necessitating a balance between urban sustainability and well-being. Extreme heat and limited green space access are drivers of obesity prevalence, with decreased proximity to green spaces correlating with higher rates of obesity in nearby communities. In contrast, access to such green spaces fosters physical activity, well-being, and community cohesion, especially crucial in marginalized communities facing health disparities due to historical policies like redlining and underinvestment in social gathering spaces. Despite challenges, green space investment offers healthcare savings and environmental gains, necessitating a shift in perception towards viewing green spaces as essential for urban living. As heat waves persist, integrating health and sustainability in urban planning is paramount. Health and medical communities must play an active role in advocating for equitable access to urban green spaces, as they possess influential positions to address climate-related health disparities through localized advocacy.

Implementing an Opt-in eConsult Program at Seven Academic Medical Centers: a Qualitative Analysis of Primary Care Provider Experiences.

BACKGROUND: Electronic consultation (eConsult), which involves primary care provider (PCP)-to-specialist asynchronous consultation, is increasingly used in health care systems to streamline care and to improve patient access. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) formed a collaborative to support the implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR)-based, opt-in eConsult program across multiple academic medical centers (AMCs). In this model, PCPs can elect to send either an eConsult or a traditional referral. OBJECTIVE: We sought to understand the PCP experience with eConsult to identify facilitators of and barriers to the successful adoption of the model. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted 35 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus groups with a range of primary care providers at 7 AMCs participating in the AAMC collaborative. APPROACH: Interviews were recorded and transcribed or detailed field notes were taken. We used the constant comparative method to identify recurring themes within and across sites, and resolve interpretive discrepancies. KEY RESULTS: We identified three major themes related to the eConsult program: (1) eConsult increases the comprehensiveness of primary care and fills PCPs' knowledge gaps through case-based learning. (2) Factors that influence PCPs to order an eConsult rather than a traditional referral include patient preference, case complexity, and need for expert guidance. (3) Implementation challenges included increasing PCPs' awareness of the program, addressing PCPs' concerns about increased workload, recruiting engaged specialist consultants, and ensuring high quality eConsult responses. Implementation success relied on PCP ownership of the consultation process, mitigating unintended consequences, ongoing education about the program, and mechanisms for providing feedback to clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that an opt-in eConsult program at AMCs has the potential to increase PCP knowledge and enhance the comprehensiveness of primary care. For these benefits to be realized, program implementation requires sustained efforts to overcome barriers to use and establish norms guiding eConsult communication.