Personal Agency and Social Supports to Manage Health Among Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic Men With Diabetes.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic communities, especially among men who develop this chronic condition at earlier ages. Personal agency and social support are vital aspects to diabetes management. However, less is known about the relationship between these variables among men living with diabetes. The purposes of this study were to identify (1) levels of personal agency to manage health, (2) sources of social supports to manage health based on personal agency levels, and (3) factors associated with lower personal agency to manage health. Cross-sectional data from non-Hispanic Black (n = 381) and Hispanic (n = 292) men aged 40 years or older with T2D were collected using an internet-delivered questionnaire. Three binary logistic regression models were fitted to assess sociodemographics, health indicators, and support sources associated with weaker personal agency to manage health. About 68% of participants reported having the strongest personal agency relative to 32.1% reporting weaker personal agency. Men who relied more on their spouse/partner (odds ratio [OR] = 1.22, p = .025), coworkers (OR = 1.59, p = .008), or faith-based organizations (OR = 1.29, p = .029) for ongoing help/support to improve their health and manage health problems were more likely to have weaker personal agency. Conversely, men who relied more on their health care providers for ongoing help/support to improve their health and manage health problems were less likely to have weaker personal agency to manage health (OR = 0.74, p < .001). Findings suggest personal agency may influence men's support needs to manage T2D, which may also be influenced by cultural, socioeconomics, and the composition of social networks.

Rural-Urban Differences in Telehealth Utilization and Delayed Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: Use of telehealth among older adults increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but patterns and correlates of its use are poorly understood. The present study uses a representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries to examine rural-urban differences in telehealth utilization during the pandemic and to investigate the associations between the number and type of telehealth services utilized and delayed in-person care. Methods: The study sample (N = 3,257) came from Round 10 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Telehealth was measured in three modalities: phone calls, e-mails or portal messages, and video calls. Multivariable Poisson and logistic regressions were performed to test the study aims, adjusting for sociodemographic and health controls. Analytic weights and survey design factors were incorporated to generate population estimates. Findings: Results show that rurality is associated with lower rates (incidence rate ratio = 0.78, p < 0.001) and lower odds of telehealth use compared with urban older adults. Specifically, rural older adults were less likely to use e-mail or portal messages (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.43, p < 0.001) and video calls (AOR = 0.57, p = 0.004) to communicate with their usual health care provider. Use of any 2 forms of telehealth was associated with greatest increased odds of delayed in-person care among rural and urban populations during the pandemic. Conclusions: Future efforts are needed to expand the utilization of e-mail/portal messages and video call telehealth services among rural older adults. Telehealth may be an important mechanism to support care continuity during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic for both urban and rural older adults when in-person modalities of care are not feasible.

The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model: Hospitals' Early Experiences With Global Payment for Rural Communities.

GOAL: In January 2019, the first cohort of rural hospitals began to operate under the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model for all-payer prospective global budget reimbursement as part of a demonstration funded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Using information from primary source documents and interviews with key stakeholders, we sought to identify challenges and lessons learned throughout the design, development, and early implementation stages of the model. METHODS: We relied on two qualitative research approaches: (1) review of primary source documents such as peer-reviewed publications and news accounts related to the model and (2) semistructured interviews with key staff and stakeholders, including current and former members of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, first-year applicant hospitals, technical assistance providers, and members of state and federal organizations and agencies familiar with the Pennsylvania and Maryland payment reform efforts for rural health and rural hospitals (N = 20). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We identified four primary attributes that innovative projects such as the model need: (1) a champion at the state and hospital level, significant cooperation across state agencies and between federal and state agencies, and support from nongovernment stakeholders; (2) ongoing engagement and education of all stakeholders, particularly related to rural health disparities, the challenges faced by rural hospitals (especially resource limitations), and the differences between rural and urban health and health service delivery; (3) realistic time lines, noting that stakeholder relationships with hospital leadership develop over many months; and (4) multistakeholder collaboration, because participating hospitals must have ongoing engagement with community members (i.e., consumers of healthcare), nonacute community partners, and other rural hospitals to foster a "rural health movement." APPLICATIONS TO PRACTICE: A successful Pennsylvania model holds promise for other states seeking to address the needs of rural populations and the hospitals that are vital to those communities. The lessons in this article can assist others in making the transition from volume to value in rural healthcare.

How Facebook is used to promote ENDS products near four Big 10 universities: A qualitative analysis.

Objective: Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) proprietors strategically placed near college campuses and pervasive marketing on social media platforms, such as Facebook, are critical to the tobacco industry's effort to acquire new young adult users. Understanding the themes used on Facebook to promote ENDS products to college students is necessary to develop public health messaging to combat the vaping epidemic.Methods: We identified 15 ENDS proprietors located near four Big 10 universities and qualitatively analyzed a random sample of their Facebook posts (n = 405) to identify emerging themes using a grounded theory approach.Results: ENDS proprietors in college towns use Facebook to deploy promotional messaging (n = 319), to market ENDS products as a means of celebration (n = 40), to establish a sense of community (n = 155) among ENDS users, to make marijuana references (n = 36), and to advocate (n = 27) for ENDS products.Conclusions: These themes may increase social acceptability and use of ENDS products among college students.

Building the case for housing policy: Understanding public beliefs about housing affordability as a key social determinant of health.

BACKGROUND: The current housing crisis in the U.S. requires the consideration and promotion of policies that improve the circumstances of severe housing cost burdens. Building public awareness of the health impacts associated with housing affordability may be a key prerequisite for policy change. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative data from a national survey were used to investigate public understandings about housing affordability as a key driver of health. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to test whether any relationships existed between respondents' considerations and concerns about housing affordability and their perceptions about housing affordability as a social determinant of health. FINDINGS: These data support four key findings. First, understandings of the relationship between affordable housing and health are partisan and income-based driven, with Republicans and high-income respondents less likely to acknowledge the effects of housing affordability on health. Second, varied frames of communication about the relationship between housing affordability and health may produce significantly different reactions among political and income subgroups.Third, while there is considerable agreement that housing affordability promotes health when using forced-choice measures, connections between affordable housing and health are not readily volunteered. Finally, the themes of personal responsibility and stability and security significantly resonate with Republicans and high-income earners. CONCLUSIONS: Contextualizing the issue of housing affordability within various domains in ways that effectively resonate with the American public and policymakers and across political and income spectra, is highly imperative.

A multi-site exploration of barriers faced by vulnerable patient populations: a qualitative analysis exploring the needs of patients for targeted interventions in new models of care delivery.

AIM: To investigate which populations of patients are considered 'vulnerable' across varying clinical sites, and to identify the barriers encountered by these patient populations limiting optimal health. BACKGROUND: Vulnerable patient populations encounter diverse barriers that limit their ability to successfully navigate the health system, potentially resulting in poor health outcomes. Little current-day work has described types of barriers encountered by vulnerable patient populations across numerous clinical sites and settings, which is necessary to ensure health systems can begin to improve quality and disparities for all patient populations. METHODS: An inductive content analysis was performed based on field-site notes and digitally recorded telephone interviews with providers/leadership at clinics/programs related to patient- and clinic-needs from January 2014 through May 2015. Using thematic analysis with grounded theory techniques, authors identified categories and themes. In total, 30 diverse clinical sites/programs including inpatient- and outpatient-based clinics providing medicine and surgery-based services were assessed through both site visits and follow-up telephone interviews. Follow-up interviews were conducted with one individual in various positions within sites/programs, including physicians (n=15), registered nurses (n=8), clinic managers/coordinators (n=2), clinical program coordinator (n=1), and care coordinator (n=1); one participant represented three clinical sites. FINDINGS: In total, 30 sites/programs (n=30) received both a site visit and follow-up interview. Commonly reported vulnerable patient populations included those with multiple chronic conditions, lower socioeconomic status, patients in a specific stage in the continuum of care, and patients with over- and under-utilization of resources without a clear etiology. Themes related to barriers included systems barriers (eg, insufficiencies of care processes), clinic barriers (eg, lack of resources), patient-related barriers (eg, housing, transportation), and provider-related barriers (eg, inadequate time and knowledge). CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a framework to identify systems- and clinic-related barriers that can be used in population health management strategies aimed at improving health disparities within clinically diverse sites.

Adding Value to the Health Care System: Identifying Value-Added Systems Roles for Medical Students.

To catalyze learning in Health Systems Science and add value to health systems, education programs are seeking to incorporate students into systems roles, which are not well described. The authors sought to identify authentic roles for students within a range of clinical sites and explore site leaders' perceptions of the value of students performing these roles. From 2013 to 2015, site visits and interviews with leadership from an array of clinical sites (n = 30) were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to identify tasks and benefits of integrating students into interprofessional care teams. Types of systems roles included direct patient benefit activities, including monitoring patient progress with care plans and facilitating access to resources, and clinic benefit activities, including facilitating coordination and improving clinical processes. Perceived benefits included improved value of the clinical mission and enhanced student education. These results elucidate a framework for student roles that enhance learning and add value to health systems.