Barriers and Facilitators to Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Qualitative Review Synthesis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: One of the ways to address the treatment gap for substance use disorders is to understand the barriers and facilitators to treatment. This study aimed to synthesize the literature on barriers and facilitators of treatment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). METHODS: We search Medline electronic database to identify English language peer reviewed empirical studies, both qualitative and quantitative which reported barriers and/or facilitators of treatment of substance use disorders. RESULTS: Of 1389 titles, we selected 28 studies (14 were qualitative and 14 quantitative studies). The sample sizes of the qualitative studies ranged from 11 to 235. The majority of studies were from community or clinic settings. A wide range of barriers and facilitators were identified from the qualitative studies and were synthesized according to perceived susceptibility/seriousness, self-efficacy, perceived costs, perceived benefits, and cues to action. Most of the quantitative studies were community-based cross sectional-observational by design. Commonly identified barriers in these quantitative studies were perceived lack of problem or lack of need for treatment and low motivation whereas factors such as good family support and availability of effective treatment was found to facilitate substance use disorder treatment. CONCLUSION: There are a wide range of barriers that hinder the substance use disorder treatment as well as certain factors that facilitate the treatment. Addressing them can help to minimize the treatment gap, which in turn can help in reducing the familial and social burden due to substance use disorders.

Prevalence of patient-reported gastrointestinal symptoms and agreement with clinician toxicity assessments in radiation therapy for anal cancer.

PURPOSE: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms pose a significant burden to patients receiving chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for anal cancer; however, the impact of symptoms from the patient perspective has not been quantified. This retrospective study examined and compared patient and clinician reports of acute GI toxicity during CRT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients treated with definitive RT using intensity-modulated radiation therapy for anal cancer between 9/09 and 11/12 were reviewed. Median RT dose was 56 Gy (range 45-56), and 76 patients (97%) received concurrent 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. During RT, patients completed the 7-item Bowel Problem Scale (BPS) weekly. Clinicians assessed toxicity separately using CTCAE v. 3.0. Scores of BPS ≥ 3 and CTCAE ≥ 1 were considered to be clinically meaningful. Agreement of the two assessments was evaluated by Cohen's kappa coefficient. RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients completed at least one BPS and had a corresponding clinician assessment. Patients reporting scores of ≥3 was highest at week 5 (n = 68) for diarrhea (44.1%), proctitis (57.4%), and mucus (48.4%), while urgency (47.6%), tenesmus (31.7%), and cramping (27%) were highest at week 4 (n = 63). Baseline bleeding scores (26.7%; score ≥3) improved during treatment (13.4% at week 5). "Poor" agreement was observed between patient- and clinician-reported proctitis (Cohen's k = 0.11; n = 58); however, there was "good" agreement for diarrhea (Cohen's k = 0.68; n = 58). CONCLUSIONS: Acute GI toxicity during definitive CRT for anal cancer was most significant during weeks 4-5, while rectal bleeding improved during treatment. Discrepancies in patient- and clinician-reported symptoms demonstrate the potential for patient-reported outcomes to be useful tools for anal cancer clinical assessments.

Predictors of acute toxicities during definitive chemoradiation using intensity-modulated radiotherapy for anal squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To identify clinical and dosimetric factors associated with acute hematologic and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities during definitive therapy using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 108 ASCC patients treated with IMRT. Clinical information included age, gender, stage, concurrent chemotherapy, mitomycin (MMC) chemotherapy and weekly hematologic and GI toxicity during IMRT. From contours of the bony pelvis and bowel, dose-volume parameters were extracted. Logistic regression models were used to test associations between toxicities and clinical or dosimetric predictors. RESULTS: The median age was 59 years, 81 patients were women and 84 patients received concurrent MMC and 5-fluorouracil (5FU). On multivariate analysis (MVA), the model most predictive of Grade 2 + anemia included the maximum bony pelvis dose (Dmax), female gender, and T stage [p = 0.035, cross validation area under the curve (cvAUC) = 0.66]. The strongest model of Grade 2 + leukopenia included V10 (percentage of pelvic bone volume receiving ≥ 10 Gy) and number of MMC cycles (p = 0.276, cvAUC = 0.57). The model including MMC cycle number and T stage correlated best with Grade 2 + neutropenia (p = 0.306, cvAUC = 0.57). The model predictive of combined Grade 2 + hematologic toxicity (HT) included V10 and T stage (p = 0.016, cvAUC = 0.66). A model including VA45 (absolute bowel volume receiving ≥ 45 Gy) and MOH5 (mean dose to hottest 5% of bowel volume) best predicted diarrhea (p = 0.517, cvAUC = 0.56). CONCLUSION: Dosimetric constraints to the pelvic bones should be integrated into IMRT planning to reduce toxicity, potentially reducing treatment interruptions and improving disease outcomes in ASCC. Specifically, our results indicate that Dmax should be confined to ≤ 57 Gy to minimize anemia and that V10 should be restricted to ≤ 87% to reduce incidence of all HT.

Promoting and Providing HPV Vaccination in Hawaii: Barriers Faced by Health Providers.

Despite the availability of HPV prophylactic vaccines, uptake has been suboptimal in the US. In the state of Hawaii, HPV vaccine coverage has decreased among females and remains low among males aged 13-17. The reasons for low uptake are unknown and may indicate the existence of critical barriers to HPV vaccination. The purpose of this investigation was to identify policy, system and environmental barriers and promoters of pediatric HPV vaccination in Hawaii. An online 86-item survey addressing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, practices, and barriers to HPV vaccination was distributed to practicing physicians in Hawaii specializing in Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and Obstetrics-Gynecology. Survey responses were received from a total of 120 physicians. Private practice physicians reported more concerns with vaccine ordering and stocking costs (p < 0.0001), reimbursement levels (p < 0.0001), and insurance coverage (p < 0.0001) compared to physicians in large group practices. Eighty-three percent of providers cited lack of parent knowledge and understanding of HPV infection as a barrier. Over half of physicians (58 %) reported that completion of the 3-dose schedule was a barrier. Most physicians did not use tracking or reminder systems to ensure dose completion. A majority (58 %) of providers cited the lack of school-based vaccination requirements as a barrier. Uptake of HPV vaccination in Hawaii may be impeded by physician perception of parent knowledge and attitudes. Cost-related system barriers are particular barriers among those in private practice. Completion of the 3-dose schedule also remains a challenge.

Physician organizations' use of behavioral nudges to influence physician behavior.

OBJECTIVES: Because physicians' decisions drive health care costs and quality, there is growing interest in applying behavioral economics approaches, including behavioral nudges, to influence physicians' decisions. This paper investigates adoption of behavioral nudges by health system-affiliated physician organizations (POs), types of nudges being used, PO leader perceptions of nudge effectiveness, and implementation challenges. STUDY DESIGN: Mixed-methods study design (PO leader survey followed by in-depth qualitative interviews). Purposive sample of 30 health system-affiliated POs in 4 states; POs varied in size and quality performance. METHODS: We collected data between October 2017 and June 2019. The survey asked PO leaders to report their organization's use of 5 categories of nudges to influence primary and specialty physicians' actions. We conducted semistructured phone interviews to confirm survey responses, elicit examples of the nudges that POs reported using, understand how nudges were structured, and identify implementation challenges. We present descriptive tabulations of nudge use and effectiveness ratings. We applied thematic analysis to the interview data. RESULTS: Almost all POs in this study reported nudge use. Clinical templates, patient action lists, and altered order entry were most commonly used. However, PO leaders reported that nudge use was limited to a narrow range of clinical applications, not widespread across the organization, and mostly structured as suggestions rather than default actions or hard stops. CONCLUSIONS: Nudge use remains limited in practice. Opportunities exist to expand use of nudges to influence physician behavior; however, expanding use of behavioral nudges will require PO investment of resources to support their construction and maintenance.

Physician Compensation Arrangements and Financial Performance Incentives in US Health Systems.

Importance: Public and private payers continue to expand use of alternative payment models, aiming to use value-based payment to affect the care delivery of their contracted health system partners. In parallel, health systems and their employment of physicians continue to grow. However, the degree to which health system physician compensation reflects an orientation toward value, rather than volume, is unknown. Objective: To characterize primary care physician (PCP) and specialist compensation arrangements among US health system-affiliated physician organizations (POs) and measure the portion of total physician compensation based on quality and cost performance. Design Setting and Participants: This study was a cross-sectional mixed-methods analysis of in-depth multimodal data (compensation document review, interviews with 40 PO leaders, and surveys conducted between November 2017 and July 2019) from 31 POs affiliated with 22 purposefully selected health systems in 4 states. Data were analyzed from June 2019 to September 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures: The frequency of PCP and specialist compensation types and the percentage of compensation when included, including base compensation incentives, quality and cost performance incentives, and other financial incentives. The top 3 actions physicians could take to increase their compensation. The association between POs' percentage of revenue from fee-for-service and their physicians' volume-based compensation percentage. Results: Volume-based compensation was the most common base compensation incentive component for PCPs (26 POs [83.9%]; mean, 68.2% of compensation; median, 81.4%; range, 5.0%-100.0% when included) and specialists (29 POs [93.3%]; mean, 73.7% of compensation; median, 90.5%; range, 2.5%-100.0% when included). While quality and cost performance incentives were common (included by 83.9%-56.7% of POs for PCPs and specialists, respectively), the percentage of compensation based on quality and cost performance was modest (mean, 9.0% [median, 8.3%; range, 1.0%-25.0%] for PCPs and 5.3% [median, 4.5%; range, 0.5%-16.0%] for specialists when included). Increasing the volume of services was the most commonly cited action for physicians to increase compensation, reported as the top action by 22 POs (70.0%) for PCPs and specialists. We observed a very weak, nonsignificant association between the percentage of revenue of POs from fee for service and the PCP and specialist volume-based compensation percentage (r = 0.08; P = .78 and r = -0.04; P = .89, respectively). Conclusions and Relevance: The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that PCPs and specialists despite receiving value-based reimbursement incentives from payers, the compensation of health system PCPs and specialists was dominated by volume-based incentives designed to maximize health systems revenue.

Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The outbreak of COVID-19 led to a significant psychological impact on individuals, particularly those belonging to vulnerable groups. This study aimed to synthesize literature on the psychological impact of COVID-19 among children and adolescents. METHODS: Electronic search engines were used to identify studies till March 2021 that reported symptoms of psychological origin in children and adolescents. Information was extracted using a predefined template, and qualitative analysis was conducted using STROBE. RESULTS: One hundred and two relevant papers were identified. Most of the studies were conducted online or telephonically. The study designs were primarily single group cross-sectional, though a few prospective/retrospective designs were also identified. Studies assessing emotional distress showed variable levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the study population, with greater severity of anxiety symptoms among females and older adolescents. Reduced physical activity; delayed sleep time; increased sleep duration, screen time, internet use, and sedentary habits, poor quality of life were other notable findings, often correlating with anxiety/depression. Efforts to address bias, discussion on generalizability of their results, and sample size calculation were not reported in most studies. CONCLUSION: Psychological impact on children/adolescents is significant, either due to the fear of the illness or social isolation related to COVID-19. One may focus on improving sleep habits and physical activity and regulating internet use for maintaining psychological well-being.

A systematic review of Indian studies on sexual dysfunction in patients with substance use disorders.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sexual dysfunction is often associated with substance use disorders. This study aimed to synthesize Indian literature on sexual dysfunction among patients with substance use disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Electronic search engines were used to identify studies of the last 20 years that reported sexual dysfunction with different substance use disorders. Information was extracted using a predefined template. Quality appraisal of the included studies was carried out using Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. RESULTS: Twenty-seven relevant papers were identified that pertained to 24 distinct studies. Most of them were in patients with alcohol dependence, and fewer were in patients with opioid dependence. The study designs were primarily single-group cross-sectional, though many case-control, cross-sectional studies were also identified. The proportion of participants with sexual dysfunction ranged from 22.2% to 76% for studies related to alcohol dependence and 40% to 90% for studies pertaining to opioid dependence. Varied types of sexual dysfunctions were identified, including poor satisfaction, lack of desire, premature ejaculation, and erectile dysfunction. Efforts to address bias and confounders were not reported in most studies. CONCLUSION: Sexual dysfunction affects a substantial proportion of patients with substance use disorders. Clinicians can make an effort to ascertain and address sexual dysfunction in their routine clinical practice while dealing with patients with substance use disorders.

What Are the Determinants of Health System Performance? Findings from the Literature and a Technical Expert Panel.

BACKGROUND: The US health care system is the most expensive in the world, but it lags behind many other industrialized nations on multiple measures of effectiveness and quality. This poor performance may have played a role in the push to incentivize health care organizations to achieve high performance over a range of domains. Research is needed to understand the determinants of health system performance. METHODS: To identify key attributes of health systems associated with performance, a literature review was conducted. The characteristics identified were compiled into a Web-based rating instrument for use with a Technical Expert Panel composed of leaders in health systems and health services research. A modified Delphi process was initiated using three rounds to develop group consensus. RESULTS: The expert panel reached consensus on nine broad areas important to health system performance. Panelists also rated which specific attributes within those domains were predictive of performance. Panelists tended to rate the kind of characteristics used in past research (such as size, ownership, and profit status) as only somewhat or not at all important, while rating aspects of culture, leadership, and business execution as very important. CONCLUSION: There is limited empirical evidence and understanding of factors associated with health system performance. This study illustrates the value of using a modified Delphi process to bring experiential evidence to the task. These findings may help researchers refine their data collection efforts, policy makers craft better policies to incentivize high performance, and health leaders build better systems.

The importance of understanding and measuring health system structural, functional, and clinical integration.

OBJECTIVE: We explore if there are ways to characterize health systems-not already revealed by secondary data-that could provide new insights into differences in health system performance. We sought to collect rich qualitative data to reveal whether and to what extent health systems vary in important ways across dimensions of structural, functional, and clinical integration. DATA SOURCES: Interviews with 162 c-suite executives of 24 health systems in four states conducted through "virtual" site visits between 2017 and 2019. STUDY DESIGN: Exploratory study using thematic comparative analysis to describe factors that may lead to high performance. DATA COLLECTION: We used maximum variation sampling to achieve diversity in size and performance. We conducted, transcribed, coded, and analyzed in-depth, semi-structured interviews with system executives, covering such topics as market context, health system origin, organizational structure, governance features, and relationship of health system to affiliated hospitals and POs. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Health systems vary widely in size and ownership type, complexity of organization and governance arrangements, and ability to take on risk. Structural, functional, and clinical integration vary across systems, with considerable activity around centralizing business functions, aligning financial incentives with physicians, establishing enterprise-wide EHR, and moving toward single signatory contracting. Executives describe clinical integration as more difficult to achieve, but essential. Studies that treat "health system" as a binary variable may be inappropriately aggregating for analysis health systems of very different types, at different degrees of maturity, and at different stages of structural, functional, and clinical integration. As a result, a "signal" indicating performance may be distorted by the "noise." CONCLUSIONS: Developing ways to account for the complex structures of today's health systems can enhance future efforts to study systems as complex organizations, to assess their performance, and to better understand the effects of payment innovation, care redesign, and other reforms.

Prospective study of vaginal dilator use adherence and efficacy following radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Vaginal stenosis (VS) after pelvic radiotherapy (RT) can impair long-term quality of life. We prospectively assessed adherence and efficacy of vaginal dilator (VD) use in women after pelvic RT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Women with gastrointestinal (n=63) and gynecologic (n=46) cancers self-reported use and VD size in monthly diaries for 12months after radiotherapy. Adherence was measured as actual VD use out of recommended times over 12months (3×/week×52weeks=156). RESULTS: Among 109 participants, aged 28-81years (median, 58years), mean percent adherence over 12months was 42% (95% confidence interval [CI], 36-48%). Adherence was highest in the first quarter (56%), but fell to 25% by the fourth. Disease type, treatment sequence, and chemotherapy were predictors of adherence (all P<.05). Eighty-two percent maintained pre-RT VD size at 12months; of 49% with a decrease in VD size at 1month post-RT, 71% returned to pre-RT VD size at 12months. Disease type, younger age, and increased adherence at 6months were associated with maintaining or returning to pre-RT size at 12months (all P⩽.05). CONCLUSION: VD use is effective in minimizing VS, but adherence at 12months was poor. Studies evaluating methods of improving adherence and determining the optimal frequency and duration of use are needed.

Outcomes and toxicity for hypofractionated and single-fraction image-guided stereotactic radiosurgery for sarcomas metastasizing to the spine.

PURPOSE: Conventional radiation treatment (20-40 Gy in 5-20 fractions, 2-5 Gy per fraction) for sarcoma metastatic to the spine provides subtherapeutic doses, resulting in poor durable local control (LC) (50%-77% at 1 year). Hypofractionated (HF) and/or single-fraction (SF) image-guided stereotactic radiosurgery (IG-SRS) may provide a more effective means of managing these lesions. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients with pathologically proven high-grade sarcoma metastatic to the spine treated with HF and SF IG-SRS were included. LC and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by the use of Kaplan-Meier statistics. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed by the use of Cox regression with competing-risks analysis; all confidence intervals are 95%. Toxicities were assessed according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. RESULTS: From May 2005 to November 11, 2012, 88 patients with 120 discrete metastases received HF (3-6 fractions; median dose, 28.5 Gy; n=52, 43.3%) or SF IG-SRS (median dose, 24 Gy; n=68, 56.7%). The median follow-up time was 12.3 months. At 12 months, LC was 87.9% (confidence interval [CI], 81.3%-94.5%), OS was 60.6% (CI, 49.6%-71.6%), and median survival was 16.9 months. SF IG-SRS demonstrated superior LC to HF IG-SRS (12-month LC of 90.8% [CI, 83%-98.6%] vs 84.1% [CI, 72.9%-95.3%] P=.007) and retained significance on multivariate analysis (P=.030, hazard ratio 0.345; CI, 0.132-0.901]. Treatment was well tolerated, with 1% acute grade 3 toxicity, 4.5% chronic grade 3 toxicity, and no grade >3 toxicities. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest series of metastatic sarcoma to the spine to date, IG-SRS provides excellent LC in the setting of an aggressive disease with low radiation sensitivity and poor prognosis. Single-fraction IG-SRS is associated with the highest rates of LC with minimal toxicity.

Positron emission tomography (PET) evaluation after initial chemotherapy and radiation therapy predicts local control in rhabdomyosarcoma.

PURPOSE: 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) is already an integral part of staging in rhabdomyosarcoma. We investigated whether primary-site treatment response characterized by serial PET imaging at specific time points can be correlated with local control. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively examined 94 patients with rhabdomyosarcoma who received initial chemotherapy 15 weeks (median) before radiotherapy and underwent baseline, preradiation, and postradiation PET. Baseline PET standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and the presence or absence of abnormal uptake (termed PET-positive or PET-negative) both before and after radiation were examined for the primary site. Local relapse-free survival (LRFS) was calculated according to baseline SUVmax, PET-positive status, and PET-negative status by the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparisons were tested with the log-rank test. RESULTS: The median patient age was 11 years. With 3-year median follow-up, LRFS was improved among postradiation PET-negative vs PET-positive patients: 94% vs 75%, P=.02. By contrast, on baseline PET, LRFS was not significantly different for primary-site SUVmax≤7 vs >7 (median), although the findings suggested a trend toward improved LRFS: 96% for SUVmax≤7 vs 79% for SUVmax>7, P=.08. Preradiation PET also suggested a statistically insignificant trend toward improved LRFS for PET-negative (97%) vs PET-positive (81%) patients (P=.06). CONCLUSION: Negative postradiation PET predicted improved LRFS. Notably, 77% of patients with persistent postradiation uptake did not experience local failure, suggesting that these patients could be closely followed up rather than immediately referred for intervention. Negative baseline and preradiation PET findings suggested statistically insignificant trends toward improved LRFS. Additional study may further understanding of relationships between PET findings at these time points and outcome in rhabdomyosarcoma.