Implementation of an Inpatient Reproductive Health Screening Consult Service.

OBJECTIVES: Reproductive health is an important issue in the care of adolescents and young adults (AYA). Unfortunately, many AYAs, particularly those with chronic medical conditions, may not regularly access primary care to address these issues. This study evaluates the impact of an inpatient reproductive health consult service on reproductive health care. METHODS: A reproductive health-focused screening consult service was initiated in June 2017 at an academic teaching hospital. Patients aged 15 to 26 admitted to pediatric ward teams were eligible for screening. A retrospective chart review was conducted from December 2016 to June 2019 to determine the effect of the consult service on the primary outcome, documentation of a psychosocial assessment, and reproductive health concerns. RESULTS: Nine hundred twenty-nine encounters were analyzed (345 preintervention and 584 during intervention), representing 675 patients. The proportion of encounters with a documented psychosocial assessment increased from 14.8% to 41.3% during the intervention (P < .001); a reproductive health screening consult was responsible for 37.3% (109 of 292) of the documented assessments. There were high self-reported rates of sexual activity (38%), substance use (47%), and mood concerns (48%) among hospitalized AYA; all behaviors were documented at statistically significant increased frequencies (P < .001) during the intervention compared with preintervention. CONCLUSIONS: Initiation of an inpatient reproductive health screening consult service led to increased documentation of psychosocial assessments, including increased documentation of sexual health history and other risk factors. With improved screening of reproductive and psychosocial needs, targeted interventions can meet underrecognized needs among hospitalized AYA.

Youth-centered maternity care: a binational qualitative comparison of the experiences and perspectives of Latina adolescents and healthcare providers.

BACKGROUND: Although there is growing recognition of the importance of person-centered maternity care, the needs and perspectives of pregnant adolescents are rarely considered. The purpose of this study was to compare the maternity care experiences of Mexican-origin adolescents in Guanajuato, Mexico and Fresno, California from both youth and healthcare provider perspectives. METHODS: Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with a total of 89 respondents, including 74 pregnant and parenting adolescents as well as 15 providers between December 2016 and July 2017. Adolescents also completed a short demographic survey prior to participation. Transcripts in English and Spanish were coded and thematically analyzed using Dedoose software. Results were compared by location and between youth and providers. RESULTS: Four themes emerged regarding patient-provider interactions: the need for communication and clear explanations, respectful versus judgmental providers, engaging youth in decision-making, and a focus on the age of the youth and their partners. While youth had similar perspectives and priorities in both locations, youth in Mexico reported more negative healthcare experiences than youth in California. Perspectives varied between the youth and providers, with providers in both California and Mexico identifying several structural challenges in providing quality care to adolescents. In California, challenges to supporting immigrant Latina adolescents and their families included language and translation issues as well as barriers to care due to immigration status and documentation. In both locations, providers also mentioned high patient caseloads and their own concerns about the youth's life choices. CONCLUSION: Youth-centered care requires more effective and respectful patient-provider communication, where adolescents are engaged in their healthcare decision-making and delivery options. Changes in patient-provider interactions can help improve the maternity care experiences and outcomes of Latina adolescents. Healthcare systems and providers need to reconfigure their approaches to focus on the needs and priorities of adolescents.

Educating health care professionals on human trafficking.

BACKGROUND: The US Department of State estimates that there are between 4 and 27 million individuals worldwide in some form of modern slavery. Recent studies have demonstrated that 28% to 50% of trafficking victims in the United States encountered health care professionals while in captivity, but were not identified and recognized. This study aimed to determine whether an educational presentation increased emergency department (ED) providers' recognition of human trafficking (HT) victims and knowledge of resources to manage cases of HT. METHODS: The 20 largest San Francisco Bay Area EDs were randomized into intervention (10 EDs) or delayed intervention comparison groups (10 EDs) to receive a standardized educational presentation containing the following: background about HT, relevance of HT to health care, clinical signs in potential victims, and referral options for potential victims. Participants in the delayed intervention group completed a pretest in the period the immediate intervention group received the educational presentation, and all participants were assessed immediately before (pretest) and after (posttest) the intervention. The intervention effect was tested by comparing the pre-post change in the intervention group to the change in 2 pretests in the delayed intervention group adjusted for the effect of clustering within EDs. The 4 primary outcomes were importance of knowledge of HT to the participant's profession (5-point Likert scale), self-rated knowledge of HT (5-point Likert scale), knowledge of who to call for potential HT victims (yes/no), and suspecting that a patient was a victim of HT (yes/no). FINDINGS: There were 258 study participants from 14 EDs; 141 from 8 EDs in the intervention group and 117 from 7 EDs in the delayed intervention comparison group, of which 20 served as the delayed intervention comparison group. Participants in the intervention group reported greater increases in their level of knowledge about HT versus those in the delayed intervention comparison group (1.42 vs -0.15; adjusted difference = 1.57 [95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.12]; P < 0.001). Pretest ratings of the importance of knowledge about HT to the participant's profession were high in both groups and there was no intervention effect (0.31 vs 0.55; -0.24 [-0.90-0.42], P = 0.49). Knowing who to call for potential HT victims increased from 7.2% to 59% in the intervention group and was unchanged (15%) in the delayed intervention comparison group (61.4% [28.5%-94.4%]; P < 0.01). The proportion of participants who suspected their patient was a victim of HT increased from 17% to 38% in the intervention group and remained unchanged (10%) in the delayed intervention comparison group (20.9 [8.6%-33.1%]; P < 0.01). INTERPRETATION: A brief educational intervention increased ED provider knowledge and self-reported recognition of HT victims.

Increased utilization of pediatric specialty care: a population study of pediatric oncology inpatients in California.

OBJECTIVE: To examine inpatient utilization of pediatric cancer specialty centers (PCSCs) by pediatric oncology patients. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a retrospective (1999 to 2010) population-based analysis of oncology hospitalizations for pediatric patients aged 0 through 18 years using the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development database. Logistic regression examined hospitalization at 29 PCSCs and variables of age, sex, tumor type, payer, race, income, and distance to admission site. RESULTS: Analysis of 103,961 pediatric oncology discharges revealed that 93% occurred at PCSCs. These sites experienced a 20% increase in pediatric oncology discharges, conversely non-PCSCs exhibited a 70% decrease (P<0.0001). Multivariate analyses revealed increased utilization with young age (odds ratio [OR], 4.58; 95% CI, 3.88-5.42), African American (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.11-1.43), and middle income (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.29-1.45). Decreased utilization was seen for females (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.84-0.93) and Hispanics (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.68-0.77). Payer and proximity were not significantly associated with change in utilization. Tumor types less likely to utilize a PCSC included germ cell, solid, and central nervous system tumors. Adolescents were >3 times less likely to be treated at a PCSC. CONCLUSIONS: Inpatient pediatric oncology care in California has become increasingly regionalized with the vast majority of patients accessing PCSCs. However, variability in hospitalizations of adolescent patients and children not treated in PCSCs deserve further evaluation.

Patient safety strategies targeted at diagnostic errors: a systematic review.

Missed, delayed, or incorrect diagnosis can lead to inappropriate patient care, poor patient outcomes, and increased cost. This systematic review analyzed evaluations of interventions to prevent diagnostic errors. Searches used MEDLINE (1966 to October 2012), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Patient Safety Network, bibliographies, and prior systematic reviews. Studies that evaluated any intervention to decrease diagnostic errors in any clinical setting and with any study design were eligible, provided that they addressed a patient-related outcome. Two independent reviewers extracted study data and rated study quality. There were 109 studies that addressed 1 or more intervention categories: personnel changes (n = 6), educational interventions (n = 11), technique (n = 23), structured process changes (n = 27), technology-based systems interventions (n = 32), and review methods (n = 38). Of 14 randomized trials, which were rated as having mostly low to moderate risk of bias, 11 reported interventions that reduced diagnostic errors. Evidence seemed strongest for technology-based systems (for example, text message alerting) and specific techniques (for example, testing equipment adaptations). Studies provided no information on harms, cost, or contextual application of interventions. Overall, the review showed a growing field of diagnostic error research and categorized and identified promising interventions that warrant evaluation in large studies across diverse settings.

A systematic review of the care coordination measurement landscape.

BACKGROUND: Care coordination has increasingly been recognized as an important aspect of high-quality health care delivery. Robust measures of coordination processes will be essential tools to evaluate, guide and support efforts to understand and improve coordination, yet little agreement exists among stakeholders about how to best measure care coordination. We aimed to review and characterize existing measures of care coordination processes and identify areas of high and low density to guide future measure development. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of measures published in MEDLINE through April 2012 and identified from additional key sources and informants. We characterized included measures with respect to the aspects of coordination measured (domain), measurement perspective (patient/family, health care professional, system representative), applicable settings and patient populations (by age and condition), and data used (survey, chart review, administrative claims). RESULTS: Among the 96 included measure instruments, most relied on survey methods (88%) and measured aspects of communication (93%), in particular the transfer of information (81%). Few measured changing coordination needs (11%). Nearly half (49%) of instruments mapped to the patient/family perspective; 29% to the system representative and 27% to the health care professionals perspective. Few instruments were applicable to settings other than primary care (58%), inpatient facilities (25%), and outpatient specialty care (22%). CONCLUSIONS: New measures are needed that evaluate changing coordination needs, coordination as perceived by health care professionals, coordination in the home health setting, and for patients at the end of life.

Access to pediatric subspecialty care: a population study of pediatric rheumatology inpatients in California.

OBJECTIVE: To examine trends in the specialty care hospitalization of pediatric rheumatology patients and determine how nonclinical factors influence access. METHODS: This study used California's Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development discharge database to perform a retrospective population analysis of pediatric rheumatology hospitalizations in California between 1999 and 2007. We used logistic regression to examine the relationship between hospitalization in specialty care centers with a pediatric rheumatologist and nonclinical patient characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 18,641 pediatric discharges revealed that 57% were discharged from a specialty care center with a pediatric rheumatologist. Multivariate analysis showed that the factors associated with increased utilization of specialty care centers with a pediatric rheumatologist were public insurance (odds ratio [OR] 1.62, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.51-1.74; P < 0.0001), being Hispanic (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.19-1.40; P < 0.0001) or Asian non-Hispanic (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.26-1.54; P < 0.0001), and high pediatric rheumatology specialty care bed supply (OR 2.79, 95% CI 2.49-3.14; P < 0.0001). A decreased utilization of specialty care centers with a pediatric rheumatologist was seen for patients ages <1 year (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.40-0.52; P < 0.0001), ages 1-4 years (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.46-0.55; P < 0.0001), ages 5-9 years (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.62-0.75; P < 0.0001), ages 15-18 years (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.47-0.56; P < 0.0001), males (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.70-0.80; P < 0.0001), and patients residing farther away from a specialty care center with a pediatric rheumatologist (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.51-0.63; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Nonclinical factors play an increasingly important role in the hospitalization patterns of pediatric rheumatology patients in California. Understanding these factors is crucial if we are to ensure that the variation in access to care reflects clinical need.