Listening to Communities: Mixed-Method Study of the Engagement of Disadvantaged Mothers and Pregnant Women With Digital Health Technologies.

BACKGROUND: US health care providers are increasingly demanding patient engagement with digital health technologies to enroll in care, access personal health information, communicate with providers, and monitor their own health. Such engagement may be difficult for disadvantaged populations who may have limited health literacy, time constraints, or competing priorities. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to understand the extent of adoption and use of digital health tools and to identify key perceived psychological motivators of technology use among disadvantaged first-time pregnant women and mothers of young children. METHODS: We recruited women from health organizations serving low-income communities in the Midwest and on the East and West coasts. A total of 92 women participated in 14 focus groups. During each session, we administered worksheets that measured 3 utilization outcomes: the number of recent Web-based health-seeking activities, current use of digital health-management practices (eg, accessing personal health information, communicating with providers, and scheduling appointments), and potential adoption of digital health-management tools among low users or nonusers. Responses to the worksheets and to a pre-focus group survey on demographics, technology access, and motivators of use were examined to create user profiles. Separate regression models identified the motivators (eHealth literacy, internal health orientation, and trust in digital information) associated with these outcomes. Qualitative data were incorporated to illustrate the worksheet responses. RESULTS: Whereas 97% of the participants reported that they had searched for health information on the Internet in the past year, 42% did not engage in digital health-management practices. Among the low users and nonusers, 49% expressed interest in future adoption of digital health tools. Web-based health information-seeking activities were associated with digital health-management practices (P<.001). When controlling for covariates, eHealth literacy was positively correlated with the number of Web-based health-seeking activities (beta=.03, 95% CI 0.00-0.07). However, an internal health orientation was a much stronger correlate of digital health-management practices (beta=.13, 95% CI 0.02-0.24), whereas trust in digital information increased the odds of potential adoption (vs no adoption) in adjusted models (OR 5.21, 95% CI 0.84-32.53). Demographic characteristics were not important drivers of digital health use and few differences distinguished use among mothers and pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: Seeking health information on the Internet may be an important gateway toward engaging in digital health-management practices. Notably, different consumer motivators influence digital health tool use. The relative contributions of each must be explored to design tools and interventions that enhance competencies for the management of self and child health among disadvantaged mothers and pregnant women. Unless we address disparities in digital health tool use, benefits from their use will accrue predominantly to individuals with the resources and skills to use technology effectively.

A Donation After Circulatory Death Program Has the Potential to Increase the Number of Donors After Brain Death.

OBJECTIVES: Donation after circulatory death has been responsible for 75% of the increase in the numbers of deceased organ donors in the United Kingdom. There has been concern that the success of the donation after circulatory death program has been at the expense of donation after brain death. The objective of the study was to ascertain the impact of the donation after circulatory death program on donation after brain death in the United Kingdom. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A national organ procurement organization. PATIENTS: Patients referred and assessed as donation after circulatory death donors in the United Kingdom between October and December 2013. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 257 patients were assessed for donation after circulatory death. Of these, 193 were eligible donors. Three patients were deemed medically unsuitable following surgical inspection, 56 patients did not proceed due to asystole, and 134 proceeded to donation. Four donors had insufficient data available for analysis. Therefore, 186 cases were analyzed in total. Organ donation would not have been possible in 79 of the 130 actual donors if donation after circulatory death was not available. Thirty-six donation after circulatory death donors (28% of actual donors) were judged to have the potential to progress to brain death if withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment had been delayed by up to a further 36 hours. A further 15 donation after circulatory death donors had brain death confirmed or had clinical indications of brain death with clear mitigating circumstances in all but three cases. We determined that the maximum potential donation after brain death to donation after circulatory death substitution rate observed was 8%; however due to mitigating circumstances, only three patients (2%) could have undergone brain death testing. CONCLUSIONS: The development of a national donation after circulatory death program has had minimal impact on the number of donation after brain death donors. The number of donation after brain death donors could increase with changes in end-of-life care practices to allow the evolution of brain death and increasing the availability of ancillary testing.

Mobile health and patient engagement in the safety net: a survey of community health centers and clinics.

Patient-centered technologies have emerged as a way to actively engage patients in care. The reach and potential of cell phones to engage diverse patient populations is great. Evidence of their effectiveness in improving health-related outcomes is limited. Researchers conducted an online survey of community health centers and clinics to assess if and how health care providers in the safety net use cell phones to support patient engagement. The findings indicate that the use of cell phones in patient care is at an early stage of deployment across the safety net. Organizations identify chronic disease management as an area where cell phones offer considerable potential to effectively engage patients. To promote widespread adoption and use, technical assistance to support the implementation and management of interventions, evidence-based or best practice models that highlight successful implementation strategies in care delivery, and the introduction of new payment or reimbursement policies will be essential.

Does It Matter? Isometric or Isokinetic Assessment of Quadriceps Strength Symmetry 9 Months After ACLR in Collegiate Athletes.

BACKGROUND: Greater quadriceps strength symmetry is associated with better outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Isometric and isokinetic assessments of quadriceps strength inform therapeutic exercise prescription and return-to-sport decisions. It is unclear whether isometric and isokinetic measures provide similar information post-ACLR. HYPOTHESIS: Quadriceps strength symmetry is similar between isometric and isokinetic assessments. Isokinetic and isometric strength symmetries have similar associations to functional knee kinetics and self-reported knee function. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. METHODS: NCAA Division I athletes (N = 35), 8.9 ± 2.5 months post-ACLR completed isometric and isokinetic quadriceps strength assessments, countermovement jumps (CMJs), and treadmill running. Self-reported knee function was assessed using the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC). Agreement between isometric and isokinetic strength symmetry was assessed using Bland-Altman analysis, with associations to functional knee kinetics and IKDC assessed using Pearson correlations and linear regressions. RESULTS: Mean difference in quadriceps strength symmetry between isokinetic and isometric assessments was 1.0% (95% limits of agreement of -25.1% to 23.0%). Functional knee kinetics during running and CMJ were moderately to strongly associated with isometric strength symmetry (r = 0.64-0.80, P < 0.01) and moderately associated with isokinetic strength symmetry (r = 0.41-0.58, P < 0.01). IKDC scores were weakly to moderately associated with isometric (r = 0.39, P = 0.02) and isokinetic (r = 0.49, P < 0.01) strength symmetry. CONCLUSION: Isokinetic and isometric assessments of quadriceps strength symmetry in collegiate athletes 9 months post-ACLR demonstrated strong agreement. Quadriceps strength symmetry is associated with functional knee kinetic symmetry post-ACLR. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Considerable individual variation suggests mode of contraction should be consistent throughout postoperative assessment. Isometric strength symmetry may be a better indicator of functional knee kinetic symmetry, while isokinetic strength symmetry may be associated more closely with patient-reported outcomes.

Conscientious objection to deceased organ donation by healthcare professionals.

In this article, we analyse the potential benefits and disadvantages of permitting healthcare professionals to invoke conscientious objection to deceased organ donation. There is some evidence that permitting doctors and nurses to register objections can ultimately lead to attitudinal change and acceptance of organ donation. However, while there may be grounds for conscientious objection in other cases such as abortion and euthanasia, the life-saving nature of donation and transplantation renders objection in this context more difficult to justify. In general, dialogue between healthcare professionals is a more appropriate solution, and any objections must be justified with a strong rationale in hospitals where such policies are put in place.

Factors influencing bereaved families' decisions about organ donation: an integrative literature review.

This article reports on the process and outcomes of a systematic integrative literature review, designed to enhance understanding of the factors influencing bereaved families' decisions to agree or decline the donation of their deceased relative's organs for transplantation. Research originating from eight Western countries (N = 20 studies) provided an international perspective to the review. Thematic analysis and synthesis of textual data culminated in the development of three global themes (past, present, and future) that captured the temporal dimensions of family decision making. The review findings provide valuable insight into ways of increasing the rate of consent to organ donation through the development family-centered care interventions that reflect the needs of the bereaved. Further research to explore the pathway of donation after circulatory death and the experiences of bereaved families who decline organ donation is essential to providing a more complete understanding of the factors affecting donation decisions.