African American women's experiences of menopause: A focus group study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to characterize African American women's experiences of menopause and their interactions with the health care system related to menopausal symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted four focus groups with community-dwelling midlife African American women. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Women who consented to participate completed demographic surveys. Transcripts of the four focus groups (n = 26) were analyzed and themes were elucidated. RESULTS: In total, 26 midlife African American women participated in the four focus groups. Participants revealed unmet needs regarding obtaining menopause information from their clinicians. Clinician discussions about menopause tended to be initiated by patients based on their symptoms. Some women reported feeling ignored and/or dismissed by the clinician when they initiated discussions of menopause. Women wanted their clinicians to provide information on menopause, which included receiving information prior to the menopause transition to help them know what to expect. CONCLUSION: Women wanted their clinicians to initiate discussions of menopause rather than wait for women to mention symptoms. Prioritizing menopause training for clinicians taking care of midlife African American women may help to improve discussions of menopause.

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Associated With Hormonal Contraception.

Abnormal uterine bleeding is a common and bothersome symptom in people using hormonal contraception, and it can lead to discontinuation of reliable methods of contraception and unintended pregnancies. Clinicians should counsel individuals about the potential for abnormal bleeding at initiation of the contraceptive method. After considering and excluding other potential causes of abnormal uterine bleeding, clinicians can offer treatment options specific to each hormonal contraceptive method. This article includes algorithms to help clinicians treat abnormal uterine bleeding in people using levonorgestrel intrauterine devices, depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate, progestin implant, progestin-only pills, and combined hormonal contraception. For patients with levonorgestrel intrauterine devices, physicians should first ensure that the device is correctly placed within the uterus, then consider nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as a first-line treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding; estradiol can be used if nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are ineffective. For depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate or progestin implant users, combined oral contraceptives or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be considered. For patients using norethindrone progestin-only pills, changing to drospirenone progesterone-only pills may help reduce the bleeding. In people using combined hormonal contraception, it may be helpful to increase estrogen content from 20 mcg to 35 mcg per day, decrease the hormone-free interval (from seven to four or five days) in people using cyclic contraception, or start a trial of low-dose doxycycline. For continuous combined contraception users, adding a hormone-free interval of four or five days can help regulate bleeding patterns.

Management of Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Primary care clinicians screen for breast cancer risk factors and assess the risk level of their patients. Women at high risk for breast cancer (eg, 5-year risk of at least 3% or lifetime risk of ≥20%) are eligible for enhanced screening and/or chemoprophylaxis. However, many clinicians do not identify women at high risk and offer appropriate referrals, screening, or chemoprophylaxis. METHODS: We reviewed a sample of 200 charts of women ages 35 to 50 years old with a family history of breast cancer. We identified factors that contribute to their risk for breast cancer and used the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator to determine their personal lifetime risk. We then assessed whether these patients received counseling for chemoprophylaxis, referrals, or screening. We also looked for correlations between combinations of risk factors and increased lifetime risk. RESULTS: Out of 200 charts reviewed, 71 women were identified as high risk for breast cancer (lifetime risk of ≥20%). Of those 71 women, just 17 were referred to a high-risk clinic for enhanced screening and/or chemoprophylaxis. Three risk factors, mammographic breast density of category C or D, first degree relatives with breast cancer, and age first given birth if after 30 years old had a significant impact on lifetime risk for breast cancer. DISCUSSION: Primary care clinicians can use these independent risk factors as cues to pursue a more formal calculation of a woman's lifetime risk for breast cancer and make appropriate referrals for enhanced screening and chemoprophylaxis counseling if indicated.

Three Thirty-Two AM: My Last Call.

In this essay, I describe my last overnight call as I transitioned out of practicing obstetrics. I was worried that by giving up doing inpatient medicine and practicing obstetrics, I would lose my identity as a family physician. I realized that I can embody the core values of a family physician, including generalism and patient centeredness, in the office as well as in the hospital. Family physicians can stay true to their historical values even while giving up inpatient medicine and obstetric care by remembering that it is not only what we do, but how we do it that is important.

Team Science Principles Enhance Cancer Care Delivery Quality Improvement: Interdisciplinary Implementation of Breast Cancer Screening Shared Decision Making.

PURPOSE: Implementing shared decision making (SDM), recommended in screening mammography by national guidelines for women age 40-49 years, faces challenges that innovations in quality improvement and team science (TS) are poised to address. We aimed to improve the effectiveness, patient-centeredness, and efficiency of SDM in primary care for breast cancer screening. METHODS: Our interdisciplinary team included primary and specialty care, psychology, epidemiology, communication science, engineering, and stakeholders (patients and clinicians). Over a 6-year period, we executed two iterative cycles of plan-do-study-act (PDSA) to develop, revise, and implement a SDM tool using TS principles. Patient and physician surveys and retrospective analysis of tool performance informed our first PDSA cycle. Patient and physician surveys, toolkit use, and clinical outcomes in the second PDSA cycle supported SDM implementation. We gathered team member assessments on the importance of individual TS activities. RESULTS: Our first PDSA cycle successfully generated a SDM tool called Breast Cancer Risk Estimator, deemed valuable by 87% of patients surveyed. Our second PDSA cycle increased Breast Cancer Risk Estimator utilization, from 2,000 sessions in 2017 to 4,097 sessions in 2019 while maintaining early-stage breast cancer diagnoses. Although TS activities such as culture, trust, and communication needed to be sustained throughout the project, shared goals, research/data infrastructure support, and leadership were more important earlier in the project and persisted in the later stages of the project. CONCLUSION: Combining rigorous quality improvement and TS principles can support the complex, interdependent, and interdisciplinary activities necessary to improve cancer care delivery exemplified by our implementation of a breast cancer screening SDM tool.

An Evidence-Based Review of Vitamin D for Common and High-Mortality Conditions.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin available from food and sun exposure. Vitamin D receptors are present in cells throughout the body and cause it to act like a hormone. Observational studies document the association of low vitamin D levels with multiple health conditions. This article reviews the evidence for vitamin D in prevention and treatment in primary care. METHODS: We performed a literature review of randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and large prospective trials looking at the role of vitamin D deficiency in the most common conditions seen in primary care and the top 10 causes of mortality since 2010. RESULTS: Vitamin D supplementation in patients with known cardiovascular disease does not reduce risk of stroke or heart attack. Vitamin D supplementation does not seem to have an effect in the treatment of hypertension or in cancer prevention. There is emerging evidence that supplementation reduces COVID-19 severity and risk of mechanical ventilation. Vitamin D at more moderate levels may reduce the risk of falls, but higher doses may cause increased fall risk. There does not seem to be a link between vitamin D supplementation and improved cognition. Vitamin D supplementation may be helpful in patients with major depression. High dose vitamin D may improve pain in people with fibromyalgia. Supplementing patients with prediabetes reduced the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vitamin D supplementation in addition to standard emollient treatment helped to reduce symptoms in people with atopic dermatitis. CONCLUSION: Prospective studies of vitamin D supplementation demonstrate variable impact on disease specific and patient-oriented outcomes, suggesting a correlation but not a causal relationship between low vitamin D levels and disease pathogenicity. Future research should determine dosing standards and timing of vitamin D in treatment and prevention.

A review of African American women's experiences in menopause.

IMPORTANCE AND OBJECTIVE: Little is known and reported about the experiences of African American women as they transition to and experience menopause. Accepted norms are based on the experience of a predominantly White population. The aim of this study is to review available data about the distinct experiences of African American women during the menopause transition and menopause. METHODS: A literature search was developed and executed by the review team in collaboration with a health sciences librarian. The search combined controlled vocabulary and title/abstract terms related to the health status disparities of African Americans in the menopause transition and menopause. The following databases were searched from inception through April 28, 2022: PubMed, Scopus (Elsevier), and Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: African American women experience distinct differences in physical, psychological, social, and quality of life measures during menopause. Increasing awareness about the unique menopause experiences of African American women is critically important to improve the health of this underserved population.

How to better identify and manage women with elevated breast cancer risk.

This case-based review details screening and management strategies that can maximize the care you provide to women at heightened risk.