Acupuncture Therapy in a Group Setting for Chronic Pain.

Objective: This project was designed to test the feasibility and effectiveness of acupuncture therapy given in a group setting for chronic pain. Design: Nonrandomized, repeated measures quasi-experimental trial. Setting: Care was delivered in a primary care clinic waiting area after clinic hours. Subjects: Included were primary care patients (≥18 years old) with chronic pain of the neck, back, shoulder, or osteoarthritis of any site of at least three months' duration. Methods: Subjects received eight weekly acupuncture therapy sessions in a group setting. Acupuncture therapy included a combination of palpation, acupuncture needling, Tui na, Gua sha, and auricular treatment. Baseline pain levels were established in a two- to four-week run-in; assessment of the intervention impact on pain intensity, mood, and functional status were made at the end of the treatment period (eight weeks) and 16 weeks after completion of intervention (24 weeks). Results: Of the total 113 participants recruited for the trial, 96 completed the 24-week protocol. We found a statistically and clinically significant decrease in pain severity, pain interference, and depression in our study population. There were no serious adverse events. Conclusions: Acupuncture therapy offered in the group setting was effective in reducing pain severity, pain interference, and depression in patients with chronic neck, back, or shoulder pain or osteoarthritis. Benefit persisted through the 24-week measure despite no additional treatment. This finding has potentially important implications for improving access to effective acupuncture treatment for patients with limited financial resources.

Assessing and Improving Zoster Vaccine Uptake in a Homeless Population.

The herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine is recommended for all adults aged ≥ 60 years without contraindications to prevent shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia. There are no published studies on zoster vaccination rates, barriers, or workflows in adults who have experienced homelessness. Due to barriers specific to this vaccine, including difficulty determining insurance coverage, high upfront costs, need for storage in a freezer, and under-prescription by physicians, uptake is lower compared to other recommended vaccines for older adults. To address these barriers, we developed a new approach of partnering our on-site primary care clinic in a transitional homeless shelter with a local pharmacy and offering vaccination on Shingles Immunization Days with a goal of matching or exceeding the national zoster immunization rate of 30.6%. Over a 3-year period, the live attenuated zoster vaccine was offered to 86% of eligible patients resulting in an immunization rate of 38.1%. This is higher than the estimated national rate but significantly lower than rates of tetanus (80.6%), pneumococcal (76.3%), and influenza (69.6%) vaccination in the same population, highlighting the unique obstacles to zoster immunization. Major reasons that patients were not immunized included lack of insurance coverage and patient refusal of all vaccines. Our findings demonstrate that homeless adults are interested in zoster vaccination and a model of on-site primary care in a shelter partnering with a pharmacy can successfully improve vaccine uptake in this population. Coverage of the new inactivated zoster vaccine under Medicare Part B could increase the national zoster immunization rate.

Becoming a patient-centered medical home: a 9-year transition for a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers.

PURPOSE: The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model has great potential for optimizing the care of chronically ill patients, yet there is much to be learned about various implementations of this model and their impact on patient care processes and outcomes. METHODS: We examined changes in patterns of health care use in a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers throughout a 9-year period of practice transformation that included recognition of all centers by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as Level 3 PCMH practices. We analyzed deidentified data from electronic health records for the period 2003 to 2011 to identify patterns of service use for all 4,595 patients with diabetes. We also examined a subsample of 545 patients who were in care throughout the study period to track improvement in glycated hemoglobin levels as a clinical measure over time. RESULTS: Through the transition to a PCMH, the mean number of encounters with outreach, diabetes educators, and psychosocial services increased for all diabetic patients; virtually all patients had visits with a primary care clinician, but the mean number of visits decreased slightly. Among patients in the subsample, mean annual levels of glycated hemoglobin decreased steadily during the 9-year study period, mainly driven by a reduction in patients having baseline levels exceeding 9%. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study conducted in a real-world setting using electronic health record data demonstrates a shift in resource use by diabetic patients from the primary care clinician to other members of the care team. The findings suggest that PCMH implementation has the potential to alter processes of care and improve outcomes of care, especially among those with higher disease burden.

An examination of domestic partner violence and its justification in the Republic of Georgia.

BACKGROUND: Little research on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and social perceptions toward this behavior has been disseminated from Eastern Europe. This study explores the prevalence and risk factors of IPV and the justification of this behavior among women in the Republic of Georgia. It seeks to better understand how IPV and IPV justification relate and how social justification of IPV differs across socio-economic measures among this population of women. METHODS: This study utilizes a national sample of ever-married women from the Republic of Georgia (N = 4,302). We describe the factors that predict IPV justification among these women and the relationship between of the acceptability of IPV and victimization overall and across socio-demographic factors. RESULTS: While the overall lifetime prevalence of IPV in this sample was relatively low (4%), these women were two to four times more likely to justify IPV, Just under one-quarter of the sample agreed that IPV was justified in at least one scenario, namely when the wife was unfaithful, compared with women who had no experience being abused by a partner. Georgian women who were poor, from a rural community, had lower education, were not working and who experienced child abuse or IPV among their parents were more likely to justify this behavior. CONCLUSIONS: These findings begin to fill a gap in our understanding of IPV experienced by women in Eastern Europe. In addition, these findings emphasize the need for researchers, practitioners and policy makers to contextualize IPV in terms of the justification of this behavior among the population being considered as this can play an important role in perpetration, victimization and response.

Feasibility study of family planning services screening as clinical decision support at an urban Federally Qualified Health Center network.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the feasibility of an intervention introducing family planning services screening clinical decision support to improve provision of contraception and/or preconception services for women of reproductive age in our primary care Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) network. STUDY DESIGN: We implemented a family planning services screening prompt for support staff to ask women 13-44 years at nonobstetric visits at specified time intervals. The response was displayed in the electronic medical record for the provider to review, linked to a documentation tool. We evaluated staff comfort with the screening before and after rollout at all seven FQHC sites. At the pilot site, we examined implementation feasibility by assessing screening rate and the outcome measure of family planning (contraception and/or preconception) documentation during visits by women 13-44 years before and during the intervention's first year. RESULTS: At baseline, support staff reported high level of comfort (60% very, 25% somewhat) in asking the family planning services screening question; this increased to 80% reporting they were "very comfortable" in the postsurvey (p = <.01). From mid-December 2016-mid-January 2018, the screening question was displayed for 1503 visits at the pilot site, of which 96% had a documented response. Family planning documentation rate at the pilot site showed a 6% increase from 64% during the preintervention period to 70% during the 13-month intervention period (p<.01). Time series analysis demonstrated more positive upward trend attributed to the intervention period (intervention R2=0.15 vs. preintervention R2=0.01). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated high staff acceptability of the intervention at all sites and a high screening rate with a significant increase in family planning documentation rate at the pilot site during the intervention period. This suggests that this family planning services screening decision support intervention is feasible in an FQHC setting. IMPLICATIONS: Implementation of a family planning services screening decision support intervention is feasible in an FQHC setting. Further evaluation of performance at multiple sites, accounting for variable site characteristics, is needed.

Understanding intimate partner violence against women in the rural South.

Most U.S. intimate partner violence (IPV) research to date has been limited to women residing in urban areas, with the small body of research focusing on rural populations being primarily qualitative. In this case-control study of Southern rural women, while many factors are consistent with those found in urban settings, unlike findings elsewhere, IPV risk appears to increase with age, and race showed no increased risk. Furthermore, in rural areas where guns are more acceptable than in other parts of the United States, partners of IPV victims are considerably more likely to carry weapons than partners of nonabused women. Given the geographic limitations to police and medical response to severe IPV in a rural setting, an improved understanding of IPV risk among this population can aid health care providers in ascertaining risk before it escalates further.

Using Clinical Decision Support Within the Electronic Health Record to Reduce Incorrect Prescribing for Acute Sinusitis.

PURPOSE: Acute sinusitis has viral etiology in more than 90% of cases, but antibiotics are prescribed for more than 80% of adults in the United States. While applications of computer-assisted guidelines have been found effective in reducing inaccurate prescribing for acute respiratory infections, there is a paucity of research focused specifically on the utilization of electronic best practice alerts (BPA) in improving treatment for acute sinusitis. METHODS: This observational cohort study examined prescribing behavior for sinusitis at a single Federally Qualified Health Center 1 year prior and during the first year of implementation of a BPA in the electronic health record (EHR) reminding providers of the recommended treatment of sinusitis. The advisory included a link to national guidelines and a note template was installed to assist providers in documentation. The BPA appeared on the providers' screen when an ICD-9 code of acute or bacterial sinusitis was entered during the patient visit. RESULTS: After adjusting for select patient and provider factors, the computer-assisted guidelines effectively reduced the overall antibiotic prescribing among these patients by 31% (relative risk: 0.69, 95% confidence interval: 0.51-0.95) and reduced incorrect prescribing from 88.5% to 78.7% (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical reminders within the EHR can be an effective tool to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use and improve providers' decisions regarding the correct antibiotic choices for patients with acute sinusitis.

A Randomized Trial of a Group-Based Integrative Medicine Approach Compared to Waitlist Control on Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms in Adults.

INTRODUCTION: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic debilitating functional gastrointestinal disorder that affects a large proportion of the general population. Dietary and mind-body approaches have shown some effectiveness in reducing IBS symptoms. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this project was to test the feasibility of a low cost, group-oriented integrative medicine approach to IBS, and to explore whether such an approach improves participant outcomes. METHODS: This was a randomized-controlled trial involving a 4-week group-oriented treatment intervention combining dietary intervention and mind-body therapies followed by 8-weeks of telephonic health coaching. Differences between the intervention and control groups on IBS-specific measures were examined at baseline, 4, 8, and 12-week. RESULTS: Fifty-two participants completed the study, 30 in the control group and 22 in the intervention group. On the IBS Symptom Severity Score, at 4 weeks the intervention group showed statistically significant improvement compared to the control group (p < .02), which was sustained at the 8 and 12-week data points as well, with the proportion of the intervention group experiencing moderate to severe symptoms decreasing from 81.3% at baseline to 45% at week 4 and 54.5% at week 12. A statistically significant improvement was also seen on the CES-D measure of depression between baseline and week 12 in the intervention group compared to controls. On the IBS Quality of Life measure we did not observe a statistically significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This low-cost, group-oriented intervention approach offers a strategy to address the challenge of access to this type of integrative approach for patients of low socioeconomic status or limited means.

Computer-administered screening of reproductive-aged women for diabetes risk in primary care settings, feasibility and acceptability of such screening, and validity of risk assessments based on self-reported weight.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity, a major public health problem, is the key modifiable component of diabetes risk. Addressing obesity and diabetes risk during primary care visits is recommended but, because of time constraints, is often difficult for health care providers to do. The purpose of this study was to determine whether technology can streamline risk assessment and leave more time to educate patients. We also tested the validity of self-reported weight in assessing diabetes risk. METHODS: We recruited English-speaking women aged 18 to 44 years who came to a clinic for medical appointments from July through October 2003. Study participants completed a self-administered computer questionnaire that collected the following data: weight, height, family history of diabetes, level of exercise, amount of television time, and daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Self-reported and scale-measured weights were compared to determine the effect of self-reported weight on results of the American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Risk Test (DRT). In determining the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported weight, we used scale measurements as the standard. RESULTS: Complete data were collected on 231 women, including 214 women without a history of a diabetes diagnosis. Compared with DRT results (determined by scale-measured weight), questionnaire results (determined by self-reported weight) had sensitivities of 93.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 85.2%-97.6%) for high risk for diabetes and 90.4% (95% CI, 83.3%-94.7%) for moderate risk. The specificity of the self-administered DRT for any diabetes risk was 97.8% (95% CI, 88.4%-99.6%). About half the women reported discussing nutrition and exercise with their health care providers CONCLUSION: Health care professionals can provide personalized diabetes education and counseling on the basis of information collected by self-administered computerized questionnaires. In general, patients provided a self-reported weight that did not substantially bias estimates of diabetes risk.

Patient Beliefs Have a Greater Impact Than Barriers on Medication Adherence in a Community Health Center.

PURPOSE: Nonadherence to medicines contributes to poor health outcomes, especially for patients with complicated medicine regimens. We examined adherence among patients at a family health center and the impact that barriers to getting medicines and negative beliefs about medicines have on adherence. METHODS: A survey was administered incorporating the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, questions from the Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire, and questions about patients' external barriers to getting medicines. Low adherence was examined by any external barrier and by higher negative beliefs, adjusting for patient characteristics. RESULTS: The convenience sample of 343 participants is demographically representative of the larger population. Among these patients, 54% report low adherence, 51% have at least 1 barrier to adherence, and 52% report more negative than positive beliefs about medicines. When beliefs and barriers are examined together, patients with negative beliefs are 49% less likely to adhere than those with more positive beliefs, whereas barriers show no significant impact on adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Negative beliefs about medicines are as prevalent in this population as external barriers to accessing medicines, but negative beliefs were more significantly associated with adherence than external barriers. Physicians should identify and address patients' negative beliefs about medicines to improve adherence rates.

Black women's health: the effect of perceived racism and intimate partner violence.

This study provides preliminary evidence of the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and intimate partner violence (IPV) and how these exposures interact to affect the mental and physical health of Black women. The exposures of lifetime perceived racial discrimination and IPV were found to be highly associated. Furthermore, women who reported both exposures showed a notably higher prevalence of anxiety and nonspecific physical health symptoms compared with women who reported either or neither exposure. To appropriately respond to the health needs of Black women, it is essential that women's many stressors be considered simultaneously.

Assessing the Efficacy of a Breastfeeding-Friendly Quality Improvement Project in a Large Federally Qualified Health Center Network.

BACKGROUND: Provider attitudes can influence breastfeeding decision making, initiation, and duration, although much of this research has suffered from a "hospital-limited view." OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a Breastfeeding-Friendly Initiative (BFI) on knowledge and attitudes of providers and staff, as well as breastfeeding rates of patients within a large Federally Qualified Health Center network with no lactation consultants on staff. METHODS: We evaluated breastfeeding rates before and throughout the BFI. In addition, surveys of 136 primary care providers and staff before and after they were exposed to a breastfeeding education module were assessed to measure changes in breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes. RESULTS: Breastfeeding initiation and duration improved over the course of the BFI, with mean breastfeeding duration increasing by nearly 1 month following the education module compared with baseline rates (P = .01). Following participation in the breastfeeding education module, we observed a statistically significant improvement in provider and staff knowledge (P < .01) and attitudes (P < .01). These improvements were consistent across employment type, gender, geography, and personal experience as a parent. CONCLUSION: Implementing a BFI in a large multispecialty primary care network was found to improve breastfeeding initiation and duration up to 1 year, with a further increase in breastfeeding duration of 1 month following a 45-minute staff education module. After exposure to this module, health care providers and staff across our network improved in breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes. Given that expectant and new mothers regularly come into contact with staff and providers in primary care, sound knowledge and positive attitudes toward breastfeeding appear to have had a favorable effect on mothers that correlates with improved breastfeeding duration.

Measuring intimate partner violence (IPV): you may only get what you ask for.

With the goal of understanding the true extent of intimate partner violence (IPV), researchers have put tremendous effort over the past 20 years developing, revising, and assessing IPV screening instruments. The enhancements made in IPV instrumentation reflect our improved understanding of the nature of IPV. Unfortunately, as is often the case with progress, we are presently at the stage where IPV researchers have an arsenal of multiple IPV screens that are, in some cases, slightly different, whereas in others, the differences are sizeable. This article explores the evolution and variation of a sample of IPV screens. To further progress in IPV research, we must make conscious decisions concerning the best tool for our individual research. Simultaneously, we must enhance our understanding of how these IPV screening instruments overlap so that comparisons of IPV prevalence or incidence across time and population are possible.

Issues in estimating the prevalence of intimate partner violence: assessing the impact of abuse status on participation bias.

This study examines the potential implications of household interviews on participation bias for estimates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Using a variety of scales, IPV prevalence for the 135 women interviewed in a street-intercept survey was compared with the IPV prevalence of a subsample of these women who reported willingness to participate in a household survey with their partner in another room or when their partner also would be interviewed. A potential self-selection bias showed an 8% to 13% deflated prevalence of moderate to highly abused women and a 8% to 11% inflated prevalence of nonabused women among this subsample who would willingly participate in a household survey. Understanding who is included in household surveys, and who is not, is essential to compute and interpret national prevalence estimates for IPV.

Intrauterine devices at six months: does patient age matter? Results from an urban family medicine federally qualified health center (FQHC) network.

BACKGROUND: Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) can address high rates of unintended pregnancy among adolescents in the United States by increasing access to intrauterine devices (IUDs) in underserved settings. Despite national guidelines endorsing adolescent use of IUDs, some physicians remain concerned about IUD tolerance and safety in adolescents. Therefore we compared adolescents and adults in a family physician staffed FQHC network with regard to (1) IUD postinsertion experience, (2) device discontinuation, and (3) sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among women <36 years old who had an IUD inserted in 2011 at a New York City FQHC staffed by family physicians. RESULTS: We included 684 women (27% adolescents, 73% adults). During the 6-month postinsertion period, 59% of adolescents and 43% of adults initiated IUD-related clinical contact after insertion, most commonly for bleeding changes and pelvic or abdominal pain. There were no significant differences between groups in IUD expulsion or removal or STI rates. CONCLUSIONS: Urban FQHC providers may anticipate that, compared with their adult IUD users, adolescents will initiate more clinical follow-up visits after insertion. Both groups will, however, have similar clinical concerns about, reasons for, and rate of device discontinuation and low STI rates.

Emergency contraception considerations and use among college women.

BACKGROUND: Emergency contraception (EC) has been available behind the counter without a prescription since 2006. Evidence has shown increased use of EC among young women, but no recent findings have been published to date of current use. METHODS: This cross-sectional study surveyed 482 college heterosexually active college women attending a large public university who either visited the college-based health clinic or were enrolled in selected undergraduate classes. Prediction models were created for each outcome, EC consideration and use, using Poisson regression with robust variance estimates. RESULTS: Just over 58% of college women sampled reported ever considering EC, and just under 47% reported actual use. Consideration and actual EC use were highest for students who were nonwhite and who reported more sexual partners. Although female students who did not use condoms were more likely to use EC, there was no difference in EC relative to hormonal contraception use. CONCLUSIONS: As EC becomes both better known and more readily available, use is expected to grow. Moving forward, greater attention is needed to the efficacy of EC use on preventing unwanted pregnancies.

Public justification of intimate partner violence: a review of the literature.

Understanding the extent to which the general public justifies intimate partner violence (IPV) is necessarily to explain perpetration, victimization, and response to this behavior. This article provides a literature review of quantitative studies measuring IPV justification among the general population. Key word searching of two databases plus bibliographies, and the web yielded 23 studies that provided comparable measures of IPV justification. Results are summarized for the prevalence of IPV justification identified for each country including differences in justification based on the initiating event (e.g., burning food and infidelity), sociodemographic differences in justification and differences across countries. No study identified a zero prevalence of IPV justification and percentages varied considerably across and within countries. Females tended to report a higher rate of IPV justification than males and younger respondents tended to report a higher rate IPV justification than their older counterparts. Further research is needed to understand IPV justification within and across nations as well as to explore the impact this has on IPV prevalence and policy.

Are We Misjudging How Well Informed Consent Forms are Read?

UNDERSTANDING THAT INFORMED CONSENT forms are provided to be read and comprehended, this study compares the research assistant's perception of comprehension with the actual time potential participants spend reading their consent form. After providing information verbally to two samples of women, research assistants observed as the women reviewed and signed the consent form recording the time spent reading and the assistant's impression of reading behavior. Over half of the women "read" their consent forms in thirty seconds or less before signing. Despite the brief time participants actually read, research assistants reported that 38%-74% (depending on the sample) appeared to have completely read the forms. Research to determine if timing aids will improve research assistants' assessment of participant reading behaviors should be considered.