Disparities in Patient-Reported Interest in Web-Based Patient Portals: Survey at an Urban Academic Safety-Net Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Offering hospitalized patients' enrollment into a health system's patient portal may improve patient experience and engagement throughout the care continuum, especially across care transitions, but this process is less studied than portal engagement in the ambulatory setting. Patient portal disparities exist and may lead to differences in access or outcomes. As such, it is important to study upstream factors in a typical hospital workflow that could lead to those disparities in safety-net settings. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate sociodemographic characteristics associated with interest in a health care system's portal among hospitalized patients and reasons for no interest. METHODS: Nurses assessed interest in a Web-based patient portal, expressed by the patient as "yes" or "no," as part of the admission nursing assessment among patients at an academic urban safety-net hospital and recorded responses in the electronic health record (EHR), including reasons for no interest. We extracted patient responses from the EHR. RESULTS: Among 23,994 hospitalizations over a 2-year period, 35.90% (8614/ 23,994) reported an interest in a Web-based portal. Reasons for no interest included the following: not interested/other reason 41.68% (6410/15,380), no ability to use/access computers/internet 29.59% (4551/15,380), doesn't speak English 11.15% (1715/15,380), physically or mentally unable 8.70% (1338/15,380), does not want to say 8.70% (1338/15,380), security concerns 0.03% (4/15,380), and not useful 0.16% (24/15,380). Among the 16,507 unique patients included in this sample, portal interest was lower in older, African American, non-English speaking, and homeless patient populations. CONCLUSIONS: In a safety-net system, patient interest at the time of hospitalization in a Web-based enterprise portal-a required step before enrollment-is low with significant disparities by sociodemographic characteristics. To avoid worsening the digital divide, new strategies are needed and should be embedded within routine workflows to engage vulnerable safety-net patients in the use of Web-based health technologies.

Mucositis pain induced by radiation therapy: prevalence, severity, and use of self-care behaviors.

Pain from radiation therapy (RT)-induced mucositis is a significant clinical problem for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern, severity, and time course of RT-induced mucositis pain; self-care behaviors (SCBs) used to manage mucositis pain; and the effectiveness of these behaviors in relieving such pain. Forty-nine patients with HNC were assessed using the MacDibbs Mouth Assessment Tool to determine the severity of RT-induced mucositis pain over their course of RT and at a one-month follow-up visit. All patients developed pain due to RT-induced mucositis. A Self-Care Diary was used weekly by patients to record SCBs and their effectiveness. The most effective SCBs for RT-induced mucositis pain were mouth rinsing and using oral analgesics. However, more severe pain with swallowing was not managed well throughout the study. Future studies need to test more effective strategies to manage RT-induced mucositis pain.

"I'm sitting here by myself ...": experiences of patients with serious illness at an Urban Public Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To describe experiences of serious illness including concerns, preferences, and perspectives on improving end-of-life (EOL) care in underserved inpatients. METHODS: Qualitative analysis of 1-hour interviews with inpatients at a public hospital whose physician "would not be surprised" by the patient's death or intensive care unit (ICU) admission within a year. Patients who were non-English speaking, lacked mental capacity, or had uncontrolled symptoms were excluded. A semistructured interview guide was developed and used for all interviews. We digitally recorded, transcribed, and conducted a thematic analysis of the interviews. RESULTS: Twenty patients participated. Difficult events such as estrangement, homelessness, substance abuse, and imprisonment shaped patients' approaches to serious illness. This influence manifested in interpersonal relationships, conceptualizations of death and concerns about dying, and approaches to coping with EOL. Because patients lacked social support, providers played significant roles at EOL. Patients preferred honest communication with providers and sharing in medical decision-making. A prolonged dying process was feared more than sudden death. Concerns included pain, dying in the hospital, and feeling unwelcome in the hospital. Patients coped by advocating for their own care, engaging with religion/spirituality, and viewing illness as similar to past trauma. Participants suggested that providers listen to their concerns and requested accessible chaplaincy and home-based services. CONCLUSIONS: Providers should consider that difficult life events influence underserved patients' approaches to dying. Attention to patients' specific preferences and palliative care in public hospitals and locations identified as home may improve care for patients who lack social support.