Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Nov 2013
Relationship quality and patient-assessed quality of care in VA primary care clinics: development and validation of the work relationships scale.
Efforts to better understand the impact of clinic member relationships on care quality in primary care clinics have been limited by the absence of a validated instrument to assess these relationships. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale assessing relationships within primary care clinics. ⋯ The WRS shows promising validity as a measure assessing the quality of relationships in primary care settings; moreover, primary care clinics with lower WRS scores received poorer patient quality ratings for both individual clinicians and overall health care. Relationships play an important role in shaping care delivery and should be assessed as part of efforts to improve patient care within primary care settings.
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Annals of family medicine · Nov 2013
The enduring impact of what clinicians say to people with low back pain.
The purpose of this study was to explore the formation and impact of attitudes and beliefs among people experiencing acute and chronic low back pain. ⋯ Health care professionals have a considerable and enduring influence upon the attitudes and beliefs of people with low back pain. It is important that this opportunity is used to positively influence attitudes and beliefs.
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Annals of family medicine · Nov 2013
Testing to prevent colon cancer: how rural community members took on a community-based intervention.
Participatory research can elevate research relevance and effectiveness. The literature contains few first-hand descriptions of community members engaged in research. ⋯ CAC members participated in all aspects of the research including intervention messaging, survey design, recruitment, implementation, analysis and interpretation of data, and dissemination of results including presentations at national venues and coauthoring manuscripts. Our experience attests to the power of participatory research in efforts to improve health outcomes.
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Annals of family medicine · Nov 2013
Effects of patient-centered medical home attributes on patients' perceptions of quality in federally supported health centers.
We sought to assess patients' ratings of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) attributes and overall quality of care within federally supported health centers. ⋯ More than 80% of patients perceived high quality of care in health centers. PCMH attributes related to access to care and communication were associated with greater likelihood of patients reporting high-quality care.
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Annals of family medicine · Nov 2013
Clinical TrialTesting to prevent colon cancer: results from a rural community intervention.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Despite tests that can detect and enable removal of precancerous polyps, effectively preventing this disease, screening for colon cancer lags behind other cancer screening. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a community-based participatory approach to increase colon cancer screening. ⋯ This community-based multicomponent intervention engaged hundreds of community members in wide dissemination aimed at increasing colorectal cancer screening. Although we did not find any statistically significant differences, the findings are consistent with an intervention-related increase in screening and provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions to improve colon cancer screening.