Family medicine
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Comparative Study
Cancer and colorectal cancer: knowledge, beliefs, and screening preferences of a diverse patient population.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with African Americans having the highest incidence and mortality of all racial and ethnic groups. CRC screening is widely recommended but remains underused, especially in minority populations. This study's purpose was to enhance our understanding of factors contributing to low screening rates among patients from a variety of racial and ethnic groups. ⋯ Lack of understanding of cancer, screening, and routine terminology is a barrier to CRC screening, especially among minority groups. Effective communication strategies that address these issues may help increase CRC screening rates.
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Items such as physical exam findings, radiographic interpretations, or other diagnostic tests often rely on some degree of subjective interpretation by observers. Studies that measure the agreement between two or more observers should include a statistic that takes into account the fact that observers will sometimes agree or disagree simply by chance. ⋯ A limitation of kappa is that it is affected by the prevalence of the finding under observation. Methods to overcome this limitation have been described.
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Balint training is used in many family medicine residency programs to encourage self-reflection and exploration of the physician-patient encounter. There is limited objective research, however, on outcomes of Balint training. This study's purpose was to determine whether Balint training is associated with differences in physician empathy and work satisfaction. ⋯ There was no association found between Balint training and physician empathy, financial satisfaction, or overall work satisfaction. However, physicians who completed Balint training at the MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program seemed more satisfied with their choice of family medicine as a specialty.