Family medicine
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There are few reports of systematic international physician development programs to create family medicine as a new specialty in a developing nation. This paper describes the process and outcomes of a large-scale effort to initiate new family medicine training through the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) using a 12-week US-based program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). ⋯ Overseas training programs are a viable method of introducing family medicine as a new clinical specialty. Ingredients for successful implementation and barriers are discussed.
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Since obesity is a risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia, health care providers should screen obese individuals for these common diseases. It is possible that obese adults are not receiving appropriate screening for these diseases. This study's objective was to describe the prevalence of undiagnosed obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia, in a nationally representative sample of obese US adults, by patients' recollection of whether they had received such a diagnosis. ⋯ Health care providers are missing valuable opportunities to address obesity and diagnose diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension in obese adults. An emphasis on screening obese individuals for these diseases is needed to improve health promotion.
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Comparative Study
Assessing health literacy in African American and Caucasian adults: disparities in rapid estimate of adult literacy in medicine (REALM) scores.
The influence of literacy on health and health care is an important area of investigation. Studies with a literacy focus are most valuable when literacy is assessed with psychometrically sound instruments. ⋯ The REALM is a robust assessment of health literacy. However, the discordance in scores between African Americans and Caucasians with similar educational attainment needs to be further addressed. A much shorter instrument would still have internally consistent scores and potentially be more useful in clinical settings.