Journal of general internal medicine
-
Undertreatment of osteoporosis after hip or wrist fracture has been well documented, but the reasons for current patterns of care are poorly understood. ⋯ Our findings highlight that osteoporosis management rates are similar across providers, but vary considerably by patient types.
-
Despite prevalent low literacy nationally, empirical research on the development and testing of literacy-adapted patient education remains limited. ⋯ Development of patient education meeting very low literacy criteria was feasible, effective for knowledge acquisition, and highly acceptable irrespective of literacy level.
-
Effective behavior change counseling is an important component of the optimal care of patients, yet only a minority of medical schools currently include such training in their curriculum. ⋯ Participation in a focused curriculum on the use of motivational interviewing techniques significantly improved 3rd year medical students' knowledge, confidence, and skills in the area of behavior change counseling. These gains may help students succeed in promoting good health habits in their future patients.
-
Treatment decisions about menopause are predicated on a transient duration of vasomotor symptoms. However, evidence supporting a specific duration is weak. ⋯ Our findings suggest a median symptom duration of about 4 years among symptomatic women. A longer symptom duration may affect treatment decisions and clinical guidelines. Further prospective, longitudinal studies of menopausal symptoms should be conducted to confirm these results.
-
Multicenter Study
Empathy and life support decisions in intensive care units.
Although experts advocate that physicians should express empathy to support family members faced with difficult end-of-life decisions for incapacitated patients, it is unknown whether and how this occurs in practice. ⋯ Physicians vary considerably in the extent to which they express empathy to surrogates during deliberations about life support, with no empathic statements in one-third of conferences. There is an association between more empathic statements and higher family satisfaction with communication.