Journal of general internal medicine
-
Mailed fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) can increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates, including for vulnerable patients, but its cost-effectiveness is unclear. ⋯ Mailed FIT is an effective and cost-effective population health strategy for CRC screening in vulnerable patients.
-
The opioid epidemic is widely recognized as a legislative priority, but there is substantial variation in state adoption of evidence-based policy. State legislators' use of social media to disseminate information and to indicate support for specific initiatives continues to grow and may reflect legislators' openness to opioid-related policy change. ⋯ The volume of opioid-related social media posts by US state legislators between 2014 and 2019 is associated with state-level overdose mortality, but the content across parties is significantly different. Democrats' and Republicans' social media posts may reflect growing partisanship regarding how best to address the overdose epidemic.
-
The quality of end-of-life (EOL) care in the USA remains suboptimal, with significant variations in care by race and across disease subgroups. Patient-provider communication may contribute to racial and disease-specific variations in EOL care outcomes. ⋯ We observed racial disparities in hospice use and ED visits in the 90 days prior to death among Medicare beneficiaries; however, hospice disparities were largely driven by patients without cancer. Condition-specific differences in palliative care integration at the end-of-life may partly account for variations in EOL care disparities across disease groups.
-
Black individuals have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, it remains unclear whether there are any biological factors that predispose Black patients to COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Black hospitalized COVID-19 patients had increased risks of developing PE and AKI and higher inflammatory marker levels compared with White patients. This observation may be explained by differences in the prevalence and severity of underlying comorbidities and other unmeasured biologic risk factors between Black and White patients. Future research is needed to investigate the mechanism of these observed differences in outcomes of severe COVID-19 infection in Black versus White patients.
-
Despite past and ongoing efforts to achieve health equity in the USA, racial and ethnic disparities persist and appear to be exacerbated by COVID-19. ⋯ Minority populations have increased odds of severe COVID-19 independent of neighborhood deprivation, a commonly suspected driver of disparate outcomes. Non-English-speaking accounts for differences across and within minority populations. These results support the ongoing need to determine the mechanisms that contribute to disparities during COVID-19 while also highlighting the underappreciated role primary language plays in COVID-19 severity among minority groups.