Journal of general internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Personalized Messages Sent by a Health System's Patient Portal on Influenza Vaccination Rates: a Randomized Clinical Trial.
Adult influenza vaccination rates are low. Tailored patient reminders might raise rates. ⋯ Patient reminders sent by a health system's patient portal that were tailored to patient demographics (young adults, older adults, diabetes) and that incorporated two behavioral economic messaging strategies (pre-commitment and loss/gain framing) were not effective in raising influenza vaccination rates.
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Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) is highly prevalent in older adults and long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) has been used to manage chronic pain. However, the safety of LTOT among older adults with CNCP is not well-established and there is a need to identify therapy-related risk factors of opioid-related adverse events among older adults. ⋯ Older adults receiving medically prescribed opioids at higher doses and those using LA and combination of LA and SA opioids are at increased risks for opioid-related adverse events, highlighting the need for close patient supervision.
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Observational Study
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health, Occupational Functioning, and Professional Retention Among Health Care Workers and First Responders.
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected front-line health care workers (HCW) and first responders (FR). The specific components of COVID-19 related occupational stressors (CROS) associated with psychiatric symptoms and reduced occupational functioning or retention remain poorly understood. ⋯ These results demonstrate potentially treatable psychiatric symptoms in HCW and FR experiencing CROS, impacting both wellbeing and the health care system. Mitigating CROS, particularly by addressing factors driving demoralization, may improve HCW and FR mental health, occupational functioning, and retention.
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Providing diagnostic and treatment information to patients is a core clinical skill, but evidence for the effectiveness of different information-giving strategies is inconsistent. This systematic review aimed to investigate the reported effects of empirically tested communication strategies for providing information on patient-related outcomes: information recall and (health-related) behaviors. ⋯ Using specific framing strategies for achieving specific communication goals when providing information to patients appears to have positive effects on information recall and patient health-related behaviors. The heterogeneity observed in this group of studies testifies the need for a more consistent methodological and conceptual agenda when testing medical information-giving strategies.
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While opioid use disorder (OUD) is prevalent, little is known about what patients with OUD in sustained remission think about the chronic disease model of OUD and their perspectives of the cause, course, and ongoing treatment needs of their OUD. ⋯ The identity that people with OUD in sustained remission maintain was the lens through which they viewed other aspects of their OUD including cause and ongoing treatment needs. An alternative, post-OUD/survivorship model emerged or was accepted by participants who did not identify as currently having OUD. Understanding patient perspectives of OUD identity might improve patient-centered care and improve outcomes.