Journal of general internal medicine
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It is unclear whether interventions designed to increase housing stability can also lead to improved health outcomes such as reduced risk of death and suicide morbidity. The objective of this study was to estimate the potential impact of temporary financial assistance (TFA) for housing-related expenses from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on health outcomes including all-cause mortality, suicide attempt, and suicidal ideation. ⋯ We find that providing housing-related financial assistance to individuals facing housing instability is associated with improvements in important health outcomes such as all-cause mortality and suicidal ideation. If causal, these results suggest that programs to provide housing assistance have positive spillover effects into other important aspects of individuals' lives.
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The gender gap in physician compensation has persisted for decades. Little is known about how differences in use of the electronic health record (EHR) may contribute. ⋯ Increased team support, briefer documentation, and the 2021 E/M code change were associated with higher physician productivity. The E/M code change may have preferentially benefited women physicians by incentivizing time-intensive activities such as medical decision-making, preventive care discussion, and patient counseling that women physicians have historically spent more time performing.
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While nonpharmacologic treatments are increasingly endorsed as first-line therapy for low back pain (LBP) in clinical practice guidelines, it is unclear if use of these treatments is increasing or equitable. ⋯ Although use of chiropractic care or OT/PT for LBP increased after the introduction of clinical guidelines in 2016, only about a third of US adults with LBP reported using these services between 2016 and 2018 and disparities in use have not improved.
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Anti-obesity medications (AOMs) can be initiated in conjunction with participation in the VA national behavioral weight management program, MOVE!, to help achieve clinically meaningful weight loss. ⋯ AOM use following MOVE! initiation was uncommon, and exposure was time-limited. AOM + MOVE! was associated with a higher probability of achieving clinically significant weight loss than MOVE! alone.
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Negative mental health-related effects of SARS-COV-2 infection are increasingly evident. However, the impact on suicide-related outcomes is poorly understood, especially among populations at elevated risk. ⋯ COVID-19 patients had higher risks of both suicide attempts and other forms of SDV compared to uninfected comparators, which persisted for at least one year after infection. Results support suicide risk screening of those infected with SARS-COV-2 to identify opportunities to prevent self-harm.