American journal of preventive medicine
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Ensuring adequate access to health care is essential for timely delivery of preventive services. It is important to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of difficulty in accessing medical care in the overall U.S. population and among those with high-risk chronic conditions. ⋯ In total, 1 in 7 adults report difficulty in accessing medical care. This prevalence is nearly 1 in 4 adults with ≥3 sociodemographic characteristics related to difficulty in accessing medical care. There are regional variations in the distribution of the difficulty in accessing medical care, especially among individuals living in states that have not undergone Medicaid expansion.
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Peer providers with lived experiences of mental health and substance use are a growing component of the workforce responsible for the prevention and treatment of behavioral health disorders. This systematic literature review aims to better define the roles of peers and their unique contributions to behavioral health care. ⋯ Peers are effective providers of behavioral health treatment and relapse prevention services who encourage recovery through resilience building, empowerment, and self-advocacy. There remains a need for more evidence-based interventions on the efficacy of peers in substance use disorder treatment and the impact of formalized certification and training opportunities.
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The generational relevance for determining disease risk for the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for U.S. adults is a source of debate. ⋯ Multigenerational health histories have value for quantifying the probability of diabetes, obesity, depression, and hyperlipidemia in early mid-adulthood. Family health history knowledge is relevant for health promotion and disease prevention strategies.
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Cross-sectional analyses have suggested that e-cigarette use, independent of combustible cigarette use, elevates the risk of myocardial infarction. Previous researchers confused their own models' assumptions that these risks were independent with the idea that their analyses validated the presence of independent risks. This study avoids this pitfall. ⋯ There is no reliable evidence that e-cigarette use is associated with ever having had a myocardial infarction among never smokers. Contrary to concerns that the harms associated with e-cigarettes are only now emerging after more years of possible product use, the only evidence of time-dependent variation in the association between e-cigarette use and myocardial infarction ran counter to this possibility. The scientific community must insist that researchers engage in accurate public communication of peer-reviewed findings.
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This study assesses the associations between the recent implementation of robust features of state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and the abrupt discontinuation of long-term opioid therapies. ⋯ Discontinuation without tapering was the norm for long-term opioid therapies in the samples throughout the study years. Findings do not support the notion that policies aimed at enhancing Prescription Drug Monitoring Program use were associated with substantial increases in abrupt long-term opioid therapy discontinuation.