Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Review
A Systematic Review of Instruments to Measure Health Literacy of Patients in Emergency Departments.
Knowledge of patient's health literacy (HL) in the emergency department (ED) can facilitate care delivery and reduce poor health outcomes. This systematic review investigates HL measurement instruments used in the ED and their psychometric properties, accuracy in detecting limited HL, and feasibility. ⋯ Several short instruments seem valid in measuring HL and accurate in detecting limited HL among ED patients, each with its practical advantages and disadvantages and specific measurement of HL. Additional research is necessary to develop a robust evidence base supporting these instruments.
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The objective was to measure the impact of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Foundation's (SAEMF) Research Training Grant (RTG) by comparing academic success in grant recipients versus non-recipient applicants. Our primary outcome was subsequent federal funding as a principal investigator (PI) or multiple principal investigator (MPI). Our secondary outcomes included subsequent K-award funding, R-series funding, R01 funding, and academic productivity measured by first author peer-reviewed publications. ⋯ SAEMF RTG awards were associated with increased probability of future federal funding, including career development awards and R-series awards but not R01 awards. RTG recipients also had a higher percentage of their peer reviewed publications as first author.
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Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pose a significant health burden in adolescents. Many adolescents receiving care in the emergency department (ED) are in need of testing, regardless of their chief complaint. Our objective was to determine whether an electronic, risk-based STI screening program in our ED was associated with an increase in STI testing among at-risk adolescents. ⋯ Our program facilitated STI testing in the ED and identified many adolescents with STIs, even when their ED complaint was for unrelated reasons. More rigorous implementation is needed to determine the impact of deployment of ACASI to all eligible adolescents and addressing barriers to accepting STI testing recommendations.
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Identifying right ventricle (RV) abnormalities is important to stratifying pulmonary embolism (PE) severity. Disposition decisions are influenced by concerns about early deterioration. Triaging strategies, like the Simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI), do not include RV assessments as predictors or early deterioration as outcome(s). We aimed to (1) determine if RV assessment variables add prognostic accuracy for 5-day clinical deterioration in patients classified low risk by sPESI, and (2) determine the prognostic importance of RV assessments compared to other variables and to each other. ⋯ A PE triaging strategy with RV imaging assessments had superior prognostic performance at classifying low risk for 5-day clinical deterioration versus one without.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care provider well-being was affected by various challenges in the work environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the perceived work environment and mental well-being of a sample of emergency physicians (EPs), emergency medicine (EM) nurses, and emergency medical services (EMS) providers during the pandemic. ⋯ We found a strong association between a perceived adverse working environment and poor mental health, particularly when organizational support was deemed inadequate. Targeted strategies to promote better perceptions of the workplace are needed.