J Am Board Fam Med
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Health Extension Regional Officers (HEROs) through the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC) help to facilitate university-community engagement throughout New Mexico. HEROs, based in communities across the state, link priority community health needs with university resources in education, service, and research. Researchers' studies are usually aligned with federal funding priorities rather than with health priorities expressed by communities. ⋯ A bidirectional partnership between HEROs and CTSC researchers was established, which led to: 1) increased community engaged studies through the CTSC, 2) the HERO model itself as a subject of research, 3) a HERO-driven increase in local capacity in scholarship and grant writing, and 4) development of training modules for investigators and community stakeholders on community-engaged research. As a result, 5 grants were submitted, 4 of which were funded, totaling $7,409,002.00, and 3 research articles were published. Health extension can serve as a university-funded, community-based bridge between community health needs and Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) research capacity, opening avenues for translational research.
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Dartmouth Geisel Migrant Health (DGMH) is a medical student group that provides on-site health services for Spanish-speaking dairy workers in rural Vermont and New Hampshire in conjunction with a federally qualified health center (FQHC). ⋯ These Spanish-speaking dairy-farm workers have many health concerns and perceive substantial barriers to health care. Collaboration between medical students, a rural FQHC, and farm employers provides important services that facilitate health care access among this population.
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Faculty diversity has important implications for medical student diversity. The purpose of this analysis is to describe trends in racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in family medicine (FM) departments and compare these trends to the diversity of matriculating medical students, the diversity of all medical school faculty, and the population in general. ⋯ Although FM faculty diversity is growing over time, continued attention to URM representation should remain a priority.
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In the United States, Latinos have poorer access to and utilization of health care than non-Latino whites. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) may reduce these disparities. The ACA's impact among Latino subgroups is unknown. ⋯ The ACA has reduced gaps in access to and utilization of health care for some Latino population subgroups. Remaining disparities necessitate policy solutions that move beyond the ACA, particularly for groups excluded from coverage options, such as noncitizens.
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Choosing WiselyTM engaged medical specialties, creating "top 5 lists" of low-value services. We describe primary care physicians' (PCPs') self-reported use of these services and perceived barriers to guideline adherence. We quantify physician cost consciousness and determine associations with use. ⋯ Greater PCP cost consciousness was associated with less use of low-value services. Interventions to decrease perceived barriers and increase cost consciousness, perhaps by increasing awareness of Choosing Wisely, may translate into improved performance.