Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Dec 2015
Impact of Neighborhood Environments on Health Consciousness, Information Seeking, and Attitudes among US-Born and Non-US-Born Free Clinic Patients.
This study examined the impact of neighborhood environments on health consciousness, information seeking, and attitudes among uninsured free clinic patients to better understand the specific needs of the population for health promotion and prevention efforts. ⋯ Health education programs for free clinic patients should include strategies to increase social cohesion. Health education programs should consider the diverse needs of these individual populations to maximize the effectiveness of the programs for free clinic patients.
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Hemoglobin A1c is the measurement of glycated hemoglobin and can aid in both the diagnosis and continued management of diabetes mellitus. Accurate glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (A1c) measurements are an essential part of decision making in the diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although national standards exist to eliminate technical error with A1c testing, multiple patient conditions can falsely decrease or elevate the A1c. ⋯ Conditions that affect the A1c can be either those that impair erythrocyte production or alter the normal process of glycation. Some variation also has been associated with patient ethnicity and even with normal aging. We describe alternatives to A1c testing for the above clinical scenarios in an effort to make the practicing clinician aware of alternatives for glucose evaluation.