Measuring Stakeholder Engagement in Statewide Primary Care Cardiovascular Health Improvement Cooperatives.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major national health challenge with significant disparities linked to socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, sex, and geography, prompting federal efforts to build statewide primary care quality improvement (QI) cooperatives to improve heart health. To be effective, cooperatives require high levels of member engagement and leaders need ways to assess engagement. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a novel Cooperative Member Survey to assess cooperative member engagement and assess the value of the cooperative to members across three statewide heart health QI cooperatives.

Equity-Focused Evaluation of a Medicaid-Funded Statewide Diabetes Quality Improvement Project Collaborative.

Objective: To evaluate the Ohio Diabetes Quality Improvement Project (QIP) equity aim to reduce the percentage of Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Hispanic patients with A1C >9% by ≥20% over 2 years.

Research Design And Methods: The Ohio Department of Medicaid, Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center, Ohio Medicaid managed care plans, and seven medical schools in Ohio formed the Diabetes QIP collaborative using the collective impact model to improve diabetes outcomes and equity in 20 practices across 11 health systems. The quality improvement (QI) strategies included data audit and feedback, peer-to-peer learning, QI coaching/practice facilitation, and subject matter expert consultation through coaching calls, monthly webinars, and annual virtual learning sessions.

Neighborhood-Level Disparities in Hypertension Prevalence and Treatment Among Middle-Aged Adults.

Importance: Hypertension in middle-aged adults (35-50 years) is associated with poorer health outcomes in late life. Understanding how hypertension varies by race and ethnicity across levels of neighborhood disadvantage may allow for better characterization of persistent disparities.

Objective: To evaluate spatial patterns of hypertension diagnosis and treatment by neighborhood socioeconomic position and racial and ethnic composition.

Mortality burden from variation in provision of surgical care in emergency general surgery: a cohort study using the National Inpatient Sample.

Background: The decision to undertake a surgical intervention for an emergency general surgery (EGS) condition (appendicitis, diverticulitis, cholecystitis, hernia, peptic ulcer, bowel obstruction, ischemic bowel) involves a complex consideration of factors, particularly in older adults. We hypothesized that identifying variability in the application of operative management could highlight a potential pathway to improve patient survival and outcomes.

Methods: We included adults aged 65+ years with an EGS condition from the 2016-2017 National Inpatient Sample.

Neighborhood Deprivation is Associated With Hospital Length of Stay, Discharge Disposition, and Readmission Rates for Patients Who Survive Hospitalization With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background And Objectives: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in the United States. Limited research exists on the influence of area-level socioeconomic status and outcomes after TBI. This study investigated the correlation between the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and (1) 90-day hospital readmission rates, (2) facility discharge, and (3) prolonged (≥5 days) hospital length of stay (LOS).