Practice Intention: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Underserved Communities in Medical Education.

Background And Objectives: The US physician workforce is at a critical juncture, with a projected shortage and misdistribution of primary care physicians. Culturally and linguistically diverse states, such as California, are challenged to search for innovative approaches in medical education to address the physician needs of diverse underserved communities. The University of California recognizes this imperative and supports Programs in Medical Education (PRIME), including PRIME Leadership and Advocacy (PRIME-LA) at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Lessons learned from a multi-site collaborative working toward a digital health use screening tool.

Digital health has the potential to expand health care and improve outcomes for patients-particularly for those with challenges to accessing in-person care. The acceleration of digital health (and particularly telemedicine) prompted by the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic facilitated continuity of care in some settings but left many health systems ill-prepared to address digital uptake among patients from underserved backgrounds, who already experience health disparities. As use of digital health grows and the digital divide threatens to widen, healthcare systems must develop approaches to evaluate patients' needs for digital health inclusion, and consequentially equip patients with the resources needed to access the benefits of digital health.

Using Digital Technology to Build COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence: A Qualitative Study among Latinx Parents of Children Aged 5-11 in Under-Resourced Communities across Los Angeles County.

: Latinx school-aged children are more than twice as likely to be infected with and die from COVID-19 as non-Latinx White children in Los Angeles. Although COVID-19 vaccination has the potential to mitigate health disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, vaccination uptake among Latinx children remains limited. MiVacunaLA (MVLA) is a mobile-phone-delivered digital intervention that improved vaccination rates in 12- to 17-year-old Latinx children and parental intention to vaccinate 2- to 11-year-old children.

Testing the role of aerobic exercise in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in U.S. active duty military personnel: a pilot study.

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if the efficacy of imaginal exposure for symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could be improved by adding aerobic exercise. We hypothesized that aerobic exercise would enhance the efficacy of exposure therapy. Active duty service members with clinically significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTSD Checklist-Stressor-Specific Version, [PCL-S], ≥25) were randomized into one of four conditions: exercise only; imaginal exposure only; imaginal exposure plus exercise; no exercise/no exposure therapy (control).

Interest in Family Medicine Among US Medical Students and Its Association With a Community College Academic Pathway.

Background And Objectives: One-third of all medical students attend a community college (CC) on their path to medical school. The objective of this study was to examine the association between CC participation and initial specialty of interest among US allopathic medical students.

Methods: We performed a national cross-sectional study of allopathic medical students who completed the 2012 Association of American Medical Colleges' Matriculating Student Questionnaire.

Magnitudes of decline on Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics subtest scores relative to predeployment baseline performance among service members evaluated for traumatic brain injury in Iraq.

Objective: : Identify the proportion of service members demonstrating declines in Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) scores as part of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) evaluation conducted while deployed to Iraq.

Background: : Although TBI has been associated with poorer performance on cognitive test in the general population and military combatants, little is known about the proportion of service members demonstrating declines in ANAM scores after TBI.

Methods: : Military personnel (N = 116) referred to a combat support hospital for TBI evaluation in Iraq underwent a standardized intake evaluation including computerized neurocognitive testing, psychological and physical health questionnaires, a clinical interview, and a physical examination by a physician.

Matched and mismatched cognitive appraisals in patients with breast cancer and their partners: implications for psychological distress.

Background: The present study sought to identify couples' cognitive appraisals of breast cancer and the extent to which matched or mismatched appraisals within a couple contribute to distress.

Methods: Women with breast cancer (n = 57) and their partners completed the Cognitive Appraisals of Health Scale along with two self-report measures of distress, the Profile of Mood States and the Impact of Events Scale. Four groups were created based on their cognitive appraisals.

Predictors of post-traumatic headache severity among deployed military personnel.

Objective: The current study used a cross-sectional observational design to evaluate the relationship between psychological, physiological, and contextual factors and headache severity among 133 deployed military personnel and 4 civilian contractors diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) referred to a combat support hospital in Iraq.

Background: Although TBI and headache sequelae have been documented for military combatants, little is known about factors associated with headache severity.

Methods: Military personnel (n = 157) and civilian (n = 4) contractors referred to a combat support hospital in Iraq underwent a standardized intake evaluation which included computerized neurocognitive testing, psychological and physical health questionnaires, a clinical interview, and a physical examination by a physician.

Social support mediates the relations between role strains and marital satisfaction in husbands of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.

Husbands of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (HFMS) report poorer physical and mental health than husbands of women without illness, as well as role strains because of their wives' condition. There are no published reports regarding the impact of fibromyalgia on their marital relationship. In the present study, we used Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) model of stress and coping as a framework to examine marital satisfaction among HFMS.

Depression among older Mexican American caregivers.

The authors compared depression levels between older Mexican American caregivers and noncaregivers while controlling for confounds identified but not controlled in past research. Mexican American caregivers and noncaregivers (N = 114) ages 65 and older were matched on age, gender, socioeconomic status, self-reported health, and acculturation. Caregivers reported higher scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) and were more likely to score in the depressed range than noncaregivers.

Sleep disturbances in fibromyalgia syndrome: relationship to pain and depression.

Objective: This study is an examination of sleep, pain, depression, and physical functioning at baseline and 1-year followup among patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Although it is clear that these symptoms are prevalent among FMS patients and that they are related, the direction of the relationship is unclear. We sought to identify and report sleep problems in this population and to examine their relationship to pain, depression, and physical functioning.