Type-specific HPV and Pap test results among low-income, underserved women: providing insights into management strategies.

Objective: The primary cervical cancer screening strategy for women over age 30 is high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing combined with Papanicolaou (Pap) testing (cotesting) every 5 years. This combination strategy is a preventive service that is required by the Affordable Care Act to be covered with no cost-sharing by most health insurance plans. The cotesting recommendation was made based entirely on prospective data from an insured population that may have a lower proportion of women with HPV positive and Pap negative results (ie, discordant results).

Predicting 10-year alcohol use trajectories among men age 50 years and older.

Objective: To describe common 10-year drinking trajectories followed by men age 50 years or older and identify risk factors for those trajectories.

Design: Longitudinal data were used to derive a semiparametric group-based model.

Participants: Men from the Health and Retirement Study age 50-65 years in 1998 who completed three or more of the six interviews conducted from 1998 to 2008, including our 1998 baseline interview.

Increasing and decreasing alcohol use trajectories among older women in the U.S. across a 10-year interval.

Older women who routinely drink alcohol may experience health benefits, but they are also at risk for adverse effects. Despite the importance of their drinking patterns, few studies have analyzed longitudinal data on changes in drinking among community-based samples of women ages 50 and older. Reported here are findings from a semi-parametric group-based model that used data from 4,439 randomly sampled U.

Alcohol use trajectories in two cohorts of U.S. women aged 50 to 65 at baseline.

Objectives: To examine drinking trajectories followed by two cohorts of older women over 8 to 10 years of follow-up.

Design: Longitudinal analyses of two nationally representative cohorts using semiparametric group-based models weighted and adjusted for baseline age.

Setting: Study data were obtained from detailed interviews conducted in the home or by telephone.

Health care utilization by children with asthma.

Introduction: We examined how differences in health service utilization among children with asthma are associated with race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (family income, mother's education), and health insurance coverage.

Methods: We analyzed Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data from 1996 through 2000 (982 children younger than 18 years with asthma). We calculated percentages and mean distributions, odds ratios, and incidence rate ratios.

Does your child have asthma? Filled prescriptions and household report of child asthma.

Introduction: Surveys are central for information on asthma prevalence. Recently, the validity of parental reports of pediatric asthma has been questioned. Confidence is examined in the report of asthma for children, obtained in a survey from the adult household member most knowledgeable about household health care (MKA).

Family perceptions of the usual source of care among children with asthma by race/ethnicity, language, and family income.

A usual source of care (USC) can serve as the foundation for good primary health care and is critical for children living with a chronic health condition. This study applies national data to the following objectives: (1) describe family reports of the presence and characteristics of the USC for children with asthma; (2) examine evidence of systematic differences in the USC for these children with asthma by race/ethnicity, English language proficiency in Hispanic respondents, and family income; and (3) conduct multivariate analysis adjusting for possible confounding factors to examine independent effects of race/ethnicity, language, and income. Data from the 1996-2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) were analyzed.

Presence and characteristics of medical home and health services utilization among children with asthma.

Introduction: Having a medical home is advocated by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and others, yet there is limited research that documents desired health benefits. We examine the presence of medical home characteristics and describe relationships between medical home and health services utilization in a national sample that includes children with asthma.

Method: Medical home is represented by: (a) the presence of a usual source of care (USC), (b) identification of a named person as USC, and (c) a 10-item index of other medical home characteristics.