Deliberative panels as a source of public knowledge: A large-sample test of the Citizens' Initiative Review.

Evolving US media and political systems, coupled with escalating misinformation campaigns, have left the public divided over objective facts featured in policy debates. The public also has lost much of its confidence in the institutions designed to adjudicate those epistemic debates. To counter this threat, civic entrepreneurs have devised institutional reforms to revitalize democratic policymaking.

Use of a Smartphone Medication Reminder Application to Support Emerging Adult Adherence to Non-Antibiotic Treatment for Viral Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.

Objective: This research study is a test of the efficacy of a smartphone-installed medication reminder application to support provider-recommended treatment plans for young adult patients who were seen for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and were not prescribed an antibiotic.

Methods: Two hundred seventy-five patients seen at a university student health center for URTI symptoms were randomly assigned to the medication reminder app intervention or a control group and then surveyed both 1 and 14 days after their medical visits with questions about the treatment plan, their satisfaction with medical care, and the electronic support tools.

Results: Compared to the control condition, patients using the reminder app reported more adherence to provider-recommended treatment plans.

Diagnostic Accuracy, Prescription Behavior, and Watchful Waiting Efficacy for Pediatric Acute Otitis Media.

Current guidelines recommend "watchful waiting" (WW) as an alternative to immediate antibiotic treatment. Continued high rates of antibiotic use suggest that WW may be underutilized. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 474 pediatric acute otitis media (AOM) cases at a clinic in central Pennsylvania.