Patient perceptions of electronic medical records use and ratings of care quality.

Purpose: Despite considerable potential for improving health care quality, adoption of new technologies, such as electronic medical records (EMRs), requires prudence, to ensure that such tools are designed, implemented, and used meaningfully to facilitate patient-centered communication and care processes, and better health outcomes. The association between patients' perceptions of health care provider use of EMRs and health care quality ratings was assessed.

Method: Data from two iterations of the Health Information National Trends Survey, fielded in 2011 and 2012, were pooled for these analyses.

Population-level trends in posttreatment cancer survivors' concerns and associated receipt of care: results from the 2006 and 2010 LIVESTRONG surveys.

Unlabelled: There is a need to better understand the posttreatment concerns of the nearly 14 million survivors of cancer alive in the United States today and their receipt of care. Using data from 2,910 posttreatment survivors of cancer from the 2006 or 2010 LIVESTRONG Surveys, the authors examined physical, emotional, and practical concerns, receipt of care, and trends in these outcomes at the population level.

Results: 89% of respondents reported at least one physical concern (67% received associated posttreatment care), 90% reported at least one emotional concern (47% received care), and 45% reported at least one practical concern (36% received care).

A retrospective evaluation of the Perfecting Patient Care University training program for health care organizations.

This study evaluated how the Perfecting Patient Care (PPC) University, a quality improvement (QI) training program for health care leaders and clinicians, affected the ability of organizations to improve the health care they provide. This training program teaches improvement methods based on Lean concepts and principles of the Toyota Production System and is offered in several formats. A retrospective evaluation was performed that gathered data on training, other process factors, and outcomes after staff completed the PPC training.

Perspectives of a lifelong cancer survivor--improving survivorship care.

Many of the 14 million cancer survivors in the USA live with physical, emotional and day-to-day concerns related to their cancer long after their treatment ends. Addressing the needs of the growing cancer-survivor population will be a considerable task. In this article, Ruth Rechis--a 20-year survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma--describes her personal account of surviving cancer and her experience as a researcher and advocate in the field of survivorship.

Programs Addressing Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Among U.S. Military Servicemembers and Their Families.

Over the last decade, U.S. military forces have been engaged in extended conflicts that are characterized by increased operational tempo, most notably in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Using collaborative web technology to construct the health information national trends survey.

Scientists are taking advantage of web-based technology to work in new collaborative environments, a phenomenon known as Science 2.0. The National Cancer Institute created a web-based tool called HINTS-GEM, which allows a diverse group of stakeholders to collaborate in a virtual environment by providing input on content for the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS).

Picking up the pace: changes in method and frame for the health information national trends survey (2011-2014).

Health communication and health information technology influence the ways in which health care professionals and the public seek, use, and comprehend health information. The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) program was developed to assess the effect of health communication and health information technology on health-related attitudes, knowledge, and behavior. HINTS has fielded 3 national data collections with the fourth (HINTS 4) currently underway.

Sexual well-being among survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Purpose/objectives: To describe sexual well-being among non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) survivors.

Design: Descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study.

Setting: NHL survivors identified via the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program.

Lapse-induced surges in craving influence relapse in adult smokers: an experimental investigation.

Objectives: Nearly all smokers who lapse experience a full-blown relapse, but the mediating mechanisms that contribute to this relationship are not well understood. A better understanding of these mechanisms would help to advance more effective relapse prevention treatments for smokers. The purpose of this study is to experimentally evaluate the effects of a programmed smoking lapse on smoking relapse and the effects of postlapse changes in craving on relapse.

Building Bridges: Lessons from a Pittsburgh Partnership to Strengthen Systems of Care for Maternal Depression.

Between January 2007 and June 2010, members of the Allegheny County Maternal and Child Health Care Collaborative designed, implemented, and evaluated the Allegheny County Maternal Depression Initiative, a local system-change effort focused on increasing identification, referrals, and engagement in treatment as needed and appropriate for women at high risk for maternal depression. The collaborative was successful in improving key organizational and clinical processes related to the achievement of its aims. This article describes how and why the initiative was created, the processes through which it was implemented and evaluated, and the results and lessons learned.

Potential benefits of health information technology for integrating physical and behavioral health care: perinatal depression as a case-in-point.

Depression among pregnant and postpartum women (i.e., perinatal depression) is the number one complication of childbirth.

Measuring multiple dimensions of perceived control in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer.

A multidimensional approach to the study of focus of perceived control (FPC) can provide a more specific understanding of associations between FPC and adjustment to cancer. We developed and tested a measure to capture multiple dimensions of FPC and examined FPC dimensions in relation to positive expectancies and three indices of psychosocial adjustment in 219 women with breast cancer. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a 6-factor model of FPC (chi(2)(284 df) = 433.

Predictors of perceived ambiguity about cancer prevention recommendations: sociodemographic factors and mass media exposures.

Cancer prevention recommendations reaching the public today are often ambiguous-that is, of uncertain reliability, credibility, or adequacy-yet little is known about the factors that influence public perceptions of this ambiguity. We used data from the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey, conducted by the U.S.

Social media use in the United States: implications for health communication.

Background: Given the rapid changes in the communication landscape brought about by participative Internet use and social media, it is important to develop a better understanding of these technologies and their impact on health communication. The first step in this effort is to identify the characteristics of current social media users. Up-to-date reporting of current social media use will help monitor the growth of social media and inform health promotion/communication efforts aiming to effectively utilize social media.

Psychometric evaluation of the Health Information Orientation Scale: a brief measure for assessing health information engagement and apprehension.

The Health Information Orientation Scale (HIOS) was developed from a need to briefly assess information orientation in a health context and underlying reasons for information seeking or avoidance. Using data from a larger longitudinal study of informal cancer caregivers, this study examines psychometric properties of the HIOS, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability and construct validity through associations with information competence, coping and distress. CFA supported two conceptually unique factors: Information Engagement and Information Apprehension.

Tolerability of breast ductal lavage in women from families at high genetic risk of breast cancer.

Background: Ductal lavage (DL) has been proposed as a minimally-invasive, well-tolerated tool for obtaining breast epithelial cells for cytological evaluation of breast cancer risk. We report DL tolerability in BRCA1/2 mutation-positive and -negative women from an IRB-approved research study.

Methods: 165 BRCA1/2 mutation-positive, 26 mutation-negative and 3 mutation unknown women underwent mammography, breast MRI and DL.

Diagnostic breast magnetic resonance imaging and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.

Background: Preoperative use of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women with breast cancer may increase rates of mastectomy. This study investigated relationships between breast MRI and therapeutic and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) in women with breast cancer.

Methods: A total of 3606 women diagnosed with stage 0-III breast cancer from 1998 through 2000 (n = 1743; early period) or from 2003 through 2005 (n = 1863; late period) were retrospectively identified.

How can we strengthen the evidence base in public health preparedness?

The lack of frequent real-world opportunities to study preparedness for large-scale public health emergencies has hindered the development of an evidence base to support best practices, performance measures, standards, and other tools needed to assess and improve the nation's multibillion dollar investment in public health preparedness. In this article, we argue that initial funding priorities for public health systems research on preparedness should focus on using engineering-style methods to identify core preparedness processes, developing novel data sources and measures based on smaller-scale proxy events, and developing performance improvement approaches to support the translation of research into practice within the wide variety of public health systems found in the nation.

Nutrition-related cancer prevention cognitions and behavioral intentions: testing the risk perception attitude framework.

This study tested whether the risk perception attitude framework predicted nutrition-related cancer prevention cognitions and behavioral intentions. Data from the 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey were analyzed to assess respondents' reported likelihood of developing cancer (risk) and perceptions of whether they could lower their chances of getting cancer (efficacy). Respondents with higher efficacy were more likely to report that good nutrition can prevent cancer, and they reported more preventive dietary changes, as compared to respondents with lower efficacy.

Smoking knowledge and behavior in the United States: sociodemographic, smoking status, and geographic patterns.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and has been linked to several dire health consequences including cancer and cardiovascular disease. However, knowledge of the associated risks of tobacco use may not be evenly distributed within the population. We analyzed data from the National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS, 2003) to characterize current knowledge of cancer prevention and smoking risk in the adult U.

Health-related information needs in a large and diverse sample of adult cancer survivors: implications for cancer care.

Background: This study describes the information needs of adult cancer survivors, identifies sociodemographic, health, and healthcare-related factors associated with information needs, and examines the relationship between information needs and survivors' perceived mental and physical health.

Methods: One thousand forty survivors 2-5 years post-diagnosis who were identified via two cancer registries were included in the present analysis. Self-report questionnaires assessed six categories of information needs, sociodemographic, health, and healthcare-related variables, and perceived mental and physical health.

Information support for cancer survivors.

Survivors' information-seeking behavior has traditionally been documented through analysis of inquiries to hotlines and cancer information services. Data from these self-selected inquiries tend to be restricted to a time around diagnosis, and to those populations possessing the wherewithal and motivation to seek information actively. The current study used data from a general population survey to assess 1) the prevalence of information-seeking behavior among survivors in the general population, 2) characteristics of seekers versus nonseekers, 3) ratings of information-seeking experience, and 4) actual versus preferred sources of information.

Information processing and negative affect: evidence from the 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey.

Objective: Health communication can help reduce the cancer burden by increasing processing of information about health interventions. Negative affect is associated with information processing and may be a barrier to successful health communication.

Design And Main Outcome Measures: We examined associations between negative affect and information processing at the population level.

Cultural values and secondary prevention of breast cancer in african american women.

Background: Improving mammography initiation and maintenance among African American women has been suggested as a strategy for reducing breast cancer mortality in this population.

Methods: We examined cultural values in relation to self-reported breast cancer screening among 572 low-income, urban, African American women. Cultural values examined included time orientation, family authority, employment aspirations, value of past vs modern life, and reliance on medical professionals.

Use of the internet to communicate with health care providers in the United States: estimates from the 2003 and 2005 Health Information National Trends Surveys (HINTS).

Background: Despite substantial evidence that the public wants access to Internet-based communication with health care providers, online patient-provider communication remains relatively uncommon, and few studies have examined sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with the use of online communication with health care providers at a population level.

Objective: The aim of the study was to use nationally representative data to report on the prevalence of and changes in use of online patient-provider communication in 2003 and 2005 and to describe sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with its use.

Methods: Data for this study are from two iterations of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 2003, HINTS 2005).