Implementing a pain psychology screening process in primary care.

Background: Integrating pain psychology in primary care has the potential to improve symptom burden; however, identifying those who may benefit is a challenge. The purpose of this study was to gather feedback from a multidisciplinary team to optimize digital screening and referral for psychological treatment of chronic pain distress within primary care.

Method: Team members in a primary care clinic were introduced to the proposed screening process and offered the opportunity to complete a feedback survey.

Utilizing primary care to engage underserved patients in a psychological intervention for chronic pain.

Background: Although psychological interventions can be used to improve chronic pain management, underserved individuals (i.e., racially minoritized and socioeconomically disadvantaged) may be less likely to engage in such services.

Demographic Predictors of Telehealth Use for Integrated Psychological Services in Primary Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, growing mental health needs were well documented, particularly those of diverse patient populations. The current study aims to better understand racial and psychosocial factors associated with patient utilization of integrated psychological services via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic within a diverse primary care clinic.

Methods: Retrospective chart reviews were completed for patients seen by an integrated psychology team within a general internal medicine clinic at a large urban health system during the year 2020.

Utilizing Primary Care to Engage Patients on Opioids in a Psychological Intervention for Chronic Pain.

Introduction: Given the risks of opioids for pain management, we need nonpharmacological interventions that patients will engage in and that can reduce opioid use. The purpose was to examine whether offering a psychological intervention in primary care can engage patients receiving opioids for pain management and to explore whether the intervention influences opioid use.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a 5-session psychological intervention in primary care for chronic pain.

A brief psychological intervention for chronic pain in primary care: Examining long-term effects from a pilot randomized clinical trial.

Background: Despite the existence of evidence-based psychological interventions for pain management, there are barriers that interfere with treatment engagement. A brief intervention integrated into primary care reduced barriers and showed promising benefits from pre- to post-intervention. However, it is unknown whether a brief intervention can provide long-term effects.

Socioeconomic status, financial stress, and glucocorticoid resistance among youth with asthma: Testing the moderation effects of maternal involvement and warmth.

Objectives: Children who grow up in more socioeconomically disadvantaged homes experience greater levels of inflammation and worse asthma symptoms than children from more advantaged families. However, recent evidence suggests that certain family-level factors can mitigate health disparities associated with socioeconomic status (SES). In a sample of youth with asthma, we investigated the potential buffering effects of maternal involvement and warmth on SES disparities in asthma-related immune responses, assessed via glucocorticoid resistance (GR) of immune cells.

A Brief Psychological Intervention for Chronic Pain in Primary Care: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Although evidence-based psychological interventions improve chronic pain, many patients do not engage in behavioral health services. Offering a brief intervention in a medical setting may provide benefits to patients with chronic pain. The purpose of this study was to examine preliminary outcomes of a brief psychological intervention for chronic pain delivered in primary care.

Motivating residents to change communication: the role of a brief motivational interviewing didactic.

Introduction: Motivational interviewing (MI) is a patient-centered approach that encourages patients to change behaviors. MI training programs have increased residents' knowledge and use of MI skills; however, many residency programs may not have the time to dedicate to lengthy MI programs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of a brief MI didactic for residents in an academic internal medicine patient-centered medical home.

Why WAIT? Preliminary evaluation of the weight assistance and intervention techniques (WAIT) group.

Individuals who attempt to lose weight may struggle because they lack skills to address problematic eating behaviors. There are multiple programs that have taught patients some of these behavioral strategies; however, it is not clear which strategies patients find to be the most useful. The purpose of this study was to examine preliminary outcomes after completion of a six-week integrative group for weight management.

Self-Disclosure and Perceived Responsiveness Among Youth With Asthma: Links to Affect and Anti-Inflammatory Gene Expression.

Self-disclosure and perceived responsiveness are important building blocks of social relationships that have long-lasting consequences for health and well-being. However, the conditions under which self-disclosure and responsiveness are likely to benefit health, and how early in life these benefits arise, remain unclear. Among 141 youth (aged 10-17) with asthma, we investigated how average daily levels of self-disclosure and responsiveness are linked to positive and negative affect and the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene , a marker of improved regulation of stress physiology and immune functioning.

Socioeconomic status, family negative emotional climate, and anti-inflammatory gene expression among youth with asthma.

The glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 is an important down-regulator of inflammation and is typically under-expressed in individuals with low socioeconomic status (SES). Negative emotionality has been suggested as a potential mediator of SES disparities in health outcomes. In this study, we expand this literature by naturalistically assessing negative emotionality in a key emotional environment: the family.

Mothers' Attachment is Linked to their Children's Anti-Inflammatory Gene Expression via Maternal Warmth.

Research has demonstrated links between adult romantic attachment and one's own physical health; little is known about links between adult attachment orientations and offspring health. Prior work has shown that parents' greater attachment anxiety and avoidance predicts less warmth toward their children. Extensive work has also shown that lower maternal warmth has negative downstream effects on offspring health.

Youth secrets are associated with poorer sleep and asthma symptoms via negative affect.

Objective: Among older children and adolescents, keeping secrets from parents is consistently associated with lower levels of psychological well-being. Further, concealing one's thoughts and emotions has been associated with poor physical health outcomes in adults. However, it remains an open question whether secret-keeping is associated with poorer health and health-related behaviors (such as sleep) among youth and, if those hypothesized links exist, what the psychological mechanisms might be.

Religious participation predicts diurnal cortisol profiles 10 years later via lower levels of religious struggle.

Objective: Multiple aspects of religion have been linked with a variety of physical health outcomes; however, rarely have investigators attempted to empirically test the mechanisms through which religiosity impacts health. The links between religious participation, religious coping, and diurnal cortisol patterns over a 10-year period in a national sample of adults in the United States were investigated.

Method: Participants included 1,470 respondents from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study who provided reports on religious participation, religious coping, and diurnal cortisol.

Youth reports of parents' romantic relationship quality: Links to physical health.

Objective: Prior work has shown that negative aspects (e.g., conflict) of marriage or marriage-like relationships are associated with poor health of offspring, but much less is known about the effects of positive aspects (e.

Neighborhood Stress, Depressive Symptoms, and Asthma Morbidity in Youth.

Objective: Living in a dangerous and disadvantaged neighborhood is consistently linked with poor health outcomes; however, few studies have investigated psychosocial mechanisms of this relationship. We hypothesized that a specific facet of depression-anhedonia-would partially explain the relationship between stressful neighborhoods and poor health in youth with asthma.

Method: 156 youths provided reports on their depressive symptoms, daily asthma symptoms, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR).

Asthma-Related Immune Responses in Youth With Asthma: Associations With Maternal Responsiveness and Expressions of Positive and Negative Affect in Daily Life.

Objectives: Stressful family environments early in life have negative effects on physical health. However, less is known about the health effects of positive aspects of families. We examined the associations between maternal responsiveness and immune markers among youth with asthma and identified youth expressions of positive affect as a potential mechanism of these associations.

Pursuing bariatric surgery in an urban area: Gender and racial disparities and risk for psychiatric symptoms.

Background: Bariatric surgery is effective for weight loss; however, only a small percentage of those who qualify choose to pursue it. Additionally, although psychiatric symptoms appear to be common among candidates, the risk factors for symptoms are not known. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of those who are pursuing bariatric surgery in an urban area, whether demographic disparities continue to exist, and identify characteristics of those who may be at higher risk for experiencing psychiatric symptoms.

Naturalistically observed conflict and youth asthma symptoms.

Objective: To investigate the links between naturalistically observed conflict, self-reported caregiver-youth conflict, and youth asthma symptoms.

Method: Fifty-four youth with asthma (age range: 10-17 years) wore the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) for a 4-day period to assess interpersonal conflict and caregiver-youth conflict as they occur in daily life. Conflict also was assessed with baseline self-report questionnaires and daily diaries completed by youth participants and their caregivers.

Effects of socioeconomic status on maternal and child positive behaviors in daily life among youth with asthma.

Objective: Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with poorer behavioral and emotional outcomes in children with asthma. This study investigated the associations between maternal income and education and naturalistically observed behaviors and affect during everyday parent-child interactions.

Methods: 53 predominantly low-income youth with asthma, aged 10-17 years, wore a naturalistic event-sampling device, the Electronically Activated Recorder, for 4 days to assess mother and child positive behaviors and affect in daily life.