Providing doula support to publicly insured women in central Texas: A financial cost-benefit analysis.

Background: Disparities in birth outcomes continue to exist in the United States, particularly for low-income, publicly insured women. Doula support has been shown to be a cost-effective intervention in predominantly middle-to-upper income White populations, and across all publicly insured women at the state level. This analysis extends previous studies by providing an estimate of benefits that incorporates variations in averted outcomes by race and ethnicity in the context of one region in Texas.

Health Care Use, Coverage, and Experiences During the Year Prior to Pregnancy in a Primarily Hispanic Population with Low Income: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

Introduction: A qualitative picture of the health care experiences prior to pregnancy can inform patient-centered strategies to optimize preconception health. This study describes health care utilization and experiences and how health care costs were covered in the year prior to pregnancy in a population of primarily Hispanic women with low income.

Methods: Pregnant participants were recruited from 5 Federally Qualified Health Center clinics.

AAC Technologies with Visual Scene Displays and "Just in Time" Programming and Symbolic Communication Turns Expressed by Students with Severe Disability.

Background: The current study investigated the impact of an intervention that included aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies on the frequency of symbolic communication turns of school-age children, adolescents, and young adults with severe disability.

Method: Nine students ages 8-20 were engaged in interactive activities using an aided AAC system with visual scene displays (VSDs; concepts embedded within a photograph of a naturally occurring event), and "just-in-time" (JIT) programming (the capability to add new contexts "on the fly"). Effectiveness was evaluated using a single subject multiple probe across participants design.

Surgeon training and use of radioactive iodine in stage I thyroid cancer patients.

Background: The majority of thyroid cancer diagnoses in the United States are stage I well-differentiated cancer. The use of radioactive iodine (RAI) in these low-risk patients has increased over time. The role of surgeon training in decision making regarding treatment with RAI is unknown.