Economic value of orthotic and prosthetic services among medicare beneficiaries: a claims-based retrospective cohort study, 2011-2014.

Background: There are few studies of the economic value of orthotic and prosthetic services. A prior cohort study of orthotic and prosthetic Medicare beneficiaries based on Medicare Parts A and B claims from 2007 to 2010 concluded that patients who received timely orthotic or prosthetic care had comparable or lower total health care costs than a comparison group of untreated patients. This follow-up study reports on a parallel analysis based on Medicare claims from 2011 to 2014 and includes Part D in addition to Parts A and B services and expenditures.

Acceptance, Communication Mode and Use of Audio Computer-Assisted Self Interview Using Touchscreen to Identify Risk Factors among Pregnant Minority Women.

This paper evaluates the acceptability, communication mode and use of audio computer-assisted self-interview (A-CASI) among minority pregnant women receiving prenatal care in six Washington, DC sites. A total of 2,913 women were screened for demographic eligibility (18+ years old, <29 weeks gestation, Black/African-American or Hispanic) and risk (smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, depression, intimate partner violence). Questions were displayed on touch screen laptop monitors and heard through earphones.

Environmental tobacco smoke avoidance among pregnant African-American nonsmokers.

Background: Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure during pregnancy contributes to adverse infant health outcomes. Limited previous research has focused on identifying correlates of ETS avoidance. This study sought to identify proximal and more distal correlates of ETS avoidance early in pregnancy among African-American women.

The design, implementation and acceptability of an integrated intervention to address multiple behavioral and psychosocial risk factors among pregnant African American women.

Background: African American women are at increased risk for poor pregnancy outcomes compared to other racial-ethnic groups. Single or multiple psychosocial and behavioral factors may contribute to this risk. Most interventions focus on singular risks.

Clinical data predict neurodevelopmental outcome better than head ultrasound in extremely low birth weight infants.

Objective: To determine the relative contribution of clinical data versus head ultrasound scanning (HUS) in predicting neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in extremely low birth weight infants.

Study Design: A total of 2103 extremely low birth weight infants (<1000 g) admitted to a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network center who underwent HUS within the first 28 days, a repeat one around 36 weeks' postmenstrual age, and neurodevelopmental assessment at 18 to 22 months corrected age were selected. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed with clinical or HUS variables.

Recruitment and retention of low-income minority women in a behavioral intervention to reduce smoking, depression, and intimate partner violence during pregnancy.

Background: Researchers have frequently encountered difficulties in the recruitment and retention of minorities resulting in their under-representation in clinical trials. This report describes the successful strategies of recruitment and retention of African Americans and Latinos in a randomized clinical trial to reduce smoking, depression and intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Socio-demographic characteristics and risk profiles of retained vs.

Low-income minority mothers' reports of infant health care utilisation compared with medical records.

This study aimed to investigate mothers' reporting of the nature, location, frequency and content of health care visits for their infants, as compared with data abstracted from the infants' medical records. It was part of a community-based parenting intervention designed to improve preventive health care utilisation among minority mothers in Washington, DC. Mothers >or=18 years old with newborn infants and with poor or no prenatal care were enrolled in the study.

The effect of a parenting education program on the use of preventive pediatric health care services among low-income, minority mothers: a randomized, controlled study.

Objective: To determine if a community-based intervention program focusing on parenting education will have an impact on preventive health care utilization behaviors among low-income, minority mothers in Washington, DC.

Design: The experimental design was a randomized, controlled study in which 286 mother-infant dyads were assigned to either the standard social services (control) group or to the intervention group. Women and their newborn infants were recruited during the immediate postpartum period in 4 Washington, DC, hospital sites from April 1995 to April 1997.