Americans' Awareness of Access Changes and Utilization of Telehealth During COVID-19: A Survey in the United States.

We examine how and why Americans have experienced interrupted health care during the COVID-19 pandemic and measure awareness and usage of expanded benefits offered by health insurers and employers. We use an expanded concept of health literacy to include knowledge of access conditions and consider if patients' knowledge of the health system may relate to utilization of care. We conducted an online survey of 451 U.

Americans' Health Priorities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine how Americans' opinions of the seriousness of various health-related problems have changed over time and to quantify the public's preferences for research prioritization.

Methods: We conducted a survey that asked respondents to rate the seriousness of 80 health-related problems on a 4-point Likert scale ("very serious problem," "somewhat serious problem," "not too serious of a problem," or "not a problem at all"). Results were compared with past surveys from 2001 and 2013 that examined the same set of health-related problems (with the exception of COVID-19).

Understanding treatment patterns and patient-reported outcomes associated with the use of authorized generics and corresponding independent generics across multiple therapeutic areas.

Objectives: To assess patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) associated with authorized generics (AGs) and independent generics (IGs) use.

Methods: Prescription claims and National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) data were linked. Adults with billable national drug code (AG or IG), NHWS completion from June 2015 to July 2019, AG or IG on-hand at NHWS completion, and continuous insurance eligibility in 12 months pre- and post-NHWS completion were included.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients Affected by Non-Communicable Diseases in Europe and in the USA.

An international online patient community, Carenity, conducted a patient study in two independent waves among adults affected by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe and in the United States of America (USA). The study aimed to assess the real time impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the medical conditions of patients with NCDs, their access to health care, and their adaptation to daily life as well as to describe their sources of information on COVID-19 and their needs for specific information and support. During the pandemic, 50% of the patients reported a worsening of their medical condition, and 17% developed a new disease.

Using rapid point-of-care tests to inform antibiotic choice to mitigate drug resistance in gonorrhoea.

BackgroundThe first cases of extensively drug resistant gonorrhoea were recorded in the United Kingdom in 2018. There is a public health need for strategies on how to deploy existing and novel antibiotics to minimise the risk of resistance development. As rapid point-of-care tests (POCTs) to predict susceptibility are coming to clinical use, coupling the introduction of an antibiotic with diagnostics that can slow resistance emergence may offer a novel paradigm for maximising antibiotic benefits.

Provider and household costs of malaria episodes: a multicountry comparative analysis of primary trial data.

Objective: To determine household and health-care provider costs associated with infection across a range of endemic settings.

Methods: We collected cost data alongside three multicentre clinical trials of treatment in Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Philippines, Peru, Thailand and Viet Nam conducted between April 2014 to December 2017. We derived household costs from trial participant surveys administered at enrolment and again 2 weeks later to determine the costs of treatment and transportation, and the number of days that patients and their household caregivers were unable to undertake their usual activities.

Pruritus Is Common and Undertreated in Patients With Primary Biliary Cholangitis in the United Kingdom.

Background And Aims: Little is known about the prevalence or treatment of pruritus associated with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). We analyzed data from patients with PBC recruited from all clinical centers in the United Kingdom (UK) to characterize the prevalence, severity, progression, and treatment of pruritus.

Methods: We performed cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of patients in the UK-PBC cohort to assess trajectories of pruritus.

BAT117213: Ileal bile acid transporter (IBAT) inhibition as a treatment for pruritus in primary biliary cirrhosis: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Pruritus (itch) is a symptom commonly experienced by patients with cholestatic liver diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis (PBC, previously referred to as primary biliary cirrhosis). Bile acids (BAs) have been proposed as potential pruritogens in PBC. The ileal bile acid transporter (IBAT) protein expressed in the distal ileum plays a key role in the enterohepatic circulation of BAs.

Cost-Effectiveness of Dolutegravir in HIV-1 Treatment-Naive and Treatment-Experienced Patients in Canada.

Introduction: The Antiretroviral Analysis by Monte Carlo Individual Simulation (ARAMIS) model was adapted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of dolutegravir (DTG) in Canada in treatment-naive (TN) and treatment-experienced (TE) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 patients.

Methods: The ARAMIS-DTG model is a microsimulation model with a lifetime analytic time horizon and a monthly cycle length. Markov health states were defined by HIV health state (with or without opportunistic infection).

48-week efficacy and safety of dolutegravir relative to commonly used third agents in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: A network meta-analysis can provide estimates of relative efficacy for treatments not directly studied in head-to-head randomized controlled trials. We estimated the relative efficacy and safety of dolutegravir (DTG) versus third agents currently recommended by guidelines, including ritonavir-boosted atazanavir (ATV/r), ritonavir-boosted darunavir (DRV/r), efavirenz (EFV), cobicistat-boosted elvitegravir (EVG/c), ritonavir-boosted lopinavir (LPV/r), raltegravir (RAL), and rilpivirine (RPV), in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected patients.

Methods: A systematic review of published literature was conducted to identify phase 3/4 randomized controlled clinical trials (up to August 2013) including at least one third agent of interest in combination with a backbone nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) regimen.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Bipolar Functional Status Questionnaire (BFSQ).

Objectives: Persistently impaired psychosocial functioning has been recognized in many individuals with bipolar disorder. However, existing measures of functional disability have been adapted for use in bipolar disorder based mainly on those developed for use in other conditions. The present study involved the development and validation of a new patient self-report measure specific to bipolar disorder, the Bipolar Functional Status Questionnaire (BFSQ).

An extreme bushfire smoke pollution event: health impacts and public health challenges.

Aims: To determine the health impacts of smoke and the effectiveness of public health advisories during a severe bushfire smoke event in Albury, NSW.

Methods: The NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change provided PM(10) data. A computer-assisted telephone survey using random digit dialling was conducted following the smoke event to assess health impacts and the effectiveness of advisories.

Further validation of an individualized migraine treatment satisfaction measure.

Objective: To assess individualized satisfaction with migraine treatment, patient expectations, importance rankings, treatment outcomes, and overall satisfaction were combined using a four-part conceptual model. This article describes the measurement properties of the Migraine Treatment Satisfaction Measure (MTSM) using participants from a randomized controlled trial evaluating a Headache Management Program (HMP).

Methods: Participants completed the first two parts of the MTSM upon enrollment and the final two parts at 6 months.

Current status of patient-reported outcomes in industry-sponsored oncology clinical trials and product labels.

Assessing patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical trials is of interest to clinicians, patients, regulators, and industry. The use and impact of PROs is a growing area of methodologic research, particularly as they relate to tumor types, biomarkers, and various patient populations and cultures. Both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products in recent guidance have acknowledged the need to account for treatment-related impact on patient symptoms and/or health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Evaluating effects of method of administration on Walking Impairment Questionnaire.

Background: Intermittent claudication resulting from peripheral arterial disease (PAD) can substantially impair walking function. The Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) assesses patient self-reported difficulty in walking. Currently this questionnaire is validated for interviewer administration only.