Publications by authors named "Lauren Passero"

Lynch syndrome is an underdiagnosed genetic condition that increases lifetime colorectal, endometrial, and other cancer risk. Cascade testing in relatives is recommended to increase diagnoses and enable access to cancer prevention services, yet uptake is limited due to documented multi-level barriers. Individual barriers such as feelings of fear, guilt, and anxiety and limited knowledge about Lynch syndrome as well as interpersonal barriers including complex family dynamics and language barriers limit family communication about Lynch syndrome and prevent uptake of genetic screening for relatives.

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Introduction: Familial hypercholesterolemia is a common genetic condition that significantly increases an individual's risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, and cardiac death and is a candidate for population-wide screening programs. Economic analyses of strategies to identify and treat familial hypercholesterolemia are limited by a lack of real-world cost estimates for screening services and medications for reducing cardiovascular risk in this population.

Methods: We estimated the cost of lipid panel testing in patients with hyperlipidemia and the cost of statins, ezetimibe, and PCKS9 inhibitors in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia from a commercial claims database and report costs and charges per panel and prescription by days' supply.

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Background: Lynch syndrome is an underdiagnosed hereditary condition carrying an increased lifetime risk for colorectal and endometrial cancer and affecting nearly 1 million people in the United States. Cascade screening, systematic screening through family members of affected patients, could improve identification of Lynch syndrome, but this strategy is underused due to multi-level barriers including low knowledge about Lynch syndrome, low access to genetics services, and challenging family dynamics.

Methods: We used intervention mapping, a 6-step methodology to create stakeholder-driven interventions that meet the needs of a target population, to develop an intervention to improve cascade screening for Lynch syndrome.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Studies indicate that 1-3% of the U.S. population may carry genetic risk factors for hereditary diseases, and population genetic screening can help identify these risks in otherwise healthy individuals, potentially reducing disease-related health issues.
  • - A systematic review of literature from several databases focused on barriers and facilitators to implementing population genetic screening, including stakeholders' perceptions and attitudes towards these programs.
  • - Key obstacles identified include healthcare providers' limited knowledge about genetic screening and its perceived clinical benefits, along with a lack of long-term evaluations of screening outcomes.
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Background: Precision public health is an emergent field that requires transdisciplinary collaborations and leverages innovative approaches to improve population health. These opportunities have inspired a new generation of precision public health researchers. Despite burgeoning interest in precision public health, there are limited opportunities for researchers to convene and continue the momentum of this field.

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Precision public health is an emerging discipline combining principles and frameworks of precision health with the goal of improving population health. The development of research priorities drawing on the strengths of precision and public health is critical to facilitate the growth of the discipline to improve health outcomes. We held an interactive workshop during a virtual conference bringing together early-career researchers across public health disciplines to identify research priorities in precision public health.

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English language competency, as a component of health literacy, is associated with increased awareness and uptake of health-related genetic testing. The relationship between language competency and genetic testing awareness has not yet been explored in the wider U.S.

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