A Pilot Efficacy Trial to Educate Muslim Americans about the Islamic Bioethical Perspectives in End-of-Life Healthcare.

In the US, end-of-life health care (EOLHC) is often intensive and invasive, and at times may involve care that is inconsistent with patient values. US Muslims may not receive appropriate religious support, experience uncertainty around end-of-life decision-making, and under-utilize palliative and hospice care. As technological advancements and treatment options rise in EOLHC, Muslim American patients and their families need to understand more about the treatment options that are consistent with their beliefs.

Assessing knowledge of end-stage kidney disease and treatment options in hospitalized African American patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Objective: African Americans are more likely to develop end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) than whites and face multiple inequities regarding ESKD treatment, renal replacement therapy (RRT), and overall care. This study focused on determining gaps in participants' knowledge of their chronic kidney disease and barriers to RRT selection in an effort to identify how we can improve health care interventions and health outcomes among this population.

Methods: African American participants undergoing hemodialysis were recruited from an ongoing research study of hospitalized patients at an urban Midwest academic medical center.

Utility of geriatric assessments in evaluation of older adults for kidney transplantation.

Background: While kidney transplantation has favorable outcomes in patients aged 65 years and older, many are not referred for evaluation despite having no contraindications. We wanted to determine whether incorporating geriatrics and geriatric assessments (GA), as part of kidney transplant evaluation at the University of Chicago Medicine, would help identify suitable candidates and improve transplantation outcomes among older adults.

Methods: Between 2012 and 2016, as part of their multi-disciplinary transplant evaluation, 171 patients underwent an initial GA with the study geriatrician, who rated them on a five-point scale from "poor" to "excellent," and presented their cases to multidisciplinary transplant review meetings.

Psychosocial interventions to reduce eating pathology in bariatric surgery patients: a systematic review.

Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity; however, a subset of patients experience suboptimal outcomes. Psychosocial interventions that address eating pathology may ameliorate negative consequences, although their efficacy has not been examined. Thus, a systematic review to evaluate the impact of psychosocial randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on eating pathology in adults pre and post-bariatric surgery was conducted.

Assessing consumers' understanding of the term "Natural" on food labeling.

The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of how consumers' interpret the term "natural" by assessing food choice based on labels describing attributes of a product associated with the term "natural"; to assess food intake of chosen food, and; to determine factors that influence food choice and intake. A randomized, single-visit pilot study was conducted where participants (n = 105) were presented with seven identical bowls of granola each bearing a different descriptive label. Participants were asked to choose and eat the granola (ad libitum) that coincided with what was closest to their view of "natural.