Publications by authors named "Lucy Spalluto"

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is becoming a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, with notable disparities observed among racial and ethnic minorities. The objective of this study is to examine the association between social determinants of health (SDoH) and HCC incidence by race (White and Black individuals) using data from the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS).

Methods: The SCCS is a prospective cohort study with participants recruited from 2002 to 2009.

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Breastfeeding radiologists face challenges as they re-enter the workforce. Radiology employers can develop and implement a strategic plan to tangibly support breastfeeding radiologists through establishing lactation support infrastructure. This can be accomplished by implementing formal policies and procedures for lactation breaks, establishing lactation rooms that are clean, comfortable, and convenient to access, facilitating access to breast pumps for trainees, and building a comprehensive support system.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pervasive health inequities necessitate innovative medical education approaches to prepare future physicians for addressing disparities in health outcomes, highlighting the lack of current curricula focusing on health equity skills.* -
  • Vanderbilt University established the Graduate Certificate in Health Equity (CHE) to fill this gap, offering a comprehensive program that spans from the second to the fourth year of medical school, including foundational courses, electives, and real-world immersion experiences with community partners.* -
  • Since its launch, 73 students have enrolled in the CHE, with 38 graduates so far, and the program aims to continually improve its curriculum and evaluate its impact on graduates' ability to address health equity in their careers, potentially serving as a model for other
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In evidence-based medicine frameworks, the highest level of evidence is derived from quantitative synthesis of double-masked, high-quality, randomly assigned controlled trials. Meta-analyses of randomly assigned controlled trials have demonstrated that screening mammography reduces breast cancer deaths. In the United States, every major guideline-producing organization has recommended screening mammography in average-risk women; however, there are controversies about age and frequency.

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Introduction: Lung cancer survival is improving in the United States. We investigated whether there was a similar trend within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States.

Materials And Methods: Data from the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry were analyzed for temporal survival trends using Kaplan-Meier estimates and linear regression.

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Breast cancer screening guidelines vary for women at intermediate risk (15%-20% lifetime risk) for developing breast cancer across jurisdictions. Currently available risk assessment models have differing strengths and weaknesses, creating difficulty and ambiguity in selecting the most appropriate model to utilize. Clarifying which model to utilize in individual circumstances may help determine the best screening guidelines to use for each individual.

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Health disparities, preventable differences in the burden of disease and disease outcomes often experienced by socially disadvantaged populations, can be found in nearly all areas of radiology, including emergency radiology, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, image-guided interventions, and imaging-based cancer screening. Disparities in imaging-based cancer screening are especially noteworthy given the far-reaching population health impact. The social determinants of health (SDoH) play an important role in disparities in cancer screening and outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to explore healthcare professionals' views on barriers and facilitators for implementing lung cancer screening in rural areas within the Veterans Health Administration.
  • Interview data from 30 healthcare team members across 10 medical centers were analyzed, leading to a conceptual model highlighting various institutional (e.g., communication, resource availability) and patient-level factors affecting screening programs.
  • The findings emphasize the need for understanding these challenges to enhance lung cancer screening outreach and effectiveness in rural settings.
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Rationale And Objective: Demographic data collected about Canadian radiologists and trainees has been limited primarily to binary gender and geographic location. The purpose of this study was to investigate: (1) demographic characteristics of Canadian radiologists and trainees; (2) types of diversity important to radiologists; (3) relationship of radiologist demographics to practice characteristics; and (4) relationship of radiologist demographics to years in practice, (YIP).

Materials And Methods: French and English surveys were distributed via email through radiology associations and social media.

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Patient-centered care (PCC) and equity are two of the six core domains of quality health care, according to the Institute of Medicine. Exceptional imaging care requires radiology practices to provide patient-centered (i.e.

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Introduction: Lung cancer screening is widely underutilized. Organizational factors, such as readiness for change and belief in the value of change (change valence), may contribute to underutilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between healthcare organizations' preparedness and lung cancer screening utilization.

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Health care workforce diversity is vital in combating health disparities. Despite much recent attention to downstream strategies to improve diversity in radiology, such as increased recruitment efforts and holistic application review, workforce diversity has not tangibly improved in recent decades. Yet, little discussion has been devoted to defining the obstacles that might delay, complicate, or altogether prevent persons from groups that have been traditionally marginalized and minoritized from a career in radiology.

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Rationale And Objectives: In order to help program directors satisfy the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education common program requirement for health care disparities (HCD) education, a comprehensive web-based curriculum on HCDs in Radiology was developed. The curriculum was designed to educate trainees about existing HCDs, stimulate discussion, and spur research about HCDs in radiology. The curriculum was piloted to assess its educational value and feasibility.

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Introduction: Radiology has widely acknowledged the need to improve inclusion of racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual minorities, with recent discourse also underscoring the importance of disability diversity and inclusion efforts. Yet studies have shown a paucity of diversity among radiology residents, despite increasing efforts to foster diversity and inclusion. Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess radiology residency program websites' diversity statements for inclusion of race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and disability as commonly underrepresented groups.

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Purpose: In recent years, radiology departments have increasingly recognized the extent of health care disparities related to imaging and image-guided interventions. The goal of this article is to provide a framework for developing a health equity initiative in radiology and to articulate key defining factors.

Methods: This article leverages the experience of three academic radiology departments and explores key principles that emerged when observing the experiences of these departments that have begun to engage in health equity-focused work.

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Purpose: To assess health care professionals' perceptions of barriers to the utilization of breast cancer risk assessment tools in the public health setting through a series of one-on-one interviews with health care team members.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional qualitative study consisting of one-on-one semistructured telephone interviews with health care team members in the public health setting in the state of Tennessee between May 2020 and October 2020. An iterative inductive-deductive approach was used for qualitative analysis of interview data, resulting in the development of a conceptual framework to depict influences of provider behavior in the utilization of breast cancer risk assessment.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to gather the perspectives of Black women on breast cancer risk assessment through a series of one-on-one interviews.

Methods: The authors conducted a cross-sectional qualitative study consisting of one-on-one semistructured telephone interviews with Black women in Tennessee between September 2020 and November 2020. Guided by the Health Belief Model, qualitative analysis of interview data was performed in an iterative inductive and deductive approach and resulted in the development of a conceptual framework to depict influences on a woman's decision to engage with breast cancer risk assessment.

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Gender representation in radiology has traditionally been evaluated and reported through binary models, accompanied by advocacy efforts focused on increasing the number of women in radiology. A paucity of data exists to understand the entire gender composition of the radiology workforce, including representation of people who are transgender and gender diverse. Further, little information exists on how to provide a supportive work environment for radiologists and support staff who identify as belonging to an underrepresented gender minority group.

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Rationale And Objectives: Transgender persons often experience healthcare disparities due to lack of provider knowledge. With increasing gender diversity awareness and prevalence of gender-affirming care, radiologists-in-training need to be aware of the unique health considerations for this patient population. Radiology residents have limited exposure to dedicated teaching on transgender medical care and imaging during training.

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Background: Lung cancer screening is a complex clinical process that includes identification of eligible individuals, shared decision-making, tobacco cessation, and management of screening results. Adaptations to the delivery process for lung cancer screening in situ are understudied and underreported, with the potential loss of important considerations for improved implementation. The Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Expanded (FRAME) allows for a systematic enumeration of adaptations to implementation of evidence-based practices.

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