Mental health screenings in dental settings: Feasibility and outcomes from a study by The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Background: With the rising importance of mental health screenings in nontraditional settings, dental offices offer an important opportunity to provide these services. This feasibility study examined mental health screenings and referral to treatment procedures in dental practices.

Methods: A total of 17 dentists, dental hygienists, and dental office staff members (dental office personnel [DOP]) from 5 dental practices enrolled 36 patients in the study.

Participation Rates in 11 National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Surveys 2014-2022.

Surveys of health professionals typically have low response rates, which have decreased in recent years. We report on the methods used, participation rates, and study time for 11 national questionnaire studies of dentists conducted from 2014-2022. Participation rates decreased (87%-25%).

Training Health Center Staff in the Provision of Culturally Responsive Care for Sexual and Gender Minority Patients: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The study was designed to evaluate whether an educational intervention to train the health center (HC) staff to optimize care for sexual and gender minority (SGM) patients could improve documentation of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) and increase preventive screenings. Twelve HCs were matched and randomized to either receive a tailored, multicomponent educational intervention or a 1-hour prerecorded webinar. Documentation of SGM status and clinical testing was measured through analysis of data that HCs report annually.

Structure, function, and productivity from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Introduction: Following inception in 2005 as a multiregional practice-based research network (PBRN), the "National Dental PBRN" expanded nationwide in 2012, and in 2019 implemented additional organizational changes. The objectives are to: (1) describe the new structure and function of the network; and (2) quantify its scientific productivity since 2005.

Methods: A national Administrative and Resource Center is based in Alabama; regional and specialty nodes are based in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, New York, and Texas.

The Pragmatic Return to Effective Dental Infection Control Through Triage and Testing (PREDICT) Study: Protocol for a Prospective Clinical Study in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Background: Dental practice has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As SARS-CoV-2 infection is transmitted by respiratory fluids, dental practice techniques, which include aerosol-generating procedures, can increase the risk of transmission causing heightened safety concerns for both dental health care workers (DHCWs) and patients. These concerns have resulted in the reduction in patient volume and the available workforce within dental practices across the United States.

Wide Variability in Documentation of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Preventive Health Screenings in a Diverse Sample of U.S. Community Health Centers.

This study was conducted to characterize documentation of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) and provision of screening and preventive services in a diverse sample of community health centers (CHCs). Twelve CHCs provided data submitted to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in 2018 from their Uniform Data System (UDS) reports. Prevalence of SOGI documentation, screenings, and preventive services were calculated.

Continuity of Care Assessment Within a Vertically Integrated Care Management Organization Before and After COPD-Related Exacerbations.

Background: There is currently little research describing patient experience and continuity of care immediately prior, during, and following an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). This analysis examined clinical characteristics, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)‑related medication patterns and outpatient visits before and after an AECOPD.

Methods: This retrospective analysis used electronic health records, medical claims, and pharmacy dispensing data for patients within the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Health System.

Protocol for a Noninferiority Comparative Effectiveness Trial of Home-Based Palliative Care (HomePal).

As health care systems strive to meet the growing needs of seriously ill patients with high symptom burden and functional limitations, they need evidence about how best to deliver home-based palliative care (HBPC). We compare a standard HBPC model that includes routine home visits by nurses and prescribing clinicians with a tech-supported model that aims to promote timely interprofessional team coordination using video consultation with the prescribing clinician while the nurse is in the patient's home. We hypothesize that tech-supported HBPC will be no worse compared with standard HBPC.

Overdiagnosis of COPD in Subjects With Unobstructed Spirometry: A BOLD Analysis.

Background: There are several reports on underdiagnosis of COPD, while little is known about COPD overdiagnosis and overtreatment. We describe the overdiagnosis and the prevalence of spirometrically defined false positive COPD, as well as their relationship with overtreatment across 23 population samples in 20 countries participating in the BOLD Study between 2003 and 2012.

Methods: A false positive diagnosis of COPD was considered when participants reported a doctor's diagnosis of COPD, but postbronchodilator spirometry was unobstructed (FEV/FVC > LLN).

Impacts of the Affordable Care Act on Community Health Centers: Characteristics of New Patients and Early Changes in Delivery of Care.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on community health centers (CHCs). Using electronic health records from the Community Health Applied Research Network, we assessed new patient characteristics, office visit volume, and payer distribution among CHC patients before and after ACA implementation, 2011-2014 (n = 442 455). New patients post-ACA were younger, more likely to be female and have chronic health conditions, and utilized more primary care (P < .

Excess Clinical Comorbidity Among HIV-Infected Patients Accessing Primary Care in US Community Health Centers.

Objectives: As the life expectancy of people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has increased, the spectrum of illness has evolved. We evaluated whether people living with HIV accessing primary care in US community health centers had higher morbidity compared with HIV-uninfected patients receiving care at the same sites.

Methods: We compared data from electronic health records for 12 837 HIV-infected and 227 012 HIV-uninfected patients to evaluate the relative prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, dyslipidemia, and malignancies by HIV serostatus.

Personalized medicine and Hispanic health: improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities - a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop report.

Persons of Hispanic/Latino descent may represent different ancestries, ethnic and cultural groups and countries of birth. In the U.S.

Patient characteristics associated with poor inhaler technique among a cohort of patients with COPD.

Background: Inhaled therapies are the cornerstone of pharmacologic management for COPD. Each device requires a unique series of steps to be most effective, making appropriate instruction in inhaler technique a key part of the management of COPD.

Objectives: Examine characteristics of patients and devices associated with poor technique among patients with COPD.

HIV and Hepatitis C Virus Screening Practices in a Geographically Diverse Sample of American Community Health Centers.

Because of the advent of highly effective treatments, routine screening for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been recommended for many Americans. This study explored the perceived barriers surrounding routine HIV and HCV screening in a diverse sample of community health centers (CHCs). The Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) is a collaboration of CHCs, with a shared clinical database.

Respiratory and Bronchitic Symptoms Predict Intention to Quit Smoking among Current Smokers with, and at Risk for, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Rationale: Smoking cessation is the most important intervention for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). What leads smokers with COPD to quit smoking remains unknown.

Objectives: We sought to examine the association between respiratory symptoms and other markers of COPD severity with intention to quit smoking among a cohort of patients with probable COPD.

Medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders within a national community health center research network.

Background: The Affordable Care Act increases access to treatment services for people who suffer from substance use disorders (SUDs), including alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and opioid use disorders (OUDs). This increased access to treatment has broad implications for delivering health services and creates a dramatic need for transformation in clinical care, service lines, and collaborative care models. Medication-assisted treatments (MAT) are effective for helping SUD patients reach better outcomes.

Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Patients with Complex Diabetes Who Are Served by National Safety-Net Health Centers.

Objective: Recent research demonstrates an increased need to understand the contribution of social determinants of health (SDHs) in shaping an individual's health status and outcomes. We studied patients with diabetes in safety-net centers and evaluated associations of their disease complexity, demographic characteristics, comorbidities, insurance status, and primary language with their HbA1c level over time.

Methods: Adult patients with diabetes with at least 3 distinct primary care visits between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2013, were identified in the CHARN data warehouse.

Colorectal cancer screening at community health centers: A survey of clinicians' attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers.

Objective: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates remain lower among some racial/ethnic groups and individuals with low income or educational attainment who are often cared for within community health centers (CHCs). We surveyed clinicians in a network of CHCs to understand their attitudes, practice patterns, and perceived barriers to CRC screening.

Methods: A clinician survey was conducted in 2013 within the Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN).

Multicenter study comparing case definitions used to identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Rationale: Clinical trials in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) usually require evidence of airflow obstruction and clinical risk factors. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis codes or patient-reported physician diagnoses are often used for epidemiologic studies and performance improvement programs.

Objectives: To evaluate agreement between these case definitions for COPD and to assess the comparability of study populations identified as having COPD not using the clinical trial reference standard.

Measuring health-related quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: properties of the EQ-5D-5L and PROMIS-43 short form.

Background: The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 43-item short form (PROMIS-43) and the five-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) are recently developed measures of health-related quality of life (HRQL) that have potentially broad application in evaluating treatments and capturing burden of respiratory-related diseases. The aims of this study were: (1) to examine their psychometric properties in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and (2) to identify dimensions of HRQL that differ and do not differ by lung function.

Methods: We conducted a multi-center, cross-sectional study ("COPD Outcomes-based Network for Clinical Effectiveness & Research Translation" [CONCERT]).