Two-Year Follow-Up Study of Health-Related Quality of Life Among Transgender and Gender Expansive Youth Receiving Gender-Affirming Care.

Purpose: To examine changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL), this 2-year follow-up study reassessed the HRQOL of transgender and gender expansive (TG/GE) young people enrolled in a patient registry at the Gender Wellness Center (GWC) in upstate New York.

Methods: Registry patients had to have a gender-affirming care follow-up visit at the GWC within a 2 year window (+6 months) of their baseline survey to complete follow-up. Youth <18 years of age completed the Child Health Questionnaire-Child Form 87 (CHQ-CF87); youth >18 years of age completed the Short Form-36v2 (SF-36v2).

Examining differences in time to appointment and no-show rates between rural telehealth users and non-users.

Background: Telehealth has undergone widespread implementation since 2020 and is considered an invaluable tool to improve access to healthcare, particularly in rural areas. However, telehealth's applicability may be limited for certain populations including those who live in rural, medically underserved communities. While broadband access is a recognized barrier, other important factors including age and education influence a person's ability or preference to engage with telehealth via video telehealth or a patient portal.

Exploring Multiple Dimensions of Access to and Preferences for Telehealth Use.

Introduction: During the pandemic, telehealth became critically important in care provision. Yet, research exposed the inequities facing various groups of people in terms of accessing telehealth. The purpose of this analysis was to examine the various dimensions of access that impact a person's ability to use and preference for telehealth.

Trends in telehealth use among a cohort of rural patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: Rural populations faced unique challenges to healthcare access during the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis assesses trends in digital health technology use at the onset of the pandemic and describes digital health behaviors among a cohort of patients within a rural integrated healthcare network throughout the first 3 years of the pandemic.

Methods: We used data from both the electronic health record (EHR) and a patient survey.

Remote delivery of self-management education workshops for adults with chronic pain, 2020-2021.

Objectives: We intended to assess changes in pain-related outcomes among rural adults who completed 6-week self-management programs offered remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We offered the Chronic Pain Self-Management Program and Chronic Disease Self-Management Program between May 2020 and December 2021. Delivery mode options included 2½-hour weekly videoconference, mailed toolkit plus 1-hour weekly conference call, and mailed toolkit alone.

Prescribing Patterns for Long-Acting Inhaled Bronchodilators Among Rural Adults With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is prevalent in rural areas of the USA. Long-acting inhaled bronchodilators (LABDs) are a key tool in COPD management and are underutilized. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rates of prescriptions for LABD differed by payer among patients with COPD in a rural healthcare network.

Impact of pet dog or cat exposure during childhood on mental illness during adolescence: a cohort study.

Background: In our prior study of 643 children, ages 4-11 years, children with pet dogs had lower anxiety scores than children without pet dogs. This follow-up study examines whether exposure to pet dogs or cats during childhood reduces the risk of adolescent mental health (MH) disorders.

Methods: Using a retrospective cohort study design, we merged our prior study database with electronic medical record (EMR) data to create an analytic database.

Evaluation of a Peer Led Chronic Pain Self-Management Program in a Rural Population.

Background: The Chronic Pain Self-Management Program is an evidence-based intervention that has been shown to be efficacious in reducing symptoms of chronic pain. However, there is a paucity of research examining CPSMP in a predominantly rural population. The purpose was to evaluate patient-reported outcomes of in-person peer-led CPSMP workshops offered in a rural region in 2018 and 2019.

Comparison of antibody response durability of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and Ad26.COV2.S SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in healthcare workers.

Objectives: There are limited comparative immunologic durability data post COVID-19 vaccinations.

Methods: Approximately 8.4 months after primary COVID-19 vaccination, 647 healthcare workers completed surveys about COVID-19 vaccinations/infections and blood draws.

Number of Months of Baseball in the Previous Year and Preseason Olecranon Tenderness: Risk Factors for Shoulder and Elbow Injuries in High-School Baseball Players.

Objective: To identify risk factors for shoulder and elbow injuries in high-school baseball position players and pitchers in the preseason history and physical examination.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Community high-school baseball.

Intranasal Midazolam With Lidocaine for Sedation in Pediatric Myringotomy and Tube Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background And Aims: Intranasal midazolam (INM) sedation for children has been associated with side effects. This prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessed whether the addition of lidocaine to INM (INM+L) affected efficacy or discharge time among pediatric patients undergoing elective bilateral myringotomy and tube placement (BMT).

Methods: This trial enrolled children aged between 18 months to seven years undergoing BMT, physical status class 1 or 2, in a single academic medical center.

Loneliness Among Rural Self-Management Education Program Enrollees During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: Pandemic-related isolation may exacerbate loneliness among rural adults; we sought to characterize loneliness and associated factors among rural adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Remotely delivered self-management education (SME) workshops, rural upstate New York, May-December 2020.

Evaluating the Implementation of the Diabetes Self-Management Program in a Rural Population.

The evidence-based Diabetes Self-Management Program (DSMP) has been shown to improve a variety of health-related outcomes, but the program has been challenging to implement in rural areas, and rural dissemination has been low. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effect of implementing the DSMP on self-reported outcomes in a rural region. Through a collaboration with multiple partners, the Living Well program delivered 28 DSMP workshops from 2017 to 2019.

Recruitment and engagement in disease self-management programs: Special concerns for rural residents reporting depression and/or anxiety.

Chronic disease self-management education (CDSME) programs benefit individuals with chronic diseases, including mental health conditions, by improving health-related outcomes and increasing engagement with the health care system. Recruiting individuals with a history of mental health conditions to participate in CDSME is challenging, particularly in rural, underserved areas. Hence, it is important to understand factors associated with the presence of mental health conditions, and impacts of CDSME on patient engagement.

Tick magnets: The occupational risk of tick-borne disease exposure in forestry workers in New York.

Background: Outdoor workers, such as forestry workers, are at an increased risk for contracting tick-borne diseases due to their prolonged time spent in tick habitats. Although well studied in Europe, no studies have been conducted with forestry workers in the Northeastern United States since 1990s.

Methods: Full-time forestry workers and two comparison groups (volunteer firefighter/first responders and indoor/healthcare workers) within New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Regions 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were recruited for this cross-sectional seroprevalence study.

Implementation of Evidence-Based Disease Self-Management Programs in a Rural Region: Leveraging and Linking Community and Health Care System Assets.

Context: Rural populations experience both a higher prevalence of and risk for premature death from chronic conditions than do their urban counterparts. Yet barriers to implement community-based chronic disease self-management programs persist.

Program: The Living Well program, a multi-sector collaboration between a rural health care system and a network of community-based organizations, has offered the 6-week evidence-based Chronic Disease Self-Management and Diabetes Self-Management workshops since 2017.

Worry and Wisdom: A Qualitative Study of Transgender Elders' Perspectives on Aging.

While lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) elders face a multitude of barriers to healthy aging, little is known about needs and concerns specific to transgender elders, except that they face many self-perceived challenges to healthy aging, which exist at the individual, community, and institutional levels. To further understand these needs, we explored the perspectives of transgender individuals aged 65 and older on health care, expectations of aging, concerns for the future, and advice for young transgender people. We performed 19 semistructured interviews with individuals who identify as transgender elders, 10 transgender women and 9 transgender men.

Evaluating the Evolution of Social Networks: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Analysis of an Agricultural, Fishing and Forestry Occupational Health Research Center.

As part of our evaluation of the NIOSH-funded Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (NEC), we present methodology, findings and the potential implications of a sequential social network analysis (SNA) conducted over ten years. Assessing the effectiveness of the center's scientific projects was our overarching evaluation goal. The evaluation design employed SNA to (a) look at changes to the center's network over time by visualizing relationships between center collaborators annually, (b) document collaborative ties and (c) identify particularly strong or weak areas of the network.

Healthy Lifestyle Counseling by Healthcare Practitioners: A Time to Event Analysis.

Introduction: Medical societies have heavily prioritized preventive care, as evidenced by numerous best practice guidelines supporting counseling patients on lifestyle factors. This report examines preventive counseling by healthcare providers in a rural healthcare system. We utilized electronic medical records to determine whether patient characteristics and chronic conditions were predictors of preventive counseling, and what the average time-interval was before a patient received this counseling.

Respiratory Disease in Migrant Farmworkers.

Introduction: Respiratory problems are prevalent among persons who work in agriculture, however, publications examining the respiratory status in LatinX farmworkers are limited. The purpose of this study is to assess the respiratory status of LatinX farmworkers across New York State.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data gathered from Spanish language OSHA respiratory questionnaires completed between January 2017 and March 2019.

Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration: a departmental financial comparison in a rural hospital.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the charges and payments associated with bone marrow aspiration and biopsies performed by hematology/oncology specialists versus interventional radiology specialists at Bassett Medical Center located in a rural area of New York State. Charges pertained to what the hospital charged for the procedure and payment refers to the reimbursement the hospital received. Our secondary objectives were to compare specimen quality by procedure and to determine whether body mass index was associated with which specialist performed the procedure.

Distribution of Bone Contusion Patterns in Acute Noncontact Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Torn Knees.

Background: Bone contusions are commonly observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in individuals who have sustained a noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Time from injury to image acquisition affects the ability to visualize these bone contusions, as contusions resolve with time.

Purpose: To quantify the number of bone contusions and their locations (lateral tibial plateau [LTP], lateral femoral condyle [LFC], medial tibial plateau [MTP], and medial femoral condyle [MFC]) observed on MRI scans of noncontact ACL-injured knees acquired within 6 weeks of injury.

Rural context, single institution prospective outcomes after enhanced recovery colorectal surgery protocol implementation.

Background: Rural hospitals face unique challenges to adopting Enhanced Recovery protocols after colorectal surgical procedures. There are few examples of successful implementation in the United States, and fewer yet of prospective, outcomes-based trials.

Methods: This study drew data from elective bowel resection prospectively collected, retrospectively analyzed cases 2 years prior (n = 214) and 3 years after (n = 224) implementing an ERAS protocol at a small, rural health network in upstate New York.