Mental Health Support for First Responders Provided Outside of California's Workers' Compensation System.

Objective: Concern about psychiatric injuries for first responders has grown. We examine alternatives to workers' compensation (WC).

Method: We conducted 15 interviews across 5 California departments contracted with non-WC mental health (MH) providers.

Implementation facilitators and barriers of stress first aid to protect mental health of frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on frontline health care workers (HCWs), leading to poor mental and physical well-being. We conducted a large, cluster randomized controlled trial to implement an adapted Stress First Aid (SFA) intervention to support HCW well-being using a train-the-trainer (TTT) approach for rapid deployment in the United States and collected qualitative data through interviews to understand implementation. The goal of this study is to understand barriers and facilitators to deploying SFA using a TTT model, with particular emphasis on the acceptability, uptake, and barriers from the implementation.

Transforming organ donation and transplantation: Strategies for increasing donor participation and system efficiency.

Organ transplantation is a critical medical procedure that saves and improves lives, yet the system faces significant challenges that result in many missed opportunities. This comprehensive review examines the factors contributing to these missed opportunities and the concerns of potential donors. The shortage of donors remains a major issue, exacerbated by low registration rates, family consent refusals, and strict medical and health criteria.

Referrals and Black-White Coronary Heart Disease Treatment Disparities: A Qualitative Study of Primary Care Physician Perspectives.

Background: Black-White coronary heart disease (CHD) treatment disparities are well documented, especially regarding the use of high-quality hospitals. Physician referral networks may play a role.

Objective: To understand how primary care physicians (PCPs) make specialty referrals for CHD treatment and how referrals may contribute to treatment disparities.

Support for a Single Underlying Dimension of Self-Reported Health in a Sample of Adults with Low Back Pain in the United States.

There is increasing interest in measuring "whole person" health and deriving an overall summary score. Underlying physical and mental health dimensions have been found consistently in prior studies of self-reported health, but it is unclear whether a single underlying health factor is supported across health domains. We examine the dimensionality of nine domains from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-29+2 profile measure, the PROMIS social isolation scale, the Personal Wellbeing Index, and the EQ-5D-5L preference score in a sample of 1,256 adults with back pain in the United States: mean age was 55 (range 18-94), 52% female, 74% non-Hispanic White, 61% were married or living with a spouse, and the highest level of education completed for 35% of the sample was a high school degree or general education diploma.

A Qualitative Assessment of South Africa's Central Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution Program for Differentiated Antiretroviral Therapy Delivery in Umlazi Township, South Africa: Client Perspectives after 12 Months of Participation.

South Africa's Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) program provides community-based medication delivery for clinically stable people with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART). To evaluate CCMDD implementation, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 60 PWH enrolled in CCMDD for at least 12 months. In a directed content analysis based on the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM) implementation science framework, key themes were compared with qualitative data collected from PWH enrolling in CCMDD at an earlier time-point.

Dropout in a Longitudinal Survey of Amazon Mechanical Turk Workers With Low Back Pain: Observational Study.

Background: Surveys of internet panels such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) are common in health research. Nonresponse in longitudinal studies can limit inferences about change over time.

Objective: This study aimed to (1) describe the patterns of survey responses and nonresponse among MTurk members with back pain, (2) identify factors associated with survey response over time, (3) assess the impact of nonresponse on sample characteristics, and (4) assess how well inverse probability weighting can account for differences in sample composition.

Associations of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Clinician and Group Survey Scores with Interventions and Site, Provider, and Patient Factors: A Systematic Review of the Evidence.

Patient experience is a key aspect of care quality. Since the 2007 release of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Clinician and Group (CG-CAHPS) survey, no systematic review of factors associated with CG-CAHPS scores has been reported. We reviewed 52 peer-reviewed English language articles published in the United States using CG-CAHPS data.

Association between days spent at home and functional status and health among persons living with dementia.

Background: Many persons living with dementias (PLWD) prefer to remain at home as long as possible, and days spent at home (DAH)-defined as the time an individual spends outside of healthcare facilities-has emerged as a person-centred outcome measure in this population. We examined the association between DAH and functional status and health among PLWD.

Methods: Utilizing a nationally representative cohort of individuals age 65 and older in the United States with dementia from the 2010-2018 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we assessed the relationship between an ordinal categorical DAH variable and number of activities of daily living (ADLs) (range 0-10; 10 being independent), mobility (0-5; 5 being mobile), and self-rated health (SRH) (0-4; 4 being excellent), controlling for patient characteristics.

Roles of Chaplains and Clergy in Spiritual Care for African Americans in Hospice: A Pilot Study.

Context: Spiritual care is patient and caregiver spiritual/religious needs and those needs. Caregivers of African American hospice patients are more likely to report worse emotional/religious support. Yet, spiritual care delivery and roles of community clergy and chaplains for African American hospice patients are not well understood.

How the CAHPS Clinician and Group Patient Experience Survey Data Have Been Used in Research: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: Patient experience is a key aspect of care quality. The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Clinician and Group (CG-CAHPS) survey measures experiences with ambulatory care providers to inform public reporting, pay-for-performance initiatives, interventions, patient choice of physicians/practices, and quality improvement. Since the survey's 2007 release, no systematic review of its use in research has been published.

Understanding uptake of information about innovations among emergency department clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, little was known about managing sick patients, but emergency department (ED) clinicians had to decide which treatments and care processes to adopt. Our objective was to describe how ED clinicians learned about innovations and how they assessed them for credibility during the pandemic.

Methods: We purposively sampled clinicians from hospital-based EDs to conduct focus groups with ED clinicians and staff.

Comparison of the EQ-5D-5L and the patient-reported outcomes measurement information system preference score (PROPr) in the United States.

Background: In contrast to prior research, our study presents longitudinal comparisons of the EQ-5D-5L and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) preference (PROPr) scores. This fills a gap in the literature, providing a much-needed understanding of these preference-based measures and their applications in healthcare research. Furthermore, our study provides equations to estimate one measure from the other, a tool that can significantly facilitate comparisons across studies.

Patient Surveys Are Used Most Often to Assess Health Care Innovations, Rigorous Methods Are Less Common.

The Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Innovations Exchange (IE) was developed to collect and report on innovative approaches to improving health care. The team reviewed 348 IE innovations including patient-reported satisfaction or experience measures. Innovations most often measured overall rating of care (61% of innovations), followed by access (52%) and provider-patient communication (12%).

A systematic review of experimentally tested implementation strategies across health and human service settings: evidence from 2010-2022.

Background: Studies of implementation strategies range in rigor, design, and evaluated outcomes, presenting interpretation challenges for practitioners and researchers. This systematic review aimed to describe the body of research evidence testing implementation strategies across diverse settings and domains, using the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) taxonomy to classify strategies and the Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to classify outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies examining implementation strategies from 2010-2022 and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021235592).

How Much Does Intravenous Fluid Cause Hematocrit to Drop? Improving Interpretation of Hematocrit Toward Better Post-Hemorrhage Care.

Introduction: Hemorrhage is assessed, at least in part, via hematocrit testing. To differentiate unexpected drops in hematocrit because of ongoing hemorrhage versus expected drops as a result of known hemorrhage and intravenous fluid administration, we model expected post-operative hematocrit values accounting for fluid balance and intraoperative estimated blood loss (EBL) among patients without substantial post-operative bleeding.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed patient-level data from the electronic health record of an academic medical center for all non-pregnant adults admitted for elective knee or hip arthroplasty from November 2013 to September 2022 who did not require blood products.

Misaligned Supports: Differences in Reported Health Care Worker Well-being Supports Provided and Needed During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: To describe the well-being supports provided to health care workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in health centers and hospitals.

Design: Cross-sectional qualitative interviews before and after implementation of a peer-based support intervention.

Setting: Purposively sampled hospitals and health centers across the US.

Testing an Intervention to Improve Health Care Worker Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Stress First Aid is an evidence-informed peer-to-peer support intervention to mitigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of health care workers (HCWs).

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored peer-to-peer support intervention compared with usual care to support HCWs' well-being at hospitals and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cluster randomized clinical trial comprised 3 cohorts of HCWs who were enrolled from March 2021 through July 2022 at 28 hospitals and FQHCs in the US.

Surgical appropriateness nudges: Developing behavioral science nudges to integrate appropriateness criteria into the decision making of spine surgeons.

Background: Substantial variation exists in surgeon decision making. In response, multiple specialty societies have established criteria for the appropriate use of spine surgery. Yet few strategies exist to facilitate routine use of appropriateness criteria by surgeons.

Identifying Strategies for Strengthening the Health Care Workforce in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Like the United States as a whole, Virginia faces a significant shortage of health care workers in nursing, primary care, and behavioral health. If current trends persist, these shortages will increase across Virginia. The authors of this study identify interventions that can help the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (VHWDA) address these health care workforce shortages.

Pragmatic implementation of comprehensive dementia care management: The Cedars-Sinai C.A.R.E.S. Program preliminary data.

Background: The United States faces a growing challenge with over 6.5 million people living with dementia (PLwD). PLwD and their caregivers struggle with cognitive, functional, behavioral, and psychosocial issues.

Financial Interventions to Improve Screening in Primary Care: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Although health screenings offer timely detection of health conditions and enable early intervention, adoption is often poor. How might financial interventions create the necessary incentives and resources to improve screening in primary care settings? This systematic review aimed to answer this question.

Methods: Peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2023 were identified and categorized by the level of intervention (practice or individual) and type of intervention, specifically alternative payment models (APMs), fee-for-service (FFS), capitation, and capital investments.