Drivers of vaccine hesitancy among vulnerable populations in India: a cross-sectional multi-state study.

Objectives: India's Covid-19 vaccination campaign engaged frontline workers (FLWs) to encourage vaccination among vulnerable segments of society. The FLWs report encountering a variety of barriers to vaccination and are often unsuccessful despite multiple visits to the same person. This cross-sectional study aims to pinpoint which of these barriers drive vaccine hesitancy among these segments, to help streamline vaccine communication, including FLW training, to better safeguard the population.

Correction: Durability of the Treatment Effects of an 8-Week Self-administered Home-Based Virtual Reality Program for Chronic Low Back Pain: 6-Month Follow-up Study of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/37480.].

Durability of the Treatment Effects of an 8-Week Self-administered Home-Based Virtual Reality Program for Chronic Low Back Pain: 6-Month Follow-up Study of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: We previously reported the efficacy of an 8-week home-based therapeutic immersive virtual reality (VR) program in a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study. Community-based adults with self-reported chronic low back pain were randomized 1:1 to receive either (1) a 56-day immersive therapeutic pain relief skills VR program (EaseVRx) or (2) a 56-day sham VR program. Immediate posttreatment results revealed the superiority of therapeutic VR over sham VR for reducing pain intensity; pain-related interference with activity, mood, and stress (but not sleep); physical function; and sleep disturbance.

Three-Month Follow-Up Results of a Double-Blind, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of 8-Week Self-Administered At-Home Behavioral Skills-Based Virtual Reality (VR) for Chronic Low Back Pain.

Prior work established post-treatment efficacy for an 8-week home-based therapeutic virtual reality (VR) program in a double-blind, parallel arm, randomized placebo-controlled study. Participants were randomized 1:1 to 1 of 2 56-day VR programs: 1) a therapeutic immersive pain relief skills VR program; or 2) a Sham VR program within an identical commercial VR headset. Immediate post-treatment results demonstrated clinically meaningful and superior reduction for therapeutic VR compared to Sham VR for average pain intensity, indices of pain-related interference (activity, mood, stress but not sleep), physical function, and sleep disturbance.

Correction: Self-Administered Behavioral Skills-Based At-Home Virtual Reality Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/25291.].

Patient-centered prescription opioid tapering in community outpatients with chronic pain: 2- to 3-year follow-up in a subset of patients.

Objective: We previously reported promising results for a 4-month patient-centered voluntary opioid tapering study. Key questions remain about the durability of effects and possible risks after opioid reduction. We provide the longest follow-up data to date for prospective opioid tapering: 2- to 3-year follow-up for pain intensity and daily opioid use in a subset of patients from our original 4-month opioid tapering study.

An 8-Week Self-Administered At-Home Behavioral Skills-Based Virtual Reality Program for Chronic Low Back Pain: Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial Conducted During COVID-19.

Background: Chronic low back pain is the most prevalent chronic pain condition worldwide and access to behavioral pain treatment is limited. Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology that may provide effective behavioral therapeutics for chronic pain.

Objective: We aimed to conduct a double-blind, parallel-arm, single-cohort, remote, randomized placebo-controlled trial for a self-administered behavioral skills-based VR program in community-based individuals with self-reported chronic low back pain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-Administered Behavioral Skills-Based At-Home Virtual Reality Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Chronic pain is one of the most common and debilitating health conditions. Treatments for chronic low back pain typically focus on biomedical treatment approaches. While psychosocial treatments exist, multiple barriers prevent broad access.

Psychometric validation of the reconstructed version of the assessment of reasoning tool.

Background: Assessing learners' competence in diagnostic reasoning is challenging and unstandardized in medical education. We developed a theory-informed, behaviorally anchored rubric, the Assessment of Reasoning Tool (ART), with content and response process validity. This study gathered evidence to support the internal structure and the interpretation of measurements derived from this tool.

Self-Administered Skills-Based Virtual Reality Intervention for Chronic Pain: Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Background: Patients with chronic pain often have limited access to comprehensive care that includes behavioral pain management strategies. Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology and emerging digital behavioral pain therapy with analgesic efficacy for acute pain. We found no scientific literature on skills-based VR behavioral programs for chronic pain populations.

Acute postcesarean pain is associated with in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding, length of stay and post-partum depression.

Study Objective: The primary aim of the proposed study was to determine the association between postoperative pain and breastfeeding after cesarean delivery during hospital stay.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Postoperative recovery area and operating room.

Isolating red flags to enhance diagnosis (I-RED): An experimental vignette study.

Objective: To investigate effects of a cognitive intervention based on isolation of red flags (I-RED) on diagnostic accuracy of 'do-not-miss diagnoses.'

Design: A 2 × 2 randomized case vignette-based experiment with manipulation of I-RED strategy between subjects and case complexity within subjects.

Setting: Two university-based residency programs.

Assessing the Impact of Peer Educator Outreach on the Likelihood and Acceleration of Clinic Utilization among Sex Workers.

Objective: Peer-led outreach is a critical element of HIV and STI-reduction interventions aimed at sex workers. We study the association between peer-led outreach to sex workers and the time to utilize health facilities for timely STI syndromic-detection and treatment. Using data on the timing of peer-outreach interventions and clinic visits, we utilize an Extended Cox model to assess whether peer educator outreach intensity is associated with accelerated clinic utilization among sex workers.

Impact of Urine Drug Screening on No Shows and Dropouts among Chronic Pain Patients: A Propensity-Matched Cohort Study.

Background: The last 2 decades have seen a substantial increase in both the prescription of opioids for managing chronic pain, and an increase in opioid-related deaths in the US. Urine drug screening (UDS) is the de facto monitoring tool aimed at detecting and deterring opioid misuse.

Objective: We study whether administering UDS on pain patients influences post-screening behavior of no-shows and dropouts.

The role of cost and response-efficacy in persuasiveness of health recommendations.

The persuasiveness of a health recommendation, among other things, is a function of the cost of engaging in the recommended behavior--such as money, time, effort, and discomfort--and the response-efficacy, defined as the likelihood that adherence to the recommendation would lead to the desired goal. This research investigates how cost and response-efficacy combine when influencing persuasion. Several theories of health behavior view cost and response-efficacy as having independent effects on persuasion, that is, a weighted additive impact.

Attribute Framing and Goal Framing Effects in Health Decisions.

Levin, Schneider, and Gaeth (LSG, 1998) have distinguished among three types of framing-risky choice, attribute, and goal framing-to reconcile conflicting findings in the literature. In the research reported here, we focus on attribute and goal framing. LSG propose that positive frames should be more effective than negative frames in the context of attribute framing, and negative frames should be more effective than positive frames in the context of goal framing.