Understanding social network support, composition, and structure among cancer caregivers.

Objective: We examined the social network support, composition, and structure of pediatric cancer caregivers.

Methods: We used a self-report survey to collect egocentric social network data from 107 caregivers of pediatric cancer patients and calculated descriptive statistics to examine cancer-related support network composition, function, and structure. We then ran logistic regressions to examine the relationships between network characteristics and overall satisfaction with social support.

Adapting Community Educational Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing the Feasibility and Efficacy of a Lung Cancer Screening Educational Intervention by Mode of Delivery.

Few eligible patients receive lung cancer screening. We developed the Lung AIR (awareness, information, and resources) intervention to increase community education regarding lung cancer screening. The intervention was designed as an in-person group intervention; however, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated adapting the mode of delivery.

Behavioral parenting skills as a novel target for improving medication adherence in young children: Feasibility and acceptability of the intervention.

In pediatric cancer care, medication non-adherence is a significant driver of avoidable suffering and death. There is a lack of interventions designed for families of young children, where patient medication refusal/avoidance is a common barrier to adherence. We developed the intervention which focuses on caregiver skills training to help young children take medicine calmly and without use of restraint techniques.

Interventions to deprescribe potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly: Lost in translation?

What Is Known And Objective: Use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) remains common in older adults, despite the easy availability of screening tools such as the Beers and Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions (STOPP) criteria. Multiple published studies have implemented these screening tools to encourage deprescribing of PIMs, with mixed results. Little is known about the reasons behind the success or failure of these interventions, or what could be done to improve their impact.

A pharmacist-led pilot program to facilitate deprescribing in a primary care clinic.

Objective: To develop and pilot-test a model in which a community-based clinical pharmacist was incorporated as part of a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) to make deprescribing recommendations targeted at potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in seniors.

Setting: A family medicine patient-centered medical home (PCMH) clinic in Buffalo, NY.

Practice Description: Implementation and evaluation of a pilot program incorporating a pharmacist-provided medication review targeting PIMs in seniors as part of a Medicare AWV.

Challenges to and Strategies for Formal Service Utilization among Caregivers in an Underserved Community.

Family caregivers face enormous challenges when attempting to oversee the medical, legal, financial, and daily affairs of loved ones with chronic or life-limiting illness. While formal services and agencies exist to assist caregivers with some of these tasks, caregivers in underserved communities do not utilize these services, or utilize them with unsatisfactory results. This study used focus groups (N = 5 groups) with underserved, minority caregivers (N = 22) to explore their experiences related to care provision, including barriers to support service use and challenges navigating systems related to the broad spectrum of caregiving demands.

Life Course Stage and Social Support Mobilization for End-of-Life Caregivers.

Caregivers of terminally ill patients are at risk for anxiety, depression, and social isolation. Social support from friends, family members, neighbors, and health care professionals can potentially prevent or mitigate caregiver strain. While previous research documents the importance of social support in helping end-of-life caregivers cope with caregiving demands, little is known about differences in social support experiences among caregivers at different life course stages.

Caregiver informational support in different patient care settings at end of life.

Caregivers of the terminally ill face many complicated tasks including providing direct patient care, communicating with clinicians, and managing the logistical demands of daily activities. They require instructive information at all points in the illness process and across several settings where patients receive end-of-life care. This study examines how the setting where a patient receives end-of-life care affects caregivers' informational support needs by thematically analyzing data from caregiver interviews and clinical observations.

End-of-Life Caregiver Social Support Activation: The Roles of Hospice Clinicians and Professionals.

Caregivers of those with life-limiting illness face many complicated tasks, including providing direct patient care, communicating with professionals, and managing the logistical demands of daily activities. To assist with caregiving responsibilities, caregivers require social support from social network members at all points in the illness process. This study analyzes themes from interviews with 61 caregivers of patients enrolled in hospice services to identify the types of support caregivers mobilize from new social network members for social support during the end-of-life care process.

Where people look for online health information.

Objectives: To identify health-related websites Americans are using, demographic characteristics associated with certain website type and how website type shapes users' online information seeking experiences.

Methods: Data from the Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycle 1 were used. User-identified websites were categorised into four types: government sponsored, commercially based, academically affiliated and search engines.