Publications by authors named "Tracy Makuvire"
Background: IMPLEMENT-HF demonstrated a virtual team-based care strategy was safe and improved prescription of guideline directed medical therapy (GDMT) in hospitalized patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). We evaluated differences in efficacy and safety outcomes by ethnicity in IMPLEMENT-HF.
Methods: IMPLEMENT-HF evaluated a provider-facing virtual team-based care strategy vs.
Online education materials are widely used by patients and caregivers to understand the management of complex chronic diseases such as heart failure (HF). Organizations such as the American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health recommend that materials be written at a 6th-grade reading level. The current study examined the readability and accessibility of online education materials for patients with HF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Equity in Heart Transplant Project, Inc (TEHTP), a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2022, addresses financial and social barriers impeding access to heart transplantation for patients with end-stage heart failure in the United States. Rooted in the World Health Organization's declaration on health as a fundamental right, TEHTP champions equitable care. Financial impediments disproportionately affect minority populations, perpetuating disparities in heart transplant outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Women are less likely to receive left ventricular assist devices and are more likely to experience poor outcomes. However, how gender impacts LVAD decision-making regarding LVAD implantation and the effects of that decision remains unknown.
Methods: We performed a sub-group analysis from the stepped-wedge DECIDE-LVAD trial, which tested a decision-support intervention for patients considering LVAD therapy.
Background: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a major contributor to mortality in low-and middle-income-countries (LMICs). However, trends in IHD in females in LMICs are not well described.
Methods: We analyzed the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study from 1990 to 2019 for males and females with IHD from the ten most-populous LMICs (India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Philippines, Egypt, Vietnam, Iran, and Afghanistan).
There are many challenges in communication and cultural barriers for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) who suffer from serious illnesses. Palliative care utilization among this population remains limited and the experiences of medical interpreters during palliative care encounters remain understudied. We conducted semistructured video interviews with interpreters working at an academic medical center.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) face worse health outcomes due to communication issues, which medical interpreters aim to address through their multifaceted roles in healthcare.
- A qualitative study of 20 medical interpreters revealed their perspectives on communication challenges, emphasizing their roles as language interpreters, cultural mediators, and patient advocates.
- The study identified barriers to effective interpretation and suggested solutions, such as using the teach-back method and debriefing, to improve interactions with LEP patients and enhance overall care.
Background: Limited English proficiency (LEP) heart failure (HF) patients experience worse HF outcomes, including higher readmission rates and emergency department visits. To elucidate the challenges this population faces, the authors interviewed interpreters to identify gaps in care quality and ways to improve care for LEP HF patients.
Objectives: The authors sought to understand the challenges facing HF patients with LEP using medical interpreters' perspectives.
Background: Traditionally, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is diagnosed when there is an early peak in breath hydrogen or methane. Given unclear intestinal transit time in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients, it is unknown if the traditional approach at diagnosing SIBO is adequate in this patient population.
Aim: To assess oral-cecal transit time (OCTT) and its impact on the interpretation of breath tests in the diagnosis of SIBO in patients with RYGB.