Design of a novel multifunction decision support/alerting system for in-patient acute care, ICU and floor (AlertWatch AC).

Background: Multifunction surveillance alerting systems have been found to be beneficial for the operating room and labor and delivery. This paper describes a similar system developed for in-hospital acute care environments, AlertWatch Acute Care (AWAC).

Results: A decision support surveillance system has been developed which extracts comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) data including live data from physiologic monitors and ventilators and incorporates them into an integrated organ icon-based patient display.

Does Tennessee's Mandatory Waiting Period Law Systematically Prevent Residents of the Most Economically Disadvantaged Zip Codes from Accessing Abortion? An Exploratory Analysis.

Background: In 2015, Tennessee enacted a law requiring a 48-hour wait and two clinic visits to obtain an abortion.

Methods: Using data from a Tennessee clinic in 2016, we explore whether abortion seekers from the most economically disadvantaged ZIP codes and those who lived farther from the clinic were less likely to return for the abortion procedure at the second visit.

Results: Rates of non-return were 44%-91% higher among residents of neighborhoods in which ≥25% of the population was below federal poverty level, ≥25% of the female population was below federal poverty level, and median annual household income was <$35,000.

Feasibility of Multilevel Pregnancy Tests for Telemedicine Abortion Service Follow-Up: A Pilot Study.

Context: Telemedicine clients wishing to confirm a successful medication abortion outside of a clinic setting are commonly instructed to use high-sensitivity urine pregnancy tests, which can take up to four weeks to yield accurate results. Multilevel urine pregnancy tests (MLPTs), which provide accurate results in one week, are a promising alternative, but their use has not been evaluated within telemedicine services.

Methods: From November 2017 to May 2018, 165 eligible and consenting pregnant people who contacted safe2choose-an organization providing telemedicine abortion services internationally-for medication abortion were enrolled in a pilot study and mailed a package containing medication abortion drugs, two MLPTs and instructions.

Exploring potential interest in missed period pills in two US states.

Objective: Missed period pills (MPP) are uterine evacuation medications used for treatment of delayed menses without prior pregnancy confirmation. This study explores potential interest in missed period pills in two US states.

Study Design: We enrolled people seeking pregnancy test services at nine health centers in two US states between June 2015 and October 2017.

Scaling up interventions: findings and lessons learned from an external evaluation of Niger's National Initiative to reduce postpartum hemorrhage.

Background: Niger has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in Sub Saharan Africa, of which postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause. In 2014, Health and Development International and the Ministry of Health of Niger launched an initiative to introduce and scale-up three PPH interventions in health facilities nationwide: misoprostol, uterine balloon tamponade, and the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment.

Methods: A two-phase mixed-methods evaluation was conducted to assess implementation of the initiative.