Results from the Trial Using Motivational Interviewing, Positive Affect, and Self-Affirmation in African Americans with Hypertension (TRIUMPH).

Objective: Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of combining positive affect and self-affirmation strategies with motivational interviewing in achieving blood pressure control among hypertensive African Americans (AA) compared with AA hypertensives in an education-only control group.

Design: Randomized trial.

Setting: Ambulatory practices in the South Bronx and Harlem, New York City.

Medicaid managed care: how to target efforts to reduce costs.

Background: To be successful, cost control efforts must target Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) beneficiaries likely to incur high costs. The critical question is how to identify potential high cost beneficiaries with simple, reproducible, transparent, auditable criteria. Our objective in this analysis was to evaluate whether the total burden of comorbidity, assessed by the Charlson comorbidity index, could identify MMC beneficiaries who incurred high health care costs.

Ethical considerations for conducting health disparities research in community health centers: a social-ecological perspective.

Community health centers (CHCs) provide optimal research settings. They serve a high-risk, medically underserved population in the greatest need of intervention. Low socioeconomic status renders this population particularly vulnerable to research misconduct.

The Trial Using Motivational Interviewing and Positive Affect and Self-Affirmation in African-Americans with Hypertension (TRIUMPH): from theory to clinical trial implementation.

This paper describes the application of a translational research model in developing The Trial Using Motivational Interviewing and Positive Affect and Self-Affirmation in African-Americans with Hypertension (TRIUMPH), a theoretically-based, randomized controlled trial. TRIUMPH targets blood pressure control among African-Americans with hypertension in a community health center and public hospital setting. TRIUMPH applies positive affect, self-affirmation, and motivational interviewing as strategies to increase medication adherence and blood pressure control.

Associations between posttraumatic stress disorder and hemoglobin A1(C) in low-income minority patients with diabetes.

Objective: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among low-income minorities and is associated with poorer health. However, the association between PTSD and hemoglobin A1(C) (A1(C)) among patients with diabetes has not been fully described. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate associations between PTSD and A1(C) among low-income minorities with diabetes.

Patient care outside of office visits: a primary care physician time study.

Background: Patient care provided by primary care physicians outside of office visits is important for care coordination and may serve as a substitute for office visits.

Objectives: To describe primary care physicians' ambulatory patient care activities outside of office visits ("AOVs") and their perceptions of the extent to which AOVs substitute for visits and may be performed by support staff.

Design: Cross-sectional direct observational study.

The prevalence of cardiovascular risk conditions and awareness among a Latino subgroup: Dominicans in northern Manhattan.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risks and identify early opportunities for prevention among Dominican adults residing in New York City.

Study Design And Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of Dominicans recruited through extensive outreach in the community. All participants were interviewed and received an anthropometeric and laboratory examination pertaining to cardiovascular risk.

Reducing frequent flyer emergency department visits.

Accessing comprehensive and timely health care services in the U.S. continues to be a significant problem, particularly for low-income and socially marginalized groups in urban environments.