Reducing Diabetic Ketoacidosis Readmissions with a Hospital-School-Based Improvement Partnership.

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). Baseline data showed 139 of 182 DKA readmissions (76.4%) were due to missed basal insulin dosing.

Gabapentin, Concomitant Prescription of Opioids, and Benzodiazepines among Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: Gabapentinoids, commonly used for treating neuropathic pain, may be misused and coprescribed with opioid and benzodiazepine, increasing the risk of mortality and dependency among kidney transplant recipients.

Methods: We identified adult kidney transplant recipients who enrolled in Medicare Part D in 2006-2017 using the United States Renal Data System/Medicare claims database. We characterized recipients' post-transplant concomitant prescription of gabapentinoids, opioids, and benzodiazepine stratified by transplant year and recipient factors (age, sex, race, and diabetes).

Sorting through life: evaluating patient-important measures of success in a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment program.

Background: Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is the gold standard treatment for opioid use disorder. Traditionally, "success" in MOUD treatment is measured in terms of program retention, adherence to MOUD, and abstinence from opioid and other drug use. While clinically meaningful, these metrics may overlook other aspects of the lives of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) and surprisingly do not reflect the diagnostic criteria for OUD.

Identifying the Gaps Between Public Health Training and Practice: A Workforce Competencies Comparative Analysis.

The study aimed to generate insights on how best to enhance the compatibility between Public Health training program competencies and the implementation of competencies required by employers to address current and emerging public health needs. A survey adapted from the WHO-ASPHER Competency Framework for the Public Health Workforce was conducted online among Israeli public health managers from August to November 2021. The survey was formulated to mirror Essential Public Health Operations.

Blood pressure responses are dependent on call type and related to hypertension status in firefighters.

Background: Impaired cardiovascular health is a concern for firefighters, with over 50% of line-of-duty deaths having cardiac causes. Many firefighters have hypertension and <25% have their blood pressure (BP) controlled. The alarm response could be an unidentified cardiac risk, but interestingly, the BP response to different calls and on-the-job activity is unknown.

Predictors of consenting to participate in a clinical trial among urban cancer patients.

Background: Patient participation in clinical trials is influenced by demographic and other individual level characteristics. However, there is less research on the role of geography and neighborhood-level factors on clinical trial participation. This study identifies the demographic, clinical, geographic, and neighborhood predictors of consenting to a clinical trial among cancer patients at a large, urban, NCI-designated cancer center in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Freelisting: A Technique for Enhancing the Community Health Needs Assessment.

US health systems are required to conduct community health needs assessments (CHNAs). These assessments often rely solely on publicly reported disease prevalence data. The objective of this study was to identify a feasible qualitative method that can be implemented into CHNAs to confirm existing information and enhance them with new data and community narrative.

Improved FMEA Methods for Proactive Health Care Risk Assessment of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of COVID-19 Remote Patient Telemonitoring.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the need to more effectively harness and leverage digital tools and technology for remote patient monitoring (RPM). RPM gained great popularity given the need to provide effective, safe, efficient, and remote patient care. RPM is based on noninvasive digital technologies aimed at improving the safety and efficiency of health care delivery.

The Evolving Curriculum in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Education: A Scoping Review.

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) has become an increasingly important area of focus within undergraduate and graduate medical education. A variety of different QIPS curriculums have been developed, but standardization and effectiveness of these curriculums is largely unknown. The authors conducted a scoping review to explore the status of undergraduate and graduate nondegree QIPS curriculum in the United States.

Reduction in socioeconomic inequalities in self-reported mental health conditions with increasing greenspace exposure.

Mental health conditions represent a tremendous global public health burden, yet social inequalities in incidence and prevalence exist. Improving access to quality neighborhood amenities, such as parks and greenspace, may improve mental health. Using data from over 11,000 responses to a 2015 and 2018 population survey in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, we fit a series of multivariable generalized linear regression models to examine whether higher greenspace exposure and perceived park access was associated with more narrow poverty, education, employment, and race/ethnicity-based inequalities in mental health.

Methadone Prescribing for Pain Management in Pennsylvania per the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, 2016-2020.

Introduction Methadone is a schedule II opioid traditionally used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) and chronic pain. However, following the identification of its contribution to opioid overdose deaths, methadone has become less commonly used for chronic pain indications. In Pennsylvania (PA), prescribers are required to report methadone prescriptions written for pain indications to the prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), which is an electronic database that enhances the tracking and reporting of prescription data.

How Can Personal Protective Equipment Be Best Used and Reused: A Closer Look at Donning and Doffing Procedures.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine safety-related contamination threats and risks to health-care workers (HCWs) due to the reuse of personal protective equipment (PPE) among emergency department (ED) personnel.

Methods: We used a Participatory Design (PD) approach to conduct task analysis (TA) of PPE use and reuse. TA identified the steps, risks, and protective behaviors involved in PPE reuse.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring: An Opportunity for Population-Based Diabetes Management.

The increasing prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes in the United States poses a serious threat to the health of the population. Closely associated with obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease, a diagnosis of diabetes or prediabetes carries with it life-altering demands. Critically important among these is the requirement for frequent glucose level checks-typically performed with blood obtained from a fingerstick.

A scoping review protocol to elucidate outcomes following abiraterone versus enzalutamide for prostate cancer.

Introduction: Abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide are commonly employed in prostate cancer therapy in an interchangeable manner. These drugs are highly efficacious in androgen antagonism to improve patient outcomes, but they also carry noteworthy risk of adverse effects. Common toxicities vary amongst the two drugs and may have differential interactions with patient co-morbidities, but these patterns are unclear as co-morbidities typically serve as exclusion criteria in clinical trials.

Outcomes Following Abiraterone versus Enzalutamide for Prostate Cancer: A Scoping Review.

Abiraterone acetate (AA) and enzalutamide (ENZ) are commonly used for metastatic prostate cancer. It is unclear how their outcomes and toxicities vary with patient-specific factors because clinical trials typically exclude patients with significant comorbidities. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap and facilitate informed treatment decision making.

Assessing Intersectional Disparities in Cervical Cancer Screening by Disability Status, Race, and Ethnicity.

Introduction: Separate bodies of research have studied disparities by disability status and by race or ethnicity in receipt of cervical cancer screening. Much less is known about how these disparities intersect. The purpose of this study was to evaluate disparities in compliance with the U.

Understanding the role of sex on outcomes for the cancer patient undergoing treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have changed the treatment landscape for multiple cancer types. Sex plays an important role in both the development of cancer as well as the functioning of the immune system. Though a difference in response to immune therapy is emerging between men and women it is unclear how this difference affects cancer outcomes and what the potential underlying mechanisms are for those effects.

Racial difference in BMI and lung cancer diagnosis: analysis of the National Lung Screening Trial.

Background: The inverse relationship between BMI and lung cancer diagnosis is well defined. However, few studies have examined the racial differences in these relationships. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships amongst race, BMI, and lung cancer diagnosis using the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) data.