What do providers want to know about opioid prescribing? A qualitative analysis of their questions.

Background: In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to the opioid crisis with a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, requiring manufacturers of extended-release/long-acting opioids to fund continuing medical education based on the "FDA Blueprint for Prescriber Education." Topics in the Blueprint are "Assessing Patients for Treatment," "Initiating Therapy, Modifying Dosing, and Discontinuing Use," "Managing Therapy," "Counseling Patients and Caregivers about Safe Use," "General Drug Information," and "Specific Drug Information." Based on the FDA Blueprint, Boston University School of Medicine's "Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education" (SCOPE of Pain) offers live trainings for physicians and other prescribers.

Population Normative Data for the CERAD Word List and Victoria Stroop Test in Younger- and Middle-Aged Adults: Cross-Sectional Analyses from the Framingham Heart Study.

Background/study Context: To provide baseline normative data on tests of verbal memory and executive function for nondemented younger- and middle-aged adults.

Methods: The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease word list memory task (CERAD-WL) and Victoria Stroop Test (VST) were administered to 3362 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) volunteer participants aged 24-78 years. Analyses of the effects of age, gender, and education were conducted.

Impact of school-entry and education mandates by states on HPV vaccination coverage: Analysis of the 2009-2013 National Immunization Survey-Teen.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of existing school entry and education mandates on HPV vaccination coverage, we compared coverage among girls residing in states and jurisdictions with and without education and school-entry mandates. Virginia and the District of Columbia enacted school entry mandates, though both laws included liberal opt-out provisions. Ten additional states had mandates requiring distribution of education to parents or provision of education within school curricula.

Parents' and providers' attitudes toward school-located provision and school-entry requirements for HPV vaccines.

Objective: To determine parents' and providers' attitudes toward school-located provision and school-entry requirements for HPV vaccination.

Methods: Parents/guardians of 11-17 y old girls and pediatric healthcare providers at one inner-city public clinic and three private practices completed semi-structured interviews in 2012-2013. Participants were asked open-ended questions regarding their attitudes toward school-located provision and school-entry requirements for HPV vaccination.

Prophylactic HPV vaccination and anal cancer.

The incidence of anal cancer is increasing. High risk populations include HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM), HIV-negative MSM, HIV-positive women and heterosexual men and women with a history of cervical cancer. HPV has been detected in over 90% of anal cancers.

Why don't adolescents finish the HPV vaccine series? A qualitative study of parents and providers.

Objective: To describe why adolescent females who initiated HPV vaccination completed or did not complete the series.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents/guardians of 11-17 year old female adolescents and their pediatric primary care providers in one inner-city public clinic and three private practices to ascertain why girls who initiated HPV vaccination did or did not complete the series. Qualitative analysis was used to identify perceived barriers and facilitators of completion.

Limited literacy and poor health: the role of social mobility in Germany and the United States.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) implemented the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to provide policymakers with nationally representative profiles of knowledge, skills, and competencies. Results among participating countries indicate that the United States and Germany stand out as having the strongest relationship between literacy skills and self-reported health. Our analysis addresses factors that could mediate the particularly strong link between low literacy and poor health in these two countries and possible remedies for the problem.

Qualitative neuropsychological measures: normative data on executive functioning tests from the Framingham offspring study.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Studies have found that executive functioning is affected early in the pathophysiological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. There also exists a range of functioning on executive tasks during normal aging. Although qualitative data are commonly utilized in clinical practice for evaluating subtle changes in cognitive functioning and diagnostic discernment, it is not clear whether error responses used in clinical practice are also evident as normative behavior.

Phentermine plus topiramate for the treatment of obesity.

A novel combination therapy is currently being investigated for the treatment of obesity. Phentermine plus topiramate has shown efficacy in both Phase II and III trials as compared with either drug used alone. With average 2-year weight loss as high as 10.