Penn SUMR Scholars Arrive at New Orleans AcademyHealth Research Meeting
Development of a Patient-centered Outcome Measure for Emergency Department Asthma Patients
Margaret E. Samuels-Kalow, Karin V. Rhodes, Mira Henien, Emily Hardy, Thomas Moore, Felicia Wong, Carlos A. Camargo Jr., Caroline T. Rizzo, Cynthia Mollen
In Academic Emergency Medicine, Margaret Samuels-Kalow and colleagues, including Karin Rhodes and Cynthia Mollen, explore patient-reported outcome measures for Emergency Department care among asthma patients. As existing patient-reported outcome measures have limited applicability to emergency medicine, the authors seek to identify patient-centered concepts specific to emergent asthma care. They completed a three-phase qualitative study, in which adult asthma patients and parents of pediatric asthma patients identified important concepts for post-ED discharge success. These...
A comparative effectiveness education trial for lifestyle health behavior change in African-Americans
Chanita Hughes Halbert, Scarlett Bellamy, Vanessa Briggs, Ernestine Delmoor, Joseph Purnell, Rodney Rogers, Benita Weathers, Jerry C. Johnson
In Health Education Research, Chanita Hughes Halbert and colleagues, including Jerry Johnson, compared the effects of an education trial about risk factors for cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) within an African-American community. Participants were randomized to receive either integrated education about shared risk factors between cancer and CVD, or disease-specific education about CVD risk factors only. The authors assessed whether the type of education received affected fruit and vegetable intake or physical activity level. They find that when participants with less than...
Creating an Evidence-Based Progression for Clinical Advancement Programs
Kathleen G. Burke, Tonya Johnson, Christine Sites, Jane Barnsteiner
In American Journal of Nursing, Kathleen Burke and colleagues validate core competencies and knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) that were previously developed for professional nursing practice. The researchers then assess the integration and progression of these competencies in clinical advancement programs. Clinical experts from 13 Magnet hospitals participated in quality improvement rounds aimed at reaching consensus on how much the KSAs have been incorporated into clinical advancement. The group found that all of the core competencies assessed were essential at all levels...
Do Customers Flee From HIV? A Survey of HIV Stigma and Its Potential Economic Consequences on Small Businesses in Tshwane (Pretoria), South Africa
Li-Wei Chao, Helena Szrek, Rui Leite, Shandir Ramlagan, Karl Peltzer
In AIDS and Behavior, Li-Wei Chao and colleagues investigate if businesses in Pretoria, South Africa with workers known to be HIV positive lose a large percentage of their customers. The researchers interviewed over two thousand individuals and found that, despite zero risk of infection, consumers feared acquiring HIV from products sold by a business with HIV positive workers. This impact of customer decline was found to vary based on the type of business, with an especially strong perceived decline among food businesses. These results suggest that reducing public health scare...
The Initiation of Chronic Opioids: A Survey of Chronic Pain Patients
Catherine E. Callinan, Mark D. Neuman, Kim E. Lacy, Claudia Gabison, and Michael A. Ashburn
In The Journal of Pain, Catherine Callinan and colleagues, including Mark Neuman and Michael Ashburn, examine the connection between reasons for opioid initiation and risk factors for chronic usage. The investigators interviewed participants who received opioid therapy for more than 90 days, and who had a non-cancer pain diagnosis. They asked them about reason for opioid initiation, original intent of prescription, length of time on opioids, and demographic data including co-morbidities. Many patients who initiated opioid therapy after surgery experienced postoperative...
Philadelphia Bus Tour Kicks Off 2017 Penn-LDI Undergraduate Minority Research Program
Diversity in the Emerging Critical Care Workforce: Analysis of Demographic Trends in Critical Care Fellows From 2004 to 2014
Meghan B Lane-Fall; Todd A Miano; Jaya Aysola; John G T Augoustides
In Critical Care Medicine, Meghan Lane-Fall and colleagues, including Jaya Aysola, analyzed demographic trends in critical care fellowship programs from 2004-2014. They used logistic regression models to compare annual trends in the representation of women and racial/ethnic groups across critical care fellowship types. From 2004 to 2014, the number of critical care fellows increased annually, up 54.1% from 1,606 in 2004-2005 to 2,475 in 2013-2014. The proportion of female critical care fellows increased from 29.5% (2004-2005) to 38.3% (2013-2014).The absolute number of black...
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Deaths from Unintentional Injury, Homicide, and Suicide During or Within 1 Year of Pregnancy in Philadelphia
Pooja K. Mehta, Marcus A. Bachhuber, Roy Hoffman, Sindhu K. Srinivas
In the American Journal of Public Health, Pooja Mehta and colleagues seek to understand the effect of unintentional injuries, suicide, and homicide on pregnancy-associated death. The authors find that about half of of pregnancy-associated deaths - occurring during or within one year of pregnancy - in Philadelphia between 2010 and 2014 were due to unintentional injuries, homicide, or suicide. Of these deaths, more than 50% were directly or indirectly associated with substance use, more than 40% were associated with serious mental illness, and more than 20% were associated with...
Physician Surplus or Shortage? Let’s Play Hard Ball
The New York Times published an editorial in 2014 proclaiming that a worsening national shortage of physicians was contributing to long waiting times for veterans and many other Americans.