Healthcare disparities: patients' perspectives on barriers to joint replacement.

OBJECTIVE: Racial and ethnic disparities in arthroplasty utilization are evident, but the reasons are not known. We aimed to identify concerns that may contribute to barriers to arthroplasty from the patient's perspective. METHODS: We identified patients' concerns about arthroplasty by performing a mixed methods study. Themes identified during semi-structured interviews with Black and Hispanic patients with advanced symptomatic hip or knee arthritis were used to develop a questionnaire to quantify and prioritize their concerns. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between race/ethnicity and the importance of each theme. Models were adjusted for sex, insurance, education, HOOS, JR/KOOS, JR, and discussion of joint replacement with a doctor. RESULTS: Interviews with eight participants reached saturation and provided five themes used to develop a survey answered by 738 (24%) participants; 75.5% White, 10.3% Black, 8.7% Hispanic, 3.9% Asian/Other. Responses were significantly different between groups (p < 0.05). Themes identified were "Trust in the surgeon" "Recovery", "Cost/Insurance", "Surgical outcome", and "Personal suitability/timing". Compared to Whites, Blacks were two-fold, Hispanics four-fold more likely to rate "Trust in the surgeon" as very/extremely important. Blacks were almost three times and Hispanics over six times more likely to rate "Recovery" as very/extremely important. CONCLUSION: We identified factors of importance to patients that may contribute to barriers to arthroplasty, with marked differences between Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites.

Demonstrating the Efficacy of Incorporating Peers Into Addiction Training for Internal Medicine Residents.

Objective: Although internists frequently care for patients with substance use disorders (SUDs), they do not receive training that is adequate for the task. The resultant deficiencies in care are compounded by widespread stigma toward SUDs that exists within medicine. However, research demonstrates that sharing personal perspectives and experiences of living with an SUD generate empathy and change attitudes toward this disorder. The objective of this study was to improve internal medicine residents' attitudes with an educational seminar that incorporates perspectives from patients with SUDs and their families.Methods: The study was conducted with internal medicine residents at Weill Cornell Medical College from February 2019 to August 2019. The study used a cross-sectional, longitudinal survey design. Attitudes were measured using a validated Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS).Results: A total of 31 internal medicine residents participated. Results showed significant increases in MCRS scores, both from pre- to post-seminar and 6 months after the seminar. For alcohol use disorder, mean (SD) MCRS score increased from 3.80 (SD = 0.69) to 4.60 (SD = 0.87) to 5.00 (SD = 0.68) (P < .001). For opioid use disorder, mean MCRS score increased from 3.30 (SD = 0.92) to 4.36 (SD = 0.99) to 4.62 (SD = 0.70) (P < .001).Conclusion: The study demonstrates that long-term attitudes toward patients with SUDs may be modified through training that integrates peer-based perspectives.

Addressing Psychosocial Stressors through a Community-Academic Partnership between a Museum and a Federally Qualified Health Center: A Qualitative Study.

Psychosocial stressors are prevalent and linked to worse health outcomes, but are less frequently addressed than physically apparent medical conditions at primary care visits. Through a community-academic partnership between an art museum and a federally qualified health center, we developed an innovative museum-based intervention and evaluated its feasibility and acceptability among diverse, underserved patients and its perceived effects on psychosocial stressors. Guided by experiential learning and constructivist approaches, the intervention consisted of a single, three-hour session that incorporated group discussions and interactive components, including art-viewing, sketching, and object-handling. We used post-intervention focus groups to elicit feedback qualitatively. From July 2017 to January 2018, 25 patients participated. Focus groups revealed that the intervention exhibited therapeutic qualities, fostered self-reflection, catalyzed social connectivity, and functioned as a gateway to community resources. These findings can guide future research and development of community-based interventions to target the growing burden of psychosocial stressors among the underserved.

Changes in postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy use among women with high cardiovascular risk.

After randomized trials failed to support the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), HRT use for postmenopausal women declined. Our analysis of 1999-2000 and 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Surveys (NHANES) shows that HRT use decreased 19% (from 27.6 to 8.4%; P<.001) among women with CVD versus 3% (from 19.8 to 16.8%; P=.68) among low-risk women, suggesting that most of the drop in HRT use may be among women prescribed HRT as an unproven treatment to prevent CVD.