Patient and Provider Attitudes, Beliefs, and Biases That Contribute to a Marginalized Process of Care and Outcomes in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review-Part I: Clinical Care.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) outcomes are affected by numerous variables, including the clinical conversation. When good therapeutic/working alliances are formed, congruent clinical conversations can lead to improved CMP outcomes. Identifying patient/provider attitudes, beliefs, and biases in CMP that can influence the clinical conversation, and thus clinical management decisions, is foundationally important. DESIGN: The aims of this systematic review were to 1) summarize the evidence of the attitudes and beliefs of patients and health care providers (HCPs) involved in the clinical conversation about CMP, and 2) examine whether and how these perceptions impacted the process of care. METHODS: A systematic search of CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Sociology Database in ProQuest, and Web of Science used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Included studies were those investigating vulnerable adult populations with chronic pain. Study bias was examined with the Downs and Black tool. RESULTS: Seven retrospective studies were included. When making pharmaceutical management decisions, HCPs demonstrated negative implicit biases toward minorities and women. When making referrals to multidisciplinary care, HCPs demonstrated negative implicit biases toward women with lower educational attainment. Unmet patient expectations resulted in higher dropout rates at multidisciplinary pain management programs. Patients' trust was influenced by the health care setting, and patients often had limited options secondary to health insurance type/status. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that patients with CMP may experience a marginalized process of care due to HCPs' negative implicit biases, unmet patient expectations, and the health care setting. Results suggest several factors may contribute to inequitable care and the recalcitrant nature of CMP, particularly in vulnerable populations with limited health care choices.

Depression Characterization and Race Among Stroke Survivors Receiving Inpatient Rehabilitation.

Race and ethnicity play a significant role in poststroke outcomes. This brief report describes the presence of depression among stroke survivors who received inpatient rehabilitation and whether depression differs by race. Data from eRehabData and electronic medical records were analyzed for patients who received rehabilitation after an acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Of 1501 stroke patients, 61.3% were white, 33.9% were African American, and 4.8% were of other race/ethnic backgrounds. By retrospective clinical review, depression was documented for 29.7% of stroke patients. Premorbid versus new onset of poststroke depression was documented for 13.4% and 21.6% of whites, 7.5% and 11.5% of African American, and 0% and 16.7% of patients of other race/ethnic groups. Compared with whites, African American and people of other races had a lower odds of poststroke depression (African American adjusted odds ratio = 0.52, 95% confidence interval = 0.41-0.68; other races odds ratio = 0.37, 95% confidence interval = 0.19-0.71), after adjusting for all other significant risk factors identified in the bivariate analysis (sex, hyperlipidemia, cognitive deficit, neglect). Depression was documented for one in three stroke survivors who received inpatient rehabilitation and highest among whites especially for prestroke depression. Addressing depression in rehabilitation care needs to consider individual patient characteristics and prestroke health status.

Parenting after stroke: a systematic review.

Background Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the United States, resulting in physical, cognitive, and emotional impairments. One in ten strokes occur in adults younger than 50 years of age and the incidence has increased approximately 44% from 2000 to 2010. Young adult survivors have specific needs related to their developmental stage including childcare responsibilities. Despite the high value placed on parenting by society, parenting is currently not assessed at any stage of stroke rehabilitation. Objective To determine the state of the science on parenting after stroke Methods A literature search of multiple electronic databases was conducted from 1964 to February 2018. Select key words were adapted for use in each database. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses guidelines were followed. Results One thousand two hundred and forty-one articles were identified from electronic databases. After deduplication, abstract/title review, and full-text review, ten studies were included. Nine of the studies were qualitative and one was a retrospective cohort study. Survivors in all but one of the qualitative studies reported limitations in parenting tasks after stroke. Changes in social relationships and participation as a parent in other life domains as a result of stroke were also described by survivors. Conclusion Findings from this systematic review of the perspectives of stroke survivors actively parenting suggest that residual stroke impairments lead to both activity limitations and participation restrictions. However, the literature available on parenting after stroke is limited and there is a significant opportunity to advance this area of stroke research.

Depression and Functional Status Among African American Stroke Survivors in Inpatient Rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: To examine the prevalence of poststroke depression (PSD) among African American stroke survivors and the association of depression with functional status at inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) discharge. METHODS: Secondary data analysis was conducted of a patient cohort who received care at 3 IRFs in the United States from 2009 to 2011. Functional status was measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Multiple linear regression models were used to examine associations of PSD and FIM motor and cognitive scores. RESULTS: Of 458 African American stroke survivors, 48.5% were female, 84% had an ischemic stroke, and the mean age was 60.8 ± 13.6 years. Only 15.4% (n = 71) had documentation of PSD. Bivariate analyses to identify factors associated with depression identified a higher percentage of patients with depression than without who were retired due to disability (17.1% versus 11.6%) or employed (31.4% versus 19.6%) prestroke (P = .041). Dysphagia, cognitive deficits, and a lower admission motor FIM score were also significantly more common among those with depression. There was no significant relationship between depression and functional status after adjusting for patient characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, 15% of the African Americans who received rehabilitation after a stroke had documentation of PSD but this was not associated with functional status at discharge.