The Digital Transition: Are Adults Aged 65 Years or Older Willing to Complete Online Forms and Questionnaires in Patient Portals?

INTRODUCTION: Patients are being encouraged to complete forms electronically using patient portals rather than on paper, but willingness of older adults to make this transition is uncertain. METHODS: The authors analyzed data for 4105 Kaiser Permanente Northern California 2020 Member Health Survey respondents aged 65-85 years who answered a question about willingness to complete online forms and questionnaires using a patient portal. Data weighted to the Kaiser Permanente Northern California membership were used to estimate percentages of older adults willing to complete patient portal forms and questionnaires. Chi-square tests and log-Poisson regression models that included sociodemographic, internet use, and patient portal variables were used to identify factors predictive of willingness. RESULTS: Overall, 59.6% of older adults were willing to complete patient portal forms, 17.6% were not willing, and 22.8% were not sure. Adults aged 75-85 (49.5%) vs 65-74 years (64.8%) and Black (51.9%) and Latino (46.5%) vs White (62.8%) adults were less likely to indicate willingness. In addition to racial and ethnic differences and younger age, higher educational attainment, use of the internet alone (vs internet use with help or not at all), having an internet-enabled computer or tablet, and having sent at least 1 message through the patient portal increased likelihood of being willing. CONCLUSIONS: Health care teams should assess older adults' capabilities and comfort related to completion of patient portal-based forms and support those willing to make the digital transition. Paper forms and oral collection of information should remain available for those unable or unwilling to make this digital transition.

Vitamin D Status among Women of Different Asian Subgroups Initiating Osteoporosis Therapy.

Among 1866 Asian women (901 Filipina women, 654 Chinese women, and 311 Japanese women) who had vitamin D assessment prior to initiation of osteoporosis therapy, Filipina women had a lower prevalence of vitamin D deficiency compared to Chinese women, despite higher body mass index. In multivariable analyses that adjusted for age, body mass index, and smoking status, the relative risk of low vitamin D was significantly higher for Chinese women (relative risk 1.4, 95% confidence interval 1.1-1.7) but not Japanese women (relative risk 1.2, 95% confidence interval 0.9-1.6). The 40% higher risk of low Vitamin D in Chinese compared to Filipina women emphasizes the importance of disaggregating Asian race when examining nutritional health attributes.

The Honest Palm Sign: Detecting Incomplete Effort on Physical Examination.

BACKGROUND: We investigated a simple, novel diagnostic test for detecting incomplete effort during the motor portion of the neurological examination. METHODS: The results from the honest palm sign (HPS) were evaluated for 162 consecutive neuro-oncology patients who had undergone upper extremity strength testing. Deltoid, bicep, and wrist extensor strength was assessed in all patients. During the examination, patients were repeatedly encouraged to "try as hard as possible" and to "resist with all your strength." The absence of nail prints on the palms constituted a positive HPS test result (i.e., indicative of incomplete effort). The presence of nail prints constituted a negative HPS test result (i.e., indicative of full effort). RESULTS: A total of 162 patients were tested. Their mean age was 55.5 ± 14.9 years, the median Karnofsky performance scale score was 80 (range, 60-100), and 63 patients (39%) were men. Of the 162 patients, 102 (63%) had malignant gliomas, 28 (17%) had brain metastases, 21 (13%) had other primary brain tumors, and 11 (6.8%) had primary central nervous system lymphomas. Of the 162 patients, 48 (30%) had positive HPS test results. The test sensitivity (84.6%), specificity (75.2%), positive likelihood ratio (3.41), and negative likelihood ratio (0.205) were good. After excluding 33 patients with characteristics that rendered them unsuitable for testing, the results from the remaining 129 patients were analyzed. The sensitivity was unchanged (84.6%), but the specificity (96.6%), positive likelihood ratio (24.5), and negative likelihood ratio (0.16) improved dramatically. CONCLUSIONS: The HPS test is a simple, sensitive, and very specific test for detecting incomplete effort during the motor portion of neurological evaluations.

Themes Associated With Top-Grossing Films Released From 2005 to 2015.

Films continue to be a popular form of entertainment among children. The objective of this study was to determine the most common themes found in the top-grossing films released from 2005 to 2015. Forty-five films were independently viewed and analyzed by 5 reviewers. The most common positive themes were "importance of helping others," "working as a team," and "standing up for what you believe in" (5.71, 4.08, and 3.78 mean events per hour, respectively). The most common negative themes were "use of guns/knives/lethal weapons," "acts of violence/fighting," and "demonstrating excessive anger" (5.78, 5.64, and 3.09 mean events per hour, respectively). In conclusion, the most common positive themes in our sample were associated with service, collaboration, and courage, and the most common negative themes were associated with violence. We encourage co-viewing and active mediation, focusing on the positive and negative themes found in film, as a method to guide children through their development process.