Teaching at the Convergence of Pandemics and Historically Excluded Patient Populations: The Challenges, and Importance, of Culturally Responsive Communication.

Issue: Historically excluded patient populations-particularly racial, ethnic, and sexually and gender minoritized people-experience gross inequities in health, worsened by the HIV and COVID-19 pandemics. Culturally responsive communication (CRC) is a vital tool health professionals can use to address these inequities. Yet, CRC can be challenging to teach, particularly during pandemics. The authors argue that pandemics magnify the powerful intersecting oppressions of heterosexism, racism, transphobia, nationalism, and sexism, essentially targeting Othered bodies for dying, a phenomenon known as necropolitics. Evidence: Five aspects of pandemics make teaching CRC more difficult and, because of the magnification of necropolitics, more critical. First, pandemics heighten teachers' and learners' personal frailties, engendering worries about their own and their families' health and increasing cognitive load. This can make it difficult for them to embrace the discomfort required of CRC, particularly when an increased patient load is squeezing instructional time. Second, guidelines for HIV and COVID-19 testing, prevention, and treatment are ever-changing, often faster than the pace of curriculum development and instructor professional development. Third, for instructors who may already be stretched thin, it is challenging to prepare learners for the variability in how their future practice contexts may address HIV and COVID-19 and, further, how to take a social justice approach to assess and resist the distinct equity issues of each of these contexts. Fourth, pandemics cause uncertain access to patient information about testing, disease status, and vaccination or pre-exposure prophylaxis. This worsens already disparate outcomes for minoritized patients and adds to the complexity of CRC curricula. Finally, virtual care is more prevalent in pandemics and teaching CRC in online contexts can be difficult. Implications: To address these challenges, we adopt the Dimensionality and R4P Health Equity Framework as a tool for evaluating academic programs for CRC so that it remains robust amidst pandemics. This tool addresses the varied social positions and identities (i.e., "dimensions") that present different opportunities for health. We offer specific evaluation questions programs can ask and approaches they can take to (a) redress past harms through removing existing racist, heteronormative and transphobic structures and repairing the damage they have done; (b) plan for a more equitable future by restructuring via policy and organizational change and providing programs that address intersectional disadvantage; and (c) critically evaluate the present by remediating current damage immediately until restructuring efforts are fully functional. As Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhuman because it often results in physical death." It is our imperative to teach CRC with intentionality; otherwise we will support necropolitics as we continue to condone disproportionate morbidity and mortality for racialized and queer bodies.

A longitudinal study of naloxone opioid overdose awareness and reversal training for first-year medical students: specific elements require reinforcement.

BACKGROUND: The opioid epidemic is a progressively worsening public health crisis that continues to impact healthcare system strategies such as overdose reversal and destigmatization. Even among healthcare professionals, there remains a lack of confidence in naloxone administration and a prevalence of stigma. While training can play a major impact in reducing these shortcomings, the long-term effectiveness has yet to be characterized in training healthcare professionals. This study examined the long-term retention of opioid overdose awareness and reversal training (OOART) by evaluating performance at two-time intervals, immediately post-training and at a 3-month follow-up. METHODS: Voluntary training was offered to first-year (M1) medical students at the Drexel University College of Medicine in 2021. At this training, 118 students completed training, 95 completed the post-training survey, and 42 completed the 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Opioid reversal knowledge questions assessed significantly increased scores post-training and at the 3-month follow-up. In three of the attitude questions, scores were improved at both follow-up timepoints. In addition, three attitude questions indicating a participant's confidence to respond to an opioid overdose situation increased directly after the training, but regressed at the 3-month follow-up. The remaining questions did not show any statistical difference across the survey intervals. CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes that while OOART provides participants with the knowledge of how to respond to an opioid overdose, the retention of this knowledge at a 3-month interval is reduced. The results were mixed for longitudinal assessment of participant's attitudes toward people with opioid use disorder. Some positive increases in attitudes were retained at the 3-month interval, while others trended back toward pre-training levels. These results support the effectiveness of the training but also provide evidence that OOART must be reinforced often.

A Comparative Analysis of Online Versus in-Person Opioid Overdose Awareness and Reversal Training for First-Year Medical Students.

INTRODUCTION: Physicians trained in opioid use disorder (OUD) harm reduction can mitigate opioid overdose deaths by prescribing naloxone and educating patients about its use. Unfortunately, many physicians possess OUD stigma. Training during medical school presents an opportunity to reduce OUD stigma and improve opioid overdose reversal knowledge. This study assessed the efficacy of Opioid Overdose Awareness and Reversal Training (OOART) and evaluated the equivalency of the online and in-person OOART. Methods: Voluntary training was delivered to first-year medical (M1) students at one medical school. In 2018 and 2019, 29 and 68 M1 students, respectively, received in-person OOART training and completed pre- and post-training surveys. In 2020, 62 students participated in online OOART training, of which 53 completed both pre- and post-training surveys. Results: All three opioid overdose Knowledge questions showed significant improvements between pre- and post-training survey responses. For Attitude questions, six of eleven questions in 2019 and 2020 and four of eleven questions in 2018 had statistically significant improvements between pre- and post-training survey responses. There were no statistical differences between in-person and online post-training survey results for two out of the three Knowledge questions and all 11 Attitude questions. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that our OOART was effective in increasing opioid overdose reversal knowledge and reducing OUD stigma. There was no meaningful difference in outcomes between the training modalities. These results support the future expansion of online and in-person OOART to a larger population of medical students.

Integrating HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis With Community-Based Syringe Services for Women Who Inject Drugs: Results From the Project SHE Demonstration Study.

INTRODUCTION: To guide future preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation for women who inject drugs (WWID), a population increasingly represented in new HIV cases in the United States, we present results from a demonstration project integrated within a syringe services program (SSP) in Philadelphia, PA. METHODS: WWID ≥18 years were educated about and offered 24 weeks of daily PrEP. Participants completed surveys and clinical assessments at baseline and at weeks 1, 3, 12, and 24. We used descriptive statistics to estimate feasibility/acceptability, engagement in the care cascade, HIV/sexually transmitted diseases (STI) and pregnancy, issues of safety/tolerability, and preferences/satisfaction with PrEP services. Multivariable logistic regression with generalized estimating equations was used to identify factors associated with PrEP uptake and retention. RESULTS: We recruited 136 WWID. Of those, 95 were included in the final sample, and 63 accepted a PrEP prescription at week 1. Uptake was associated with greater baseline frequency of SSP access [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.85; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24 to 2.77], inconsistent condom use (aOR = 3.38; 95% CI: 1.07 to 10.7), and experiencing sexual assault (aOR = 5.89; 95% CI: 1.02, 33.9). Of these 95, 42 (44.2%) were retained at week 24. Retention was higher among women who reported more frequent baseline SSP access (aOR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.04 to 2.24). Self-reported adherence was high but discordant with urine-based quantification of tenofovir. Baseline STI prevalence was 17.9%; there were 2 HIV seroconversions and 1 pregnancy. Safety/tolerability issues were uncommon, and acceptability/satisfaction was high. CONCLUSIONS: Integrating PrEP with SSP services is feasible and acceptable for WWID. This suggests that daily PrEP is a viable prevention tool for this vulnerable population.

Effect of continuous positive airway pressure on type 2 diabetes mellitus and glucose metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent condition that is associated with significant comorbidities, including obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and insulin resistance. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is an effective treatment for OSA. The effect of CPAP on glucose metabolism in patients with OSA has been controversial. This study evaluates the impact of CPAP on patients with OSA and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or prediabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, Ovid Medline, and EMBASE were searched for original English language studies performed on or after 2003. Subjects were aged > 18 years, were diagnosed with OSA via polysomnography, and had either T2DM or prediabetes according to laboratory evaluation. RESULTS: Of the 22 articles that met the selection criteria, 17 studies (77%) showed that a prolonged use of CPAP produced significant changes in glucose metabolism of patients who had T2DM and prediabetes. These changes were observed in studies measuring glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), postprandial or nocturnal glucose, and insulin sensitivity or resistance. Of the 17 studies, 4 showed improvement in HbA1c levels or increased insulin sensitivity only after long-term use of CPAP for ≥ 3 months. CONCLUSION: This literature review shows that CPAP improves not only hypoxia while restoring normal breathing during sleep, but also glucose metabolism in patients with OSA and T2DM or prediabetes. A few studies have shown that patients can experience even better results with long-term CPAP treatment (≥ 3 months of daily use) for > 4 hours a night. Therefore, this improvement in glucose metabolism with the use of CPAP may contribute to T2DM prevention and decrease further progression of the disease. However, additional studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Transient ischemic attack: Part I. Diagnosis and evaluation.

Transient ischemic attack is defined as transient neurologic symptoms without evidence of acute infarction. It is a common and important risk factor for future stroke, but is greatly underreported. Common symptoms are sudden and transient, and include unilateral paresis, speech disturbance, and monocular blindness. Correct and early diagnosis of transient ischemic attack versus mimicking conditions is important because early interventions can significantly reduce risk of future stroke. Nonspecific symptoms and gradual onset are more likely with mimics than with true transient ischemic attacks. Transient ischemic attacks are more likely with sudden onset, focal neurologic deficit, or speech disturbance. Urgent evaluation is necessary in patients with symptoms of transient ischemic attack and includes neuroimaging, cervicocephalic vasculature imaging, cardiac evaluation, blood pressure assessment, and routine laboratory testing. The ABCD(2) (age, blood pressure, clinical presentation, diabetes mellitus, duration of symptoms) score should be determined during the initial evaluation and can help assess the immediate risk of repeat ischemia and stroke. Patients with higher ABCD(2) scores should be treated as inpatients, whereas those with lower scores are at lower risk of future stroke and can be treated as outpatients.

Transient ischemic attack: Part II. Risk factor modification and treatment.

Interventions following a transient ischemic attack are aimed at preventing a future episode or stroke. Hypertension, current smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia are all well-known risk factors, and controlling these factors can have dramatic effects on transient ischemic attack and stroke risk. For patients presenting within 48 hours of resolution of transient ischemic attack symptoms, advantages of hospital admission include rapid diagnostic evaluation and early intervention to reduce the risk of stroke. For long-term prevention of future stroke, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recommends antiplatelet agents, statins, and carotid artery intervention for advanced stenosis. Aspirin, extended-release dipyridamole/aspirin, and clopidogrel are acceptable first-line antiplatelet agents. Statins have also been shown to reduce the risk of stroke following transient ischemic attack, with maximal benefit occurring with at least a 50 percent reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level or a target of less than 70 mg per dL (1.81 mmol per L). For those with transient ischemic attack and carotid artery stenosis, carotid endarterectomy is recommended if stenosis is 70 to 99 percent, and perioperative morbidity and mortality are estimated to be less than 6 percent.