Characteristics and Barriers of Emergency Department Patients Overdue for Cancer Screening.

Introduction: People without reliable access to healthcare are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer that could have been treated more effectively if diagnosed earlier. Emergency departments (ED) may be a novel place for cancer screening education for underserved patients. In this study we sought to determine patient characteristics and barriers to cancer screening for those patients who presented to a large, academic safety-net ED and were overdue for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening since the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: Adult ED patients eligible for at least one cancer screening based on US Preventive Serivces Task Force guidelines completed a web-based survey. We examined the association of demographic characteristics and having a personal physician with being overdue on screening using chi-square or the Fisher exact test for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. Results: Of 221 participants, 144 were eligible for colorectal, 96 for cervical, and 55 for breast cancer screening. Of eligible patients, 46% (25/55) were overdue for breast cancer screening, 43% (62/144) for colorectal, and 40% (38/96) for cervical cancer screening. There were no significant characteristics associated with breast cancer screening. Being overdue for cervical cancer screening was significantly more likely for patients who were of Asian race (P = 0.02), had less than a high school diploma (P = 0.01), and were without a routine checkup within the prior five years (P = 0.01). Overdue for colorectal cancer screening was associated with patients not having insurance (P = 0.04), being in their 40s (P = 0.03), being Hispanic (P = 0.01), and not having a primary care physician (P=0.01). Of 97 patients overdue for at least one screening, the most common barriers were cost (37%), lack of time (37%), and lack of knowledge of screening recommendations (34%). Only 8.3% reported that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed their screening. Conclusion: The ED may be a novel setting to target patients for cancer screening education. Future work that refers patients to free screening programs and primary care physicians may help improve disparities in cancer screening and cancer mortality rates for underserved populations.

Evaluation of a Remote Youth Health Advocate Training Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Since 2016, Changing Health through Advocacy & eMPloyment In Our NeighborhoodS (CHAMPIONS) has utilized in-person programming to engage high school students from underserved Chicago communities in health advocacy education and exposure to health professional careers. OBJECTIVE: Describe outcomes after CHAMPIONS' shift from in-person to remote programming during the corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: The Summer 2020 remote program consisted of four main activities: 1) didactic public health curriculum, 2) phone calls to COVID-19 patients, 3) COVID-19 community health projects, and 4) health professional speaker series. Program evaluation consisted of pre-/post-program surveys and focus groups. RESULTS: Participants were very satisfied with CHAMPIONS and reported increased healthy habits, self-efficacy, and knowledge. "First-hand experiences" increased equivalently or more for the remote compared to in-person cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: The remote CHAMPIONS program maximized positive effects for participants. Strengths and lessons learned may be used in future enrichment programs to improve accessibility and exposure for underserved students.

Engaging youth as citizen scientists to determine health needs of New Brunswick adults.

Community health needs assessments (CHNAs) are important tools to determine community health needs, however, populations that face inequities may not be represented in existing data. The use of mixed methods becomes essential to ensure the needs of underrepresented populations are included in the assessment. We created an in-school public health course where students acted as citizen scientists to determine health needs in New Brunswick, New Jersey adults. By engaging members of their own community, students reached more representative respondents and health needs of the local community than a CHNA completed by the academic hospital located in the same community as the school which relies on many key health statistics provided at a county level. New Brunswick adults reported significantly more discrimination, fewer healthy behaviors, more food insecurity, and more barriers to accessing healthcare than county-level participants. New Brunswick participants had significantly lower rates of health conditions but also had significantly lower rates of health screenings and higher rates of barriers to care. Hospitals should consider partnering with local schools to engage students to reach populations that face inequities, such as individuals who do not speak English, to obtain more representative CHNA data.

More Accessible COVID-19 Treatment Through Monoclonal Antibody Infusion in the Emergency Department.

INTRODUCTION: Monoclonal antibody (MAB) infusion is the first treatment to manage coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in an outpatient setting. Yet increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness may occur from inequities in social determinants of health including access to quality healthcare. Given the safety-net nature of emergency departments (ED), a model that puts them at the center of MAB infusion may better reach underserved patients than models that require physician referral and distribute MAB at outpatient infusion centers. We examined characteristics of two groups of patients who received MAB infusion in the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) ED in New Brunswick, New Jersey: 1) patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in the ED and received ED infusion; and 2) patients who tested positive elsewhere and were referred to the ED for infusion. The process for the latter group was similar to the more common national model of patients testing COVID-19 positive in the community and then being referred to an infusion center for MAB therapy. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional retrospective health record review of all adult patients presenting to the ED from November 20, 2020-March 15, 2021 who received MAB infusion at RWJUH ED (N = 486). Patients were identified through the electronic health record system by an administrative query, with manual chart review for any additional characteristics not available through the query. We compared the two groups using chi-squared tests for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. RESULTS: We found higher proportions of Black (18% vs 6% P < 0.001, statistically significant), Hispanic (19% vs 11% P = 0.02), Medicaid (12% vs 9% P = 0.01), and uninsured (17% vs 8% P = 0.01) patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in their ED visit and then received MAB therapy during their visit than patients tested elsewhere in the community and referred to the ED for MAB therapy. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that providing MAB infusion in the ED allows increased access for patients traditionally marginalized from the healthcare system, who may be at risk of longer disease duration and complications from COVID-19.

Emergency Department Management of Hypertension in the Context of COVID-19.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review describes the relationship between COVID-19 and hypertension (HTN), and considerations for emergency medicine providers in the management of hypertensive patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. RECENT FINDINGS: Hypertensive patients with COVID-19 have a higher risk of severe disease/complications, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mortality than non-hypertensive patients. Studies have also shown the importance of consideration of various demographic factors (such as older age) and socioeconomic factors that may confound these relationships. Despite concerns at the start of the pandemic that RAAS inhibiting antihypertension medications may contribute to worsened outcomes in COVID-19 patients, subsequent research has shown that use of ACEi/ARBs is associated with neutral or even improved COVID-19 outcomes. Socioeconomic factors must also be considered including patients' potential delay of health care due to fear of contracting COVID-19, loss of health insurance, and barriers to accessing primary care appointments for post-ED follow-up care. While there is mixed evidence on biological considerations for HTN care during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic has undoubtedly been a major stressor and barrier to effective chronic disease management. Emergency medicine and other providers should consider this when evaluating acute care patients with a history of HTN or newly elevated blood pressure.

Engaging Youth Through Digital Badges to Promote Health in Underserved Communities.

The CHAMPIONS NETWork program trains Chicago high school students as health advocates while preparing them to become future health professionals. We added digital badging to the curriculum in its third year of programming (2018). This article describes methods and student feedback about digital badging, allowing others to implement similar technology-driven opportunities to engage youth and promote healthy living. Program staff created seven online experiences (XPs) on health advocacy that made up a playlist. Students adopted three adults as clients and completed four XPs themselves and three with clients. Completion of all XPs resulted in a digital badge-an electronic portfolio of health advocacy experiences to be shared with employers and colleges. Following the 2019 cohort's completion of the digital badge, we conducted two focus groups with students about their feedback on the digital badge. Results showed that students most liked the healthy eating and cardiopulmonary resuscitation XPs. They had more positive reactions to the experience than negative, and especially appreciated aspects of active learning, as well as the badge's long-term benefits. This technology can potentially help any student with access to an electronic device become a health advocate, and could become a new tool for career development while improving population health.

Community Targeting of Uncontrolled Hypertension: Results of a Hypertension Screening and Education Intervention in Community Churches Serving Predominantly Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations.

Background. Uncontrolled hypertension is the primary risk factor for the development of cardiovascular complications and particularly burdens racial/ethnic minority populations. Aim. To determine the effectiveness of a community hypertension screening, education, and empowerment intervention on blood pressure (BP) improvement. Method. We screened 152 participants across four churches in predominantly racial/ethnic minority neighborhoods for elevated BP. During this visit, those with BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg were enrolled in the study and completed interventions. Individuals with moderately elevated BP (≥140/90 and <160/100 mmHg; Group 1) viewed a 3-minute hypertension education video. Individuals with severely elevated BP (≥160/100 mmHg; Group 2) additionally viewed echocardiograms images with subclinical changes from uncontrolled hypertension and had a brief on-site medication review with a pharmacist. Both groups received automated BP monitors and information on neighborhood federally qualified health centers for primary care. Participants returned to each church for follow-up 3 months later. We analyzed BP difference at 3 months and percentage with controlled BP for each group. Results. For Group 1, mean baseline and follow-up BPs were 143.5/88.0 mmHg and 138.5/85.8 mmHg, respectively. For Group 2, BPs significantly decreased from 165.4/98.3 mmHg to 150.4/90.8 mmHg. After the intervention, participants with controlled BP for Groups 1 and 2 were 35.5% and 55.2%, respectively. Discussion. Participants in both groups had BP improvements. Greater improvements were in individuals at higher cardiovascular risk due to severely elevated BPs (≥160/100 mmHg). Conclusion. This pilot highlights the impact that streamlined empowerment interventions with dedicated health personnel can have in high-risk communities with elevated BPs.

User Characteristics of a Low-Acuity Emergency Department Alternative for Low-Income Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency department (ED) use for healthcare that can be treated elsewhere is costly to the healthcare system. However, convenience settings such as urgent care centers (UCC) are generally inaccessible to low-income patients. Housing an UCC within a federally qualified health center (FQHC UCC) provides an accessible convenience setting for low-income patients. In 2014 a FQHC UCC opened two blocks from an ED in the same health system. Our goal was to compare characteristics, access to care, and utilization preferences for FQHC UCC and low-acuity ED patients through retrospective chart review and prospective surveying. METHODS: We completed a retrospective chart review of all patients from March 1, 2018-March 1, 2019, and compared characteristics of low-acuity ED patients (N = 3,911) and FQHC UCC patients (N = 12,571). We also surveyed FQHC UCC patients (N = 201) and low-acuity ED patients (N = 198) from January-July 2019. RESULTS: Half of FQHC UCC patients had private insurance. Of ED patients, 29% were aware of the FQHC UCC. Both groups had similar rates of primary care providers. The most common reason for choosing the ED was perceived severity, and for choosing a FQHC UCC was speed. CONCLUSION: These findings show similarities and differences between these two patient populations. Future research is needed to determine utilization patterns and in-depth reasons behind them. Interventions that help patients decide where to go for low-acuity care may create more utilization efficiency.

Evaluation of an Enhanced Peer Mentoring Program on Scholarly Productivity and Promotion in Academic Emergency Medicine: A Five-Year Review.

OBJECTIVE: To design, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of an enhanced peer mentoring program (EPMP) for faculty in emergency medicine aimed at overcoming traditional mentoring challenges. METHODS: Full time faculty (Clinical Instructor, Assistant, and Associate levels) were placed into peer groups (based upon their primary academic roles) led by senior faculty advisors at the Professor level. Peer groups met at least quarterly from 2012 to 2017. In lieu of a structured curriculum, session topics were informed by individual faculty surveys and peer group consensus. Areas of focus included work-life balance, prioritizing academic commitments, identification of mentors (both within and external to the department and university), networking opportunities, promotions goals, and career satisfaction. RESULTS: Effectiveness of the EPMP was evaluated by academic productivity and advancement over a 5- year period. A total of 22 faculty members participated in the program. There was an increase in promotions to the next academic level, from 3 promotions in the five years before the program to 7 promotions in the five years of the program. Total grant funding increased 3-fold from $500,000 to $1,706,479 from the first year to the last year of the evaluation period. CONCLUSIONS: This enhanced peer mentoring program was effective in mitigating many of the traditional mentoring challenges faced by faculty in academia and was successful in improving both academic productivity and advancement.