Factors Related to Implementation and Reach of a Pragmatic Multisite Trial: The My Own Health Report (MOHR) Study.

BACKGROUND: Contextual factors relevant to translating healthcare improvement interventions to different settings are rarely collected systematically. This study articulates a prospective method for assessing and describing contextual factors related to implementation and patient reach of a pragmatic trial in primary care. METHODS: In a qualitative case-series, contextual factors were assessed from the My Own Health Report (MOHR) study, focused on systematic health risk assessments and goal setting for unhealthy behaviors and behavioral health in nine primary care practices. Practice staff interviews and observations, guided by a context template were conducted prospectively at three time points. Patient reach was calculated as percentage of patients completing MOHR of those who were offered MOHR and themes describing contextual factors were summarized through an iterative, data immersion process.These included practice members' motivations towards MOHR, practice staff capacity for implementation, practice information system capacity, external resources to support quality improvement, community linkages, and implementation strategy fit with patient populations. CONCLUSIONS: Systematically assessing contextual factors prospectively throughout implementation of quality improvement initiatives helps translation to other health care settings. Knowledge of contextual factors is essential for scaling up of effective interventions.

Community Perceptions of Biobanking Participation: A Qualitative Study among Mexican-Americans in Three Texas Cities.

BACKGROUND: Most biospecimens in the US are collected from non-Hispanic Whites, limiting the generalizability of findings. There is a need to increase participation in biobanking among ethnic and racial minorities. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative methods to identify factors that may influence Mexican-American individuals' willingness to participate in biobanking. METHODS: We conducted 15 focus groups in three Texas cities with Mexican-American individuals, in both Spanish and English. RESULTS: Lack of knowledge about medical research and biobanks, lack of information about the specifics of biobanking participation, lack of communication of the results, fear of pain or harm, and distrust of the healthcare system or health research were identified as barriers to biobanking participation. Facilitators to participation were altruism, safety, understanding biobanking procedures and purposes, perceived benefits to participation, and culturally appropriate recruitment strategies. Although Mexican-Americans living in Texas are willing to donate biospecimens for altruistic reasons, such as helping society or advancing science, they want more information about what biobanking entails. They want to be assured that participation will not cause them harm and that the research is conducted with good intentions. CONCLUSION: Results from this study can inform educational materials or interventions to increase Hispanic participation in biobanking.

Mexican-American perspectives on participation in clinical trials: A qualitative study.

Clinical trials are essential to advancing knowledge to reduce disease morbidity and mortality; however, ethnic and racial minorities remain under-represented in those studies. We explored knowledge and perceptions of clinical trials among Mexican-Americans in Texas. We conducted focus groups (N = 128) stratified by gender, language preference, and geographical location. This paper presents four emergent, primary themes: 1) knowledge and understanding of clinical trials, 2) fears and concerns about participating, 3) perceived benefits of participating, and 4) incentives to participate. Results suggest that lack of knowledge and understanding of clinical trials leads to misunderstanding about research, including fears and lack of trust. Participants indicated that fears related to perceived experimentation, harm, immigration status, and lack of clinical trial opportunities within their communities were barriers to participation. On the other hand, free healthcare access, helping family members in the future, and monetary incentives could facilitate participation. We also found differences across themes by language, gender, and place of residence. Findings from our study could inform the development of interventions to enhance recruitment of Mexican-American participants into clinical trials.

Perspectives of Mexican-origin smokers on healthy eating and physical activity.

Key modifiable risk behaviors such as smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity often cluster and may have multiplicative adverse effects on health. This study investigated barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and physical activity (PA) in overweight Mexican-origin smokers to inform the adaptation of an evidence-based smoking cessation program into a multiple health behavior change intervention. Five focus groups were conducted with overweight Mexican-origin men (n = 9) and women (n = 21) who smoked. Barriers and facilitators of healthy eating and PA were identified, and gender differences were assessed. Participants expressed some motivation to eat healthfully and identified strategies for doing so, yet many women experienced difficulties related to personal, family and work-related circumstances. Barriers to healthy eating among men were related to food preferences and lack of familiarity with fruits and vegetables. Participants performed PA primarily within the context of work and domestic responsibilities. Stress/depressed mood, lack of motivation and concern for physical well-being limited further PA engagement. Routines involving eating, PA and smoking highlight how these behaviors may be intertwined. Findings emphasize the importance of social, structural and cultural contexts and call for additional investigation into how to integrate healthy eating and PA into smoking cessation interventions for overweight Mexican-origin smokers.

A randomized controlled trial of two interventions to increase colorectal cancer screening among Hispanics on the Texas-Mexico border.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second and third leading cause of cancer death for Hispanic men and women, respectively. CRC can be prevented if precursors are detected early and removed and can be successfully treated if discovered early. While one-on-one interventions for increasing CRC screening (CRCS) are recommended, few studies specifically assess the effectiveness of lay health worker (LHW) approaches using different educational materials. PURPOSE: To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of two LHW-delivered CRCS interventions known as Vale la Pena (VLP; "It's Worth It!") on increasing CRCS among Hispanics. DESIGN: The study design was a cluster randomized controlled trial with two treatment arms. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred and sixty five Hispanics 50 years and older were recruited from 24 colonias (neighborhoods) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of the Texas-Mexico border. INTERVENTION: The interventions were a small media print intervention (SMPI) (including DVD and flipchart), and a tailored interactive multimedia intervention (TIMI) delivered on tablet computers. A no intervention group served as the comparison group. Data were collected between 2007 and 2009 and analyzed between 2009 and 2013. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures assessed CRCS behavior, self-efficacy, knowledge, and other psychosocial constructs related to CRCS and targeted through VLP. RESULTS: Among participants reached for follow-up, 18.9 % in the SMPI group, 13.3 % in the TIMI group, and 11.9 % in the comparison group completed CRCS. Intent-to-treat analysis showed that 13.6 % in the SMPI group, 10.2 % in the TIMI group, and 10.8 % in the comparison group completed CRCS. These differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Results indicated that there are no significant differences in CRCS uptake between groups.

Adaptation of a counseling intervention to address multiple cancer risk factors among overweight/obese Latino smokers.

More than 60% of cancer-related deaths in the United States are attributable to tobacco use, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity, and these risk factors tend to cluster together. Thus, strategies for cancer risk reduction would benefit from addressing multiple health risk behaviors. We adapted an evidence-based intervention grounded in social cognitive theory and principles of motivational interviewing originally developed for smoking cessation to also address physical activity and fruit/vegetable consumption among Latinos exhibiting multiple health risk behaviors. Literature reviews, focus groups, expert consultation, pretesting, and pilot testing were used to inform adaptation decisions. We identified common mechanisms underlying change in smoking, physical activity, and diet used as treatment targets; identified practical models of patient-centered cross-cultural service provision; and identified that family preferences and support as particularly strong concerns among the priority population. Adaptations made to the original intervention are described. The current study is a practical example of how an intervention can be adapted to maximize relevance and acceptability and also maintain the core elements of the original evidence-based intervention. The intervention has significant potential to influence cancer prevention efforts among Latinos in the United States and is being evaluated in a sample of 400 Latino overweight/obese smokers.

Factors associated with perceived patient-provider communication quality among Puerto Ricans.

Patient-provider communication is an important factor influencing patients' health outcomes. This study examined the relationship between patient-provider communication quality and sociodemographic, health care access, trusted information sources, and health status variables. Data were from a representative sample of 450 Puerto Rican adults who participated in the Health Information National Trends Survey. A composite score rating perceived patient-provider communication quality was created from five items (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87). A multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted. Patient-provider communication ratings were lower among the unemployed (p = 0.049), those who do not trust a lot in the information provided by their providers (p = 0.003), and respondents with higher depressive symptoms scores (p = 0.036). Perceived patient-provider communication quality, however, was higher among respondents who visited their providers five or more times in the last year (p = 0.023). Understanding patient perceptions of provider communication may serve to develop system-level interventions aimed at eliminating communication disparities and improving patients' health outcomes.

Environmental determinants of smoking behaviors: The role of policy and environmental interventions in preventing smoking initiation and supporting cessation.

Tobacco control strategies have contributed to substantial declines in smoking in the United States. However, smoking still remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature deaths in the country. Despite the continuing challenges of implementing tobacco control strategies and the pervasive influence of the tobacco industry to undermine such strategies, there are now unprecedented opportunities to prevent smoking initiation, facilitate cessation, and protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke. In this paper, we briefly review the most recent literature discussing key strategies that have proven effective in tobacco control including regulations on sales and marketing of tobacco products, taxation, and smoke-free legislation. We focused on these three tobacco control strategies because of their potential to positively influence the environment of both minors and adults regardless of their smoking status. Although research has identified significant individual and social predictors of tobacco use, environmental influences are also important risk factors for tobacco use.

The impact of WIC food package changes on access to healthful food in 2 low-income urban neighborhoods.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the 2009 food package changes for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on the availability of healthful food. DESIGN: Survey of all food stores in the study area before and after the changes were implemented. SETTING: Two low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia, 1 predominantly African-American, the other predominantly Hispanic. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty one supermarkets, grocery stores, and non-chain corner stores identified through field enumeration. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nutrition Environment Measure Survey for Stores (NEMS-S) to determine availability, price, and quality of fruit, vegetables, milk, cereal, beans, canned fish, meat, whole grains, and juice. ANALYSIS: Comparison of NEMS-S scores before and after food package changes using t tests and ordinary least squares regression to understand the role of supermarket status, WIC participation, and racial and income composition in predicting NEMS-S scores; geographic information systems to calculate proximity of residents to food stores. RESULTS: The availability of healthful food increased significantly in stores, overall, with more substantial increases in WIC-authorized stores. Supermarket status, WIC retail status, and NEMS-S scores at baseline were significant predictors of NEMS-S scores after the food package changes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Changes in the WIC food package were associated with increased availability of healthful food in 2 low-income neighborhoods.

Obstetric decision-making and counseling at the limits of viability.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence obstetric decision-making and counseling for periviable deliveries and to describe counseling challenges. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-one semistructured interviews were conducted with obstetricians who were recruited from 5 academic medical centers in Philadelphia. Two trained reviewers independently coded transcripts using grounded theory methods. Research software facilitated qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Circumscribed by institutional norms and clinical acuity, obstetric decision-making and counseling were influenced primarily by patient preferences. Perspectives on patient autonomy guided approaches to counseling. Thresholds for intervention varied from "attending to attending" and "institution to institution." Sociodemographic factors were not believed to influence clinical decision-making. However, obstetricians admittedly managed in vitro fertilization pregnancies more aggressively. Communicating uncertainty, managing expectations, assessing understanding, and relaying consistent messages across specialties were frequently described counseling challenges for obstetricians. CONCLUSION: The impact of institutional variation and in vitro fertilization on periviable decision-making warrants further consideration. Interventions to train and support obstetricians in communicating uncertainty, managing expectations, and assessing values and understanding are needed.

Housing strain, mortgage foreclosure, and health.

BACKGROUND: Foreclosure rates have risen rapidly since 2005, reaching historically high levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the health implications of the current housing crisis. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional online consumer panel survey including residents of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida (n = 798) to determine the feasibility of contacting distressed homeowners via the Internet and to assess mental and physical health among respondents across the spectrum from those having no housing strain to those in loan default or home foreclosure. RESULTS: Homeowners in default or foreclosure exhibited poorer mental health and more physical symptoms than renters, homeowners with moderate strain, and homeowners with no strainöfollowing a gradient that was consistent across multiple health indicators. CONCLUSIONS: Internet panel sampling was an efficient method of contacting distressed homeowners. Record-high foreclosure rates may have broad implications for nursing and public health. Homeowners in default or foreclosure represent an identifiable high-risk group that may benefit from coordinated, affordable health and social services.