Browsing by Subject "Patients"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Are tuberculosis patients adherent to prescribed treatments in China? Results of a prospective cohort study.
    (Infect Dis Poverty, 2016-05-05) Lei, Xun; Huang, Ke; Liu, Qin; Jie, Yong-Feng; Tang, Sheng-Lan
    BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) patients face numerous difficulties adhering to the long-term, rigorous TB treatment regimen. Findings on TB patients' treatment adherence vary across existing literature and official reports. The present study attempted to determine the actual treatment adherence of new TB patients and to identify factors leading to non-adherence. METHODS: A prospective cohort of 481 newly confirmed TB patients from three counties in western China were enrolled during June to December 2012 and was followed until June 2013. Patients who missed at least one dose of drugs or one follow-up re-examination during the treatment course were deemed as non-adherent. Influencing factors were identified using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: A total of 173 (36.0 %) patients experienced non-adherence and the loss to follow-up cases reached 136 (28.2 %). Only 13.9 % of patients took drugs under direct observation, and 60.5 % of patients were supervised by phone calls. Factor analyses suggested that patients who were observed by family members (OR:5.54, 95 % CI:2.87-10.69) and paying monthly service expenses above 450 RMB (OR:2.08, 95 % CI:1.35-3.19) were more likely to be non-adherent, while supervision by home visit (OR:0.06, 95 % CI:0.01-0.28) and phone calls (OR:0.27, 95 % CI:0.17-0.44) were protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: Despite recent efforts, a large proportion of newly confirmed TB patients could not adhere to standard TB treatment, and patients' lost to follow-up was still a serious problem. Poor treatment supervision and heavy financial burden might be the main causes for non-adherence. More needs to be done to enhance treatment supervision policies and financial supports to both health providers and TB patients.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Ethical Issues and Recommendations in Grateful Patient Fundraising and Philanthropy.
    (Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 2018-11) Collins, Megan E; Rum, Steven; Wheeler, Jane; Antman, Karen; Brem, Henry; Carrese, Joseph; Glennon, Michelle; Kahn, Jeffrey; Ohman, E Magnus; Jagsi, Reshma; Konrath, Sara; Tovino, Stacey; Wright, Scott; Sugarman, Jeremy; Participants in the Summit on the Ethics of Grateful Patient Fundraising
    Grateful patients provide substantial philanthropic funding for health care institutions, resulting in important societal benefits. Although grateful patient fundraising (GPFR) is widespread, it raises an array of ethical issues for patients, physicians, development professionals, and institutions. These issues have not been described comprehensively, and there is insufficient guidance to inform the ethical practice of GPFR. Consequently, the authors convened a "Summit on the Ethics of Grateful Patient Fundraising," with the goal of identifying primary ethical issues in GPFR and offering recommendations regarding how to manage them. Participants were 29 experts from across the United States who represented the perspectives of bioethics, clinical practice, development, law, patients, philanthropy, psychology, and regulatory compliance. Intensive discussions resulted in articulating ethical issues for physicians and other clinicians (discussions with patients about philanthropy; physician-initiated discussions; clinically vulnerable patients; conflicts of obligation and equity regarding physician's time, attention, and responsiveness and the provision of special services; and transparency and respecting donor intent) as well as for development officers and institutions (transparency in the development professional-donor relationship; impact on clinical care; confidentiality and privacy; conflicts of interest; institution-patient/donor relationship; concierge services for grateful patients; scientific merit and research integrity; transparency in use of philanthropic gifts; and institutional policies and training in responsible GPFR). While these recommendations promise to mitigate some of the ethical issues associated with GPFR, important next steps include conducting research on the ethical issues in GPFR, disseminating these recommendations, developing standardized training for clinicians regarding them, and revising them as warranted.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    How Views of the Organization of Primary Care Among Patients with Hypertension Vary by Race or Ethnicity.
    (Military medicine, 2018-09) Jackson, George L; Stechuchak, Karen M; Weinberger, Morris; Bosworth, Hayden B; Coffman, Cynthia J; Kirshner, Miriam A; Edelman, David

    Introduction

    We assessed potential racial or ethnic differences in the degree to which veterans with pharmaceutically treated hypertension report experiences with their primary care system that are consistent with optimal chronic illness care as suggested by Wagner's Chronic Care Model (CCM).

    Materials and methods

    A cross-sectional analysis of the results of the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC), which measured components of the care system suggested by the CCM and was completed at baseline by participants in a hypertension disease management clinical trial. Participants had a recent history of uncontrolled systolic blood pressure.

    Results

    Among 377 patients, non-Hispanic African American veterans had almost twice the odds of indicating that their primary care experience is consistent with CCM features when compared with non-Hispanic White patients (odds ratio (OR) = 1.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-2.98). Similar statistically significant associations were observed for follow-up care (OR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.49-4.50), patient activation (OR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.13-2.87), goal setting (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.03-2.64), and help with problem solving (OR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.00-2.60).

    Conclusions

    Non-Hispanic African Americans with pharmaceutically treated hypertension report that the primary care system more closely approximates the Wagner CCM than non-Hispanic White patients.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Optimizing linkage and retention to hypertension care in rural Kenya (LARK hypertension study): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
    (Trials, 2014-04-27) Vedanthan, Rajesh; Kamano, Jemima H; Naanyu, Violet; Delong, Allison K; Were, Martin C; Finkelstein, Eric A; Menya, Diana; Akwanalo, Constantine O; Bloomfield, Gerald S; Binanay, Cynthia A; Velazquez, Eric J; Hogan, Joseph W; Horowitz, Carol R; Inui, Thomas S; Kimaiyo, Sylvester; Fuster, Valentin
    BACKGROUND: Hypertension is the leading global risk factor for mortality. Hypertension treatment and control rates are low worldwide, and delays in seeking care are associated with increased mortality. Thus, a critical component of hypertension management is to optimize linkage and retention to care. METHODS/DESIGN: This study investigates whether community health workers, equipped with a tailored behavioral communication strategy and smartphone technology, can increase linkage and retention of hypertensive individuals to a hypertension care program and significantly reduce blood pressure among them. The study will be conducted in the Kosirai and Turbo Divisions of western Kenya. An initial phase of qualitative inquiry will assess facilitators and barriers of linkage and retention to care using a modified Health Belief Model as a conceptual framework. Subsequently, we will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial with three arms: 1) usual care (community health workers with the standard level of hypertension care training); 2) community health workers with an additional tailored behavioral communication strategy; and 3) community health workers with a tailored behavioral communication strategy who are also equipped with smartphone technology. The co-primary outcome measures are: 1) linkage to hypertension care, and 2) one-year change in systolic blood pressure among hypertensive individuals. Cost-effectiveness analysis will be conducted in terms of costs per unit decrease in blood pressure and costs per disability-adjusted life year gained. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence regarding the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of strategies to optimize linkage and retention to hypertension care that can be applicable to non-communicable disease management in low- and middle-income countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered with (NCT01844596) on 30 April 2013.