National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 17 of 17 Research Studies DisplayedWhooten RC, Horan C, Cordes J
Evaluating the implementation of a before-school physical activity program: a mixed-methods approach in Massachusetts, 2018.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of a widely available, before-school, physical activity program in a low-resource, racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse, urban school setting to identify adaptations needed for successful implementation. The investigators used a collaborative effort with stakeholders to implement the Build Our Kids' Success (BOKS) program in 3 schools in Revere, Massachusetts.
AHRQ-funded; HS000063.
Citation: Whooten RC, Horan C, Cordes J .
Evaluating the implementation of a before-school physical activity program: a mixed-methods approach in Massachusetts, 2018.
Prev Chronic Dis 2020 Oct 1;17:E116. doi: 10.5888/pcd17.190445..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Education, Implementation, Health Promotion, Prevention, Lifestyle Changes, Social Determinants of Health
Aguilera A, Figueroa CA, Hernandez-Ramos R
mHealth app using machine learning to increase physical activity in diabetes and depression: clinical trial protocol for the DIAMANTE study.
In this randomized controlled trial, the researchers’ goal is to examine the effect of a text-messaging smartphone application to encourage physical activity in low-income ethnic minority patients with comorbid diabetes and depression. They will compare passively collected daily step counts, self-reported PHQ-8 and most recent hemoglobin A1c from medical records at baseline and at intervention completion at 6-month follow-up. They plan to submit manuscripts describing their user-designed methods and testing of the adaptive learning algorithm and will submit the results of the trial for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at scientific meetings.
AHRQ-funded; HS025429.
Citation: Aguilera A, Figueroa CA, Hernandez-Ramos R .
mHealth app using machine learning to increase physical activity in diabetes and depression: clinical trial protocol for the DIAMANTE study.
BMJ Open 2020 Aug 20;10(8):e034723. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034723..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Diabetes, Chronic Conditions, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Low-Income, Health Promotion
Payán DD, Maggard-Gibbons M, Flórez KR
Taking Care of Yourself and Your Risk for Breast Cancer (CUIDARSE): a randomized controlled trial of a health communication intervention for Latinas.
Latinas in the United States are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer (BC) compared to non-Latinas. Literacy-appropriate and culturally sensitive cancer communication interventions can help address existing racial/ethnic BC disparities. In this study, the investigators formatively developed a new BC prevention brochure for Spanish-speaking Latinas (≥35 years) and conducted a randomized controlled trial of a health communication intervention for Latinas.
AHRQ-funded; HS019264.
Citation: Payán DD, Maggard-Gibbons M, Flórez KR .
Taking Care of Yourself and Your Risk for Breast Cancer (CUIDARSE): a randomized controlled trial of a health communication intervention for Latinas.
Health Educ Behav 2020 Aug;47(4):569-80. doi: 10.1177/1090198120920529..
Keywords: Cancer: Breast Cancer, Cancer, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Health Literacy, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Cultural Competence, Health Promotion, Communication, Women, Community-Based Practice
Nelson HD, Cantor A, Wagner J
Effectiveness of patient navigation to increase cancer screening in populations adversely affected by health disparities: a meta-analysis.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of patient navigation to increase screening for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer in populations adversely affected by health care disparities. Two of the investigators independently abstracted study data and assessed study quality and applicability using criteria adapted from the USPSTF. Findings indicated that, in populations adversely affected by disparities, colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screening rates were higher in patients provided navigation services.
AHRQ-funded; 290201500009I.
Citation: Nelson HD, Cantor A, Wagner J .
Effectiveness of patient navigation to increase cancer screening in populations adversely affected by health disparities: a meta-analysis.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Jul 22;35(10):3026-35. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06020-9..
Keywords: Cancer, Disparities, Cancer: Colorectal Cancer, Screening, Prevention, Women, Health Promotion
Krist AH, O'Loughlin K, Woolf SH
Enhanced care planning and clinical-community linkages versus usual care to address basic needs of patients with multiple chronic conditions: a clinician-level randomized controlled trial.
This paper describes the beginning of a clinician-level cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate how primary care clinicians can participate in community and hospital solutions to connecting patients with needed services and whether doing so is effective in controlling multiple chronic conditions. Electronic health records will be used to identify patients with these conditions, including cardiovascular disease or risks, diabetes, obesity, or depression.
AHRQ-funded; HS026223.
Citation: Krist AH, O'Loughlin K, Woolf SH .
Enhanced care planning and clinical-community linkages versus usual care to address basic needs of patients with multiple chronic conditions: a clinician-level randomized controlled trial.
Trials 2020 Jun 11;21(1):517. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04463-3..
Keywords: Chronic Conditions, Primary Care, Health Promotion, Access to Care
Whitley MD, Payán DD, Flórez KR
Feasibility and acceptability of a mobile messaging program within a church-based healthy living intervention for African Americans and Latinos.
Church-based programs can act on multiple levels to improve dietary and physical activity behaviors among African Americans and Latinos. However, the effectiveness of these interventions may be limited due to challenges in reaching all congregants or influencing behavior outside of the church setting. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile messaging program within a church-based healthy living intervention for African Americans and Latinos.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Whitley MD, Payán DD, Flórez KR .
Feasibility and acceptability of a mobile messaging program within a church-based healthy living intervention for African Americans and Latinos.
Health Informatics J 2020 Jun;26(2):880-96. doi: 10.1177/1460458219853408..
Keywords: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Community-Based Practice, Health Information Technology (HIT), Health Promotion
Sun CJ, Anderson KM, Kuhn T
A sexual health promotion app for transgender women (Trans Women Connected): development and usability study.
HIV severely impacts the transgender communities in the United States, and transgender women have the highest HIV incidence rates among any identified risk group. Guided by formative research with transgender women and by an expert advisory panel of transgender women, the investigators designed a prototype mobile app to promote HIV prevention among transgender women. This study aimed to develop and test the usability and acceptability of the prototype Trans Women Connected mobile app.
AHRQ-funded; HS022981.
Citation: Sun CJ, Anderson KM, Kuhn T .
A sexual health promotion app for transgender women (Trans Women Connected): development and usability study.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2020 May 12;8(5):e15888. doi: 10.2196/15888..
Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Health Promotion, Sexual Health, Infectious Diseases, Prevention, Women
Rinehart DJ, Leslie S, Durfee MJ
Acceptability and efficacy of a sexual health texting intervention designed to support adolescent females.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of a pilot texting intervention ("t4she") in primary care designed to increase sexual health knowledge and promote dual protection strategies to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among adolescent females. The investigators concluded that the pilot t4she sexual health intervention significantly improved knowledge and use of short-acting prescription birth control among young females in primary care and was acceptable by youth and feasible to implement.
AHRQ-funded; HS022143.
Citation: Rinehart DJ, Leslie S, Durfee MJ .
Acceptability and efficacy of a sexual health texting intervention designed to support adolescent females.
Acad Pediatr 2020 May-Jun;20(4):475-84. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2019.09.004..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Sexual Health, Women, Health Information Technology (HIT), Health Promotion
Flórez KR, Payán DD, Palar K
Church-based interventions to address obesity among African Americans and Latinos in the United States: a systematic review.
This systematic literature review examined the impact of multilevel church-based interventions to address racial/ethnic disparities in obesity in the US. The review identified 43 relevant articles using systematic review methods developed by the CDC’s Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Although 81% of the studies reported significant results, effective size was reported or could only be calculated in 56% of the cases. A lack of diversity among the samples was also found with few studies involving Latinos, men, young adults, or children. Few interventions were actually multilevel in nature or incorporated strategies at the church or community. Greater diversity is needed in future church-based interventions.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Flórez KR, Payán DD, Palar K .
Church-based interventions to address obesity among African Americans and Latinos in the United States: a systematic review.
Nutr Rev 2020 Apr;78(4):304-22. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuz046..
Keywords: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Obesity, Obesity: Weight Management, Disparities, Health Promotion, Prevention
Rice WS, Stringer KL, Sohail M
Accessing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): perceptions of current and potential prEP users in Birmingham, Alabama.
Limited studies to date assess barriers to and facilitators of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake and utilization using a patient-centered access to care framework, among diverse socio-demographic groups, or in the U.S. Deep South, an area with disproportionate HIV burden. In this study, the investigators examine perceptions of PrEP access in qualitative interviews with 44 current and potential PrEP users in Birmingham, Alabama.
AHRQ-funded; HS013852.
Citation: Rice WS, Stringer KL, Sohail M .
Accessing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): perceptions of current and potential prEP users in Birmingham, Alabama.
AIDS Behav 2019 Nov;23(11):2966-79. doi: 10.1007/s10461-019-02591-9..
Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Prevention, Healthcare Utilization, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Health Literacy, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Access to Care, Health Promotion
Jefferson UT, Zachary I, Majee W
Employing a user-centered design to engage mothers in the development of a mHealth breastfeeding application.
The Mother's Milk Connection mHealth application was designed to improve breastfeeding duration and access to support. This article describes a user-centered design process to engage mothers in the development of the Mother's Milk Connection application. Stakeholder and user engagement indicated the integration of four distinct features acceptable for use as a comprehensive mHealth intervention to improve access to breastfeeding support. Further, mHealth has the potential to be a useful strategy for providing breastfeeding support, and a clinical trial regarding the efficacy of the Mother's Milk Connection application is needed.
AHRQ-funded; HS022140.
Citation: Jefferson UT, Zachary I, Majee W .
Employing a user-centered design to engage mothers in the development of a mHealth breastfeeding application.
Comput Inform Nurs 2019 Oct;37(10):522-31. doi: 10.1097/cin.0000000000000549..
Keywords: Breast Feeding, Maternal Care, Pregnancy, Women, Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient and Family Engagement, Patient Adherence/Compliance, Health Promotion, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Caregiving
Lyson HC, Le GM, Zhang J
Social media as a tool to promote health awareness: results from an online cervical cancer prevention study.
In this study, the authors investigated whether participation in an online social media platform and receipt of brief, tailored messages was effective at increasing knowledge, awareness, and prevention behaviors related to human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer. The investigators found that although most study participants had substantial knowledge, awareness, and engagement in positive behaviors related to cervical cancer prevention at the start of the study, HPV awareness could be increased through brief participation in an online social media platform and receipt of tailored health messages.
AHRQ-funded; HS022241.
Citation: Lyson HC, Le GM, Zhang J .
Social media as a tool to promote health awareness: results from an online cervical cancer prevention study.
J Cancer Educ 2019 Aug;34(4):819-22. doi: 10.1007/s13187-018-1379-8..
Keywords: Social Media, Cancer: Cervical Cancer, Cancer, Health Promotion, Prevention
Ye L, Owens RL, Dykes P
Individualized sleep promotion in acute care hospitals: Identifying factors that affect patient sleep.
The aim of this study was develop a tool that can be used to measure factors that affect patient sleep in acute care hospitals. A tool called Factors Affected Inpatient Sleep (FAIS) was developed using literature review and was validated by content validity testing. The scale was tested on 105 hospitalized patients and the most significant sleep disruptors were identified. The final FAIS scale included 14 items in three subscales. The biggest factors for sleep disruption included 1) emotional or physical impairment due to illness or hospitalization; 2) sleep disturbance due to discomfort of their care plan schedule; and 3) sleep interruption due to the hospital environment or medical care. The reliability of the scale was measured at 0.87 with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and reliability of the subscales ranged from 0.72 to 0.81.
AHRQ-funded; HS024330.
Citation: Ye L, Owens RL, Dykes P .
Individualized sleep promotion in acute care hospitals: Identifying factors that affect patient sleep.
Appl Nurs Res 2019 Aug;48:63-67. doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2019.05.006..
Keywords: Health Promotion, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Sleep Problems
Chu KH, Colditz J, Malik M
Identifying key target audiences for public health campaigns: leveraging machine learning in the case of hookah tobacco smoking.
Current social media platforms provide researchers with opportunities to better identify and target specific audiences and even individuals. However, the investigators were not aware of systematic research attempting to identify audiences with mixed or ambivalent views toward hookah tobacco smoking (HTS). The objective of their study was to (1) confirm previous research showing positively skewed HTS sentiment on Twitter using a larger dataset by leveraging machine learning techniques and (2) systematically identify individuals who exhibit mixed opinions about HTS via the Twitter platform and therefore represent key audiences for intervention.
AHRQ-funded; HS022989.
Citation: Chu KH, Colditz J, Malik M .
Identifying key target audiences for public health campaigns: leveraging machine learning in the case of hookah tobacco smoking.
J Med Internet Res 2019 Jul 8;21(7):e12443. doi: 10.2196/12443..
Keywords: Health Promotion, Public Health, Social Media, Tobacco Use, Tobacco Use: Smoking Cessation
Brown SD, Fotuhi O, Grijalva CS
A randomized study of values affirmation to promote interest in diabetes prevention among women with a history of gestational diabetes.
The purpose of this study was to test whether two interventions promote interest in diabetes prevention among women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus. The researchers designed an email outreach message incorporating ‘values affirmation,’ a theory-based intervention, and promoting an existing preventive lifestyle program. Selected patients were randomized to read an outreach message containing either no affirmation (control) or 1 of 2 affirmations. Results showed that participants randomized to the values affirmation more frequently demonstrated interest in the lifestyle program and sought information about diabetes prevention, while the parenting affirmation yielded no significant differences in either outcome.
AHRQ-funded; HS019367.
Citation: Brown SD, Fotuhi O, Grijalva CS .
A randomized study of values affirmation to promote interest in diabetes prevention among women with a history of gestational diabetes.
Med Care 2019 Jul;57(7):528-35. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001133..
Keywords: Diabetes, Chronic Conditions, Pregnancy, Women, Health Promotion, Prevention, Lifestyle Changes
Payan DD, Florez KR, Bogart LM
Promoting health from the pulpit: a process evaluation of HIV sermons to reduce HIV stigma and promote testing in African American and Latino churches.
This study explored implementation of an HIV sermon as part of a multi-component intervention in three churches (Latino Catholic, Latino Pentecostal, and African American Baptist) in high HIV prevalence areas of Los Angeles County, California. The investigators found large variation in fidelity to communicating key HIV messages from the sermon guide. They concluded that structured training of clergy may be necessary to implement the more theoretically driven stigma reduction cues included in the sermon guide.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Payan DD, Florez KR, Bogart LM .
Promoting health from the pulpit: a process evaluation of HIV sermons to reduce HIV stigma and promote testing in African American and Latino churches.
Health Commun 2019 Jan;34(1):11-20. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2017.1384352..
Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Social Stigma, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Health Promotion, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Communication, Prevention
Margolis MA, Brewer NT, Shah PD
Stories about HPV vaccine in social media, traditional media, and conversations.
To understand how stories from media and social interactions shape parents' HPV vaccination decisions, the authors sought to characterize parents' exposure to these stories, as well as associations between story exposure and vaccination behavior. They found that stories of HPV vaccine harms may be associated more strongly with vaccination behavior than stories of HPV vaccine preventable diseases. They recommended that communication campaigns consider strategies to elevate stories of preventable diseases in social and traditional media.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Margolis MA, Brewer NT, Shah PD .
Stories about HPV vaccine in social media, traditional media, and conversations.
Prev Med 2019 Jan;118:251-56. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.11.005..
Keywords: Caregiving, Children/Adolescents, Communication, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Health Promotion, Infectious Diseases, Prevention, Sexual Health, Social Media, Vaccination