IT-based Patient Interventions for Opioid Abuse: Evaluation using Analytical Model

The number of people in the US with opioid abuse exceeds 2 million and the total cost is approximately $100B per year. In this study, we focus on patient-level interventions and present three IT-based interventions: (a) mobile reminders, (b) electronic monitoring, and (c) composite intervention. We have developed an analytical model for evaluating interventions using Return-on-Investment (ROI). The interventions are cost-effective for higher values of intervention effectiveness, hospital, and emergency room cost. However, with QoL improvement, cost-effectiveness improves significantly. We also explored the use of financial incentives for increasing the adoption of interventions. These results will help patients, healthcare professionals, decision-makers, and family members to choose the most suitable intervention to address opioid abuse

Alcohol Use, Abuse, and Dependency in Shanghai

The use of alcohol for social and ceremonial occasions was recorded in Chinese history as early as 1760 B.C. during the Yin Dynasty (Ci-Hai Encyclopedia, 1979:936). The cultural tradition of ancient China placed alcoholic beverages at the center of social occasions, which presumably was the origin of the adage: Without wine, there is no li (or etiquette). Thus, the use of alcoholic beverages has always been accompanied by the concept of propriety and the discharging of one\u27s role obligations m social functions, rather than that of personal indulgence

216 Jewish Hospital of St. Louis

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/bjc_216/1183/thumbnail.jp

VCU Media Lab

We propose the establishment of a VCU Media Lab – a professional creative media technology unit whose mission is to support the development, design, production and delivery of innovative media, multimedia, computer-based instruction, publications and tools in support of VCU education, research and marketing initiatives. This centrally administered, budgeted and resourced facility will acknowledge, refine, focus and expand media services that are currently being provided at VCU in a decentralized manner

Which comorbid conditions should we be analyzing as risk factors for healthcare-associated infections?

OBJECTIVETo determine which comorbid conditions are considered causally related to central-line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and surgical-site infection (SSI) based on expert consensus.DESIGNUsing the Delphi method, we administered an iterative, 2-round survey to 9 infectious disease and infection control experts from the United States.METHODSBased on our selection of components from the Charlson and Elixhauser comorbidity indices, 35 different comorbid conditions were rated from 1 (not at all related) to 5 (strongly related) by each expert separately for CLABSI and SSI, based on perceived relatedness to the outcome. To assign expert consensus on causal relatedness for each comorbid condition, all 3 of the following criteria had to be met at the end of the second round: (1) a majority (&gt;50%) of experts rating the condition at 3 (somewhat related) or higher, (2) interquartile range (IQR)≤1, and (3) standard deviation (SD)≤1.RESULTSFrom round 1 to round 2, the IQR and SD, respectively, decreased for ratings of 21 of 35 (60%) and 33 of 35 (94%) comorbid conditions for CLABSI, and for 17 of 35 (49%) and 32 of 35 (91%) comorbid conditions for SSI, suggesting improvement in consensus among this group of experts. At the end of round 2, 13 of 35 (37%) and 17 of 35 (49%) comorbid conditions were perceived as causally related to CLABSI and SSI, respectively.CONCLUSIONSOur results have produced a list of comorbid conditions that should be analyzed as risk factors for and further explored for risk adjustment of CLABSI and SSI.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:449–454</jats:sec

BUSM News and Notes

Monthly newsletter providing updates of interest to the Boston University School of Medicine community

'Scoping interest in creating a publicly facing digital archive of women's activism in mental health in the UK': Report of workshop held in 2014 at the OU London.

This report published by the Open University gives a summary of the workshop held in June 2014 with OU research development funding to bring together 20 invited academics, policy makers, survivors/ service users, voluntary sector workers and practitioners to explore interest in creating publicly facing digital archive of testimonies about women's mental health activism in the UK since the 1970s

Overcoming Barriers in Communities

Panelist Evelyn Cardona, discussed the work of the Brooklyn Coalition Against Family Violence, where she is the director, her own experience as a battered woman, and how she overcame it. Panelist Nechama Wolfson, president of the Shalom Task Force, then talked about the work of Shalom Task Force, a grasroots group of Orthodox Jewish women was doing on the community. Panelist Angela Lee, associate director of the New York Asian Women\u27s Center, discussed the work her organization does with Asian battered women. Panelist Mircia Sanchez discussed the Harlem Dowling West Side Center for Children and Family Services, where she is a coordinator, and their work with children who come into foster care because of domestic violence. Panelist Maria Arias, supervising attorney at the Battered Women\u27s Rights Clinic, discussed the importance of looking at how factors like racism, being an immigrant, and being poor affect the experience of a battered woman. Panelist Anurardha Sharma, Executive Director for SAKHI for South Asian Women, discussed the organization, the kinds of abuse and violence South Asian women experience, and some of the barriers that women these women face