A Brief Peer Support Intervention for Veterans with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Pilot Study of Feasibility and Effectiveness

Objective The aim of this study was to pilot test a peer support intervention, involving peer delivery of pain self-management strategies, for veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Design Pretest/posttest with 4-month intervention period. Methods Ten peer coaches were each assigned 2 patients (N = 20 patients). All had chronic musculoskeletal pain. Guided by a study manual, peer coach–patient pairs were instructed to talk biweekly for 4 months. Pain was the primary outcome and was assessed with the PEG, a three-item version of the Brief Pain Inventory, and the PROMIS Pain Interference Questionnaire. Several secondary outcomes were also assessed. To assess change in outcomes, a linear mixed model with a random effect for peer coaches was applied. Results Nine peer coaches and 17 patients completed the study. All were male veterans. Patients' pain improved at 4 months compared with baseline but did not reach statistical significance (PEG: P = 0.33, ICC [intra-class correlation] = 0.28, Cohen's d = −0.25; PROMIS: P = 0.17, d = −0.35). Of secondary outcomes, self-efficacy (P = 0.16, ICC = 0.56, d = 0.60) and pain centrality (P = 0.06, ICC = 0.32, d = −0.62) showed greatest improvement, with moderate effect sizes. Conclusions This study suggests that peers can effectively deliver pain self-management strategies to other veterans with pain. Although this was a pilot study with a relatively short intervention period, patients improved on several outcomes

Care Trajectories of Veterans in the Twelve Months following Hospitalization for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background—Recovery after a stroke varies greatly between individuals and is reflected by wide variation in the use of institutional and home care services. This study sought to classify veterans according to their care trajectories in the 12 months after hospitalization for ischemic stroke. Methods and Results—The sample consisted of 3811 veterans hospitalized for ischemic stroke in Veterans Health Administration facilities in 2007. Three outcomes—nursing home care, home care, and mortality—were modeled jointly >12 months using latent class growth analysis. Data on Veterans’ care use and cost came from the Veterans Administration and Medicare. Covariates included stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale), functional status (functional independence measure score), age, marital status, chronic conditions, and prestroke ambulation. Five care trajectories were identified: 49% of Veterans had Rapid Recovery with little or no use of care; 15% had a Steady Recovery with initially high nursing home or home care that tapered off; 9% had Long-Term Home Care; 13% had Long-Term Nursing Home Care; and 14% had an Unstable trajectory with multiple transitions between long-term and acute care settings. Care use was greatest for individuals with more severe strokes, lower functioning at hospital discharge, and older age. Average annual costs were highest for individuals with the Long-Term Nursing Home trajectory ($63 082), closely followed by individuals with the Unstable trajectory ($58 720). Individual with the Rapid Recovery trajectory had the lowest costs ($9271). Conclusions—Care trajectories after stroke were associated with stroke severity and functional dependency and they had a dramatic impact on subsequent costs

Evaluation of a peer coach-led intervention to improve pain symptoms (ECLIPSE): Rationale, study design, methods, and sample characteristics

Chronic pain is prevalent, costly, and a leading cause of disability. Pain self-management (i.e., employing self-management strategies including behavioral modifications) is an effective, evidence-based treatment. However, implementation and delivery of a pain self-management model is challenging because of time and resources. Peer supported pain self-management offers a promising approach to implementing pain self-management programs using fewer clinical resources. Evaluation of a Peer Coach-Led Intervention for the Improvement of Pain Symptoms (ECLIPSE) is a randomized controlled trial testing effectiveness of peer coach-delivered pain self-management intervention versus controls receiving a class on pain and pain self-management. ECLIPSE is a Hybrid Type 1 study testing effectiveness while examining implementation factors. ECLIPSE enrolled 215 veterans randomly assigned to the peer coaching (N = 120) or control (N = 95) arm. The peer coaching intervention lasts 6 months, with patient-peer coach pairs instructed to talk twice per month. Coaches attend initial training, are provided a detailed training manual, and attend monthly booster sessions. Outcomes are assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 9 months. The primary outcome is overall pain (intensity and interference), measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). Secondary outcomes are self-efficacy, social support, pain catastrophizing, patient activation, health-related quality of life, and health care utilization. To maximize implementation potential of pain self-management, innovative delivery methods are needed that do not require additional resources from healthcare teams. A novel and promising approach is a peer-coaching model, in which patients who are successfully managing their pain offer information, ongoing support, and advice to other patients with pain

Exploring peer coaches’ outcomes: Findings from a clinical trial of patients with chronic pain

Objective Although peer coaching can help patients manage chronic conditions, few studies have evaluated the effects of peer coaching on coaches, and no studies have systematically examined these effects in the context of chronic pain coaching. Methods Peer coach outcomes were assessed as part of a randomized trial of peer coaching for chronic pain. In this exploratory analysis, linear mixed models were used to evaluate changes in peer coaches’ pain and related outcomes from baseline to 6 and 9 months. The Šidák method was used to account for multiple comparisons. Results Peer coaches (N = 55) experienced statistically significant increases in anxiety and pain catastrophizing from baseline to 6 months, which were no longer significant after adjustment. All other changes were not statistically significant. Conclusions Despite prior studies suggesting that peer coaches benefit from serving as a coach, the current study failed to support that conclusion. Practice Implications Peer coaching remains a promising model, with high potential for implementation, for a number of chronic conditions requiring self-management. However, to maximize the benefits of such interventions, it is essential to monitor both those being coached and the coaches themselves, and not to assume that serving as a coach is inherently beneficial

Applying human factors principles to alert design increases efficiency and reduces prescribing errors in a scenario-based simulation

OBJECTIVE: To apply human factors engineering principles to improve alert interface design. We hypothesized that incorporating human factors principles into alerts would improve usability, reduce workload for prescribers, and reduce prescribing errors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a scenario-based simulation study using a counterbalanced, crossover design with 20 Veterans Affairs prescribers to compare original versus redesigned alerts. We redesigned drug-allergy, drug-drug interaction, and drug-disease alerts based upon human factors principles. We assessed usability (learnability of redesign, efficiency, satisfaction, and usability errors), perceived workload, and prescribing errors. RESULTS: Although prescribers received no training on the design changes, prescribers were able to resolve redesigned alerts more efficiently (median (IQR): 56 (47) s) compared to the original alerts (85 (71) s; p=0.015). In addition, prescribers rated redesigned alerts significantly higher than original alerts across several dimensions of satisfaction. Redesigned alerts led to a modest but significant reduction in workload (p=0.042) and significantly reduced the number of prescribing errors per prescriber (median (range): 2 (1-5) compared to original alerts: 4 (1-7); p=0.024). DISCUSSION: Aspects of the redesigned alerts that likely contributed to better prescribing include design modifications that reduced usability-related errors, providing clinical data closer to the point of decision, and displaying alert text in a tabular format. Displaying alert text in a tabular format may help prescribers extract information quickly and thereby increase responsiveness to alerts. CONCLUSIONS: This simulation study provides evidence that applying human factors design principles to medication alerts can improve usability and prescribing outcomes

Comparison of Risk Factor Control in the Year After Discharge for Ischemic Stroke Versus Acute Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Veterans Health Administration has engaged in quality improvement to improve vascular risk factor control. We sought to examine blood pressure (<140/90 mm Hg), lipid (LDL [low-density lipoprotein] cholesterol <100 mg/dL), and glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c <9%), in the year post-hospitalization for acute ischemic stroke or acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: We identified patients who were hospitalized (fiscal year 2011) with ischemic stroke, AMI, congestive heart failure, transient ischemic attack, or pneumonia/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The primary analysis compared risk factor control after incident ischemic stroke versus AMI. Facilities were included if they cared for ≥25 ischemic stroke and ≥25 AMI patients. A generalized linear mixed model including patient- and facility-level covariates compared risk factor control across diagnoses. RESULTS: Forty thousand two hundred thirty patients were hospitalized (n=75 facilities): 2127 with incident ischemic stroke and 4169 with incident AMI. Fewer stroke patients achieved blood pressure control than AMI patients (64%; 95% confidence interval, 0.62-0.67 versus 77%; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-0.78; P<0.0001). After adjusting for patient and facility covariates, the odds of blood pressure control were still higher for AMI than ischemic stroke patients (odds ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-1.51). There were no statistical differences for AMI versus stroke patients in hyperlipidemia (P=0.534). Among patients with diabetes mellitus, the odds of glycemic control were lower for AMI than ischemic stroke patients (odds ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.54-0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Given that hypertension control is a cornerstone of stroke prevention, interventions to improve poststroke hypertension management are neede

Testing Adaptations of Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study with Veterans

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have well-documented relationship problems and many wish to include their intimate partners in treatment. This pilot study randomly assigned 46 couples (Veterans with clinician-administered PTSD scale confirmed PTSD diagnosis and their intimate partners) to one of two groups. The treatment group received a modified mindfulness-based version of cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD (CBCT; Monson & Fredman, 2012) that included all three phases of the mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy (MB-CBCT). The control group received a modified version of CBCT that included communication skills training from Phases 1 and 2 of CBCT (CBCT-CS) without PTSD-specific content. Modified CBCT Phases 1 and 2 content was delivered to both groups during weekend retreats in multicouple group sessions. The postretreat protocol for MB-CBCT included nine individual couple sessions: a transition session following the retreat, and CBCT Phase 3. For CBCT-CS, two additional monthly multicouple group sessions reviewed communication skills. No statistically significant pre- to posttreatment differences were detected for primary outcomes between groups: Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Veterans (mean change difference, −1.4, 95% CI [−16.0 to 13.2]); Dyadic Adjustment Scale for Veterans (mean change difference, −1.0, 95% CI [−13.2 to 11.2]); and Dyadic Adjustment Scale for Partners (mean change difference, −0.4, 95% CI [−8.9 to 8.1]). However, within group pre- to posttreatment effect sizes were medium to large for both MB-CBCT and CBCT-CS on all three primary outcomes. Findings suggest that Veterans returning from recent conflicts and their partners may benefit from both modifications of CBCT

Psychosocial and Sociodemographic Contributors to Breastfeeding Intention in First-Time Mothers

Objective Breastfeeding has multiple benefits for women and babies. Understanding factors contributing to intention to exclusively breastfeed may allow for improving the rates in first-time mothers. The study objective was to examine factors associated with a woman’s intention to breastfeed her first child. Methods A secondary analysis of the prospective “Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: monitoring mothers-to-be” (nuMoM2b) study of nulliparous women in the U.S. with singleton pregnancies was performed. Sociodemographic and psychosocial factors were analyzed for associations with breastfeeding intention. Results For the 6443 women with complete information about breastfeeding intention and all factors under consideration, women who intended to breastfeed (either exclusively or any breastfeeding) were more likely to be older, not black, have reached a higher level of education, have higher incomes, have a lower body mass index (BMI), and be nonsmokers. Reporting a planned pregnancy and several psychosocial measures were also associated with intention to breastfeed. In the multivariable analysis for exclusive breastfeeding, in addition to age, BMI, race, income, education, and smoking, of the psychosocial measures assessed, only women with higher hassle intensity ratios on the Pregnancy Experience Scale had lower odds of exclusive breastfeeding intention (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55–0.92). Other psychosocial measures were not associated with either exclusive breastfeeding or any breastfeeding after controlling for demographic characteristics. Conclusions for Practice Several sociodemographic factors, having a planned pregnancy, and fewer intense pregnancy hassles compared to uplifts are associated with intention to exclusively breastfeed. Identifying these factors may allow providers to identify women for focused, multilevel efforts to enhance breastfeeding rates

The presence of benign prostatic glandular tissue at surgical margins does not predict PSA recurrence

Background: Serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) increases after radical prostatectomy are thought to indicate recurrent disease, although some suggest they result from benign prostatic epithelial tissue left at surgical margins. Aims: To investigate whether presence, location, and extent of benign prostatic tissue at radical prostatectomy surgical margins influence patient outcome. Methods: One hundred and ninety nine patients with prostate cancer and negative surgical margins were studied. The prostectomy specimens were totally embedded using the whole mount technique. The apex and bladder neck, dissected as a cone from the specimen, were serially sectioned. The total length of benign prostatic tissue at the margins, measured for each location using an ocular micrometer, was obtained by summing the length of all positive sites. The presence, anatomical location, and extent of benign prostatic tissue at the margin were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and postoperative PSA increases. Results: Fifty five cases had benign prostatic glandular tissue at the surgical margin. The mean length was 2.19 mm (0.1–14.7). The most frequent location of benign prostatic tissue was the apex (40 patients). Presence, anatomical location, and length of benign prostatic tissue at the margin were not significantly associated with age, preoperative PSA, prostate weight, pathological stage, tumour volume, largest tumour dimension, Gleason score, extraprostatic extension, seminal vesical invasion, tumour multifocality, perineural invasion, or PSA recurrence. Conclusions: Benign prostatic tissue was frequently found in margins of apex and bladder base, but uncommon in the anterior or posterior prostate. The presence of benign prostatic tissue at surgical margins had no prognostic relevance