Hearing Care for Elders: A Personal Reflection on Participatory Action Learning With Primary Care Providers

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorienne M. Jenstad ◽  
Martha Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Hearing Health

Purpose This report is a reflective critical narrative of the authors' experience with an interdisciplinary collaboration of primary care providers (PCPs) and hearing health care providers (HHCPs) that followed the principles of participatory action research/learning. The goal for this report is to describe the 1st author's observed barriers to PCPs' willingness to learn about hearing health care and the subsequent facilitators to learning. Method A team of PCPs and HHCPs created the “Communication: Hearing Loss in Elders” educational module. The module included (a) prereading developed from a combination of literature reviews and contextual factors and (b) a case study. Results The authors present the list of topics included in the module, and they reflect on why and how these topics were deemed important by the team. In particular, 2 topics were identified for motivating PCPs' behavior regarding hearing health care: (a) the overlap in symptoms and possible causation among depression, dementia, and hearing loss and (b) how hearing can affect efficiency of care regarding other health issues. Conclusions This personal reflective narrative gives the authors' opinions about what can make for a successful collaboration and presents some hypotheses regarding information that may motivate behavior change with regard to hearing care.

Hearing Health Care Delivery Outside the Booth

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Kathy Gates ◽  
Quintin A. Hecht ◽  
Marjorie A. M. Grantham ◽  
Andrew J. Fallon ◽  
Malisha Martukovich
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Technical Specifications ◽  
Hearing Health

Purpose The purpose of this review article is to discuss how boothless audiometry may help address changes in hearing health care services and provide progressive tools to expand beyond traditional audiology clinic visits. The primary drivers for these changes include the COVID-19 pandemic, our aging population, comorbid effects of unidentified hearing loss, and the critical need for effective communication between patients and providers. This review article highlights key features and technical specifications of boothless audiometry, provides an overview of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved boothless audiometry products, and describes how to leverage these products to increase access to hearing health services across the continuum of health care. Method Boothless audiometry literature was reviewed using PubMed and audiometry technology websites. FDA-approved boothless audiometry products were reviewed, and audiological features were categorized. Civilian and Department of Defense subject matter experts were consulted. Conclusions Boothless audiometry technology introduces opportunities for early audiometric assessment outside of the audiology clinic, in settings where traditional testing has been less possible, or even impossible, such as military environments, clinic waiting areas, schools, and nursing homes. This technology allows health care providers to identify individuals with significant hearing loss early and seek comprehensive services to prevent and treat hearing loss. By expanding the current hearing health care delivery model via boothless audiometry technology, the following benefits may be achieved, which can result in better outcomes overall: increased access to care, early identification and treatment of hearing loss, and reduced impact from the comorbid effects of hearing impairment.

scholarly journals An Epigenetics-Based, Lifestyle Medicine–Driven Approach to Stress Management for Primary Patient Care: Implications for Medical Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Lee ◽  
Frank Papa ◽  
Paresh Atu Jaini ◽  
Sarah Alpini ◽  
Tim Kenny
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Lifestyle Medicine ◽  
Lifestyle Choices

Over 75% of patients in the primary care setting present with stress-related complaints. Curiously, patients and health care providers all too often see stress as a relatively benign sequela of many common illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, lung disease, dementia, diabetes, and mental illness. Unfortunately, various day-to-day lifestyle choices and environmental factors, unrelated to the presence of any disease, can cause stress sufficient to contribute to the development of various diseases/disorders and suboptimal health. There is evidence suggesting that counseling in stress management–oriented therapeutic interventions (as offered by lifestyle medicine–oriented practitioners) may prevent or reduce the onset, severity, duration, and/or overall burden of stress-related illnesses. Such counseling often involves considerations such as the patient’s nutrition, physical activity, interest in/capacity to meditate, drug abuse/cessation, and so on. Unfortunately, lifestyle medicine–oriented approaches to stress management are rarely offered in primary care—the patient care arena wherein such counseling would likely be best received by patients. Would health care outcomes improve if primary care providers offered counseling in both stress management and positive lifestyle choices? The purpose of this article is to provide both primary care practitioners and educators in health care training programs with an introductory overview of epigenetics. An emerging field of science offering insights into how factors such as stress and lifestyle choices interact with our genes in ways that can both positively and negatively impact the various micro (eg, cellular) through macro (eg, physiologic, pathophysiologic) processes that determine our tendencies toward illness or wellness. A deeper understanding of epigenetics, as provided herein, should enable primary care providers and medical educators to more confidently advocate for the primary benefits associated with counseling in both stress reduction and the pursuit of healthy lifestyle choices.

scholarly journals A Systems-Wide Approach for Early Detection and Management of Dementia in Primary Care

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 346-346
Author(s):  
Annette Fitzpatrick ◽  
Basia Belza
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Community Advisory Board ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Cognitive Changes

Abstract Dementia is frequently unrecognized and under-reported by health care providers. The needs of an aging population increase the burden on an already over-worked primary care system that is often without the appropriate training, resources, and reimbursement to address the growing number of people with cognitive decline in the US. In this symposium we present a systems-wide approach within University of Washington (UW) Primary Care to increase awareness of early signs and symptoms, detection of cognitive impairment, and support of providers, patients and caregivers that will ultimately improve outcomes of care. This quality improvement (QI) program integrates stakeholder-selected components of the GSA KAER (Kickstart-Assess-Evaluate and Refer) Model and Toolkit (2020 Edition), developed by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), into primary care practice. We describe content and logistics of a continuing education intervention for primary care providers and clinical staff to increase skills for evaluation and management of dementia. Working with UW clinic managers and information technology (IT), we have developed a pragmatic system for streamlining operations and documenting care utilizing newly developed interdisciplinary workflows and electronic health record order sets. Using input from our Community Advisory Board, we explain development of a web-based resource directory to be used in-clinic and at home to support providers, staff, patients, families, and caregivers across cognitive changes. Strategies presented here are aimed to help other health care systems initiate steps to integrate KAER and other tools into a practical QI program for improving detection and management of dementia through support of primary care.

Opioid-Induced Hearing Loss and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Clinical Considerations for Audiologists and Recommendations for Future Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-709
Author(s):  
Khary K. Rigg ◽  
Malika S. Rigg
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Abstinence Syndrome ◽  
Opioid Misuse ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Hearing Health

Purpose Over the last two decades, the number of Americans misusing opioids has reached epidemic levels. With such drastic increases in opioid misuse, audiologists are more likely to have patients with opioid-induced hearing loss or neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) than in previous years. More attention is needed on how these increases might influence clinical practice and such a discussion could be useful for audiologists. The goal of this article, therefore, is to summarize what is currently known regarding the relationship between opioid misuse and audiology to help guide hearing health care providers (with a particular focus on opioid-induced hearing loss and NAS). This article (a) summarizes the overlap in opioid misuse and hearing loss populations, (b) describes the evidence linking opioid misuse to hearing loss, (c) discusses clinical implications that opioid-induced hearing loss and NAS have for practicing audiologists, and (d) recommends directions for future audiological research on opioid-induced hearing loss and NAS. Conclusions There is considerable overlap between populations at-risk for hearing loss and opioid misuse. Additionally, compelling evidence exists linking opioid misuse to hearing loss, but the specific causal mechanisms remain unclear, indicating a need for additional research. This article attempts to fill a gap in the audiological literature and has the potential to serve as a guide for hearing health care providers to make more informed clinical decisions regarding patients with opioid-induced hearing loss and NAS. Clinicians may wish to consider the concerns raised in this article before intervening with such concerns, especially in the absence of best practice protocols.

scholarly journals Knowledge, Attitudes, and PrEP Prescribing Practices of Health Care Providers in Philadelphia, PA

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 215013271987852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Carter ◽  
Erika Aaron ◽  
Tanner Nassau ◽  
Kathleen A. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Prescribing Practices ◽  
Biomedical Intervention

Introduction: Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective biomedical intervention that has the potential to dramatically decrease the incidence of HIV but remains an underutilized method of HIV prevention. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health administered an online survey to health care providers in the Philadelphia area with the aim of characterizing PrEP attitudes, knowledge, and prescribing practices. Methods: Online surveys were distributed to 1000 providers who were recruited through distribution lists of Philadelphia medical providers between September and December 2017. A Likert-type response scale was utilized to analyze participant self-reported responses. Participant practice settings included HIV/ID, family and internal medicine, women’s health, and pediatric/adolescent clinics. Results and Discussion: The response rate of the survey was 9%. Of 81 complete responses, 75% (N = 61) felt comfortable providing PrEP and 77% (N = 62) had ever written a PrEP prescription. Compared with primary care providers, HIV care providers were significantly more knowledgeable about required laboratory testing for prescribing PrEP ( P = .03) and were more likely to have prescribed PrEP to more than 10 patients ( P = .006). Women’s health and pediatric providers reported feeling less comfortable providing PrEP to their patients ( P = .0003). Conclusion: The majority of health care providers in the Philadelphia area who responded to the survey reported experience with providing PrEP to their patients. In the present study, HIV care providers were significantly more comfortable and knowledgeable about prescribing PrEP compared with providers in primary care, women’s health, and/or adolescent/pediatric medicine. Results were limited by sampling bias, as providers who responded to the survey may have prior experience with PrEP. Future Health Department educational trainings need to target primary and preventive care providers, providers who have never prescribed PrEP, and providers who see few patients living with HIV.

“There Are so Many Nuances . . . ”: Health Care Providers’ Perspectives of Pain Communication With Hmong Patients in Primary Care Settings

2020 ◽  
pp. 104365962095943
Author(s):  
Maichou Lor ◽  
David Rabago ◽  
Miroslav Backonja
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Nurse Practitioners ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Pain Communication

Introduction While researchers have studied Hmong patients with limited English proficiency in pain communication, no research has examined primary care providers’ (PCPs’) interpretation of Hmong pain communication. This study examines PCPs’ pain communication experience with Hmong patients. Method A qualitative content analysis was conducted with PCPs. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results Fifteen PCPs—including seven physicians, one osteopathic physician, four nurse practitioners, and three physician assistants—participated. PCPs’ interpretations of pain communication with Hmong patients were characterized by three themes: (a) the providers experienced pain communication problems related to language, (b) the providers perceived the Hmong to have different beliefs about pain, and (c) the providers used different strategies to improve communication. Discussion The findings suggest that challenges are present in achieving effective pain communication between Hmong patients and their PCPs. Ineffective pain communication hinders the delivery of culturally congruent health care for Hmong patients.

scholarly journals Erythematous plaques of the vulvo-perineal region

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-103
Author(s):  
Qin Jian Low ◽  
Tzyy Huei Lim ◽  
Shu Ann Hon ◽  
Seng Wee Cheo ◽  
Noranizah Wagino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Primary Health Care Providers ◽  
Slow Evolution ◽  
Skin Conditions

Skin conditions are a common reason for consulting primary health care. The public frequently expects their primary health care providers to be able to recognise and treat common skin conditions with confidence. Primary care providers must be able to identify ‘red flag’ skin conditions that require dermatology referral. However, diagnosis is often delayed due to the non-specific clinical presentation, low incidence, slow evolution and long-term history of such lesions. We report the case of a patient with extramammary Paget’s disease that presented to her primary care provider and subsequently underwent a wide local excision.

scholarly journals Transforming Prescription Opioid Practices in Primary Care With Change Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117863292110582
Author(s):  
Rob E. Carpenter ◽  
Dave Silberman ◽  
Jody K Takemoto
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Change Theory ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Opioid Therapy ◽  
Prescription Opioid ◽  
Opioid Epidemic ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Health Crisis

The opioid epidemic continues to be an ongoing public health crisis. Many primary health care providers aptly serve as the gatekeeper to opioid prescriptions. The opioid epidemic has challenged the primary care profession whilst many of these providers have opted out of opioid prescribing altogether. This unintended consequence affirms erosion to primary care that is vital to the ecosystem of opioid management. The purpose of this study was to understand strategies to deliver opioids safely and effectively. Results indicate primary care providers are uniquely positioned to make a positive opioid impact through focused change initiatives. Five common themes arose from the inductive analysis: (1) provide leadership support; (2) define standard of work; (3) conduct pre-visit reviews; (4) conduct post-visit reviews; and (5) measure progress. Then, each common theme was deductively analyzed through a view of Kotter’s change theory to support an effective proxy for implementing and sustaining chronic opioid therapy in a primary care context. These finding have potential to provide actionable implications for health care management professionals and primary care organizations such as hospitals and group practices.

scholarly journals Primary Care Opportunities to Prevent Unintentional Home Injuries: A Focus on Children and Older Adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen M. McDonald ◽  
Karin Mack ◽  
Wendy C. Shields ◽  
Robin P. Lee ◽  
Andrea C. Gielen
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Injury Prevention ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Home Injuries

Unintentional injuries are a persistent public health problem in the United States. A new health care landscape has the potential to create a clinical environment that fosters greater involvement by health care providers in injury prevention. The aim of this article is to provide evidence supporting the need for engagement by primary care providers in unintentional home injury prevention along with examples of how this could be accomplished. We know a great deal about what population groups are at risk for certain types of injuries. We also know that many injuries can be prevented through policies, programs, and resources that ensure safe environments and promote safe behaviors. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries) initiative comprises clinical decision support tools and educational materials for health care providers. Two effective interventions that have demonstrated a reduction in falls among children are the redesign of baby walkers (engineering) and the mandated use of window guards (enforcement). Primary care clinicians can play a key role in promoting their patient’s safety. Taken collectively, a focused attention on preventing unintentional home injuries by primary care providers can contribute to the reduction of injuries and result in optimal health for all.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document