scholarly journals Hearing the Classes: A Study of Cochlear Implantation and Socioeconomic Status

Elements ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Koniares
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss

Profound hearing loss affects thousands of people in the United States and the United Kingdom, with a higher incidence among people of low socioeconomic status. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device that has been demonstrated to improve communication and quality of life among profoundly hearing-impaired individuals. This review postulates that the rate of cochlear implantation among eligible candidates can be used to assess quality of healthcare, with a view toward examining disparities in healthcare services both in American free-market system and in the British National Health Service. A systematic literature search was performed for pertinent articles investigating socioeconomic status and cochlear implantation. Data from twenty-two sources were analyzed, and it was shown that-despite differences in the healthcare systems of the United States and England-similar trends are apparent in the two countries with regard to a lower rate of pediatric cochlear implantation surgery in children with profound hearing loss as familial socioeconomic status decreases.

scholarly journals Association of patients’ perception of quality of healthcare received and colorectal cancer screening uptake: An analysis of two national surveys in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karan Chawla ◽  
Angesom Kibreab ◽  
Victor & Scott ◽  
Edward L. Lee ◽  
Farshad Aduli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crc Screening ◽  
Fair Poor ◽  
National Trends

Objective: It is unknown whether patients’ ratings of the quality of healthcare services they receive truly correlate with the quality of care from their providers. Understanding this association can potentiate improvement in healthcare delivery. We evaluated the association between patients’ ratings of the quality of healthcare services received and uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Subject and Methods: We used two iterations of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) of adults in the United States. HINTS 2007 (4,007 respondents; weighted population=75,397,128) evaluated whether respondents were up-to-date with CRC screening while HINTS 4 cycle 3 (1,562 respondents; weighted population=76,628,000) evaluated whether participants had ever received CRC screening in the past. All included respondents from both surveys were at least 50 years of age, had no history of CRC, and had rated the quality of healthcare services that they had received at their healthcare provider’s office in the previous 12 months. Results: HINTS 2007 data showed that respondents who rated their healthcare as good, or fair/poor were significantly less likely to be up to date with CRC screening compared to those who rated their healthcare as excellent. We found comparable results from analysis of HINTS 4 cycle 3 data with poorer uptake of CRC screening as the healthcare quality ratings of respondents’ reduced. Conclusion: Our study suggested that patients who reported receiving lower quality of healthcare services were less likely to have undergone and be compliant with CRC screening recommendations. It is important to pay close attention to patient feedback surveys in order to improve healthcare delivery.

Telepsychiatry Use in Rural Areas in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Alberto Coustasse ◽  
Morgan Ruley ◽  
Tonnie C. Mike ◽  
Briana M. Washington ◽  
Anna Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Access And Quality

Rural areas have experienced a higher than average shortage of healthcare professionals. Numerous challenges have limited access to mental health services. Some of these barriers have included transportation, number of providers, poverty, and lack of insurance. Recently, the utilization of telepsychiatry has increased in rural areas. The purpose of this review was to identify and coalesce the benefits of telepsychiatry for adults living in rural communities in the United States to determine if telepsychiatry has improved access and quality of care. The methodology for this study was a literature review that followed a systematic approach. References and sources were written in English and were taken from studies in the United States between 2004 and 2018 to keep this review current. Fifty-nine references were selected from five databases. It was found that several studies supported that telepsychiatry has improved access and quality of care available in rural environments. At the same time, telepsychiatry in mental healthcare has not been utilized as it should in rural adult populations due to lack of access, an overall shortage of providers, and poor distribution of psychiatrists. There are numerous benefits to implementing telepsychiatry in rural areas. While there are still barriers that prevent widespread utilization, telepsychiatry can improve mental health outcomes by linking rural patients to high-quality mental healthcare services that follow evidence-based care and best practices. Telepsychiatry utilization in rural areas in the United States has demonstrated to have a significant ability to transform mental health care delivery and clinician productivity. As technology continues to advance access, telepsychiatry will also advance, making access more readily available.

COGNITIVE HABITS LINKED TO RESILIENCE: SURPRISING COMMONALITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
The United States ◽  
Postal Code ◽  
Improvement Plan ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

Abstract Background: Research has documented many geographic inequities in health. Research has also documented that the way one thinks about health and quality of life (QOL) affects one’s experience of health, treatment, and one’s ability to cope with health problems. Purpose: We examined United-States (US) regional differences in QOL appraisal (i.e., the way one thinks about health and QOL), and whether resilience-appraisal relationships varied by region. Methods: Secondary analysis of 3,955 chronic-disease patients and caregivers assessed QOL appraisal via the QOL Appraisal Profile-v2 and resilience via the Centers for Disease Control Healthy Days Core Module. Covariates included individual-level and aggregate-level socioeconomic status (SES) characteristics. Zone improvement plan (ZIP) code was linked to publicly available indicators of income inequality, poverty, wealth, population density, and rurality. Multivariate and hierarchical residual modeling tested study hypotheses that there are regional differences in QOL appraisal and in the relationship between resilience and appraisal. Results: After sociodemographic adjustment, QOL appraisal patterns and the appraisal-resilience connection were virtually the same across regions. For resilience, sociodemographic variables explained 26 % of the variance; appraisal processes, an additional 17 %; and region and its interaction terms, just an additional 0.1 %. Conclusion: The study findings underscore a geographic universality across the contiguous US in how people think about QOL, and in the relationship between appraisal and resilience. Despite the recent prominence of divisive rhetoric suggesting vast regional differences in values, priorities, and experiences, our findings support the commonality of ways of thinking and responding to life challenges. These findings support the wide applicability of cognitive-based interventions to boost resilience. Keywords: appraisal; resilience; cognitive; quality of life; societal; geographic Abbreviations: MANOVA = Multivariate Analysis of Variance; PCA = principal components analysis; QOL = quality of life; SES = socioeconomic status; US = United States; ZIP = Zone Improvement Plan (postal code)

Recent Epidemiology of Pediatric Cochlear Implantation in the United States: Disparity Among Children of Different Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status

2005 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Stern ◽  
Bevan Yueh ◽  
Charlotte Lewis ◽  
Susan Norton ◽  
Kathleen C. Y. Sie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
The United States

THE SOCIETAL COSTS OF SEVERE TO PROFOUND HEARING LOSS IN THE UNITED STATES

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (04) ◽  
pp. 1120-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny E. Mohr ◽  
Jacob J. Feldman ◽  
Jennifer L. Dunbar ◽  
Amy McConkey-Robbins ◽  
John K. Niparko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
The United States ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Societal Costs

scholarly journals Expansion of indications for cochlear implantation in the Russian Federation

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 72-77
Author(s):  
Ya. L. Shcherbakova ◽  
◽  
S. M. Megrelishvili ◽  
V. E. Kuzovkov ◽  
S. A. Karpishchenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Binaural Hearing ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Special Groups ◽  
Patient Groups ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Special Patient

Profound hearing loss makes it difficult for a person to fully integrate into society. Cochlear implantation is rightfully considered a universal and an effective method of rehabilitation of patients with severe and profound hearing loss. The advantages of binaural hearing are well known; the advantages of bilateral cochlear implantation over monolateral implantation are undeniable, due to the restoration of all binaural hearing effects. At the moment, the relevance of simultaneous cochlear implantation, especially among children, and its benefits compared with sequential implantation are being discussed. It is known that there are special groups of patients among patients with hearing loss; they are either unrehabilitated at all or rehabilitation measures for which are ineffective. Special patient groups include patients with unilateral acquired or congenital deafness, asymmetric and residual hearing loss. Patients in these groups often complain of poor speech intelligibility, especially against a background of noise, inability to localize the source of sound, one-sided or two-sided tinnitus, and, as a result, a deterioration in the quality of life. All abovementioned makes us think about the need to revise the indications for cochlear implantation and study this issue in detail.

scholarly journals Awareness and Use of Nutrition Information Predict Measured and Self-Rated Diet Quality of Older Adults in the United States (P18-046-19)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Vaudin ◽  
Edwina Wambogo ◽  
Alanna Moshfegh ◽  
Nadine Sahyoun
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Healthy Eating Index ◽  
Nutrition Information ◽  
Ratio Method

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to investigate: 1) the diet quality of older adults, using the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015) and self-rated diet quality, 2) characteristics associated with reported awareness and use of nutrition information, 3) factors associated with HEI-2015 score and self-rated diet quality, including the relationship with awareness and use of nutrition information. Methods A cross-sectional analysis of 24-hour recall and questionnaire data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2014, including 4493 subjects, aged 60 years and older. The population ratio method was used in SAS 9.4 to calculate mean HEI scores. Data was stratified by gender, then t-tests and ANOVA were used to compare means and chi-squares were used to compare proportions. Logistic and linear regression were used to test for associations with diet quality, controlling for potential covariates. Results The mean total HEI score for men was significantly lower than for women (63.7 ± 0.8 vs. 66.6 ± 0.8 respectively, P < 0.0001). Compared to men, more women reported nutrition awareness (53.7% vs. 41.1%, P < 0.0001), and use of nutrition information (19.3% vs. 9.2%, P < 0.0001). Nutrition awareness was also associated with race, age, education, socioeconomic status, and food security. In bivariate analyses, nutrition awareness and use of nutrition information were significantly associated with both HEI score and self-rated diet quality in both men and women. In multivariate analyses, nutrition awareness remained a significant predictor of HEI for women but not men, and remained a significant predictor of self-reported diet quality in men but not women. Conclusions Nutrition awareness and use of nutrition information are significantly related to diet quality in older adults, even when controlling for other factors. There are differences in these relationships for older adult men versus women. Gaps in awareness, indicating need for nutrition education, exist in men, non-whites, those participating in nutrition assistance programs, and those with lower education and socioeconomic status. Closing these gaps may lead to improved diet quality in segments of the older adult population. Funding Sources Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

scholarly journals Disseminating a Smoke-free Homes Program to Low Socioeconomic Status Households in the United States Through 2-1-1: Results of a National Impact Evaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 498-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Łucja T Bundy ◽  
Regine Haardörfer ◽  
Michelle C Kegler ◽  
Shadé Owolabi ◽  
Carla J Berg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
The United States ◽  
Outcome Evaluation ◽  
Smoking Ban ◽  
Dissemination And Implementation ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
Shs Exposure

Abstract Introduction Given homes are now a primary source of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in the United States, research-tested interventions that promote smoke-free homes should be evaluated in real-world settings to build the evidence base for dissemination. This study describes outcome evaluation results from a dissemination and implementation study of a research-tested program to increase smoke-free home rules through US 2-1-1 helplines. Methods Five 2-1-1 organizations, chosen through a competitive application process, were awarded grants of up to $70 000. 2-1-1 staff recruited participants, delivered the intervention, and evaluated the program. 2-1-1 clients who were recruited into the program allowed smoking in the home, lived in households with both a smoker and a nonsmoker or child, spoke English, and were at least 18 years old. Self-reported outcomes were assessed using a pre-post design, with follow-up at 2 months post baseline. Results A total of 2345 households (335–605 per 2-1-1 center) were enrolled by 2-1-1 staff. Most participants were female (82%) and smokers (76%), and half were African American (54%). Overall, 40.1% (n = 940) reported creating a full household smoking ban. Among the nonsmoking adults reached at follow-up (n = 389), days of SHS exposure in the past week decreased from 4.9 (SD = 2.52) to 1.2 (SD = 2.20). Among the 1148 smokers reached for follow-up, 211 people quit, an absolute reduction in smoking of 18.4% (p &lt; .0001), with no differences by gender. Conclusions Among those reached for 2-month follow-up, the proportion who reported establishing a smoke-free home was comparable to or higher than smoke-free home rates in the prior controlled research studies. Implications Dissemination of this brief research-tested intervention via a national grants program with support from university staff to five 2-1-1 centers increased home smoking bans, decreased SHS exposure, and increased cessation rates. Although the program delivery capacity demonstrated by these competitively selected 2-1-1s may not generalize to the broader 2-1-1 network in the United States, or social service agencies outside of the United States, partnering with 2-1-1s may be a promising avenue for large-scale dissemination of this smoke-free homes program and other public health programs to low socioeconomic status populations in the United States.

scholarly journals Improvements in Hearing and in Quality of Life after Sequential Bilateral Cochlear Implantation in a Consecutive Sample of Adult Patients with Severe-to-Profound Hearing Loss

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2394
Author(s):  
Ville Sivonen ◽  
Saku T. Sinkkonen ◽  
Tytti Willberg ◽  
Satu Lamminmäki ◽  
Hilkka Jääskelä-Saari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Adult Patients ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Bilateral Cochlear Implants ◽  
Consecutive Sample ◽  
Release From Masking

Bilateral cochlear implantation is increasing worldwide. In adults, bilateral cochlear implants (BICI) are often performed sequentially with a time delay between the first (CI1) and the second (CI2) implant. The benefits of BICI have been reported for well over a decade. This study aimed at investigating these benefits for a consecutive sample of adult patients. Improvements in speech-in-noise recognition after CI2 were followed up longitudinally for 12 months with the internationally comparable Finnish matrix sentence test. The test scores were statistically significantly better for BICI than for either CI alone in all assessments during the 12-month period. At the end of the follow-up period, the bilateral benefit for co-located speech and noise was 1.4 dB over CI1 and 1.7 dB over CI2, and when the noise was moved from the front to 90 degrees on the side, spatial release from masking amounted to an improvement of 2.5 dB in signal-to-noise ratio. To assess subjective improvements in hearing and in quality of life, two questionnaires were used. Both questionnaires revealed statistically significant improvements due to CI2 and BICI. The association between speech recognition in noise and background factors (duration of hearing loss/deafness, time between implants) or subjective improvements was markedly smaller than what has been previously reported on sequential BICI in adults. Despite the relatively heterogeneous sample, BICI improved hearing and quality of life.

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