JAMA network open
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of a Telehealth Early Palliative Care Intervention for Family Caregivers of Persons With Advanced Heart Failure: The ENABLE CHF-PC Randomized Clinical Trial.
Family caregivers of persons with advanced heart failure perform numerous daily tasks to assist their relatives and are at high risk for distress and poor quality of life. ⋯ This 2-site randomized clinical trial of a telehealth intervention for family caregivers of patients with advanced heart failure, more than half of whom were African American and most of whom were not distressed at baseline, did not demonstrate clinically better quality of life, mood, or burden compared with usual care over 16 weeks. Future interventions should target distressed caregivers and assess caregiver effects on patient outcomes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Pregnenolone vs Placebo on Self-reported Chronic Low Back Pain Among US Military Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
In response to the national opioid public health crisis, there is an urgent need to develop nonopioid solutions for effective pain management. Neurosteroids are endogenous molecules with pleotropic actions that show promise for safe and effective treatment of chronic low back pain. ⋯ Participants receiving pregnenolone reported a clinically meaningful reduction in low back pain and 2 pain interference domains compared with those receiving placebo. Pregnenolone may represent a novel, safe, and potentially efficacious treatment for the alleviation of chronic low back pain in Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring via a Smartphone Hypertension Coaching Application or Tracking Application on Adults With Uncontrolled Hypertension: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Mobile applications (apps) may help improve hypertension self-management. ⋯ Among individuals with uncontrolled hypertension, those randomized to a smartphone coaching app plus home monitor had similar systolic blood pressure compared with those who received a blood pressure tracking app plus home monitor. Given the direction of the difference in systolic blood pressure between groups and the possibility for differences in treatment effects across subgroups, future studies are warranted.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Physician Gender and Race on Simulated Patients' Ratings and Confidence in Their Physicians: A Randomized Trial.
Women and black physicians encounter workplace challenges because of their gender and race. It is unclear whether these individuals are assessed with lower patient satisfaction or confidence ratings compared with white male physicians. ⋯ No significant differences were observed for simulated patients' evaluations of female or black physicians, suggesting that bias in favor of white male physicians is negligible in survey-based measures of patient satisfaction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of a Motivational Interviewing-Based Intervention on Initiation of Mental Health Treatment and Mental Health After an Emergency Department Visit Among Suicidal Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Emergency department (ED) visits present opportunities to identify and refer suicidal youth for outpatient mental health care, although this practice is not routine. ⋯ This study's findings indicate that no differences were found on any primary outcome by study condition. However, STAT-ED was more efficacious than EUC at increasing mental health treatment initiation and attendance at 6 months.