Journal of general internal medicine
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The 21st Century Cures Act and the OpenNotes movement have brought patients immediate access to their electronic health records (EHRs). The experiences of marginalized people, including transgender people, accessing and reviewing their EHRs could inform documentation guidelines to improve patient-clinician rapport and reduce harm. ⋯ Transgender people experience harm via various aspects of EHR documentation, suggesting that changes must be made to improve patient-clinician relationships and reduce ill-effects for patients.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased opioid prescribing. It is not known if perceived COVID-19 related stress is associated with increased odds of long-term opioid use. ⋯ Patients who attribute worsening pain to the COVID-19 pandemic are more likely to be persistent opioid users. Further research is warranted to identify mechanisms underlying this association. Clinicians may consider discussing pain in the context of the pandemic to identify patients at high risk for persistent opioid use.
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Broadcast media is a method to communicate health information to the general public and has previously been used in prior public health emergencies. Despite the current ubiquity of social media, traditional news programming retains relatively large audiences, which increased during the COVID-19 pandemic's early days. Viewership of broadcast media networks' evening news skews toward older groups (age 65 and up) which were vulnerable to health complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Although coverage included COVID-19 prevention content, more of the coverage was on other pandemic-related issues (e.g., economic impacts). Because public network news outlets have broad reach and accessibility, they could be an effective partner for public health agencies disseminating prevention messaging for current and future disease outbreaks and threats to public health.
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Observational Study
Diversity of Participation in Clinical Trials and Influencing Factors: Findings from the Health Information National Trends Survey 2020.
Clinical trial diversity is critical to advance health and health equity. Research addressing the discrepancy between goals of achieving clinical trial diversity and realities of study enrollment remains underdeveloped. ⋯ While personal healthcare providers were trusted sources of information, racial/ethnic minority populations noted lower odds of clinical trial participation influence from providers and family. Thus, it is imperative for the healthcare, government, and industry organizations to build trust in medicine and science.