Luis Rustveld

A Clinical Trial of Damon 2™ Vs Conventional Twin Brackets during Initial Alignment

The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness and comfort of Damon 2 brackets and conventional twin brackets during initial alignment. Sixty consecutive patients participated in a split mouth design. One side of the lower arch was bonded with the Damon 2 bracket and the other with a conventional twin bracket. The sides were alternated with each consecutive patient. The irregularity index (II) was measured for each half of the arch at baseline, at 10 weeks at the first archwire change, and at another 10 weeks at the second archwire change. Any difference in discomfort was assessed within the first few days of archwire placement and again at the first archwire change. Comfort on the lips, preferred look, and bracket failure rates were also recorded. The twin bracket was more uncomfortable with the initial archwire (P = .04). However, at 10 weeks, substantially more patients reported discomfort with the Damon 2 bracket when engaging the archwire (P = .004). At both archwire changes at 10 and 20 weeks (P = .001), the conventional bracket had achieved a lower II than the Damon 2 bracket by 0.2 mm, which is not clinically significant. Patients preferred the look of the twin bracket over the Damon 2 (P < .0005) and more Damon 2 brackets debonded during the study (P < .0005). The Damon 2 bracket was no better during initial alignment than a conventional bracket. Initially, the Damon 2 bracket was less painful, but it was substantially more painful when placing the second archwire and had a higher bracket failure rate.

Temporal and geographic variations of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia incidence: A large population-based study

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is a non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtype. Little is known about the incidence and trends for this disease in the United States.

Adherence to diabetes self-care behaviors in English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanic men

We conducted a qualitative study to elicit attitudes, attributions, and self-efficacy related to diabetes self-care in both English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanic men. Transcripts from six focus groups (three in English and three in Spanish) were reviewed by the authors to extract principal and secondary themes. Participants could describe their medication and lifestyle regimens and were aware of whether they were adherent or nonadherent to physician recommendations. Lack of skills on how to incorporate diet and regular physical activity into daily living, lack of will power, and reluctance to change culturally rooted behaviors emerged as significant barriers to diabetes self-management. Medication adherence is for some men the principal diabetes self-care behavior. Nonadherence appeared to fit two profiles: 1) intentional, and 2) nonintentional. In both instances low self-efficacy emerged as a significant influence on attainment and maintenance of diabetes self-care goals. Participants also expressed a strong sense of fatalism regarding the course of their disease, and seemed to have little motivation to attempt long-term dietary control. Educational and counseling messages should stress that a diagnosis of diabetes is not a death sentence, and full functional capacity can be maintained with good control.

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma: a population-based study on the 2001–2008 incidence and survival in the United States

Abstract The epidemiology of splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) in the United States has not been addressed. Eight years of data (2001–2008) from 17 registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program were used for this study. Of the 116 411 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the registries, 763 (0.6%) were SMZL. The overall annual age-adjusted incidence was 0.13 per 100 000 persons per year. The annual percent change in age-adjusted incidence was 4.81% overall (p < 0.05), and significantly increasing trends were found for patients who were white, male or aged 70 years and older (p < 0.05). The relative 5-year overall survival rate for patients with SMZL was 81% (95% confidence interval 75–86%). The incidence of SMZL was highest among whites, males and older patients. A steadily increasing trend in incidence was observed for SMZL. The relative 5-year overall survival rate was high.

Social factors and barriers to self-care adherence in Hispanic men and women with diabetes

OBJECTIVE To explore quantitatively the extent to which social support, social norms and barriers are associated with self-efficacy and self-care adherence in Hispanic patients with diabetes and the extent to which these differ for men and women. METHODS Baseline survey data were collected from 248 low-SES, Hispanic men and women who were participants in a randomized controlled trial of a culturally targeted intervention for diabetes management. Students t, Pearson correlations and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS Compared to men, women were less likely to receive support, faced more barriers, reported less self-efficacy and had lower levels of self-care adherence. Perceived support was consistently correlated with better self-efficacy in women but not men, even though men reported higher levels of support. CONCLUSION The lack of adequate support seems to be a fundamental barrier for Hispanic women with diabetes. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Health care providers should be sensitive to sociocultural influences in Hispanic groups that may facilitate mens self-care adherence, but could potentially hamper womens efforts. Interventions designed for Hispanics should augment womens support needs and address culture and social factors that may differentially impact the ability of men and women to manage their diabetes.

Implementing targeted cervical cancer screening videos at the point of care

OBJECTIVE To develop and implement educational videos to improve cervical cancer health literacy for patients within a safety net healthcare system. METHODS Testimonial-style videos were developed with the goal of describing the Pap test to low literacy patients and motivating them to participate in regular cervical cancer screening. Nurses were trained to use the electronic medical record to identify patients due or past due for a Pap test according to the current screening guidelines. They played the video for all eligible patients as they waited to be seen by their physician in clinical examination rooms. RESULTS Four 2-minute videos were developed in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Videos were made available on desktop computers in 458 exam rooms at 13 community health centers. CONCLUSION Integration of educational videos into the workflow of high-volume community health centers is feasible. Future work will focus on optimizing uptake of the videos as well as assessing their efficacy for improving cervical cancer health literacy. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Integrating targeted videos into patient flow may be a feasible way to address health literacy barriers to cervical cancer screening within a busy workflow environment.

The Role of Patient Navigation on Colorectal Cancer Screening Completion and Education: a Review of the Literature

Although the general assumption is that patient navigation helps patients adhere to CRC screening recommendations, concrete evidence for its effectiveness is still currently under investigation. The present literature review was conducted to explore effectiveness of patient navigation and education on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening completion in medically underserved populations. Data collection included PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane reviews searches. Study inclusion criteria included randomized controlled trials and prospective investigations that included an intervention and control group. Case series, brief communications, commentaries, case reports, and uncontrolled studies were excluded. Twenty-seven of the 36 studies screened for relevance were selected for inclusion. Most studies explored the utility of lay and clinic-based patient navigation. Others implemented interventions that included tailored messaging, and culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach and education efforts to meet CRC screening needs of medically underserved individuals. More recent studies have begun to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses of patient navigation programs that impacted CRC screening and completion. Peer-reviewed publications consistently indicate a positive impact of patient navigation programs on CRC screening completion, as well have provided preliminary evidence for their cost-effectiveness.

Hispanic Acculturation and Gender Differences in Support and Self-Efficacy for Managing Diabetes.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether perceived support, social norms, and their association with self-efficacy varied by gender and language-based acculturation in Hispanic men and women with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of baseline survey data from a randomized control trial. Participants were 248 Hispanic patients from 4 community health centers who participated in a culturally targeted intervention for diabetes management. Quantitative statistical methods were used, including chi-square analyses, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression. Results Gender and language both moderated the relationship between social factors and self-efficacy. Regardless of language, better perceived support was associated with improved self-efficacy in women but not men. Dietary norms were associated with self-efficacy in English-speaking men and women, while physical activity norms were associated with self-efficacy for Spanish-speaking women only. Conclusions This study builds on previous research by exploring the extent to which the social context of diabetes self-management may vary in its effects depending on gender and acculturation. The findings revealed potentially important differences based on both gender and language, suggesting that interventions must be designed with these differences in mind. Diabetes-specific support from family members, especially spouses, may be especially important for Hispanic women. For both men and women, it may be effective to find creative ways of involving the family in creating healthier social norms and expectations.

Incorporating Cultural Sensitivity into Interactive Entertainment-Education for Diabetes Self-Management Designed for Hispanic Audiences

Diabetes self-management education can improve outcomes in adults with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, Hispanics, a group that carries a large burden of disease, may not participate in diabetes education programs. Audience engagement with entertainment-education has been associated with improved health education outcomes and may engage and empower Hispanic users to active self-care. Successful use of entertainment-education relies on the use of characters and situations with whom the viewers can feel some sense of involvement and for Hispanic audiences is encouraged when storylines and characters are culturally sensitive. In this study, we used a mixed methods approach that included descriptive statistics of closed-ended and content analysis of open-ended questions to measure the cultural sensitivity of the telenovela portion of a novel technology-based application called Sugar, Heart, and Life (SHL). Specifically, we analyzed the responses of 123 male and female patients diagnosed with uncontrolled T2DM to determine viewer involvement with characters and situations in the telenovela, viewer perceived self-efficacy in following recommendations, as well as viewer satisfaction with the program. Our findings indicate that the SHL application achieved its goal of creating a user-friendly program that depicted realistic, culturally sensitive characters and storylines that resonated with Hispanic audiences and ultimately fostered perceived self-efficacy related to following recommendations given about healthy lifestyle changes for diabetes self-management. These findings suggest that the SHL application is a culturally sensitive health education intervention for use by Hispanic male and female individuals that may empower them in self-management of T2DM.

Abstract B78: Using the Quality in the Continuum of Cancer Care framework to develop a multilevel intervention to improve cancer screening and follow-up among the medically underserved

Introduction: Screening for cervical, colorectal, and breast cancer is an evidence-based strategy to reduce the morbidity and mortality from these cancers. However a large proportion of medically underserved individuals do not obtain regular screening. Using the Quality in the Continuum of Cancer Care (QCCC) framework, we developed and implemented a comprehensive systems design intervention to improve the delivery, uptake, and follow-up of cervical, colorectal, and breast cancer screening within a network of healthcare institutions that serve the medically underserved in Harris County, Texas. Methods: An academic-community partnership, the Community Network for Cancer Prevention, was established between an academic cancer center, the county9s safety net healthcare system, and several academic and community-based healthcare institutions. Clinical advisory boards, comprised of physicians, nurses, and public health professionals, were established for each cancer line. The QCCC framework was used to identify system-level failures that impede processes and transitions in the continuum of care from risk assessment to detection and from detection to diagnosis. Project components were developed to address the identified failures. Results: System failures identified at the risk assessment to detection phases included 1) failure to identify individuals in need of screening, 2) inadequate capacity to screen, and 3) inadequate access to care. Failures identified at the detection to diagnosis phases included 1) failures in the screening test results notification system, 2) failures in inter-provider communication, 3) failures in inter-institutional referrals for clinical follow-up, 4) patient non-adherence, and 5) inadequate access to care. Project components to address the identified failures include community outreach, patient education, and patient navigation. Community outreach involves a community theater program aimed to increase awareness of cancer risk and the current cancer screening guidelines among medically underserved individuals in the larger community; healthcare access navigators available at each performance assist audience members in applying for healthcare coverage through the safety net healthcare system. Patient education involves using the electronic medical record to identify patients due or past due for cervical, colorectal, and/or breast cancer screening. These patients are then targeted for a video-based patient education intervention while they wait to be seen by their healthcare provider. Motivational messaging in the videos encourages patients to discuss the particular screening test with their provider. Finally, patient navigation involves a team of navigators who actively communicate with patients and providers to ensure follow-up among patients with an abnormal screening test result. A real-time tracking database is used to monitor all screen-test positive patients as they move through the different stages of diagnostic and therapeutic follow-up. Conclusion: The QCCC provides a systematic approach for assessing factors that influence cancer care processes at the risk assessment, screening, detection, and diagnosis phases, as well as transitions between them. Focusing on transitions between phases is particularly useful for developing systems-level interventions to improve the delivery, uptake, and follow-up of cancer screening. Citation Format: Jane R. Montealegre, Loretta Hanser, Maria Daheri, Roshanda Chenier, Ivan Valverde, Glori S. Chauca, Luis O. Rustveld, Matthew L. Anderson, Lois Ramondetta, Milena Gould-Suarez, Musher L. Benjamin, Larry D. Scott, Juli R. Nangia, Brian C. Reed, Janet Hoagland-Sorensen, Alyssa Rieber, Maria L. Jibaja-Weiss. Using the Quality in the Continuum of Cancer Care framework to develop a multilevel intervention to improve cancer screening and follow-up among the medically underserved. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr B78.