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Academic Emergency Medicine : Official... Apr 2020Labor and sex trafficking have long impacted the patients who seek care in emergency departments (ED) across the United States. Increasing social and legislative...
BACKGROUND
Labor and sex trafficking have long impacted the patients who seek care in emergency departments (ED) across the United States. Increasing social and legislative pressures have led to multiple calls for screening for trafficking in the clinical care setting, but adoption of unvalidated screening tools for trafficking recognition is unwise for individual patient care and population-level data. Development of a valid screening tool for a social malady that is largely "invisible" to most clinicians requires significant investments. Valid screening tool development is largely a poorly understood process in the antitrafficking field and among clinicians who would use the tools.
METHODS
The authors describe the study design and procedures for reliable data collection and analysis in the development of RAFT (Rapid Appraisal for Trafficking). In a five-ED, randomized, prospective study, RAFT will be derived and validated as a labor and sex trafficking screening tool for use among adult ED patients. Using a novel method of ED patient-participant randomization, intensively trained data collectors use qualitative data to assess subjects for a lifetime experience of human trafficking.
CONCLUSION
Study methodology transparency encourages investigative rigor and integrity and will allow other sites to reproduce and externally validate this study's findings.
Topics: Adult; Emergency Service, Hospital; Female; Human Trafficking; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Multicenter Studies as Topic; Prospective Studies; Qualitative Research; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; United States
PubMed: 31725176
DOI: 10.1111/acem.13888 -
Journal of Epidemiology Mar 2021This study aims to find evidence of the cost-effectiveness of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) screening and assess the quality of current economic evaluations, which...
BACKGROUND
This study aims to find evidence of the cost-effectiveness of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) screening and assess the quality of current economic evaluations, which have shown different conclusions with a variation in screening methods, data sources, outcome indicators, and implementation in diverse organizational contexts.
METHODS
Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Health Technology Assessment, database, and National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database databases were searched through June 2019. Studies on economic evaluation reporting both cost and health outcomes of GDM screening programs in English language were selected, and the quality of the studies was assessed using Drummond's checklist. The general characteristics, main assumptions, and results of the economic evaluations were summarized.
RESULTS
Our search yielded 10 eligible economic evaluations with different screening strategies compared in different settings and perspectives. The selected papers scored 81% (68-97%) on the items in Drummond's checklist on average. In general, a screening program is cost-effective or even dominant over no screening. The one-step screening, with more cases detected, is more likely to be cost-effective than the two-step screening. Universal screening is more likely to be cost-effective than screening targeting the high-risk population. Parameters affecting cost-effectiveness include: diagnosis criteria, epidemiological characteristics of the population, efficacy of screening and treatment, and costs.
CONCLUSIONS
Most studies found GDM screening to be cost-effective, though uncertainties remain due to many factors. The quality assessment identified weaknesses in the economic evaluations in terms of integrating existing data, measuring costs and consequences, analyzing perspectives, and adjusting for uncertainties.
Topics: Cost-Benefit Analysis; Diabetes, Gestational; Female; Humans; Mass Screening; Pregnancy
PubMed: 32448822
DOI: 10.2188/jea.JE20190338 -
International Wound Journal Feb 2020Early reliable, valid screening, diagnosis, and treatment improve peripheral arterial disease outcomes, yet screening and diagnostic practices vary across settings and...
Early reliable, valid screening, diagnosis, and treatment improve peripheral arterial disease outcomes, yet screening and diagnostic practices vary across settings and specialties. A scoping literature review described reliability and validity of peripheral ischaemia diagnosis or screening tools. Clinical studies in the PUBMED database January 1, 1970, to August 13, 2018, were reviewed summarising ranges of reliability and validity of peripheral ischaemia diagnostic and screening tools for patients with non-neuropathic lower leg ischaemia. Peripheral ischaemia screening and diagnostic practices varied in parameters measured such as timing, frequency, setting, ordering clinicians, degree of invasiveness, costs, definitions, and cut-off points informing clinical and referral decisions. Traditional ankle/brachial systolic blood pressure index <0.9 was a reliable, valid lower leg ischaemia screening test to trigger specialist referral for detailed diagnosis. For patients with advanced peripheral ischaemia or calcified arteries, toe-brachial index, claudication, or invasive angiographic imaging techniques that can have complications were reliable, valid screening, and diagnostic tools to inform management decisions. Ankle/brachial index testing is sufficiently reliable and valid for use during routine examinations to improve timing and consistency of peripheral ischaemia screening, triggering prompt specialist referral for more reliable, accurate Doppler, or other diagnosis to inform treatment decisions.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Female; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Peripheral Arterial Disease; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 31680419
DOI: 10.1111/iwj.13223 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2023Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem resulting in a significant impediment to equal participation, quality of life, and personal, social, and...
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem resulting in a significant impediment to equal participation, quality of life, and personal, social, and economic development. At present, a variety of screening instruments for IPV have emerged in developed countries, and some of them have been adapted to the language and culture of different countries, such as Hurt, Insult, Threaten, Scream (HITS) and the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS). The selection of the most appropriate IPV screening instrument for the target population and context from among those instruments has become difficult for researchers when intending to start screening. Therefore, a systemic review of IPV screening instruments is needed. This protocol describes a COSMIN-based systematic review of the measurement properties of these instruments. The aims of the systematic review are to (1) evaluate the methodological quality of studies on the measurement properties including the validity, reliability, and internal consistency of these IPV screening instruments, and (2) provide suggestions for relevant researchers in their local context for using the IPV screening instruments.
Topics: Health Services Needs and Demand; Intimate Partner Violence; Mass Screening; Quality of Life; Reproducibility of Results; Systematic Reviews as Topic
PubMed: 36674295
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20021541 -
Annals of Emergency Medicine Jan 2021There has been increasing attention to screening for health-related social needs. However, little is known about the screening practices of emergency departments (EDs)....
STUDY OBJECTIVE
There has been increasing attention to screening for health-related social needs. However, little is known about the screening practices of emergency departments (EDs). Within New England, we seek to identify the prevalence of ED screening for health-related social needs, understand the factors associated with screening, and understand how screening patterns for health-related social needs differ from those for violence, substance use, and mental health needs.
METHODS
We analyzed data from the 2018 National Emergency Department Inventory-New England survey, which was administered to all 194 New England EDs during 2019. We used descriptive statistics to compare ED characteristics by screening practices, and multivariable logistic regression models to identify factors associated with screening.
RESULTS
Among the 166 (86%) responding EDs, 64 (39%) reported screening for at least one health-related social need, 160 (96%) for violence (including intimate partner violence or other violent exposures), 148 (89%) for substance use disorder, and 159 (96%) for mental health needs. EDs reported a wide range of social work resources to address identified needs, with 155 (93%) reporting any social worker availability and 41 (27%) reporting continuous availability.
CONCLUSION
New England EDs are screening for health-related social needs at a markedly lower rate than for violence, substance use, and mental health needs. EDs have relatively limited resources available to address health-related social needs. We encourage research on the development of scalable solutions for identifying and addressing health-related social needs in the ED.
Topics: Cross-Sectional Studies; Domestic Violence; Emergency Service, Hospital; Humans; Mass Screening; Needs Assessment; New England; Social Work; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 33160720
DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2020.08.010 -
Nursing & Health Sciences Sep 2022An integrative review of the literature has been developed to explore barriers and facilitators in screening for gender-based violence in pregnant women and identify... (Review)
Review
An integrative review of the literature has been developed to explore barriers and facilitators in screening for gender-based violence in pregnant women and identify available tools for this screening. Studies were identified via a systematic search on the PubMed, CINAHL Plus (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete), Scopus, and LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature) databases and a manual reverse reference search to obtain literature published between 2015 and 2020. The methodology followed the recommendations made by Whittemore & Knafl. The quality of studies was evaluated using the Critical Skills Appraisal Program tool. Twenty-three of the 4202 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The principal barriers identified were lack of training for professionals (mainly nurses and midwives), lack of support policies, and lack of human and material resources. The main facilitators were to increase professional training programs on case detection, availability of effective instruments, and greater investment in resources to guarantee safety and referral of cases. With regard to the available tools, the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) continues to be the most widely used, although others such as the Humiliation, Afraid, Rape, and Kick questionnaire (HARK) could be suitable for antenatal care settings.
Topics: Female; Gender-Based Violence; Humans; Mass Screening; Midwifery; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35726481
DOI: 10.1111/nhs.12967 -
Public Health Research & Practice Jul 2019
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Australia; Breast Neoplasms; Colorectal Neoplasms; Early Detection of Cancer; Female; Forecasting; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
PubMed: 31384882
DOI: 10.17061/phrp2921909 -
International Journal of Cancer Jan 2021Our study was performed to determine the frequency of recall for bilateral breast lesions at screening mammography and compare its outcome with respect to unilateral... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
Our study was performed to determine the frequency of recall for bilateral breast lesions at screening mammography and compare its outcome with respect to unilateral recall. We included 329 132 screening mammograms (34 889 initial screens and 294 243 subsequent screens) from a Dutch screening mammography program between January 2013 and January 2018. During a 2-year follow-up, we collected radiological data, pathology reports and surgical reports of all recalled women. At bilateral recall, the lesion with the highest Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System score was used as the index lesion when comparing screening mammography characteristics at bilateral vs unilateral recall. A total of 9806 women were recalled at screening (recall rate, 3.0%). Bilateral recall comprised 2.8% (271/9806) of all recalls. Biopsy was more frequently performed after bilateral recall than unilateral recall (54.6% [148/271] vs 44.1% [4201/9535], P < .001), yielding a lower positive predictive value (PPV) of biopsy after bilateral recall (42.6% vs 51.7%, P = .029). The PPV of recall was comparable for both groups (23.2% [63/271] vs 22.8% [2173/9535], P = .85). Invasive cancers after bilateral recall were larger than those diagnosed after unilateral recall (P = .02), but histological subtype, histologic grading, receptor status and proportions of lymph node positive cancers were comparable. Bilateral recall infrequently occurs at screening mammography. Biopsy is more frequently performed following bilateral recall, but the PPV of recall is similar for unilateral and bilateral recall. Invasive cancers of both groups show comparable pathological features except of a larger tumor size after bilateral recall.
Topics: Aged; Biopsy; Breast; Breast Neoplasms; Early Detection of Cancer; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Mammography; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Netherlands; Predictive Value of Tests; Retrospective Studies; Tumor Burden
PubMed: 32621785
DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33187 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jan 2022Precise information on localized variations in blood circulation holds the key for noninvasive diagnostics and therapeutic assessment of various forms of cancer. While...
Precise information on localized variations in blood circulation holds the key for noninvasive diagnostics and therapeutic assessment of various forms of cancer. While thermal imaging by itself may provide significant insights on the combined implications of the relevant physiological parameters, viz. local blood perfusion and metabolic balance due to active tumors as well as the ambient conditions, knowledge of the tissue surface temperature alone may be somewhat inadequate in distinguishing between some ambiguous manifestations of precancer and cancerous lesions, resulting in compromise of the selectivity in detection. This, along with the lack of availability of a user-friendly and inexpensive portable device for thermal-image acquisition, blood perfusion mapping, and data integration acts as a deterrent against the emergence of an inexpensive, contact-free, and accurate in situ screening and diagnostic approach for cancer detection and management. Circumventing these constraints, here we report a portable noninvasive blood perfusion imager augmented with machine learning-based quantitative analytics for screening precancerous and cancerous traits in oral lesions, by probing the localized alterations in microcirculation. With a proven overall sensitivity >96.66% and specificity of 100% as compared to gold-standard biopsy-based tests, the method successfully classified oral cancer and precancer in a resource-limited clinical setting in a double-blinded patient trial and exhibited favorable predictive capabilities considering other complementary modes of medical image analysis as well. The method holds further potential to achieve contrast-free, accurate, and low-cost diagnosis of abnormal microvascular physiology and other clinically vulnerable conditions, when interpreted along with complementary clinically evidenced decision-making perspectives.
Topics: Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Algorithms; Biopsy; Diagnostic Imaging; Early Detection of Cancer; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Machine Learning; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Mouth Neoplasms; Perfusion; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
PubMed: 34983869
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2026201119 -
Arthritis Care & Research Aug 2020To test the validity and reliability of screening instruments for depression and anxiety in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
OBJECTIVE
To test the validity and reliability of screening instruments for depression and anxiety in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
METHODS
Participants with RA completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2 or PHQ-9), the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System depression short form 8a and anxiety short form 8a, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety score (HADS-A) and depression score (HADS-D), the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2- and 7-item scales, and the Kessler-6 scale. Clinical depression and anxiety disorders were confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Axis I Disorders (SCID-1) research version. We reported sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value using SCID-1 diagnoses as the criterion standard. Test-retest reliability was assessed with the intraclass correlation coefficient.
RESULTS
Of 150 participants, 11.3% had SCID-1-diagnosed depression, 7.3% had SCID-1-diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder, and 19.3% had any SCID-1-diagnosed anxiety disorder. For depression, sensitivity ranged from HADS-D (cut point 11; 35%) to PHQ-2 (88%) and PHQ-9 (87%). Specificity ranged from PHQ-9 (77%) and PHQ-2 (84%) to HADS-D (cut point 11; 94%). Positive predictive value ranged from 30% to 43%. Negative predictive value ranged from 92% to 98%. For generalized anxiety disorder, sensitivity ranged from HADS-A (cut point 11; 45%) to HADS-A (cut point 8; 91%). Specificity ranged from 81% to 89% for all measures except the HADS-A (cut point 8; 63%). Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates ranging from 0.69 to 0.88 confirmed good test-retest reliability.
CONCLUSION
Depression screening instruments had good diagnostic performance; anxiety instruments were more variable. Identified depression and anxiety require clinical confirmation.
Topics: Aged; Anxiety Disorders; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Depressive Disorder; Female; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity
PubMed: 31199570
DOI: 10.1002/acr.24011