Investigating the relationship between social care supply and healthcare utilization by older people in England

Since 2010, adult social care spending in England has fallen significantly in real terms whilst demand has risen. Reductions in social care supply may also have impacted demand for NHS services, particularly for those whose care is provided at the interface of the health and care systems. We analyzed a panel dataset of 150 local authorities (councils) to test potential impacts on hospital utilization by people aged 65 and over: emergency admission rates for falls and hip fractures (“front‐door” measures); and extended stays of 7 days or longer; and 21 days or longer (“back‐door” measures). Changes in social care supply were assessed in two ways: gross current expenditure (per capita 65 and over) adjusted by local labor costs and social care workforce (per capita 18 and over). We ran negative binomial models, controlling for deprivation, ethnicity, age, unpaid care, council class, and year effects. To account for potential endogeneity, we ran instrumental variable regressions and dynamic panel models. Sensitivity analysis explored potential effects of funding for integrated care (the Better Care Fund). There was no consistent evidence that councils with higher per capita spend or higher social care staffing rates had lower hospital admission rates or shorter hospital stays.     

医学是什么？—对现代医学归属的思考

什么是医学,从人的属性的多元化,医学的整体化、综合化发展趋势,以及现代医学与人文社会医学和艺术的密切关系,认为现代医学不应该属于自然科学;从医学的本质和人文社会医学的局限性来看,现代医学也不可能属于人文社会科学。提出：为了使生物医学和人文社会医学更好地交叉、融合,协调发展,从而达到医学的目的,完成医学所面临的任务,现代医学应该属于与自然科学和人文社会科学平行的,能独立发展又能相互渗透的科学领域。     

Racism,stress and health in Asian Americans: A structural equation analysis of mediation and social support group differences

The buffering effect of social support on the negative effects of racism exposure on health outcomes has been mixed in prior studies regarding Asian Americans. Based on the stress-coping framework and using structural equation modelling (SEM) methods, we tested a theoretical model portraying simultaneous mediational paths from racism exposure to general physical and mental health through racism-related stress. Bootstrap analysis was used to test the indirect effects present in the model. Additionally, multi-group SEM analysis was conducted to investigate the moderation effect of social support from family and friends on the paths in the model. The sample consisted of 310 Asian American adults who completed an online survey. The results from the two-step SEM analysis and bootstrap analysis supported the theoretical model—racism exposure can simultaneously have a negative indirect effect on Asian Americans' physical and mental health via racism-related stress. Multi-group SEM analysis showed that there were no differences in model path coefficients based on having varying levels of social support from friends or family.     

Remote intervention engagement and outcomes in the Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation in Children consortium multisite trial

Remote interventions are increasingly used in transplant medicine but have rarely been rigorously evaluated. We investigated a remote intervention targeting immunosuppressant management in pediatric lung transplant recipients. Patients were recruited from a larger multisite trial if they had a Medication Level Variability Index (MLVI) ≥2.0, indicating worrisome tacrolimus level fluctuation. The manualized intervention included three weekly phone calls and regular follow-up calls. A comparison group included patients who met enrollment criteria after the subprotocol ended. Outcomes were defined before the intent-to-treat analysis. Feasibility was defined as ≥50% of participants completing the weekly calls. MLVI was compared pre- and 180 days postenrollment and between intervention and comparison groups. Of 18 eligible patients, 15 enrolled. Seven additional patients served as the comparison. Seventy-five percent of participants completed ≥3 weekly calls; average time on protocol was 257.7 days. Average intervention group MLVI was significantly lower (indicating improved blood level stability) at 180 days postenrollment (2.9 ± 1.29) compared with pre-enrollment (4.6 ± 2.10), p = .02. At 180 days, MLVI decreased by 1.6 points in the intervention group but increased by 0.6 in the comparison group (p = .054). Participants successfully engaged in a long-term remote intervention, and their medication blood levels stabilized. NCT02266888.     

Socioeconomic status and the effectiveness of treatment for first‐episode psychosis

ObjectiveTo assess whether patient socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the effectiveness of coordinated specialty care for first‐episode psychosis and to investigate possible mechanisms.Data SourcesA secondary analysis of data from the RAISE‐ETP Trial, which was conducted from 2010‐2014.Study DesignRAISE‐ETP was a cluster‐randomized trial comparing a coordinated specialty care (CSC) intervention called NAVIGATE with usual community care. We constructed a patient SES index based on parental education, parental occupational prestige, and race/ethnicity. After identifying correlates of SES, we used OLS regression analysis to estimate treatment effects on the major study outcomes across quartiles of the index. We also examined whether correlates of SES including the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), and participation in NAVIGATE might account for the observed difference in effectiveness of CSC by SES.Principal FindingsThe trial sample had a similar SES distribution to the US population, and SES was positively correlated with all mental health outcomes and several potential moderators at baseline. CSC substantially improved the main trial outcomes compared to community care for patients in the highest SES quartile but had small and statistically insignificant benefits for the remaining 75% of patients. Intervention participation rates and several potential moderators did not explain this disparity.ConclusionsCSC may be more effective for high‐SES patients with early psychosis than low‐SES patients. Additional research is needed to understand why CSC is less effective for low‐SES patients and to develop methods to increase effectiveness for this subgroup.     

Inequities in access to VA’S aid and attendance enhanced pension benefit to help Veterans pay for long‐term care

ObjectiveTo examine characteristics that are associated with receipt of Aid and Attendance (A&A), an enhanced pension benefit for Veterans who qualify on the basis of needing daily assistance, among Veterans who receive pensions.Data sourcesSecondary data analysis of 2016‐2017 national VA administrative data linked with Medicare claims.Study designObservational study examining sociodemographic, medical, and healthcare utilization characteristics associated with receipt of A&A among Veterans receiving pension.Principal findingsIn 2017, 9.7% of Veterans with pension newly received the A&A benefit. The probability of receiving A&A among black and Hispanic pensioners was 4.6 percentage points lower than for white pensioners (95%CI = −0.051, −0.042). Married Veterans receiving pension had a 4.4‐percentage point higher probability of receiving A&A (95%CI = 0.039, 0.048). Most indicators of need for assistance (eg, home health utilization, dementia, stroke) were associated with significantly higher probabilities of receiving A&A, with notable exceptions: pensioners with a diagnosis of Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (marginal effect = −0.029 95%CI = −0.037, −0.021) or enrolled in Medicaid (marginal effect = −0.053, 95%CI = −0.057, −0.050) had lower probabilities of receiving A&A. Unadjusted and adjusted rates of receiving A&A among Veterans receiving pension varied by VA medical center.ConclusionsThis study identified potential inequities in receipt of the A&A enhanced pension among a sample of Veterans receiving pension. Increased Veteran outreach, provider education, and VA office coordination can potentially reduce inequities in access to this benefit.     

Feeding inequality: food insecurity,social status and college student health

A growing but limited body of research has identified the college student population as one that is particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. Early estimates of food insecurity prevalence among college students range from 14 to 60 per cent. The present study utilises original survey data collected from a random sample (n = 300) of college students enrolled at an urban university in the Midwest region of the United States of America (USA). This study examines the impact of food insecurity on health outcomes and the mediation of this relationship by subjective social status among college students. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression analyses find that food insecurity is related to worse self-rated, physical and mental health among college students, and Sobel-Goodman tests find that subjective social status plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between food insecurity and health among college students. The implications of these findings in a university context are discussed using a psychosocial framework and insights from the stress process model. In doing so, I discuss food insecurity among college students with an emphasis on the social significance of food and food insecurity.     

Two screening instruments for collecting alcohol-related information from expectant mothers and fathers: Testing the reliability of the Parent Alcohol Screening Questionnaire and the Social Support for an Alcohol-Free Pregnancy Questionnaire

The aim is to test the reliability of two alcohol screening instruments: (1) The Parent Alcohol Screening Questionnaire (PASQ5), and (2) the Social Support for an Alcohol-free Pregnancy (SSAFP) questionnaire. This is a cohort study from the south of Sweden using repeated surveys during pregnancy. To examine if responses differed according to different data collection methods, two cohorts consisting of 289 expectant mothers and 141 fathers completed the PASQ5 both verbally (weeks 6–7) and in writing (week 12) within regular antenatal visits. One of the cohorts (n = 137/64) also completed the SSAFP in week 12 and later in week 33. The third cohort, consisting of 179 and 133 expectant mothers and fathers, respectively, completed the PASQ5 and the SSAFP twice in late pregnancy (week 31 + 33). Eight of 10 items in the PASQ5 were stable for both expectant mothers and expectant fathers when comparing verbal versus written-delivered formats. Eight of 10 questions in the PASQ5 were stable when assessing the items in a test–retest analysis in late pregnancy for expectant mothers and nine of 10 questions were stable for fathers. The SSAFP items showed high internal consistency (0.86) for expectant mothers and excellent internal consistency (0.94) for expectant fathers. Most SSAFP items (17 of 21 for expectant mothers and 18 of 22 for expectant fathers) were also stable in a test–retest scenario in late pregnancy. Both the PASQ5 and SSAFP are reliable tools and may be helpful for clinicians who aim to have a deeper dialogue about alcohol consumption during pregnancy. These tools may also be helpful for researchers aiming to better understand a person's changes in alcohol intake and/or their social support network.