Publications

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer over-screening is common in older women. Messaging about breast cancer screening cessation may reduce over-screening but the broader informational environment often emphasizes screening continuation. We aimed to examine the effect of receiving consistent messages about breast cancer screening cessation versus conflicting messages (i.e., receiving messages about screening cessation and screening continuation from different sources).

METHODS: In a two-wave survey experiment with 3809 women 65 + years from a U.S. population-based online panel, we randomized participants to a) no messages, b) consistent messages promoting screening cessation, or c) conflicting messages - a message promoting screening continuation followed by a message promoting screening cessation.

RESULTS: The conflicting message group had significantly lower support for screening cessation in a hypothetical older woman (mean 3.87 [SD 2.00] on 7-point scale, 95 % CI 3.76-3.97) compared with the consistent message group (mean 4.17 [SD 1.99], 95 % CI 4.08-4.28), but was still significantly higher than the control group (mean 2.68 [SD 1.87], 95 % CI 2.54-2.82, p's < 0.001). Message effects on self-screening intentions were similar. Participants reported low rates of confusion, distrust or ambivalence.

CONCLUSIONS: Messaging about screening cessation can significantly increase older women's support for screening cessation, with low rates of negative reactions, even if there are competing messages on continued screening.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Messaging about screening cessation can be incorporated into clinical discussions or used in conjunction with other interventions aimed at reducing over-screening.

BackgroundAdvance care planning (ACP) helps older adults make end-of-life medical decisions. While ACP discussions are associated with improved patient outcomes, overall engagement remains low in the emergency department (ED).ObjectivesThis study assessed ACP engagement in older ED patients.MethodsWe conducted a questionnaire study among adults ≥65 in a Boston ED (July-Oct 2023). Our primary outcome was ACP Engagement as measured by a validated 9-item instrument with three ACP self- efficacy and six ACP readiness questions. Secondary outcomes included participants' preferences for learning about five ACP topics in the ED-medical decision makers, what matters most, leeway and flexibility for decision makers, sharing wishes, and asking questions)-as well as their favored learning formats (eg, pamphlets, videos, clinician conversations). Each was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. We examined the relationship between ACP engagement and existing electronic health record (EHR) documentation.ResultsNinety-nine older adults participated (mean age 75.5; 53.5% women). On the 9-item ACP Engagement Survey, participants reported high overall scores with a mean of 4.1 (95% CI: 4.0-4.2). Among ACP readiness topics, 80 (81.6%) named a decision-maker; 37 (40.2%) discussed end-of-life wishes with doctors. Participants preferred ED team conversations. Among the 51 participants who reported having signed paperwork regarding end-of-life wishes, only 7 (13.7%) had forms documented in the EHR.ConclusionsAmong older adults in a large Boston-based ED, ACP engagement was high, but few patients had documentation of end-of-life wishes available in the EHR. Findings highlight the need for better ACP documentation in EDs.

IntroductionAchieving health literacy is a primary goal of Healthy People 2030 due to the increasing recognition of its role to improve the health and well-being of all populations. Shared decision-making (SDM), a recognized process between patients and health care providers to discuss which health care decision is best for the patient considering the pros and cons, patient preferences, and circumstances, can improve health outcomes. Specifically, SDM can increase patient knowledge and the quality of decision-making, resulting in patients feeling more empowered, demonstrating less decisional regret, and more motivation. Yet, limited health literacy (LHL) can hinder a patient's ability to engage in the SDM process. Patients' ability to engage in SDM can be helped by improving health literacy levels, and by the suitability of the tools available to support them. Decision aids (DA) are educational tools that can help with SDM. SDM provides patients with the necessary skills, which, when paired with DAs designed with and for populations with LHL, can improve communication with health care providers.MethodsGuided by elements of the Ottawa Decision Framework and principles of human-centered design, in this retrospective study we aimed to develop a novel and current brief colon cancer screening DA, "Making a Decision: Should I Stop or Continue Colon Cancer Screening - Ages 75-85," based on feedback from adults ≥75 years at risk for LHL in two focus groups and a comprehensive health literacy demand assessment of the "Making a Decision About Colon Cancer Screening" using four tools to determine its readability, understandability, and actionability.ResultsFindings include a DA that was viewed favorably by older adult participants who were at risk for LHL.ConclusionsWith feedback from older adults at risk for LHL, we have developed a DA that can be tested in a larger randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Oncology providers often lack the confidence to make clinical recommendations about medical cannabis (MC). This study aimed to develop and evaluate the feasibility of implementing an educational curriculum on the use of MC in patient care for oncology trainees.

METHODS: A multidisciplinary team designed an educational curriculum for MC use in oncology. The curriculum was piloted as a 1-hour interactive webinar across 8 United States-based hematology/oncology fellowship programs between 2022 and 2023. Incentivized surveys measuring feasibility outcomes, including cultural attitudes/norms, acceptability, compatibility, and self-efficacy (a composite index of self-confidence in discussing MC efficacy, risks, modes of use, and role in symptom management), were distributed before, immediately after, and 12 weeks post-webinar.

RESULTS: Of 103 trainees, 75 (72.8%) completed the pretraining survey and 66 (64.1%) completed the posttraining survey. Most respondents believed discussions about the role of MC in symptom management were valuable (n=56; 74.7%), though few (14.7%) believed trainees were expected to engage in such discussions. Most participants rated the curriculum as helpful (92.4%), beneficial for oncology trainees (84.8%), and likely to be recommended to colleagues (87.9%). Post-webinar, 78.8% of participants reported an increased likelihood of initiating discussions with patients regarding MC. There were significant improvements in the composite self-confidence index from pre- to post-webinar (2.7% vs 65.2%; P<.001), which persisted in the follow-up surveys (n=36; response rate, 34.9%).

CONCLUSIONS: This multisite study demonstrates the feasibility of implementing a novel curriculum focused on MC for oncology trainees. These findings can guide the design of a prospective, multi-institutional study to evaluate knowledge expansion, retention, and behavioral changes resulting from the intervention.

BACKGROUND: Inpatient hyperglycemia is common among adults, and management varies.

PURPOSE: To systematically identify guidelines on inpatient hyperglycemia management.

DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Guidelines International Network, and specialty society websites were searched from 1 January 2010 to 14 August 2024.

STUDY SELECTION: Clinical practice guidelines pertaining to blood glucose management in hospitalized adults were included.

DATA EXTRACTION: Two authors screened articles and extracted data, and three assessed guideline quality. Recommendations on inpatient monitoring, treatment targets, medications, and care transitions were collected.

DATA SYNTHESIS: Guidelines from 10 organizations met inclusion criteria, and 5 were assessed to be of high quality per the Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch & Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument. All guidelines recommended monitoring blood glucose for patients with diabetes and nine for admission hyperglycemia. Eight guidelines recommended an upper blood glucose target of 180 mg/dL, five with a lower limit of 100 mg/dL and three of 140 mg/dL. Guidelines were in agreement on using capillary blood glucose monitoring, and three guidelines included discussion of continuous monitoring. Hyperglycemia treatment with basal-bolus insulin alone (n = 3) or with correction (n = 5) was most commonly recommended, while sliding scale insulin was advised against (n = 5). Guidance on use of oral diabetes medications was inconsistent. Five guidelines included discussion of transitioning to home medications. Recommendations for hypoglycemia management and diabetes management in older adults were largely limited to outpatient guidance.

LIMITATIONS: Non-English-language guidelines were excluded.

CONCLUSIONS: While there is consensus on inpatient blood glucose monitoring and use of basal-bolus insulin, there is disagreement on treatment targets and use of home medications and little guidance on how to transition treatment at discharge.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend primary care practitioners ("PCPs") engage women ≥ 75 years in shared decision-making (SDM) around mammography screening. Therefore, we aimed to develop a web-based conversation aid about mammography screening for women ≥ 75 using output from established simulation models to provide screening outcomes based on > 23,000 combinations of individual women's health and breast cancer risk factors.

METHODS: We used an end-user centered design approach to develop a prototype web-based conversation aid incorporating feedback. From July 2023 to April 2024, 10 PCPs from a Boston-area health system and a safety-net hospital used the prototype aid during encounters with women ≥ 75 without breast cancer or dementia (n = 30; 1-5 patients per PCP). We observed aid use and assessed clinician effort to involve patients in SDM using OPTION5 (assesses five components of SDM, scores range 0-100). We surveyed PCPs and patients about the aid's acceptability. Patients completed the SDM-process scale (scores range 0-4) to rate the SDM quality experienced. Participants' comments were subject to thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Of 10 PCP-participants, seven were female and four were community-based. Of 30 patient-participants, 22 (73%) were non-Hispanic White, 9 (30%) had ≥ 2 Charlson comorbidities and mean age was 78.5 years (SD 2.8). Nine PCPs agreed that the aid helped them with SDM and was easy-to-use; six felt it had too much information; and seven planned to continue using the aid. Patients rated the SDM-process highly (scores = 3.0 [SD 0.9]) and we observed high SDM (mean OPTION5 = 77.9 [SD 20.6]). Participants felt the aid was "empowering" and "helpful for decision-making." After SDM discussions, seven patients intended to stop screening, nine to screen less frequently, and 14 to continue screening regularly.

CONCLUSIONS: We developed a novel conversation aid that supports SDM about mammography screening with women ≥ 75 years. Lessons learned will guide revisions of a final tool for testing in a clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION: Older adults are at high risk of adverse health outcomes in the post-emergency department (ED) discharge period. Prior work has shown that discharged older adults have variable understanding of their discharge instructions which may contribute to these outcomes. To identify discharge comprehension gaps amenable to future interventions, we utilize meta-analysis to determine patient comprehension across five domains of discharge instructions: diagnosis, medications, self-care, routine follow-up, and return precautions.

METHODS: Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, two reviewers sourced evidence from databases including Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Google Scholar (for gray literature). Publications or preprints appearing before April 2024 were included if they focused on geriatric ED discharge instructions and reported a proportion of patients with comprehension of at least one of five predefined discharge components. Meta-analysis of eligible studies for each component was executed using random-effects modeling to describe the proportion of geriatric ED cases understanding the discharge instructions; where appropriate we calculated pooled estimates, reported as percentages with 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS: Of initial records returned (N = 2898), exclusions based on title or abstract assessment left 51 studies for full-text review; of these, seven constituted the study set. Acceptable heterogeneity and absence of indication of publication bias supported pooled estimates for proportions comprehending instructions on medications (41%, 95% CI 31%-50%, I2 = 43%), self-care (81%, 95% CI 76%-85%, I2 = 43%), and routine follow-up (76%, 95% CI 72%-79%, I2 = 25%). Key findings included marked heterogeneity with respect to comprehending two discharge parameters: diagnosis (I2 = 73%) and return precautions (I2 = 95%).

CONCLUSIONS: Older patients discharged from the ED had greater comprehension of self-care and follow-up instructions than about their medications. These findings suggest that medication instructions may be a priority domain for future interventions.