Showing papers by "Thomas R. Sexton published in 2013"
TL;DR: Lay health advisors have potential to improve awareness of outpatient rehabilitation services among cardiac patients, which, in turn, can yield greater enrollment rates in a program.
Abstract: PURPOSE: Awareness of and enrollment in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OCR) following a cardiac event or procedure remain suboptimal. Thus, it is important to identify new approaches to improve these outcomes. The objectives of this study were to identify (1) the contributions of a patient navigation (PN) intervention and other patient characteristics on OCR awareness; and (2) the contributions of OCR awareness and other patient characteristics on OCR enrollment among eligible cardiac patients up to 12 weeks posthospitalization.
METHODS: In this randomized controlled study, 181 eligible and consenting patients were assigned to either PN (n = 90) or usual care (UC; n = 91) prior to hospital discharge. Awareness of OCR was assessed by telephone interview at 12 weeks posthospitalization, and OCR enrollment was confirmed by staff at collaborating OCR programs. Of the 181 study participants, 3 died within 1 month of hospital discharge and 147 completed the 12-week telephone interview.
RESULTS: Participants in the PN intervention arm were nearly 6 times more likely to have at least some awareness of OCR than UC participants (OR = 5.99; P = .001). Moreover, participants who reported at least some OCR awareness were more than 9 times more likely to enroll in OCR (OR = 9.27, P = .034) and participants who were married were less likely to enroll (P = .031).
CONCLUSIONS: Lay health advisors have potential to improve awareness of outpatient rehabilitation services among cardiac patients, which, in turn, can yield greater enrollment rates in a program.
40 citations
TL;DR: An unoriented two-stage DEA model is presented to measure efficiency in situations in which analysts seek to simultaneously reduce input quantities and increase output quantities and is applied to Major League Baseball teams during the 2009 season to demonstrate how this approach provides a deeper understanding of each team’s operations.
37 citations
TL;DR: It is found that among respondents who were not college graduates, HCWs were more likely to have a personal physician than non-HCWs, an association absent among graduates, and female HCWs older than 50 years were less likely to adhere to the guidelines of having a mammogram within the past 2 years.
Abstract: lute rates of adverse behaviors were low, such as HIV risk behaviors, most Americans adhere to public health recommendations, and the lack of difference between HCWs and other Americans is reassuring. Perhaps most surprisingly, female HCWs older than 50 years were less likely to adhere to the guidelines of having a mammogram within the past 2 years. Other studies have also observed this paradoxical, unexplained finding. Among respondents who were not college graduates, HCWs were more likely to have a personal physician than non-HCWs, an association absent among graduates. If confirmed, working in health care may improve access preferentially among individuals at greatest risk for not having a regular provider. Specific limitations should be mentioned. The BRFSS is limited to self-reported information, which cannot be externally confirmed. Because HCWs did not report their specific positions, we cannot differentiate between physicians, nurses, aides, and other HCWs. In conclusion, HCWs adhered variably to healthy life choices, often no differently and, for mammography, even less than other Americans. Interventions directed toward HCWs or their employers may improve overall adherence rates. Despite serving as role models, HCWs frequently do not “practice what they preach.”
15 citations