Annals of Family Medicine articles from January 2008

Annals of Family Medicine archives from January 2008

Quality of diabetes care in family medicine practices: influence of nurse-practitioners and physician's assistants.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess whether the quality of diabetes care differs among practices employing nurse-practitioners (NPs), physician's assistants (PAs), or neither, and which practice attributes contribute to...

In this issue: mental health and care management, health behavior change, and reflection in primary care.(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm.803. Articles in this issue deepen our understanding of mental health care, care management, health behavior change intervention, and reflective practice. This issue is accompanied by a supplement devoted to resident...

Explaining patients' beliefs about the necessity and harmfulness of antidepressants.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Patients' beliefs about antidepressants vary widely and probably influence adherence, yet little is known about what underlies such beliefs. This study's objective was to identify the demographic and clinical...

Assessing clinical discoveries.(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... General practice has a long, though tenuous, history of clinical research, carried out often by single practitioners working with their own patients. Recent experience has convinced me that this is still the case, even though very little...

Care management for depression in primary care practice: findings from the RESPECT-Depression trial.(Clinical report)
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE This qualitative study examined the barriers to adopting depression care management among 42 primary care clinicians in 30 practices. METHODS The RESPECT-Depression trial worked collaboratively with 5 large health...

Primary care after psychiatric crisis: a qualitative analysis.(Clinical report)
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Patients with serious psychiatric problems experience difficulty accessing primary care. The goals of this study were to assess whether care managers improved access and to understand patients' experiences with health care...

Intimate partner violence, depression, and PTSD among pregnant Latina women.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We undertook a study to describe factors related to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among pregnant Latinas who were or were not exposed to intimate partner violence. METHODS We interviewed 210...

Influence of patients' socioeconomic status on clinical management decisions: a qualitative study.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Little is known about how patients' socioeconomic status (SES) influences physicians' clinical management decisions, although this information may have important implications for understanding inequities in health care...

Patients' commitment to their primary physician and why it matters.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE The patient-physician relationship is the cornerstone of health care service delivery. The objectives of this study were to assess the contribution of relationship commitment along with trust to patient-physician...

Effect on cessation counseling of documenting smoking status as a routine vital sign: an ACORN study.(Medical condition overview)(Survey)
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Guidelines encourage primary care clinicians to document smoking status when obtaining patients' blood pressure, temperature, and pulse rate (vital signs), but whether this practice promotes cessation counseling is...

A meta-analysis of pedometer-based Walking interventions and weight loss.(Clinical report)
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Cross-sectional studies show that individuals who walk more tend to be thinner than those who walk less. This does not mean, however, that the association between higher step counts and lower weight is causal or that...

The Island.(REFLECTIONS)
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT A clinician's chance encounter on the subway, after a long day seeing patients, prompts reflections on the nature of our interactions with our patients and with others we come across in our lives. Random yet precise, these...

Stuck in the mud.(REFLECTIONS)(Personal account)
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT The reservation was a littered muddy wasteland, and its population endured poor health, not unlike a third world country. Native American patients suffered from conditions of squalor, alcoholism, diabetes, and drug abuse. I was...

No job is finished until the electronic work is done.(ON TRACK)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm.799. A common truism is that no job is finished until the paperwork is done. I suggest that when it comes to reading an article in Annals, no job is finished until the electronic work is done. Articles are the product of...

Correction.(Correction notice)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10:1370/afm.804 In a recent article by Lucy Candib, MD, "Obesity and diabetes in vulnerable populations: reflection on proximal and distal causes" (Ann Fam Med. 5[6]:547-556), the Diabetes Prevention Project at the Centers for Disease...

Update on the [P.sup.4] project.(Family Medicine Updates)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm.808. Five months into the first year of implementation, the [P.sup.4] (Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice) residencies have their hands full. Most have completed IRB processes, and a significant minority of...

STEM Annual Spring Conference features a diverse research program of events.(Family Medicine Updates)(Conference news)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm.806. The STFM research committee is assembling a variety of research-related activities for the STFM Annual Spring Conference, which will be held April 30 to May 4, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. STFM will feature...

Electronic health records in academic family medicine practices: A tale of progress and opportunity.(Family Medicine Updates)(Survey)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm.809 The Future of Family Medicine report called for an electronic health record (EHR) that assures integration of clinical information; provides decision-support based on evidence-based guidelines; generates chronic...

Frontline: diabetes--supplementing education and quality improvement in family medicine residency training.(Family Medicine Updates)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm. 810. In 2004, Frontline: Diabetes was created by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD) with an unrestricted educational grant from Novo Nordisk, as an educational forum used to provide family...

Mapping the future of primary healthcare research in Canada.(Family Medicine Updates)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm. 810. The Issue Family medicine and primary healthcare research in Canada has long been fragmented, under-appreciated, and under-funded. In contrast to the major primary care reform initiatives unfolding across the...

Medical home gains prominence with AAFP oversight.(Family Medicine Updates)(Report)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm.805. The AAFP is continuing its work on building consensus on the importance of the primary care-based medical home. To that end, the Academy in November supported a voluntary designation program that will recognize...

Investigating complementary and alternative medicine use in a Spanish-speaking Hispanic community in South Carolina.(Clinical report)
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE This study investigated the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the Charleston, South Carolina, area. METHODS We administered Spanish-language questionnaires regarding...

Tracing uncontrolled asthma in family practice using a mailed asthma control questionnaire.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE A substantial proportion of adult patients with asthma have inadequately controlled symptoms despite the availability of effective treatment. The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) can be used to discriminate between...

The state of resident research in family medicine: small but growing.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... DOI: 10.1370/afm.779. Research in primary care is essential because clinical care must be based on research evidence, and the evidence base for the majority of care for the population cannot be generated only through animal studies or...

Attitudes and beliefs about emergency contraception among patients at academic family medicine clinics.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE The possible mechanisms of action of emergency contraception (EC) include preventing ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of an embryo. Differences in the use of terminology between medical personnel and the general...

Improving anticoagulation therapy using point-of-care testing and a standardized protocol.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Many patients in primary care require anticoagulation with warfarin for the prevention of venous and systemic embolism. Achieving the goal international normalized ratio (INR) with warfarin is challenging. The purpose of...

Visual prompt poster for promoting patient-physician conversations on weight loss.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE This study investigated the effect of a simple visual prompt in the form of a poster on the occurrence of patient-physician weight loss conversations during routine office encounters in a primary care outpatient clinic....

Influence of obstetric practice on workload and practice patterns of family physicians and obstetrician-gynecologists.
January 1, 2008... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Obstetric practice among family physicians has declined in recent years. This study compared the practice patterns of family physicians and obstetrician-gynecologists with and without obstetric practices to provide...