Introduction: Teamwork and interprofessional practice and learning are becoming integral to health care. It is anticipated that these approaches can maximize professional resources and optimize patient care. Current research, however, suggests that primary health care teams may lack the capacity to function at a level that enhances the individual…

Using a cross-sectional design of 400 primary care patients with diabetes, the authors evaluated demographics, health status, subjective health and mental health, health behaviors, health beliefs, knowledge of diabetes treatment, satisfaction with medical care, and quality of medical care as potential predictors of QoL and QoL in the hypothetical…

Objective: Given the high rate of at-risk drinking in college students, the authors examined drinking behaviors and associated factors in students being seen in student health services for primary care visits from October 30, 2004, to February 15, 2007. Methods: Analyses were based on a Health Screening Survey completed by 10,234 college students…

This article reviews issues related to behavioral screening in pediatric primary care settings. Structural-organizational issues affecting the use of pediatric primary care screening are discussed. This study also reviewed selected screening instruments that have utility for use in the primary care setting. Clinical and research issues related to…

Context: Rural primary care is a complex environment in which multiple patient safety challenges can arise. To make progress in improving safety with limited resources, each practice needs to identify those safety problems that pose the greatest threat to patients and focus efforts on these. Purpose: To describe and field-test a novel approach to…

Research was undertaken to compare problem-solving treatment for primary care (PST-PC) with usual care for minor depression and to examine whether treatment effectiveness was moderated by coping style. PST-PC is a 6-session, manual-based, psychosocial skills intervention. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2 academic, primary care…

Context: Small towns across the United States struggle to maintain an adequate primary care workforce. Purpose: To examine factors contributing to physician satisfaction and retention in largely rural areas in Massachusetts, a state with rural pockets and small towns. Methods: A survey mailed in 2004-2005 to primary care physicians, practicing in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to train primary health care workers to be trainers and implementers of community-based AIDS prevention activities in Oyo State, Nigeria, by describing an evaluation of the project. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 148 primary health care workers recruited from the 33 local government areas (LGA) of the…

Purpose: The Veterans Affairs or VA health care system is in the process of significantly expanding home health care (HOC) nationwide. We describe VA HHC use in 2003 for all VA HHC users from 2002; we examine whether VA utilization across a broad spectrum of services differed for a sample of VA HHC users and their propensity-score-matched…

Context: Few telemedicine projects have systematically examined provider satisfaction and attitudes. Purpose: To determine the acceptability and perceived impact on primary care providers' (PCP) practices of a randomized clinical trial of the use of telemedicine to electronically deliver health care services to Medicare patients with diabetes in…

In 1978, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international health community convoked a conference in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, to address global inequalities in health. The conference resulted in the publication of the "Declaration of Alma-Ata," which made the ambitious call "for urgent action by all governments, all health and…

Introduction: There is much in the literature regarding the potential for commercial bias in clinical research and in continuing medical education (CME), but no studies were found regarding the potential for bias in reporting original research in CME venues. This pilot study investigated the presence of perceived bias in oral and print content of…

Context: An implicit objective of a state's investments in medical education is to promote in-state practice of state educated physicians. Purpose: To present a tool for evaluating this objective by analyzing the "pipeline" from medical education to patient care, primary care, rural areas, and underserved areas in Pennsylvania. Methods:…

The use of biorhythm in preventive health care has possibilities. (MJB)

Causal factors contributing to errors in medication administration should be thoroughly investigated, focusing on systems rather than individual nurses. Unless systemic causes are addressed, many errors will go unreported for fear of reprisal. (Contains 42 references.) (SK)