Publications

BACKGROUND

The critical need to expand and develop the palliative care evidence base was recently highlighted by the Journal of Palliative Medicine's series of articles describing the Research Priorities in Geriatric Palliative Care. The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is uniquely positioned to address many priority areas of palliative care research. This nationally representative, ongoing, longitudinal study collects detailed survey data every 2 years, including demographics, health and functional characteristics, information on family and caregivers, and personal finances, and also conducts a proxy interview after each subject's death. The HRS can also be linked with Medicare claims data and many other data sources, e.g., U.S. Census, Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care.

SETTING

While the HRS offers innumerable research opportunities, these data are complex and limitations do exist. Therefore, we assembled an interdisciplinary group of investigators using the HRS for palliative care research to identify the key palliative care research gaps that may be amenable to study within the HRS and the strengths and weaknesses of the HRS for each of these topic areas.

CONCLUSION

In this article we present the work of this group as a potential roadmap for investigators contemplating the use of HRS data for palliative care research.

IMPORTANCE

Isotretinoin, an effective anti-acne therapy, is a known teratogen that is strictly regulated through the iPLEDGE program. However, since this program has not significantly reduced rates of pregnancies exposed to isotretinoin, new strategies for reducing rates of isotretinoin-exposed pregnancies are needed.

OBJECTIVE

To explore women's experiences with counseling about isotretinoin risk reduction.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Structured interviews were conducted between January and September 2012. Two independent coders performed content analysis using a grounded theory approach. The study participants were 16 women who had used isotretinoin to treat severe skin disease and who were recruited from a single urban community via flyers displayed on college campuses, at dermatology clinics, and at student health facilities.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Perceptions of isotretinoin-associated risks and understanding of ways teratogenic risks can be avoided.

RESULTS

Participants clearly understood that isotretinoin is teratogenic but had less understanding of contraceptive methods that effectively prevent pregnancy. Most described the counseling they received as anxiety provoking. Few were counseled about highly effective reversible contraceptives such as the subdermal implant or intrauterine contraception; most counseling focused on oral contraceptives. Women cited multiple influences on their contraceptive choices, including friends, family, physicians, the internet, and other media; however, some expressed concerns about the accuracy of these sources of information. For many, iPLEDGE was their first introduction to contraception. When presented with evidence-based information on the relative effectiveness of available contraceptives, participants expressed surprise that this was not part of the iPLEDGE materials.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Since few clinicians provide women information on highly effective (ie, intrauterine or subdermal) contraceptives, the iPLEDGE program increases anxiety about isotretinoin more than it helps women feel protected from the teratogenic risks of isotretinoin.

INTRODUCTION

Limited data exist on insured patients who receive care at publically funded sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics, despite having access to a primary care provider. In this analysis, we compare patients with and without health insurance who sought services at City Clinic, the San Francisco municipal STD clinic.

METHODS

We analyzed San Francisco City Clinic patients between August 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012. Insurance was self-reported and included both private and public insurance. Variables from the clinic electronic medical record were examined and included basic demographic and risk behavior questions, as well as positivity among patients tested for chlamydial and gonoccocal infection. We compared the characteristics of insured and uninsured patients using χ test.

RESULTS

There were 13,104 patients in this analysis, of whom 4981 (38%) were categorized as insured and 8123 (62%) as uninsured. Overall, insured patients were older, more likely to be male, more likely to be white, and less likely to be Hispanic compared with uninsured patients (all P < 0.05). In addition, insured patients were more likely to be among men who have sex with men and among HIV-infected individuals compared with uninsured patients (all P < 0.0001). Insured patients were less likely to have a diagnosis of chlamydia at any site or a diagnosis of rectal gonorrhea.

CONCLUSIONS

In our municipal STD clinic, more than one-third of patients report currently having insurance, yet still choose to seek care at the STD clinic. The different characteristics between insured and uninsured patients may reflect reasons other than affordability; therefore, STD clinics remain an important source of care for at-risk populations. These data suggest that the expansion of access to insurance may not result in a reduced need for categorical STD services. Maintaining access to high-quality sexual health services should remain a priority in the era of expanded health care access.