Patient Engagement News and Articles

Patient Trust in Public Health Messaging Videos Depends on Diversity

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Informative videos have long been a key part of public health messaging, and new data from NYU Grossman School of Medicine is giving insights into how to increase patient trust in those videos,...

SNAP Benefits Miss Mark in 78% of US Counties, Fueling Food Insecurity

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Amid soaring food prices in 2022, SNAP benefits fall short of covering moderately priced meals in 78 percent of United States counties, a new Urban Institute survey revealed. SNAP, the US's...

54 Hospitals Get Top Marks for Social Responsibility and Care Quality

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The Lown Institute has released its rankings for hospital social responsibility, naming Duke Regional Hospital a top performer in health equity, value, and patient outcomes. The Massachusetts-based...

A Quarter of Patients Face Two-Month Appointment Wait Times

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Appointment wait times are reaching a boiling point, with new data from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) pitching nurse practitioners themselves to fill in patient care access...

Racial Discrimination Shows to Affect Childhood Obesity Rates

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Is racial discrimination contributing to the childhood obesity crisis? It could be, according to a group of researchers from the New York University School of Global Health. Kids who experienced more...

US Has Worst Geographic Health Disparities in Developed World

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The United States is home to the biggest geographic health disparities in the developed world, with researchers supported by the Commonwealth Fund finding significant outcomes differences falling along...

Why Patient Portal Proxy Accounts Are Key for Dementia Patients 

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It could be useful for providers treating patients with dementia to encourage their care partners to create their own patient portal proxy accounts, according to a JAMA Internal Medicine research note...

Produce Prescription Programs Could Cut $40B in Healthcare Spending 

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Produce prescription programs would be a best buy healthcare intervention, with a new study from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy showing such programs could cut...

Low Trust, Bias Taint Shared Decision-Making for Black Patients

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Implicit bias and racism in patient-provider communication are hampering shared decision-making, a new qualitative study in JAMA Network Open reported. The study, which detailed responses from...

Maternal Mortality Doubles in One Decade, Driven by Racial Disparities

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The maternal mortality rate in the US more than doubled between 1999 and 2019, from a total of 505 maternal deaths to 1,210, according to a new JAMA study. But unsurprisingly, that increase affected...

Penn Med Opts Out of US News Hospital Rankings Over Methodology

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University of Pennsylvania Health System, part of Penn Medicine, takes a step away from US News Hospital Rankings, arguing that these reports fail to use healthcare quality metrics that reflect the...

SNAP May Attenuate Racial Disparities in Food Insecurity, SDOH

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Getting eligible families enrolled in food assistance programs like SNAP could be key to closing the racial disparities in food insecurity, according to a new study out in JAMA Network Open. According...

Stanford Medicine Enhances LGBTQ+ Patient Care with Identity Training 

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A new initiative from Stanford Medicine aims to reduce health disparities among LGBTQ people by collecting more information about gender identity and sexual orientation during patient...

MGH Brigham’s Food Is Medicine Program Cut Childhood BMI

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Food is medicine might be emerging as more than healthcare’s latest social determinants of health buzzword. A new study out of Mass General Brigham showed that providing plant-based food...

HHS, Upstream Join Forces to Expand Patient Contraceptive Access

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has joined forces with Upstream to strengthen access to essential reproductive healthcare by expanding patient contraceptive access in underserved...

Drug Overdoses Are 3 Times Deadlier for Men, Exposing Gender Disparity 

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In the United States, drug overdoses from opioids and psychostimulants have taken thousands of lives each year. Among these tragic losses, researchers gained sight of a clear trend; men throughout...

Cost, Location Top Factors Influencing Patient Care Access Decisions

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Cost might be the most important issue when making patient care access decisions, but factors like convenience and location aren’t far behind, according to the Healthcare Patient Consumer Survey...

How Staffing Problems Cause Racial Health Disparities in Nursing Homes

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Nursing homes serving mostly Black patients employ fewer registered nurses than facilities serving mostly White patients, a staffing issue that researchers from NYU said could be driving racial health...

Historical Redlining Bears a Mark on Present-Day Cancer Screening Rates

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Urban neighborhoods, once redlined by federal officials in the 1930s, are still haunted by the effects, as new research shows they face cancer screening disparities.  Individuals residing in...

Racial Health Disparities in Pain Levels Exist in Elite Athletes

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Even among patients with endless resources at their fingertips, racial health disparities loom large. In a study of professional football players, researchers found that Black players report worse and...