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Background: Cancer and dementia have often been studied in isolation. We aimed to examine the spatiotemporal trend of inpatient admissions with both cancer and dementia diagnoses., Methods: Using state-wide inpatient claims data, we identified all hospital admissions for patients aged ≥50 years with both cancer and dementia diagnoses in New York State, 2007-2017. We examined the spatiotemporal trend of the admission using a novel Bayesian hierarchical model adjusting for socioeconomic factor, as measured by Yost index., Results: Admissions with the presence of both cancer and dementia diagnoses represented 8.5% of all admissions with a cancer diagnosis, and the proportion increased from 7.1% in 2007 to 9.7% in 2017. The median admission rate was 3.5 (interquartile range: 2.2-5.2) hospitalizations per 1000 population aged ≥50 years, which increased from 2.9 in 2007 to 3.7 in 2017. The admission rate peaked first in 2010 followed by a smaller peak in 2014, before stabilizing at a level higher than the pre-2010 period. Taking into account the spatiotemporal heterogeneity, we found that hospitalizations among those with both cancer and dementia diagnoses were associated with a higher socioeconomic status (the posterior median relative risk for Yost index = 1.046 (95% credible interval: 1.033-1.058))., Conclusions: Hospitalizations of patients with both cancer and dementia increased over time. Cancer care providers and healthcare systems should be prepared to provide prevention and management strategies and engage in complex medical decision-making for this increasingly common patient population comprised of individuals with cancer and dementia., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Oncologists routinely have opportunities for goals-of-care (GoC) discussions with patients. GoC discussions increase the likelihood that patients receive care consistent with their values. However, oncologists often feel ill-equipped to discuss end-of-life care. Objective: To assess the impact of a communication training and coaching intervention (INT) for oncologists during GoC discussions. Design: We randomized oncologists to usual care (UC) or a communication skills training INT, which consisted of an interactive training session and four joint visits with communication coaches. Setting/Subjects: Solid tumor oncologists seeing advanced cancer patients at four hospitals in New York and Connecticut. Measurements: Three blinded coders evaluated recorded encounters before and after INT using a validated tool to assess skill attainment. Results: Oncologists ( n  = 22) were 32% female and averaged 46 years of age. In baseline visits, INT oncologists ( n  = 11) and UC oncologists ( n  = 11) had no difference in the number of mean skills employed out of 8 GoC skills (INT 3.5, UC 2.4; p  = 0.18). Post-INT, INT oncologists were significantly more likely to elicit patient values (55% vs. 0%; p  = 0.01). There was no significant difference in overall mean skills employed (INT 3.4, UC 2.2; p  = 0.14). Assessing for understanding, offering "I wish" statements, and providing prognosis were the least utilized skills among all oncologists. Conclusion: Our real-time communication skills coaching INT resulted in a significant increase in oncologists' ability to elicit patient values during GoC discussions, suggesting that skill acquisition can occur in the face of less intensive training. Future studies can highlight gaps leading to the lack of differences in utilization of other skills.

Effective communication is an important aspect of caring for the elderly, who are more likely to have multimorbidity, limited health literacy, and psychosocial barriers to care. About half of Internal Medicine (IM) trainees in the United States are foreign medical graduates, and may not have been exposed to prior communication skills education. This novel communication skills curriculum for IM interns aimed to increase trainees' confidence and use of specific communication tools with older adults, particularly in delivering bad news and conducting family meetings. The workshop consisted of two interactive sessions in a small group with two learners and one or two facilitators, during the 4-week geriatrics block in IM internship training year. Twenty-three IM interns at an urban Veterans Affairs Medical Center were surveyed at the beginning and at the end of the 4-week block and 3 months after completion of the workshop about their knowledge, confidence, and skill in communication and asked about challenges to effective communication with older adults. The primary outcome measure was change in self-reported confidence and behavior in communication at 4 weeks. On a 4-point Likert scale, there was average improvement of 0.70 in self-reported confidence in communication, which was sustained 3 months after completion of the workshop. Participants reported several patient, physician, and system barriers to effective communication. Communication skills education in a small-group setting and the opportunity for repeated practice and self-reflection resulted in a sustained increase in overall confidence in IM interns in communication with older adults and may help overcome certain patient- and physician-specific communication barriers., (© 2014, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2014, The American Geriatrics Society.)

Objectives: To model the steps involved in preparing for and carrying out propensity score analyses by providing step-by-step guidance and Stata code applied to an empirical dataset., Study Design: Guidance, Stata code, and empirical examples are given to illustrate (1) the process of choosing variables to include in the propensity score; (2) balance of propensity score across treatment and comparison groups; (3) balance of covariates across treatment and comparison groups within blocks of the propensity score; (4) choice of matching and weighting strategies; (5) balance of covariates after matching or weighting the sample; and (6) interpretation of treatment effect estimates., Empirical Application: We use data from the Palliative Care for Cancer Patients (PC4C) study, a multisite observational study of the effect of inpatient palliative care on patient health outcomes and health services use, to illustrate the development and use of a propensity score., Conclusions: Propensity scores are one useful tool for accounting for observed differences between treated and comparison groups. Careful testing of propensity scores is required before using them to estimate treatment effects., (© Health Research and Educational Trust.)

Background: Communication skills are critical in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine because these patients confront complex clinical scenarios. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Geritalk communication skills course by comparing pre- and post-course real-time assessment of the participants leading family meetings. We also evaluated the participants' sustained skills practice., Measures: We compare the participants' skill acquisition before and after Geritalk using a direct observation Family Meeting Communication Assessment Tool and assess their deliberate practice at follow-up., Intervention: First-year Geriatrics or Palliative Medicine fellows at Mount Sinai Medical Center and the James J. Peters Bronx VA Medical Center participated in Geritalk., Outcomes: Pre- and post-course family meeting assessments were compared. An average net gain of 6.8 skills represented a greater than 20% improvement in use of applicable skills. At two month follow-up, most participants reported deliberate practice of fundamental and advanced skills., Conclusions/lessons Learned: This intensive training and family meeting assessment offers evidence-based communication skills training., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)