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Background and Objectives: As detailed throughout this special issue, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) recently undertook a strategic planning effort to guide the Institute's efforts and priorities in health disparities and health equity (HD/HE) research. One input into this effort was to conduct a 5-year longitudinal, in-depth analysis of NINDS-supported HD/HE research newly funded between the years 2016 and 2020. The goals of this analysis were to describe NINDS's portfolio according to consistent, contemporary definitions and HD/HE disciplinary theory. This required the development of a novel, systematic, and validated analysis protocol. The portfolio analysis was designed to inform the recommendations of an expert working group convened by the NINDS and internal efforts to support high-priority research, training, and infrastructure efforts., Methods: NINDS staff developed and validated this HD/HE research portfolio analysis protocol. Ultimately, HD/HE projects were characterized by their disease focus, populations of study, the health equity determinant(s) addressed, and the type and phase of research being conducted. For all interventional research, there was further assessment of the type and setting of intervention delivery as well as utilization of evidence-based community engagement and intervention sustainability approaches., Results: A total of 58 new HD/HE research projects were funded from 2016 to 2020. The results of the descriptive analysis described here help provide a holistic picture of NINDS's HD/HE research portfolio, revealing strengths and gaps in the portfolio as well as opportunities ripe for future investment., Discussion: NINDS developed a standardized HD/HE research categorization methodology with imbedded quality control checks that is intended to be transparent, accurate, and reproducible. The results of this HD/HE research portfolio analysis will serve as a baseline from which to assess the success of NINDS's research investments going forward., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.)

Background: While there is consensus about the value of communication skills, many physicians complain that there is not enough time to use these skills. Little is known about how to combine effective relationship development and communication skills with time management to maximize efficiency. Our objective was to examine what physician-patient relationship and communication skills enhance efficiency., Data Sources: We conducted searches of PubMed, EMBASE, and PsychINFO for the date range January 1973 to October 2006. We reviewed the reference lists of identified publications and the bibliographies of experts in physician-patient communication for additional publications., Study Selection: From our initial group of citations (n = 1146), we included only studies written in English that reported original data on the use of communication or relationship skills and their effect on time use or visit length. Study inclusion was determined by independent review by 2 authors (L.B.M. and D.C.D.). This yielded 9 publications for our analysis., Data Extraction: The 2 reviewers independently read and classified the 9 publications and cataloged them by type of study, results, and limitations. Differences were resolved by consensus., Results: Three domains emerged that may enhance communication efficiency: rapport building, up-front agenda setting, and acknowledging social or emotional clues., Conclusions: Building on these findings, we offer a model blending the quality-enhancing and time management features of selected communication and relationship skills. There is a need for additional research about communication skills that enhance quality and efficiency.

When the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) administered a survey to gauge patient education support needs among staff, the results indicated a need for cultural competency. Using action methodology and needs assessment, the committee charged with developing a tool to meet this need launched a new concept: Culture Clues. These brief documents provide culture-specific patient information, allowing staff to approach patients according to their culture. The committee created six Culture Clues and is developing more.

Burnout is a job-related condition involving feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981a) is the instrument most widely used to measure job-related stress in human service professions, such as occupational therapy. This study explored the application of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for use with occupational therapists. The subjects were 99 registered occupational therapists residing in the southeastern United States. Mean scores lower than the aggregate occupational norms provided by the test's authors on the Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization subscales supported the need to develop specific norms for occupational therapists. Results of this study indicate that use of the aggregate norms would underestimate the level of experienced burnout. Correlational analyses delineated significant relationships between age and Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization, education and Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization, years of work as an occupational therapist and Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment, years in the present position and Personal Accomplishment (intensity only), hours of direct patient contact and Emotional Exhaustion (intensity only), and hours of direct patient contact and Depersonalization (frequency only). These correlates of burnout furnish clues for understanding the development of work-related stress in occupational therapists.