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This study explored illness experiences and decision-making among patients with epilepsy who underwent two different types of surgical interventions: resection versus implantation of the NeuroPace Responsive Neurostimulation System (RNS). We recruited 31 participants from a level four epilepsy center in an academic medical institution. We observed 22 patient clinic visits (resection: n = 10, RNS: n = 12) and conducted 18 in-depth patient interviews (resection: n = seven, RNS: n = 11); most visits and interviews included patient caregivers. Using an applied ethnographic approach, we identified three major themes in the experiences of resection versus RNS patients. First, for patients in both cohorts, the therapeutic journey was circuitous in ways that defied standardized first-, second-, and third- line of care models. Second, in conceptualizing risk, resection patients emphasized the permanent loss of taking out brain tissue whereas RNS patients highlighted the reversibility of putting in a device. Lastly, in considering benefit, resection patients perceived their surgery as potentially curative while RNS patients understood implantation as primarily palliative with possible additional diagnostic benefit from chronic electrocorticography. Insight into the perspectives of patients and caregivers may help identify key topics for counseling and exploration by clinicians.

ObjectivesTo explore the context in which older men navigate treatment for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) following prostate surgery by characterizing lived experience of men with symptomatic SUI.Subjects/patients and methodsMixed method study using surveys and semistructured interviews to examine a cohort of men who underwent evaluation for treatment of postprostatectomy SUI.ResultsThirty-six men were interviewed after consultation for SUI and 31 had complete quantitative clinical data. Twenty-six underwent surgery and 10 chose no surgical intervention. In qualitative interviews, respondents experienced substantial decline in quality of life due to incontinence citing concerns associated with use of pads and worrying about incontinence. Most patients reported "workarounds"-efforts to mitigate or manage incontinence including Kegels, physical therapy, and garments. Participants also reported lifestyle changes including less strenuous physical activity, less sexual activity, and/or fewer social gatherings. Patients then described a "breaking point" where incontinence workarounds were no longer sufficient. After seeking evaluation, men described challenges in exploring treatment for SUI, including access to care and provider knowledge of treatment options.ConclusionIn a novel study of patients living with SUI a predictable lived experience was observed that culminated in a desire for change or "breaking point." In all men, this led to treatment-seeking behaviors and for many it led to SUI intervention. Despite effective treatments, patients continue to meet barriers gaining access to SUI evaluation and treatment.

ImportanceThere is substantial institutional variability in the intensity of end-of-life care that is not explained by patient preferences. Hospital culture and institutional structures (eg, policies, practices, protocols, resources) might contribute to potentially nonbeneficial high-intensity life-sustaining treatments near the end of life.ObjectiveTo understand the role of hospital culture in the everyday dynamics of high-intensity end-of-life care.Design, setting, and participantsThis comparative ethnographic study was conducted at 3 academic hospitals in California and Washington that differed in end-of-life care intensity based on measures in the Dartmouth Atlas and included hospital-based clinicians, administrators, and leaders. Data were deductively and inductively analyzed using thematic analysis through an iterative coding process.Main outcome and measureInstitution-specific policies, practices, protocols, and resources and their role in the everyday dynamics of potentially nonbeneficial, high-intensity life-sustaining treatments.ResultsA total of 113 semistructured, in-depth interviews (66 women [58.4%]; 23 [20.4%] Asian, 1 [0.9%] Black, 5 [4.4%] Hispanic, 7 [6.2%] multiracial, and 70 [61.9%] White individuals) were conducted with inpatient-based clinicians and administrators between December 2018 and June 2022. Respondents at all hospitals described default tendencies to provide high-intensity treatments that they believed were universal in US hospitals. They also reported that proactive, concerted efforts among multiple care teams were required to deescalate high-intensity treatments. Efforts to deescalate were vulnerable to being undermined at multiple points during a patient's care trajectory by any individual or entity. Respondents described institution-specific policies, practices, protocols, and resources that engendered broadly held understandings of the importance of deescalating nonbeneficial life-sustaining treatments. Respondents at different hospitals reported different policies and practices that encouraged or discouraged deescalation. They described how these institutional structures contributed to the culture and everyday dynamics of end-of-life care at their institution.Conclusions and relevanceIn this qualitative study, clinicians, administrators, and leaders at the hospitals studied reported that they work in a hospital culture in which high-intensity end-of-life care constitutes a default trajectory. Institutional structures and hospital cultures shape the everyday dynamics by which clinicians may deescalate end-of-life patients from this trajectory. Individual behaviors or interactions may fail to mitigate potentially nonbeneficial high-intensity life-sustaining treatments if extant hospital culture or a lack of supportive policies and practices undermine individual efforts. Hospital cultures need to be considered when developing policies and interventions to decrease potentially nonbeneficial, high-intensity life-sustaining treatments.

Abstract Background Many patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) do not receive evidence-based, guideline-recommended treatment shown to reduce DKD progression and complications. Proactive electronic consultations (e-consults) are an emerging intervention strategy that could potentially allow nephrologists to provide timely and evidence-based guidance to primary care providers (PCPs) engaged in early DKD care. Methods The objective of this study was to explore perspectives about potential barriers and facilitators associated with a proactive e-consult program to improve DKD care delivery. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with PCPs across three different health systems. Interview transcripts were reviewed in a rapid qualitative analysis approach to iteratively identify, refine, and achieve consensus on a final list of themes and subthemes. Results A total of 18 interviews were conducted. PCPs across all sites identified similar challenges to delivering guideline-recommended DKD care. PCPs were supportive of the proactive e-consult concept. Three major themes emerged surrounding (1) perceived potential benefits of proactive e-consults, including educational value and improved specialist access; (2) concerns about the proactive nature of e-consults, including the potential to increase PCP workload and the possibility that e-consults could be seen as documenting substandard care; and (3) leveraging of care teams to facilitate recommended DKD care, such as engaging clinic-based pharmacists to implement specialist recommendations from e-consults. Conclusion In this pre-implementation qualitative study, PCPs noted potential benefits and identified concerns and implementation barriers for proactive e-consults for DKD care. Strategies that emerged for promoting successful implementation included involving clinic support staff to enact e-consult recommendations and framing e-consults as a system improvement effort to avoid judgmental associations.

ObjectiveTo investigate which treatment attributes matter to patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), why and how they matter, and the context in which patients consider treatment attributes. Nearly a quarter of older men have decisional regret following SUI treatment. Knowledge of what matters to patients when making SUI treatment decisions is necessary to improve goal-concordant care.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 men ≥65 years of age with SUI. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone and transcribed. Four researchers (L.H., N.S., E.A., C.B.) coded the transcripts using both deductive and inductive codes to identify and describe treatment attributes.ResultsWe identified 5 patient-derived treatment attributes of interest among older men with SUI who have faced treatment decisions: (1) dryness, (2) simplicity, (3) potential need for future intervention, (4) treatment regret/satisfaction, and (5) surgical avoidance. These themes reliably emerged in our patient-centered interviews from within various contexts, including prior negative healthcare experiences, the impact of incontinence on daily and quality of life, and the mental health burden of incontinence, among others.ConclusionMen with SUI weigh a variety of treatment attributes in addition to dryness, a traditional clinical endpoint, and do so within the context of their individual experience. These additional attributes, such as simplicity, may run counter to the goal of dryness. This suggests that traditional clinical endpoints alone are not adequate for counseling patients. Contextualized patient-identified treatment attributes should be used to create decision-support materials to promote goal-concordant SUI treatment.

BackgroundFrailty is common among urology patients in general as well as among men seeking evaluation for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), with 6.1% of men undergoing artificial urinary sphincter placement considered frail. It is unclear if and how patient views on frailty and incontinence severity impact decision-making with regards to SUI treatment.MethodsWe undertook a mixed methods analysis to evaluate the intersection of frailty, incontinence severity, and treatment decision-making is presented. To do so, we utilized a previously published cohort of men undergoing evaluation for SUI at the University of California, San Francisco between 2015 and 2020, selecting those who had evaluation with timed up and go test (TUGT), objective measures of incontinence, and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). A subset of these participants had additionally undergone semi-structured interviews, and these interviews were re-examined to thematically code them with a focus on the impact of frailty and incontinence severity on SUI treatment decision-making.ResultsAmong the original cohort of 130 patients, 72 had an objective measure of frailty and were included in our analysis; 18 of these individuals had corresponding qualitative interviews. Common themes identified included (I) impact of incontinence severity on decision-making; (II) the interaction between frailty and incontinence; (III) the impact of comorbidity on treatment decision-making; and (IV) age as a construct of frailty and impact on surgical choice and/or recovery. Direct quotations regarding each theme provides insight into patients' views and drivers of SUI treatment decision-making.ConclusionsThe impact of frailty on treatment decision-making for patients with SUI is complex. This mixed methods study highlights the variety of patient views on frailty with regards to surgical intervention for male SUI. Urologists should make a concerted effort to personalize patient counseling for SUI management and take time to understand each patient's perspective in order to individualize SUI treatment decision-making. More research is needed to help identify factors that influence decision-making for frail male patients with SUI.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is revolutionizing various industries by enabling the creation of complex structures with minimal waste. In the context of a circular economy, the importance of recycling cannot be overstated, as it plays a crucial role in reducing environmental impact and conserving resources. This study investigates the mechanical behavior of PETG in the context of recycling for 3D printing applications. With plastic waste posing significant environmental challenges, the pursuit of sustainable solutions is paramount. PETG has emerged as a promising material in additive manufacturing due to its favorable properties, but its sustainability remains a concern. Through mechanical testing, including tensile, compression, and impact tests, PETG specimens are evaluated after one cycle of recycling and reutilization.

ObjectivesOlder immigrants of Latin American descent are disproportionately impacted by dementia, yet little is known about their dementia- and brain health-related knowledge. We explored perspectives on brain health and aging in this population to inform the development of culturally-relevant interventions.MethodsIndividual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 Spanish-speaking immigrants over 60. Questions addressed knowledge about the brain, perceptions of healthy and unhealthy aging, ideas of how to take care of one's brain, and where knowledge was acquired. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsThe following themes emerged: (1) Descriptions of the brain varied, from anatomy, cognition, and psychology to disease. (2) Perceptions of healthy aging included independence, memory, emotions, and orientation. (3) Ideas of how to care for the brain included physical, social, and cognitive engagement. (4) Knowledge was acquired in childhood, communities, healthcare settings, careers, and media.ConclusionsResults showed significant variability in knowledge. Findings may be leveraged to improve interventions that address brain health literacy disparities among older Latin American immigrants.Clinical implicationsTakeaways involve increasing education about the structure and functions of the brain, promoting realistic understandings of what nonnormative brain aging entails, and increasing knowledge of empirically-supported maintenance approaches. Dissemination may be increased via healthcare providers, community centers, churches, and media.

Background: Newer "closed-loop" neurostimulation devices in development could, in theory, induce changes to patients' personalities and self-perceptions. Empirically, however, only limited data of patient and family experiences exist. Responsive neurostimulation (RNS) as a treatment for refractory epilepsy is the first approved and commercially available closed-loop brain stimulation system in clinical practice, presenting an opportunity to observe how conceptual neuroethical concerns manifest in clinical treatment.Methods: We conducted ethnographic research at a single academic medical center with an active RNS treatment program and collected data via direct observation of clinic visits and in-depth interviews with 12 patients and their caregivers. We used deductive and inductive analyses to identify the relationship between these devices and patient changes in personality and self-perception.Results: Participants generally did not attribute changes in patients' personalities or self-perception to implantation of or stimulation using RNS. They did report that RNS affected patients' experiences and conceptions of illness. In particular, the capacity to store and display electrophysiological data produced a common frame of reference and a shared vocabulary among patients and clinicians.Discussion: Empirical experiences of a clinical population being treated with closed-loop neuromodulation do not corroborate theoretical concerns about RNS devices described by neuroethicists and technology developers. However, closed-loop devices demonstrated an ability to change illness experiences. Even without altering identify and self-perception, they provided new cultural tools and metaphors for conceiving of epilepsy as an illness and of the process of diagnosis and treatment. These findings call attention to the need to situate neuroethical concerns in the broader contexts of patients' illness experiences and social circumstances.

IntroductionThe patient's voice in shared decision-making has progressed from physician's office to regulatory decision-making for medical devices with FDA's Patient Preference Initiative. A discrete-choice preference measure for upper limb prosthetic devices was developed to investigate patient's risk/benefit preference choices for regulatory decision making.MethodsRapid ethnographic procedures were used to design a discrete-choice measure describing risk and benefits of osseointegration with myoelectric control and test in a pilot preference study in adults with upper limb loss. Primary outcome is utility of each choice based conjoint (CBC) attribute using mixed-effects regression. Utilities with and without video, and between genders were compared.ResultsStrongest negative preference was for avoiding infection risk (B = -1.77, p < 0.001) and chance of daily pain (B = -1.22, p, 0.001). Strongest positive preference was for attaining complete independence when cooking dinner (B = 1.62, p < 0.001) and smooth grip patterns at all levels (B = 1.62, B = 1.28, B = 1.26, p < 0.001). Trade-offs showed a 1% increase in risk of serious/treatable infection resulted in a 1.77 decrease in relative preference. There were gender differences, and where video was used, preferences were stronger.ConclusionsStrongest preferences were for attributes of functionality and independence versus connectedness and sensation but showed willingness to make risk-benefit trade-offs. Findings provide valuable information for regulatory benefit-risk decisions for prosthetic device innovations.Trial registrationThis study is not a clinical trial reporting results of a health care intervention so is not registered.

ObjectivesOlder adults under-enroll in early phase cancer clinical trials. There are limited data on their trial experiences, which hampers our ability to understand potential reasons and responses to under-enrollment. We aimed to explore older adults' experiences and deliberations with phase 1 trials.Materials and methodsWe analyzed 101 in-depth interviews with 39 adults (average 2.6 interviews per participant) about their experiences with phase 1 trials. All respondents were ≥ 65 years and had advanced cancer. Interviews lasted 60-90 min and were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify respondents' understanding of clinical research, perceptions of early phase trials, and experiences with enrollment.ResultsClinical trial participation was an interactive process that unfolded over time. Older adults relied on ongoing guidance and discussion with their oncologist to navigate the process. Respondents were generally interested in life-prolonging therapies, including enrollment in early phase clinical trials, but did not necessarily state this explicitly to their oncologist. While respondents did not mention age as a limitation to trials participation, participants age > 70 were less enthusiastic about participation and more often discussed their quality of life and weighed benefits of trial participation in the context of their remaining months of life.ConclusionEarly phase clinical trial enrollment is complex, and older adults rely on their oncologist to navigate this process. Acknowledging this complexity through shared decision-making may ensure that older adults have appropriate opportunities to enroll in early phase clinical trials and guard against inappropriate under-enrollment.

BackgroundStudies of gender inequities in academic medicine suggest the negative impact of men's networking practices, but little is known about how they shape faculty experiences.MethodsIn this qualitative study, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 52 women and 52 men academic medicine faculty members at 16 institutions across the US in 2019. Interviews explored participants' experiences and perceptions of gender inequities in academic medicine, including perceptions of men's networking practices. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and transcripts were analyzed using a mixture of deductively and inductively generated codes.FindingsQualitative analysis of interview transcripts identified different dominant themes: (1) Women were often excluded from networking activities dominated by men, (2) Both women and men referred to men's networking practices in academic medicine, and believed they conferred benefits to members and excluded non-members from such benefits, (3) Participation in such networking activities yielded professional advantages, (4) Women made efforts to counteract their exclusion yet identified limits of those efforts.InterpretationThe data suggests that gender inequities in academic medicine might be associated with professional interactions that occur outside of the scope of professional work practices and in formal work sites. Additional research is needed to better understand practices such as informal networking activities and their impact in order to promote gender equity.

Background Sepsis is a severe and common cause of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Radiomic analysis (RA) may predict organ failure and patient outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess a model of RA and to evaluate its performance in predicting in-ICU mortality and acute kidney injury (AKI) during abdominal sepsis. Methods This single-center, retrospective study included patients admitted to the ICU for abdominal sepsis. To predict in-ICU mortality or AKI, elastic net regularized logistic regression and the random forest algorithm were used in a five-fold cross-validation set repeated 10 times. Results Fifty-five patients were included. In-ICU mortality was 25.5%, and 76.4% of patients developed AKI. To predict in-ICU mortality, elastic net and random forest models, respectively, achieved areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.48 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43–0.54) and 0.51 (95% CI, 0.46–0.57) and were not improved combined with Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II. To predict AKI with RA, the AUC was 0.71 (95% CI, 0.66–0.77) for elastic net and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.64–0.74) for random forest, and these were improved combined with SAPS II, respectively; AUC of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.91–0.96) and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.70–0.80) for elastic net and random forest, respectively. Conclusions This study suggests that RA has poor predictive performance for in-ICU mortality but good predictive performance for AKI in patients with abdominal sepsis. A secondary validation cohort is needed to confirm these results and the assessed model.

Big data is a concept that deals with large or complex data sets by using data analysis tools (e.g., data mining, machine learning) to analyze information extracted from several sources systematically. Big data has attracted wide attention from academia, for example, in supporting patients and health professionals by improving the accuracy of decision-making, diagnosis and disease prediction. This research aimed to perform a Bibliometric Performance and Network Analysis (BPNA) supported by a Scoping Review (SR) to depict the strategic themes, thematic evolution structure, main challenges and opportunities related to the concept of big data applied in the healthcare sector. With this goal in mind, 4857 documents from the Web of Science covering the period between 2009 to June 2020 were analyzed with the support of SciMAT software. The bibliometric performance showed the number of publications and citations over time, scientific productivity and the geographic distribution of publications and research fields. The strategic diagram yielded 20 clusters and their relative importance in terms of centrality and density. The thematic evolution structure presented the most important themes and how it changes over time. Lastly, we presented the main challenges and future opportunities of big data in healthcare.

In this paper we give criteria on the uniform boundedness of the solutions to linear difference equations (LEs) with periodic forcing functions. First, we give a necessary and sufficient condition that the sequence $ \{L^n\} $ of a square matrix $ L $ is bounded, from which a criterion on the uniform boundedness of the solutions to LEs is obtained. Second, a criterion on the uniform boundedness of the solutions for LEs with periodic forcing functions is given by applying a certain representation of solutions. In connection with LEs with delay, we give the characteristic equation of a matrix under the commuting condition.

BackgroundIn the United States, dementia specialty centers affiliated with centers of excellence for research hold promise as locations to develop innovative, holistic care in care systems otherwise siloed by discipline or payer.ObjectiveWe conducted foundational research to inform development of patient-and family-centered palliative care interventions for dementia specialty centers.MethodsWe interviewed persons living with dementia (PLWD), current, and former care partners (CP) recruited from a specialty dementia clinic and purposively selected for variation across disease syndrome and stage. A framework method of thematic analysis included coding, analytic matrices, and pattern mapping.Results40 participants included 9 PLWD, 16 current CPs, and 15 former CPs of decedents; 48% impacted by Alzheimer's disease dementia. While help from family, support groups and adult day centers, paid caregiving, and sensitive clinical care were invaluable to PLWD, CPs, or both, these supports were insufficient to navigate the extensive challenges. Disease-oriented sources of distress included symptoms, functional impairment and falls, uncertainty and loss, and inaccessible care. Social and relational challenges included constrained personal and professional opportunities. The obligation and toll of giving or receiving caregiving were challenging. Clinical care challenges for PLWD and/or CPs included care fragmentation, insufficient guidance to inform planning and need for expert interdisciplinary clinical care at home.ConclusionFindings highlight the breadth and gravity of gaps, which surpass the disciplinary focus of either behavioral neurology or palliative care alone. Results can inform the development of novel interventions to add principles of geriatrics and neuropalliative care to dementia care.

ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate ways in which spirituality was conceptualized in relationship to maintaining brain health and healthy aging in a cohort of older adults who immigrated to the United States from diverse regions of Latin America, in order to ultimately develop culturally-tailored brain health promotion approaches.DesignWe conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.SettingParticipants were recruited from community centers and by a memory care center at a large academic medical center.ParticipantsWe interviewed 30 Spanish-speaking immigrants over age 60. Questions addressed perspectives about the brain, aging, and dementia. Interviews were coded for themes.MeasurementsThematic analysis was used to analyze participants' responses.ResultsWe identified 5 themes: (1) expressing gratitude to God for mental and physical health, (2) putting the onus of life and death in God's hands, (3) using church as a place to socialize and build community as an approach to leading a healthy lifestyle, (4) using prayer as nourishment for the soul and the brain, and (5) gaining inner-peace and calm, and thus maintaining a healthy life, due to a connection with God.ConclusionThe incorporation of customized spiritual interventions may be a mechanism by which to increase the effectiveness of brain health promotion efforts.