Here you'll find new evidence and guidance from various sources across a variety of conditions of relevance to different audiences.
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Does Daily Self-Monitoring of Blood Sugar Levels Improve Blood Sugar Control and Quality of Life for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Who Do Not Use Insulin?
For the nearly 75% of patients living with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) who do not use insulin, decisions regarding self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is unclear. SMBG testing is a resource-intensive activity without firmly established patient benefits. While SMBG holds great promise for sparking favorable behavioral change, the potential for no benefit or even patient harm must be acknowledged. Possible negative effects on patient quality of life must be more closely examined along with the speculative benefits of SMBG in non-insulin–treated T2DM.
Chronic pain is a significant public health problem that affects more than 116 million Americans; costs $600 billion annually; and is unequally borne by people in low-income brackets, especially ethnic minorities. Many individuals also have health literacy deficits (difficulty understanding their illness and difficulty navigating the healthcare system for treatment), putting them at a greater disadvantage in the healthcare system. Treatment usually relies on expensive medical interventions with negative side effects.
Diabetes is a complicated disease that can cause heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and eye problems. Patients with diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar, follow a diabetic diet, exercise regularly, take multiple medications, and get regular checkups of their blood pressure, cholesterol, eyes, and feet. To assist with organizing these tasks, a community health worker, attached to a patient’s clinic, can help patients understand the care of their diabetes and keep patients in contact with their doctors.
This study extends an existing study in Los Angeles that is partnered between academic and community and client stakeholders. The study has the long-term goal of learning collaboratively how to eliminate disparities in outcomes for persons with depression by improving information and services in inner-city communities of color, using two Los Angeles communities as examples.
Managing Long-Term Low Back Pain to Improve Health and Reduce Reliance on Opioid Medicines: Comparing Mindfulness Meditation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
PCORI has identified opioid use for chronic pain as an important research topic. Patients, clinicians, and others want to learn: How can patients lower their use of opioid medications while managing chronic pain, or eliminate use of these drugs altogether? To help answer this question, PCORI launched a funding initiative in 2016 on Clinical Strategies for Managing and Reducing Long Term Opioid Use for Chronic Pain. This research project is one of the studies PCORI awarded as part of this program. This research project is in progress.
Background: Opioid analgesics such as Vicodin and Oxycontin are now widely prescribed to manage moderate to severe chronic pain, but the effectiveness and safety of long-term opioid use are unclear. Of the 60 million US adults with moderate to severe chronic pain, 5 to 8 million currently use opioids long-term. Increased opioid prescribing has led to an alarming rise in prescription opioid abuse and overdose among chronic pain patients and in the community-at-large. Patients considering long-term opioid use need reliable information on risks.
