Publications

OBJECTIVE: To propose a framework and describe best practices for improving care for patients with limited health literacy (LHL). METHODS: Review of the literature. RESULTS: Approximately half of the U.S. adult population has LHL. Because LHL is associated with poor health outcomes and contributes to health disparities, the adoption of evidence-based best practices is imperative. Feasible interventions at the clinician-patient level (eg, patient-centered communication, clear communication techniques, teach-to-goal methods, and reinforcement), at the system-patient level (eg, clear health education materials, visual aids, clear medication labeling, self-management support programs, and shame-free clinical environments), and at the community-patient level (eg, adult education referrals, lay health educators, and harnessing the mass media) can improve health outcomes for patients with LHL. CONCLUSION: Because LHL is prevalent, and because the recommended communication strategies can benefit patients of all literacy levels, clinicians, health system planners, and health policy leaders should promote the uptake of these strategies into routine care.

OBJECTIVES

To explore barriers to multiple advance care planning (ACP) steps and identify common barrier themes that impede older adults from engaging in the process as a whole.

DESIGN

Descriptive study.

SETTING

General medicine clinic. San Francisco County.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred forty-three English and Spanish speakers aged 50 and older (mean 61) enrolled in an advance directive preference study.

MEASUREMENT

Six months after reviewing two advance directives, self-reported ACP engagement and barriers to each ACP step were measured with open- and closedended questions using quantitative and qualitative (thematic content) analyses.

RESULTS

Forty percent of participants did not contemplate ACP, 46% did not discuss with family or friends, 80% did not discuss with their doctor, and 90% did not document ACP wishes. Six barrier themes emerged: perceiving ACP as irrelevant (84%), personal barriers (53%), relationship concerns (46%), information needs (36%), health encounter time constraints (29%), and problems with advance directives (29%). Some barriers were endorsed at all steps (e.g., perceiving ACP as irrelevant). Others were endorsed at individual steps (e.g., relationship concerns for family or friend discussions, time constraints for doctor discussion, and problems with advance directives for documentation).

DISCUSSION

Perceiving ACP to be irrelevant was the barrier theme most often endorsed at every ACP step. Other barriers were endorsed at specific steps. Understanding ACP barriers may help clinicians prioritize and address them and may also provide a framework for tailoring interventions to improve ACP engagement.

Systemic hypertension is a long-term risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic vascular disease and when uncontrolled is a short-term trigger of acute vascular events such as acute coronary syndromes and stroke. Thus, rapid reduction in BP is desirable. Patients at high risk for vascular disease, such as those with diabetes mellitus, have aggressive goal BP targets because studies have shown that achieving these targets reduces events. Given the dual goals in high-risk patients of reducing BP quickly and to aggressively low targets, the classic 'step therapy' of one drug titrated at a time to reduce BP is inadequate. Combination therapy with at least two potent medications makes more sense, and manufacturers are now increasing their offerings of single-pill combinations for hypertension. Combination pills are popular with patients and increase compliance with therapy. Many believe that renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) blockers are the cornerstone of hypertension treatment in patients at high risk for vascular disease. The newer combination pills include a RAAS blocker and diuretics or a long-acting calcium channel antagonist (CCA). Recent studies have shown that a RAAS blocker plus a dihydropyridine CCA is superior to older diuretic-based combinations for preventing cardiovascular events. These considerations support a new approach to the higher risk hypertensive patient: effective doses of RAAS blocker/CCA combination pills to rapidly lower BP to <130/80 mmHg.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) elite controllers (EC) maintain viremia below the limit of commercial assay detection (<50 RNA copies/ml) in the absence of antiviral therapy, but the mechanisms of control remain unclear. HLA-B57 and the closely related allele B*5801 are particularly associated with enhanced control and recognize the same Gag(240-249) TW10 epitope. The typical escape mutation (T242N) within this epitope diminishes viral replication capacity in chronically infected persons; however, little is known about TW10 epitope sequences in residual replicating viruses in B57/B*5801 EC and the extent to which mutations within this epitope may influence steady-state viremia. Here we analyzed TW10 in a total of 50 B57/B*5801-positive subjects (23 EC and 27 viremic subjects). Autologous plasma viral sequences from both EC and viremic subjects frequently harbored the typical cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL)-selected mutation T242N (15/23 sequences [65.2%] versus 23/27 sequences [85.1%], respectively; P = 0.18). However, other unique mutants were identified in HIV controllers, both within and flanking TW10, that were associated with an even greater reduction in viral replication capacity in vitro. In addition, strong CTL responses to many of these unique TW10 variants were detected by gamma interferon-specific enzyme-linked immunospot assay. These data suggest a dual mechanism for durable control of HIV replication, consisting of viral fitness loss resulting from CTL escape mutations together with strong CD8 T-cell immune responses to the arising variant epitopes.