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Biomedical subjects

Bradley N Doebbeling

Publications and source records attributed to Bradley N Doebbeling.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Antimicrobial use control measures to prevent and control antimicrobial resistance in US hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical practice guidelines and recommended practices to control use of antibiotics have been published, but the effect of these practices on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) rates in hospitals is unknown. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between antimicrobial use control strategies and AMR rates in a national sample of US hospitals. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, stratified study of a nationally representative sample of US hospitals. METHODS: A survey instrument was sent to the person responsible for infection control at a sample of 670 US hospitals. The outcome was current prevalences of 4 epidemiologically important, drug-resistant pathogens, considered concurrently: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci, ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella species, and quinolone (ciprofloxacin)-resistant Escherichia coli. Five independent variables regarding hospital practices were selected from the survey: the extent to which hospitals (1) implement practices recommended in clinical practice guidelines and ensure best practices for antimicrobial use, (2) disseminate information on clinical practice guidelines for antimicrobial use, (3) use antimicrobial-related information technology, (4) use decision support tools, and (5) communicate to prescribers about antimicrobial use. Control variables included the hospitals' number of beds, teaching status, Veterans Affairs status, geographic region, and number of long-term care beds; and the presence of an intensive care unit, a burn unit, or transplant services. A generalized estimating equation modeled all resistance rates simultaneously to identify overall predictors of AMR levels at the facility. RESULTS: Completed survey instruments were returned by 448 hospitals (67%). Four antimicrobial control measures were associated with higher prevalence of AMR. Implementation of recommended practices for antimicrobial use (P < .01) and optimization of the duration of empirical antibiotic prophylaxis (P < .01) were associated with a lower prevalence of AMR. Use of restrictive formularies (P = .05) and dissemination of clinical practice guideline information (P < .01) were associated with higher prevalence of AMR. Number of beds and Veterans Affairs status were also associated with higher AMR rates overall. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of guideline-recommended practices to control antimicrobial use and optimize the duration of empirical therapy appears to help control AMR rates in US hospitals. A longitudinal study would confirm the results of this cross-sectional study. These results highlight the need for systems interventions and reengineering to ensure more-consistent application of guideline-recommended measures for antimicrobial use.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Abnormal personality and the mood and anxiety disorders: implications for structural models of anxiety and depression.

Substantial overlap exists between the mood and anxiety disorders. Previous research has suggested that their comorbidity can be explained by a shared factor (negative emotionality), but that they may also be distinguished by other unique components. The current study explicated these relations using an abnormal personality framework. Current diagnoses of major depression and several anxiety disorders were assessed in 563 Gulf War veterans. Participants also completed the schedule for nonadaptive and adaptive personality (SNAP) to determine how these disorders relate to abnormal personality traits. Analyses of individual diagnoses indicated that depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more strongly related to personality than were other anxiety disorders. The Self-Harm Scale distinguished major depression from all other disorders, highlighting its significance for future structural models. Our results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that GAD and PTSD have more in common with major depression than with their anxiety disorder counterparts.

Adult↗

Clinical practice guidelines and organizational adaptation: a framework for analyzing economic effects.

OBJECTIVES: The overall objective of this article was to review the theoretical and conceptual dimensions of how the implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is likely to affect treatment costs. METHODS: An important limitation of the extant literature on the cost effects of CPGs is that the main focus has been on clinical adaptation. We submit that the process innovation aspects of CPGs require changes in both clinical and organizational dimensions. We identify five organizational factors that are likely to affect the relationship between CPGs and total treatment costs: implementation, coordination, learning, human resources, and information. We review the literature supporting each of these factors. RESULTS: The net organizational effects of CPGs on costs depends on whether the cost-reducing properties of coordination, learning, and human resource management offset potential cost increases due to implementation and information management. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of the cost effects of clinical practice guidelines should attempt to measure, to the extent possible, the effects of each of these clinical and organizational factors.

Clinical Protocols↗

Borderline personality disorder and traits in veterans: psychiatric comorbidity, healthcare utilization, and quality of life along a continuum of severity.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the presence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits in Gulf War veterans, and to assess psychiatric comorbidity, health status, healthcare utilization, and quality of life (QOL) along a continuum of BPD trait severity. METHOD: BPD and traits were evaluated using the Schedule for Non-Adaptive and Adaptive Personality in 576 veterans who were either deployed to the Persian Gulf (1990-1991) or were on active duty though not deployed to the Gulf. Demographic and military characteristics, personal and family history, psychiatric comorbidity, and QOL were also assessed. RESULTS: One or more BPD traits were present in 247 subjects (43%), and BPD (>5 traits) was identified in 15 subjects (3%). The number of traits was significantly associated with age and level of education. Lifetime psychiatric comorbidity was significantly associated with the number of BPD traits present, and level of functioning, health status, healthcare utilization, social functioning, self-injurious tendencies, and military/behavioral problems. CONCLUSION: BPD and traits identified in Gulf War veterans were associated with significant psychiatric morbidity, poorer QOL, and increased utilization of healthcare resources. Early recognition and treatment of veterans with BPD symptoms may be warranted to minimize the burden on the healthcare system.

Adult↗

Priorities and strategies for the implementation of integrated informatics and communications technology to improve evidence-based practice.

The U.S. health care system is one of the world's most advanced systems. Yet, the health care system suffers from unexplained practice variations, major gaps between evidence and practice, and suboptimal quality. Although information processing, communication, and management are key to health care delivery and considerable evidence links information/communication technology (IT) to improvements in patient safety and quality of care, the health care system has a longstanding gap in its investment. In the Crossing the Quality Chasm and Building a Better Delivery System reports, The Institute of Medicine and National Academy of Engineering identified IT integration as critical to improving health care delivery systems. This paper reviews the state of IT use in the U.S. health care system, its role in facilitating evidence-based practices, and identifies key attributes of an ideal IT infrastructure and issues surrounding IT implementation. We also examine structural, financial, policy-related, cultural, and organizational barriers to IT implementation for evidence-based practice and strategies to overcome them.

Diffusion of Innovation↗

Mental health comorbidity patterns and impact on quality of life among veterans serving during the first Gulf War.

PURPOSE: To examine the patterns of coexisting (comorbid) mental disorders and whether comorbidity influences quality of life ratings in a sample of U.S. veterans. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Iowa Gulf War Study Case Validation study evaluated 602 military personnel, two-thirds of whom had symptoms of depression, cognitive dysfunction, or chronic widespread pain, who were activated or on active duty sometime during the first Gulf War (GW). Mental health disorders were defined using the SCID-IV, and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) was used to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Comorbidity was defined as having two or more mental disorders that spanned across at least two separate categories (e.g., depressive disorders and anxiety disorders). RESULTS: Over 35% of veterans with a current mental disorder had at least one other comorbid mental disorder. Those with mental disorder comorbidity had lower HUI scores than veterans with only one or less mental disorders (mean 0.41 +/- 0.30 vs. 0.72 +/- 0.25, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The co-occurrence of mental disorders that span at least two mental disorder categories is associated with impaired HRQoL in this veteran population. Early identification of mental health comorbidity may lead to interventions to enhance HRQoL among military personnel.

Adult↗

Psychometric evaluation of the restructured clinical scales of the MMPI-2.

Conceptual overlap and heterogeneity have long been noted as weaknesses of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory's clinical scales. Restructured clinical (RC) scales recently were developed to address these concerns (A. Tellegen et al., 2003). The authors evaluated the psychometric properties of the RC scales in psychology clinic clients (N=285) and military veterans (N=567). The RC scales were as internally consistent as the clinical scales and correlated strongly with their original counterparts (except for RC3/Hysteria). They also were less intercorrelated, produced conceptually clearer relations with measures of personality and psychopathology, and yielded somewhat greater incremental utility than the clinical scales. Thus, the RC scales demonstrated several psychometric strengths while utilizing 60% fewer items, but the 2 sets of scales cannot be used interchangeably. Interpretive considerations are discussed.

Adult↗

Implementation of strategies to prevent and control the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms in U.S. hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which the strategies recommended by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) co-sponsored workshop, Antimicrobial Resistance in Hospitals: Strategies to Improve Antimicrobial Use and Prevent Nosocomial Transmission of Antimicrobial-Resistant Microorganisms, have been implemented and the relationship between the degree of implementation and hospital culture, leadership, and organizational factors. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: A representative sample of U.S. hospitals stratified by teaching status, bed size, and geographic region. PARTICIPANTS: Infection control professionals. RESULTS: Surveyed hospitals had implemented strategies to optimize the use of antimicrobials and to detect, report, and prevent transmission of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms. Multivariate analyses found that hospitals with a greater degree of implementation of the NFID-CDC strategic goals were more likely to have management support, education of staff, and interdisciplinary groups specifically to address these issues; they were also more likely to engage in benchmarking on broader quality of care indicators. CONCLUSIONS: Most surveyed hospitals had implemented some measures to address the NFID-CDC recommendations; however, hospitals need to do much more to improve antimicrobial use and to increase their efforts to detect, report, and control the spread of antimicrobial resistance. A supportive hospital administration must foster a culture of ongoing support, education, and interdisciplinary work groups focused on this important issue to successfully accomplish these goals.

Analysis of Variance↗

Variation in the use of procedures to monitor antimicrobial resistance in U.S. hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing clinical and public health crisis. Experts have recommended measures to monitor antimicrobial resistance; however, little is known regarding their use. OBJECTIVE: We describe the use of procedures to detect and report antimicrobial resistance in U.S. hospitals and the organizational and epidemiologic factors associated with their use. METHODS: In 2001, we surveyed laboratory directors (n = 108) from a random national sample of hospitals. We studied five procedures to monitor antimicrobial resistance: (1) disseminating antibiograms to physicians at least annually, (2) notifying physicians of antimicrobial-resistant infections, (3) reporting susceptibility results within 24 hours, (4) using automated testing procedures, and (5) offering molecular typing. Explanatory variables included organizational characteristics and patterns of antimicrobial resistance for oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli, and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella species. Generalized estimating equations accounting for the correlation among outcomes at the facility level were used to identify predictors of the five outcomes. RESULTS: Use of the procedures ranged from 85% (automated testing) to 33% (offering molecular typing) and was related to teaching hospital status (OR, 3.1; CI95, 1.5-6.5), participation of laboratory directors on the infection control committee (OR, 1.7; CI95, 1.1-2.8), and having at least one antimicrobial-resistant pathogen with a prevalence greater than 10% (OR, 2.2; CI95, 1.4-3.3). CONCLUSION: U.S. hospitals underutilize procedures to monitor the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Use of these procedures varies and is related to organizational and epidemiologic factors. Further efforts are needed to increase their use by hospitals.

Cross Infection↗

Relationship between hypochondriacal concerns and personality dimensions and traits in a military population.

Our aim was to examine the relationship between personality dimensions and hypochondriacal concerns and somatic symptoms in a military population. The Schedule of Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality along with measures of hypochondriacal concerns and somatic symptoms were administered to 602 military veterans who had been on active duty during the 1991 Gulf War. Factor analyses identified six separable dimensions-two of hypochondriacal concerns, two of somatic symptoms, and two of possible mechanisms of symptom generation-for study. Multiple regression models determined the proportion of variation in these measures of somatic distress explained by personality scales. Personality measures explained between 26% and 38% of the variance in hypochondriacal concerns and somatic symptoms, and Negative Temperament accounted for most of this. Moderately strong positive correlations were observed between trait scales Mistrust, Low Self-Esteem, and Eccentric Perceptions and the various measures of somatic distress. Thus, when Negative Temperament was taken into account, few significant correlations between personality measures and hypochondriacal concerns or somatic symptoms remained. Negative temperament or neuroticism is strongly associated with hypochondriacal concerns. Important features of hypochondriasis and somatic distress appear to lie within the domain of personality. It remains for future research to show whether negative temperament is a vulnerability factor for hypochondriasis or hypochondriasis is itself a personality disorder.

Adult↗

Provider adherence to COPD guidelines: relationship to organizational factors.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: A clinical practice guideline for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was implemented in all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals in the US. The aim of the current analyses is to describe current adherence rates and the organizational factors related to provider adherence to the COPD guideline. METHODS: We administered a survey to key informants that assessed adherence to the COPD guideline, approaches to disseminating and implementing the COPD guideline, providers' views of the COPD guideline and guidelines in general, and attitudes about the organizational climate. RESULTS: Surveys were returned by 242 key informants (58%) at 130 of the 143 VHA hospitals (91%). Adherence to the COPD clinical practice guideline is perceived by quality managers within the VHA to be good. The final multivariable predictor model identified five measures that were related to provider adherence with the COPD guideline (R(2) = 0.43): responsibilities were changed to support adherence to the COPD guideline, physicians believe that guidelines implemented in the past year were applicable to their practice, patient care providers consistently participate in activities to improve the quality of care, the regional network office monitors the pace at which guidelines are implemented, and there is a system to provide feedback on routinely collected guideline adherence data collected in addition to External Peer Review Program data. CONCLUSIONS: Organizations can play an important role in providing a supportive climate to facilitate their providers' adherence to guidelines by implementing processes and culture changes that involve these five measures.

Data Collection↗

Incarceration and veterans of the first Gulf War.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the prevalence of incarceration and the association with deployment among veterans of the first Persian Gulf War (GW). METHODS: A structured telephone interview of military personnel from Iowa deployed to the Persian Gulf and a comparison sample of nondeployed military personnel was conducted. The interview consisted of validated questions, validated instruments, and investigator-derived questions to assess relevant medical and psychiatric conditions. A total of 4,886 subjects were randomly drawn from one of four study domains, i.e., GW regular military, GW National Guard/Reserve, non-GW regular military, or non-GW National Guard/Reserve. Symptoms of medical conditions, psychiatric disorders, and health care utilization were the main outcome measures. RESULTS: Nearly one-quarter (845 of 3,695 subjects, 22.9%) had been incarcerated at some point before the interview ("ever incarcerated"). Ever incarcerated veterans had a higher frequency of psychiatric and medical comorbidity and higher rates of health care utilization. Ever incarcerated status was associated with male gender, enlisted rank, lower educational levels, low levels of military preparedness, discharge from service, cigarette smoking, antisocial traits, court martial and/or other military discipline, having seen a mental health professional, and having used illegal drugs. GW veterans who participated in combat had a modestly higher risk for incarceration after the GW than did noncombatants (odds ratio, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-2.5). CONCLUSIONS: Military recruits with a history of incarceration more often displayed problematic behaviors, more often developed psychiatric/medical conditions, and had high rates of health care utilization. A history of incarceration may be a behavioral marker for substance abuse, antisocial behavior, and mental illness. Importantly, GW deployment carried no increased risk of subsequent incarceration overall.

Adult↗

Gang and multiple rapes during military service: health consequences and health care.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether there were differences in women veteran's health status and use of health care services by type of rape that occurred during military service. METHODS: We conducted a national cross-sectional survey of women veterans who served in Vietnam and subsequent eras and were listed in Department of Veterans Affairs comprehensive women's health care registries. We used structured telephone interviews to gather socioeconomic information, violence history, use of outpatient health care services, and health status for a random sample, stratified by region and era of service. RESULTS: Five hundred forty women completed the interview, 28% of whom reported being raped during military service. Nineteen percent reported a single rape, 5% reported repeated rape (range 2-36), and 5% reported gang rape. Women who reported repeated and gang rapes had significantly impaired physical and emotional health compared with women with a single or no rape (p < or = .05). Repeatedly raped women were more likely to use inpatient and outpatient mental health services (p < or = .05). Gang-rape survivors reported the most severe impairment in physical functioning and general health and demonstrated a trend to seek outpatient medical services. CONCLUSIONS: Simply asking a woman if she has been raped is not sufficient to detect the level of consequences. More than a decade after military discharge, women who experienced repeated or gang rape during their military service had significant impairment of physical and emotional health compared with women with no or a single rape. The differential health effects associated with severe violence supports the public health importance of sexual violence screening, treatment, and prevention.

Adult↗

Identifying barriers to the effective use of clinical reminders: bootstrapping multiple methods.

Advances in electronic medical record capabilities enable clinical reminders to inform providers when recommended actions are "due" for a patient. Despite evidence that they improve adherence to guidelines, the Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) has experienced challenges in having providers consistently use clinical reminders as intended. In this paper, we describe how multiple methods were used to opportunistically triangulate, or "bootstrap," an understanding of barriers to the effective use of clinical reminders in the VHA. In an initial study using ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews of HIV clinical reminders, we identified six barriers to effective use: workload, time to remove inapplicable reminders, false alarms, training, reduced eye contact, and the use of paper forms rather than software. In a second study, we collected open-ended and closed-ended data regarding barriers and facilitators to the use of clinical reminders in general in the VHA through a survey of 261 participants at a national informatics meeting, where 104 of 142 VHA health care facilities were represented. The findings from the second study extended our understanding of the previously identified barriers. In addition, four new barriers were identified: ease of use issues, accessibility of workstations, resident physicians and trainees, and administration benefiting more than providers from clinical reminder use. We discuss potential implications regarding the similarities and differences in study findings for factors to consider in planning interventions to improve clinical reminder use.

Appointments and Schedules↗

VA QUERI informatics paper: information technology for clinical guideline implementation: perceptions of multidisciplinary stakeholders.

OBJECTIVE: This multisite study compared the perceptions of three stakeholder groups regarding information technologies as barriers to and facilitators of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). DESIGN: The study settings were 18 U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. A purposive sample of 322 individuals participated in 50 focus groups segmented by profession and included administrators, physicians, and nurses. Focus group participants were selected based on their knowledge of practice guidelines and involvement in facility-wide guideline implementation. MEASUREMENTS: Descriptive content analysis of 1,500 pages of focus group transcripts. RESULTS: Eighteen themes clustered into four domains. Stakeholders were similar in discussing themes in the computer function domain most frequently but divergent in other domains, with workplace factors more often discussed by administrators, system design issues discussed most by nurses, and personal concerns discussed by physicians and nurses. Physicians and nurses most often discussed barriers, whereas administrators focused most often on facilitation. Facilitators included guideline maintenance and charting formats. Barriers included resources, attitudes, time and workload, computer glitches, computer complaints, data retrieval, and order entry. Themes with dual designations included documentation, patient records, decision support, performance evaluation, CPG implementation, computer literacy, essential data, and computer accessibility. CONCLUSION: Stakeholders share many concerns regarding the relationships between information technologies and clinical guideline use. However, administrators, physicians, and nurses hold different opinions about specific facilitators and barriers. Health professionals' disparate perceptions could undermine guideline initiatives. Implementation plans should specifically incorporate actions to address these barriers and enhance the facilitative aspects of information technologies in clinical practice guideline use.

Adult↗

Are United States hospitals following national guidelines for the analysis and presentation of cumulative antimicrobial susceptibility data?

The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards recently published guidelines for analysis and presentation of cumulative antimicrobial susceptibility test data (antibiograms). We sought to determine how well US hospitals already adhere to standards for antibiogram compilation, and to examine the relationship between hospital characteristics and guideline adherence. We surveyed laboratory directors at 670 hospitals and examined 3 guideline criteria: compilation of an antibiogram, annual updating, and distribution to infection control staff and medical staff yearly; 494 surveys were returned (74%). Almost all of the hospitals surveyed publish an antibiogram (95%, n = 481); however, only 60% (n = 296) met all three criteria. Hospital laboratories meeting criteria were more likely to serve as referral laboratories (OR = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.26-2.63), perform susceptibility testing on site (OR = 4.47; 95% CI = 1.84-10.84), use confirmatory tests to detect extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.2-2.6), and have more laboratory personnel per bed (3.0 vs. 2.0 FTEs/bed, p = 0.0031). Adherence to guidelines for preparation and dissemination of antibiograms could be improved. Institutional commitment to high quality, on-site microbiology laboratory services will improve adherence to these guidelines.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Risk factors for hypochondriacal concerns in a sample of military veterans.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to examine the influence of combat exposure and other risk factors on the development of hypochondriacal concerns among veterans of the Gulf War and to learn whether these concerns might be a source of increased symptom reporting among them. METHOD: Six hundred two veterans who were deployed to the Gulf or elsewhere during the 1991 war took part in a two-phase study of symptoms and illnesses occurring among these veterans. Hypochondriacal beliefs and attitudes were assessed by the Whiteley Index and somatic symptoms by a factor-analytically derived measure. Multiple regression models were developed for these outcomes. RESULTS: Hypochondriacal concerns were significantly associated with level of education, personal history of depression, number of prewar physical conditions, family history of functional syndromes, negative and positive temperament and disinhibition, military combat, level of military preparedness, social support, and perceived life stress. Somatic symptoms were associated with these same variables, as well as branch of service, family history of physical conditions, combat, and level of combat exposure. A regression model for hypochondriacal concerns included the number of prewar physical conditions, negative temperament, lack of social support, and perceived life stress. CONCLUSIONS: Hypochondriacal concerns were not strongly related to combat exposure. Consequently, it is not likely that such concerns account for increased symptom reporting among the veterans studied. Hypochondriacal concerns appeared to arise in response to threats posed by physical illness. Vulnerability to such threats appeared to center on the personality dimension of negative temperament. This model may serve as a guide to future investigations.

Adult↗

Factors promoting consistent adherence to safe needle precautions among hospital workers.

OBJECTIVE: To examine organizational factors and occupational characteristics associated with adherence to occupational safety guidelines recommending never recapping needles. DESIGN: Mail surveys were conducted with healthcare workers (HCWs) and infection control professionals (ICPs). SETTING: The surveys were conducted at all non-federal general hospitals in Iowa, except one tertiary-care hospital. Survey data were linked to annual survey data of the American Hospital Association (AHA). PARTICIPANTS: HCWs were sampled from statewide rosters of physicians, nurses, and laboratory workers in Iowa. Eligible HCWs worked in a setting and position in which they were likely to routinely handle needles. ICPs at all hospitals in the state were surveyed. RESULTS: Ninety-nine ICPs responded (79% response rate). AHA data were available for all variables from 84 (85%) of the hospitals. Analyses were based on 1,454 HCWs who identified one of these hospitals as their primary hospital (70% response rate). Analyses were conducted using multiple logistic regression. Positive predictors of consistent adherence included infection control personnel hours per full-time-equivalent employee (odds ratio [OR], 1.03), frequency of standard precautions education (OR, 1.11), facilities providing personal protective equipment (OR, 1.82), facilities using needleless intravenous systems (OR, 1.42), and management support for safety (OR, 1.05). Negative predictors were use of "blood and body fluid precautions" isolation category (OR, 0.74) and increased job demands (OR, 0.90). CONCLUSION: Healthcare organizations can improve staff safety by investing wisely in educational programs regarding approaches to minimize these risks, providing protective equipment, and eliminating the use of blood and body fluid precautions as an isolation policy.

Equipment Design↗