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Biomedical subjects

Emma Simmons

Publications and source records attributed to Emma Simmons.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Routine testing for HIV in the United States: the intersection between recommendations and practice.

The purpose of this study was to examine the current practices of family practice (FP) providers and their allied staff with regard to routine HIV testing in Rhode Island (RI) and Mississippi (MS). Anonymous experimenter-derived surveys were mailed to both groups of providers in 2002. The questionnaire contained five questions about their current practices and attitudes toward HIV testing as well as patient demographics. Five hundred twenty-one questionnaires were sent to American Academy of Family Practitioners (AAFP) members in RI and MS and to FPs with listings in the phone book in RI. The response rate was 52% in RI and 41% in MS. The vast majority of providers (93%) tested their high-risk patients for HIV, but less tested pregnant (57%) and other sexually active (37%) patients. The FPs in this survey wanted HIV testing to be done in the primary care setting, yet only 7% recommended HIV testing to their sexually active patients aged 18-50 in the previous year. In order not to stigmatize any specific risk group, nor to miss any patients who are unable to be identified as being "at high risk," routine testing in the primary care setting should be encouraged.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed2006

Self-rated breast cancer risk among women reporting a first-degree family history of breast cancer on office screening questionnaires in routine medical care: the role of physician-delivered risk feedback.

PURPOSE: We investigated whether risk-related feedback delivered by one's primary care physician is associated with self-ratings of risk among women found to have a first-degree family history of breast cancer on office screening questionnaires. METHODS DESIGN: Mailed survey of women registered with the Cancer Genetics Network having a first-degree family history of breast cancer. Eligibility: Completion of primary care-based family history screening within the past year. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: presence of physician feedback about breast cancer risk. Dependent variable: self-rated breast cancer risk. Modifying variable: trust in one's doctor. RESULTS: Three hundred one women met eligibility criteria (73% minimum response rate); feedback was associated with rating one's risk to be "high" in both crude and multivariate analysis. (ORadj = 2.38; 95% CI = 1.30, 4.38). Higher levels of trust in the physician were associated in a dose-dependent fashion with the strength of association between feedback and self-rating one's risk to be high. CONCLUSIONS: Physician feedback following the identification of a first-degree family history of breast cancer appears to influence whether or not women categorize themselves to be at high risk and trust is an important modifier of this association.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

It is time to implement routine, not risk-based, HIV testing.

Approximately one-quarter of a million persons in the United States who are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) do not know it. To decrease the number of such persons, primary care providers should make HIV testing a routine component of health care. HIV testing should also be offered routinely in other settings, such as emergency departments, jails, and substance abuse treatment centers. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommend routine HIV testing only in settings where the prevalence of HIV infection is > or =1%; in settings where the prevalence of HIV infection is <1%, testing should be based on risk assessment. Because of the impracticality of strategies for testing that are based on estimates of prevalence, and because of the inaccuracy of risk assessment, we propose that HIV testing be routinely offered to any person who is sexually active. As an adjunct to the implementation of routine testing programs, counseling practices need to be streamlined, and rapid HIV testing needs to be implemented in the appropriate settings.

Diagnostic Tests, Routine↗
PubMed2005

HIV/AIDS and the Black Church: what are the barriers to prevention services?

UNLABELLED: The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to have a devastating impact on the black community in the United States. Trusted community institutions within the black community--the Black Church among them--have often been reluctant to respond to the epidemic in a manner commensurate with the scope of the problem. The aim of the current study was to understand the barriers to HIV/AIDS prevention services offered by black churches in a northeastern metropolitan area by surveying the ministers who lead the churches. METHODS: The study team constructed a 25-item questionnaire that asked questions about the ministers' and congregational demographics as well as general health and/or HIV/AIDS prevention services offered by the churches. The overall response rate was 82% (N=18). RESULTS: 83.3% (N=15) of the ministers surveyed reported financial barriers as reason for not providing HIV/AIDS prevention services. A majority of the ministers also perceived HIV/AIDS to be a problem in their communities. DISCUSSION: The resource-related nature of the barriers and the eagerness of the ministers to get more involved suggest that fostering creative partnerships between AIDS service organizations and churches may encourage more churches to offer HIV/AIDS prevention programming in a culturally acceptable manner.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗