Articles related toPublic Health and Primary Care

Rapid diagnosis of influenza infections has been shown to reduce improper or delayed treatment and to increase access to diagnostic measures in public health, primary care, and hospital-based settings. In this paper, the authors compare the sensitivity, specificity, and time to diagnosis for nine highly utilized commercial rapid influenza diagnostic tests.

This study aims to evaluate the effects of long-term opioid therapy on measures of back-specific disability and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain.

The goal of this study is to highlight the efficacy of a peer recovery program in improving health outcomes and associated national outcome measures in men with a substance use disorder and/or co-occurring mental health disorder.

The authors present the case of a 30-year-old woman with no significant medical history presented to the emergency department in October 2020 with sudden onset of severe left upper and lower abdominal pain. The purpose of this case report is to illustrate and make other clinicians aware of unusual potential complications and clinical presentations of COVID-19.

External auditory canal exostoses (EACE) are bony formations that develop insidiously in the auditory meatus from chronic exposure to cold water and, in severe cases, require surgery. This condition has been understudied in the whitewater kayakers and not yet studied in the riverboarding population. This article aims to determine the prevalence of EACE in Colorado whitewater athletes and their attitudes about wearing ear protection before and after an educational intervention directed at increasing awareness and prevention of EACE.

This review will define the components of medication-assisted treatment (MAT), consider the impact of MAT in the primary care setting, and identify barriers to effective MAT.

Diabetes-related distress (DRD) is experienced by nearly 50% of people with diabetes at any given time in their diagnosis. The effects of low socioeconomic status and lacking access to resources can increase DRD. In addition, cardiovascular (CV) complications associated with diabetes are associated with higher DRD scores. This study evaluated the associations between DRD and predicted CV risks in participants with type 2 diabetes.

This study aims to explore primary care providers' experiences and practice patterns regarding low back pain in females compared to males in healthcare settings within the United States.

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of mask mandates in small US counties and places where the population density may not be as high as in larger urban counties and to determine the efficacy of countywide mask mandates in reducing daily COVID-19 infection.

The authors evaluated whether a screening tool would be able to accurately screen individuals for movement system disorders (MSDs), explore comorbidities that may predict the prevalence of MSDs, and identify why people do not discuss these problems with their primary care provider.