NIH Loan Repayment Awards

The NIH has a number of awards for investigators who have large educational loans. They each have different eligibility criteria. FYI.

• Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Clinical Researchers (LRP-CR)
  (NOT-OD-20-133)
  National Institutes of Health

• Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (LRP-IDB)
  (NOT-OD-20-134)
  National Institutes of Health

• Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Contraception and Infertility Research (LRP-CIR)
  (NOT-OD-20-135)
  National Institutes of Health

• Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Pediatric Research (LRP-PR)
  (NOT-OD-20-136)
  National Institutes of Health

• Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research (LRP-HDR)
  (NOT-OD-20-137)
  National Institutes of Health

New paper by Emily Tarleton and colleagues

Congrats to CTS Alumna Emily Tarleton, PhD and her team of UVM collaborators on their latest work on magnesium supplementation.

Tarleton EK, Kennedy AG, Rose GL, Littenberg B. Relationship between Magnesium Intake and Chronic Pain in U.S. Adults. Nutrients. 2020;12: 2104. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/7/2104

Chronic pain is a public health concern and additional treatment options are essential. Inadequate magnesium intake has been associated with chronic pain in some populations. We sought to examine the relationship between dietary magnesium intake and chronic pain in a large, representative cohort of U.S. adults (NHANES). Of the 13,434 eligible adults surveyed between 1999 and 2004, 14.5% reported chronic pain while 66% reported inadequate magnesium intake. The univariate analysis showed a protective effect of increased magnesium intake adjusted for body weight (odds ratio 0.92; 95%; CI 0.88, 0.95; p < 0.001). It remained so even after correcting for socioeconomic and clinical factors as well as total calorie intake (odds ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.87, 0.99; p = 0.02). The association was stronger in females (odds ratio 0.91; 95% CI 0.85, 0.98; p = 0.01) than males (odds ratio 0.96; 95% CI 0.89, 1.04; p = 0.32). The potential protective effect of magnesium intake on chronic pain warrants further investigation.

Justine Dee graduates from the American Physical Therapy Association Fellowship in Education Leadership

Justine Dee, MS, PT, OCS, Associate Professor of Rehabilitation and Movement Science and doctoral candidate in Clinical and Translational Science was awarded the prestigious American Physical Therapy Association Fellowship in Education Leadership and graduated this month. Congratulations, Justine!

New paper from Marianne Burke

Congratulations to Marianne Burke, PhD on the publication of another paper from her doctoral thesis in Clinical and Translational Science. Special thanks to Liliane Savard, CTS graduate student, for her excellent work as co-author!

Burke MD, Savard LB, Rubin AS, Littenberg B. Barriers and facilitators to use of a clinical evidence technology in the management of skin problems in primary care: insights from mixed methods. Journal of the Medical Library Association. 2020; 108:428-39. http://jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/787

Objective: Few studies have examined the impact of a single clinical evidence technology (CET) on provider practice or patient outcomes from the provider’s perspective. A previous cluster-randomized controlled trial with patient-reported data tested the effectiveness of a CET (i.e., VisualDx) in improving skin problem outcomes but found no significant effect. The objectives of this follow-up study were to identify barriers and facilitators to the use of the CET from the perspective of primary care providers (PCPs) and to identify reasons why the CET did not affect outcomes in the trial.

Methods: Using a convergent mixed methods design, the authors had PCPs complete a post-trial survey and participate in interviews about using the CET for managing patients’ skin problems. Data from both methods were integrated.

Results: PCPs found the CET somewhat easy to use but only occasionally useful. Less experienced PCPs used the CET more frequently. Data from interviews revealed barriers and facilitators at four steps of evidence-based practice: clinical question recognition, information acquisition, appraisal of relevance, and application with patients. Facilitators included uncertainty in dermatology, intention for use, convenience of access, diagnosis and treatment support, and patient communication. Barriers included confidence in dermatology, preference for other sources, interface difficulties, presence of irrelevant information, and lack of decision impact.

Conclusion: PCPs found the CET useful for diagnosis, treatment support, and patient communication. However, the barriers of interface difficulties, irrelevant search results, and preferred use of other sources limited its positive impact on patient skin problem management.