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Telemedicine in Rural NY: What Comes After COVID-19
Sylvia Lane
Short-term ProjectDespite ever increasing access to technology, prior to the COVID-19 2020 pandemic, telehealth has had a slow uptake. This pandemic has shown that telehealth can break boundaries and provide access to healthcare in non-traditional ways. In the rural community of Clinton County, NY, there are higher than average rates of ED visits, obesity, and chronic preventable illnesses. Despite greater than average insurance coverage, this population is not accessing preventative healthcare. Though telehealth appears to be a cure to these issues, the ever-evolving system has found many barriers that were not previously considered. 1 in 5 of these patients does not have access to broadband internet and a large majority cannot afford smart devices. This project aimed to collect telemedicine initiatives that creatively address these barriers and allow for use of technology to improve healthcare for all patients of this community. A comparison of different initiatives in the fields of transitional care, pediatrics, mental health services, and high risk chronic care was created for the health care administrators of the CVPH Family Medicine Clinic.
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Genitourinary Effects of Smoking in Men: An Alternative Approach to Smoking Cessation Through Patient Education
Michael J. Lawrence
Short-term ProjectSmoking remains a prominent problem in Vermont, especially outside Chittenden County. The genitourinary effects of smoking tend to be poorly appreciated among patients. This presents an opportunity for further patient education and incentivization to quit. This project focused on the genitourinary effects of smoking in men, specifically highlighting how smoking increases risk of bladder cancer, poorer outcomes in prostate cancer, and a higher risk of erectile dysfunction. The project culminated in creation of an educational poster intended for display in patient bathrooms in a medical setting.
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Vaping: What Are the Risks?
Matthew Eric Lebow
Short-term ProjectIn recent years there has been a precipitous rise in the number of individuals using e-cigarettes or vaping devices. According to the Vermont Department of Health, in 2016, there were 22,000 adults who used e-cigarettes. However, even more, concerning was that there were approximately 3,000 high school Vermonters who used electronic vaping products. The dangers around vaping products are multifactorial, including the lack of perception of harm by youth, the risk of nicotine addiction, ease of access, and the potential harms including chemicals, contaminants, and metals.
Even more concerning has been the rise of E-Cigarette and Vaping Produce Use- Associated Lung Injury Outbreak (EVALI). To date, there have been nearly 2,700 hospitalized cases of EVALI, including 34 in Vermont. While there are several hypotheses for what causes EVALI, what is known is that most cases involved vaping products with THC, particularly from informal sources.
The goal of this project was to set the foundation for information dissemination regarding vaping in Vermont and the risk factors for EVALI.
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Addressing Pandemic-Related Barriers to Fitness
Kyle Leonard
Short-term ProjectObesity is a persistent concern in Clinton County, New York. Over one-third of children and over two-thirds of adults in the county are classified as either overweight or obese. Obesity is associated with many adverse health outcomes, including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, diabetes, and various cancers. Moreover, increased prevalence of obesity leads to increased healthcare costs for those affected, amounting to tens of billions of excess dollars spent annually. As a result of the pandemic, several fitness centers in the Plattsburgh area had closed for good, leaving many residents without access to fitness. Many of those residents had been drawn to these centers due to affordable access or public funding. Now, only a few centers have reopened, all of which may pose financial barriers for Plattsburgh residents to access them. Further, many residents are unaware that some facilities have reopened in the first place. This project aims to provide patients at the Plattsburgh Family Medicine clinic with information on accessing fitness in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, either through home fitness programs or with operating fitness centers. Additionally, this project aims to inform patients of various incentives from health insurance providers to encourage physical activity in the community.
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Assessing Provider Perspectives of Transportation Difficulties for Patients at Hinesburg Family Medicine
Evan Thor Lowry
Short-term ProjectThis project aimed to assess provider perspectives on transportation difficulties at the UVMMC Hinesburg Family Medicine Clinic. Vermont has an aging population, which is above the national average. Many older patients, lower socioeconomic patients, and patients with disabilities have a hard time making their appointments due to transportation challenges. This study surveyed the experiences of providers with this issue and found that patients routinely mention issues with getting transportation to the facility. To help with this, the author created a list of transportation resources that providers and staff can use for patients at Hinesburg Family Medicine.
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Identifying Food Insecurity in a Rural Vermont Primary Care Setting
Jessica Lyon
Short-term ProjectRecent years have shown an emergence of interest in social determinants of health by healthcare providers, community leaders, and social service organizations alike. Among the social determinants of health, food insecurity has been associated with higher incidences of chronic disease and poor health outcomes as compared to rates among individuals not screening positive for food insecurity. This project aims to compare the effectiveness of screening patients for food insecurity via formal paper questionnaires versus the traditional approach of an open patient-provider dialog guided by provider intuition in identifying food insecure individuals in a primary care setting.
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Maintaining Oral Health in the Era of COVID-19
Kelly MacPherson and Sameer Alidina
Short-term ProjectAccess to oral healthcare can be challenging for many patients and limited accessibility has been further amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Poor oral health is linked to several health complications and insurance coverage for dental care can be restrictive or nonexistent. Recent surveys show that many Vermonters of low-income status feel that their oral health is in poor condition. This project aims to review current barriers to maintaining oral health and propose potential solutions for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic at Milton Family Practice. Two handouts for patients were created, as well as one handout and a smartphrase within the electronic medical record for primary care providers to further assist with oral health maintenance.
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Accessing Healthcare in the Era of COVID-19 for Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Ray Mak
Short-term ProjectYouth experiencing homelessness face multifactorial challenges in obtaining adequate health literacy. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for healthcare as well as heightened confusion with the spread of health misinformation. This project aims to provide a step-by-step guide for when youth should seek medical treatment for COVID-19 to avoid unnecessary medical costs.
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Healthcare Gaps in Migrant Farmer Populations
Elena P. Martel
Short-term ProjectVarious healthcare gaps have been identified in migrant farmer population, including preventative care, continuity of care for chronic conditions, occupational hazards and work related injury, and mental health services. Barriers to accessing care include lack of transportation, non-English speaking populations, and lack of education regarding US healthcare systems. For this project, flu vaccines were provided to migrant farmers at their homes throughout Vermont. Over 250 vaccines were provided by the Vermont Department of Health. Future directions include annual mobile flu clinics, continuing this model for Covid vaccines, and implementing a global health course for fourth year medical students aimed at addressing migrant farmer healthcare needs.
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Conversations about safe firearm storage with patients: why and how
Rose Martin
Short-term ProjectThis project outlines the need for firearm safe storage counseling in the medical encounter and provides some evidence-based suggestions regarding how to approach conversations about safe firearm storage with patients.
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Increasing Influenza Vaccination Access among Migrant Farmworkers on Dairy Farms in Northern Vermont
Allyson R. Miller
Short-term ProjectAn immediate need exists to provide influenza vaccination to migrant workers on dairy farms in Northern Vermont as vaccination is not accessible to the farmworker population within the current framework that exists. The importance of widespread distribution of the influenza vaccine, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been established but significant barriers to access prevent the migrant farmworker population from receiving the vaccine.
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Lifestyle Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Impacts on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
Francis T. Mtuke
Short-term ProjectThe COVID-19 Pandemic has been particularly stressful for a wide array of patients, which has manifested in a number of ways. At the Brookfield Primary Care Clinic in Brookfield, CT, one of the ways that this was most prominent was through the change in the way patients exercised and ate. The impact this will have down the line is unknown, but this study aimed to assess the degree to which these changes have permeated the lives of patients.
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Emphasizing Year-Round Physical Activity of Seniors in Vergennes, Vermont
Carley R. Mulligan
Short-term ProjectMany senior citizens in the Vergennes community are active in the spring, summer, and fall with various activities, community groups, and walking. However, in the winter with colder temperatures and less sunlight, these activities are difficult to maintain, even more exacerbated by the current Covid-19 pandemic. Encouraging maintenance of physical activity throughout the winter months in Vermont is difficult, but can provide many benefits to these individuals both physically and mentally.
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Medication-Assisted Treatment in the Hudson Headwaters Health Network
Jordan Munger
Short-term ProjectBackground: Opioid use results in over 45,000 overdose deaths annually in the US, with rural areas disproportionately affected. While medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) is an effective intervention available through outpatient primary care, less than 25% of patients with OUD are currently in treatment. This study explored factors associated with patient retention in an MAT program offered by Hudson Headwaters, a Federally Qualified Health Center that serves a vast and mostly rural region of Northeastern New York.
Methods: We included a total of 354 patients diagnosed with OUD who had at least two appointments for MAT between December 2016 and November 2019 in this analysis. We ran univariate and multivariate regression analyses to examine factors associated with overall retention.
Results: The median age at the first MAT visit was 35.2 years (IQR=12.0), and 50% of patients self-identified as female. Overall, the one-year retention rate was 74.7% (95%CI=68.6-81.4). Increased risk for lower retention was seen among men (HR=1.7, 95%CI=1.0-2.8) and those not commercially insured (HR=3.2, 95%CI=1.1-8.7). Receiving MAT directly from a primary care provider greatly reduced the risk of lower retention (HR=0.4 ,95% CI=0.2-1.0). Roundtrip, median travel time to access care was 27.2 minutes (IQR=33.1). Although 12% of patients drove over 60 minutes to get to their MAT clinic, travel time and distance was not associated with retention.
Conclusions: While some surveys have suggested that patient access to MAT clinics is a significant barrier to treatment, for this chiefly rural population, ease of access as measured by travel time and distance was less influential on outcomes than other patient- and provider-level factors. Potential recommendations to improve retention include engaging primary care providers in MAT provision and the use of case management services to address other socioeconomic barriers to treatment.
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HHHN Clinicians' Beliefs, Barriers, and Motivations Surrounding MAT
Casandra Nowicki
Short-term ProjectMedication-assisted treatment (MAT) consists of using medications that act on the same receptors as opioids to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). MAT providers require formal training and a DEA waiver in order to prescribe certain medications. Providers were asked to complete a survey about the beliefs, barriers, and motivations surrounding MAT to provide valuable insight into what the future of MAT might look like at a specific nonprofit network of community health centers in upstate New York.
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Finding the Silver Linings of the Cyberattack
Kathleen R. O'Hara and Leah Miller
Short-term ProjectOur project aimed to identify the effects of the UVM Health Network cyberattack and subsequent month-long network downtime on the South Burlington Family Medicine providers and clinic staff. We interviewed staff members about positive adaptations made by the team during the downtime, and inquired whether they planned to keep maintaining any of these changes once the electronic systems returned.
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Assessing Telehealth as a Mode of Healthcare Delivery
Ambrose Orr and Adrian Berg
Short-term ProjectWith the rise of the COVID-19 Pandemic many healthcare providers are emphasizing video messaging software to maintain ongoing patient care while respecting health guidelines that recommend social distancing and isolation measures. It is a known issue that while some patients may face barriers to healthcare in the form of transportation and timing of appointments, others might encounter barriers in the form of lack of internet access. This project seeks to identify the level of patient access to this model of healthcare and assess overall satisfaction and patient attitudes towards this adaptation.
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The Primary Care shortage in Vermont and Medical Student Interest in Primary Care
Kenneth Michael Palanza
Short-term ProjectThe state of Vermont is currently faced with a primary care workforce shortage. There are currently not enough primary care physicians to meet Vermont's needs and the problem is expected to get worse. The primary care physician workforce is aging, there is an inability to recruit primary care providers to Vermont, and there is stagnant interest of medical students in fundamental primary care fields such as family medicine. The aim of this project is to examine the barriers medical students identify that decreases their interest in pursuing a career in primary care, specifically family medicine, and how systematic changes can be implemented to lead to increased interest in the field and future practice in Vermont.
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The Primary Care shortage in Vermont and Medical Student Interest in Primary Care
Kenneth Michael Palanza
Short-term ProjectThe state of Vermont is currently faced with a primary care workforce shortage. There are currently not enough primary care physicians to meet the states needs and the problem is expected to get worse. The primary care physician workforce is aging, there is an inability to recruit primary care providers to Vermont, and there is stagnant interest of medical students in fundamental primary care fields such as family medicine. The aim of this project is to examine the barriers medical students identify that decreases their interest in pursuing a career in primary care, specifically family medicine, and how systematic changes can be implemented to lead to increased interest in the field and future practice in Vermont.
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Healthcare Provider Awareness of Food Insecurity Resources in Berlin, VT
Melanie P. Parziale
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Migrant Farm Workers Flu Clinic
Alice Peng
Short-term ProjectVermont's dairy industry relies heavily on migrant workers. These migrant farmworkers are mostly Latino and undocumented thus ineligible for health insurance. The Open Door Clinic in collaboration with UVM Extension Bridges to Health and Colchester Family Practice provided free satellite flu clinics to Northern Vermont Latino dairy farmworkers. This project served 12 dairy farms and vaccinated 48 farmworkers.
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A Motivational Interviewing Approach Toward Mask Wearing in Franklin County, Vermont
Ashleigh N. Peterson
Short-term ProjectCOVID-19 has caused significant morbidity and mortality in Vermont and worldwide since the start of the pandemic. Wearing cloth face masks has been proven to limit viral spread, but few studies have quantified how many people are wearing masks or what their reasons are for doing so. This study aimed to assess and encourage mask use in Franklin County, Vermont by piloting an in-office motivational interviewing intervention at a primary care office.
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Physical Activity Level in School-aged Children during COVID-19
Tran Phuong
Short-term ProjectDue to COVID-19 restrictions, school-aged kids are not engaging in normal physical activities per usual, such as physical education class and team sports. This paper addresses the health concerns and community perspectives of decreased physical activity in pre teens and teens during this pandemic. Further, it provides recommendations to stay active for 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous exercise.
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Increasing Oral Health Care for the Elderly in Plattsburgh, NY
Megan E. Prue
Short-term ProjectPoor oral hygiene can have many adverse systemic effects in the elderly, including aspiration pneumonia. This project explored ways to increase dental care in the elderly, with the aim of decreasing rates of pneumonia along the way.
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Improving Community Understanding of Lyme Disease Prevention and Treatment in the Age of Misinformation in Digital Media
Olivia E. Quatela and Samuel Raszka
Short-term ProjectApproximately 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the CDC annually, but the CDC estimates that 300,000 individuals in the US become infected. The average cost of Lyme disease is $3,000 per patient over the course of the disease costing the US healthcare system approximately $1 billion per year ($712m – $1.3b). An additional $1 billion is spent annually on treating post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Despite the prevalence of Lyme disease and the availability of credible patient education materials, misconceptions and knowledge gaps are still evident among community members, media sources, and some providers. There is a need for continued community education and recommendations for evidence-based treatment for this disease.
These projects were completed by students in the University of Vermont Family Medicine Clerkship. Block Clerkship Projects were completed during a five-week period, while Longitudinal Clerkship Projects were completed over the course of a 12-month longitudinal clerkship.
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