The authors examined whether tailored self-management support (SMS) strategies reach patients in a safety net system and explored variation by language, literacy, and insurance. English-, Spanish-, and Cantonese-speaking diabetes patients were randomized to weekly automated telephone disease management (ATDM) or monthly group medical visits. The SMS programs employ distinct communication methods but share common objectives, including behavioral "action plans." Reach was measured using three complementary dimensions: (a) participation among clinics, clinicians, and patients; (b) patient representativeness; and (c) patient engagement with SMS. Participation rates were high across all levels and preferentially attracted Spanish-language speakers, uninsured, and Medicaid recipients. Although both programs engaged a significant proportion in action planning, ATDM yielded higher engagement, especially among those with limited English proficiency and limited literacy. These results provide important insights for health communication and translational research with respect to realizing the public health benefits of SMS and can inform system-level planning to reduce health disparities.

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Organizational benefits of diversity in the workplace have been well documented. In health professions, however, diversity-related research traditionally has focused on the effect of diversity on health care disparities. Few tools exist describing the benefits of diversity from an organizational standpoint to guide pharmacy administrators and faculty members in nurturing and developing a culture of diversity. Given the scarcity of pharmacy specific data, experience from other academic areas and national/ international diversity reports were incorporated into this manuscript to supplement the available pharmacy evidence base. This review summarizes the benefits of diversity from an academic organizational standpoint, discusses the issues administrators and faculty members must consider when developing programs, and provides guidance on best practices in fostering and managing diversity.

Objectives. To identify problems that pharmacy practice faculty members face in pursuing scholarship and to develop and recommend solutions. Methods. Department chairs were asked to forward a Web-based survey instrument to their faculty members. Global responses and responses stratified by demographics were summarized and analyzed. Results. Between 312 and 340 faculty members answered questions that identified barriers to scholarship and recommended corrective strategies to these barriers. The most common barrier was insufficient time (57%), and the most common recommendation was for help to ''identify a research question and how to answer it.'' Sixty percent reported that scholarship was required for advancement but only 32% thought scholarship should be required. Forty-one percent reported that the importance of scholarship is overemphasized. Conclusions. These survey results provide guidance to improve the quantity and quality of scholarship for faculty members who wish to pursue scholarship, although many of the survey respondents indicated they did not regard scholarship as a priority.

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