Objective: Regular physical activity (PA) is important for maintaining long-term physical, cognitive, and emotional health. However, few older adults engage in routine PA, and even fewer take advantage of programs designed to enhance PA participation. Though most managed Medicare members have free access to the Silver Sneakers and EnhanceFitness PA programs, the vast majority of eligible seniors do not utilize these programs. The goal of this qualitative study was to better understand the barriers to and facilitators of PA and participation in PA programs among older adults.Design: This was a qualitative study using focus group interviews.Setting: Focus groups took place at three Group Health clinics in King County, Washington.Participants: Fifty-two randomly selected Group Health Medicare members between the ages of 66 to 78 participated.
Methods:We conducted four focus groups with 13 participants each. Focus group discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach and a social-ecological framework.Results: Men and women were nearly equally represented among the participants, and the sample was largely white (77%), well-educated (69% college graduates), and relatively physically active. Prominent barriers to PA and PA program participation were physical limitations due to health conditions or aging, lack of professional guidance, and inadequate distribution of information on available and appropriate PA options and programs. Facilitators included the motivation to maintain physical and mental health and access to affordable, convenient, and stimulating PA options.
Conclusion:Older adult populations may benefit from greater support and information from their providers and health care systems on how to safely and successfully improve or maintain PA levels through later adulthood. Efforts among health care systems to boost PA among older adults may need to consider patient-centered adjustments to current PA programs, as well as alternative methods for promoting overall active lifestyle choices.
Key PointsQuestionDo mailed human papillomavirus self-sampling kits increase detection and treatment of cervical precancers and screening uptake vs usual care (reminders for in-clinic screening)?FindingsThis randomized clinical trial included 19 851 women; 26% were screened after receiving a human papillomavirus kit vs 17% with usual care, a significant difference. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of cases of precancers detected or treated.MeaningThis study indicates that mailing human papillomavirus kits to underscreened women can increase cervical cancer screening, and implementation efforts should strategize how to further increase kit uptake and follow-up of positive results to maximize detection and treatment of precancers in women at high risk.
Women who delay or do not attend Papanicolaou (Pap) screening are at increased risk for cervical cancer. Trials in countries with organized screening programs have demonstrated that mailing high-risk (hr) human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling kits to under-screened women increases participation, but U.S. data are lacking. HOME is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial set within a U.S. integrated healthcare delivery system to compare two programmatic approaches for increasing cervical cancer screening uptake and effectiveness in under-screened women (≥3.4years since last Pap) aged 30-64years: 1) usual care (annual patient reminders and ad hoc outreach by clinics) and 2) usual care plus mailed hrHPV self-screening kits. Over 2.5years, eligible women were identified through electronic medical record (EMR) data and randomized 1:1 to the intervention or control arm. Women in the intervention arm were mailed kits with pre-paid envelopes to return samples to the central clinical laboratory for hrHPV testing. Results were documented in the EMR to notify women's primary care providers of appropriate follow-up. Primary outcomes are detection and treatment of cervical neoplasia. Secondary outcomes are cervical cancer screening uptake, abnormal screening results, and women's experiences and attitudes towards hrHPV self-sampling and follow-up of hrHPV-positive results (measured through surveys and interviews). The trial was designed to evaluate whether a programmatic strategy incorporating hrHPV self-sampling is effective in promoting adherence to the complete screening process (including follow-up of abnormal screening results and treatment). The objective of this report is to describe the rationale and design of this pragmatic trial.
Objective: We explored patient perspectives after a positive human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling result to describe experiences and information needs for this home-based screening modality. Materials and Methods: We recruited women who tested high-risk (hr) HPV positive during a pragmatic trial evaluating mailed hrHPV self-sampling kits as an outreach strategy for women overdue for Pap screening in a U.S. integrated health care system. Telephone interviews were conducted from 2014 to 2017. Five independent coders analyzed transcripts using iterative content analysis. Results: Forty-six women (61% of invited; median age 55.5 years) completed a semistructured interview. Six themes emerged: (1) convenience of home-based screening, (2) intense feelings and emotions after receiving positive kit results, (3) importance of seeing provider and discussing kit results, (4) information seeking from various sources, (5) confusion about purpose and meaning of HPV versus Pap tests, and (6) concern that HPV self-sampling is inaccurate when the subsequent Pap test is normal. Conclusions: Although women liked the kit's convenience, discussion about discordant home HPV and inclinic Pap results led them to question the accuracy of HPV self-sampling. Patient-provider communication around home HPV kits is more complex than for reflex or cotesting because clinician-collected Pap results are unknown at the time of the positive kit result. Patients need education about differences between HPV and Pap tests and how they are used for screening and follow-up. To reassure patients and keep them interested in selfsampling, education should be provided at multiple time points during the screening process.
AYA patients and clinicians provided insights into the experiences and decision-making processes of AYA patients choosing to continue or discontinue treatment and into the areas for improvement in patient-centered oncology care. Taken together, these data provide important suggestions for clinicians caring for this vulnerable population.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.