Digital Commons Network^™

Renewed Calls For Abortion-Related Research In The Post-Roe Era, Sophie L Schott, April Adams, Ryan J Dougherty, Taylor Montgomery, Folasade C Lapite, Faith E Fletcher

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Nearly 50 years after Roe versus Wade, the United States Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health Organization unraveled the constitutional right to abortion, allowing individual states to severely restrict or ban the procedure. In response, leading medical, public health, and community organizations have renewed calls for research to elucidate and address the burgeoning social and medical consequences of new abortion restrictions. Abortion research not only includes studies that establish the safety, quality, and efficacy of evidence-based abortion care protocols, but also encompasses studies on the availability of abortion care, the consequences of being denied an abortion, and …

Using Visual Arts Education And Reflective Practice To Increase Empathy And Perspective Taking In Medical Students, Sina Rezaei, Andrew Childress, Bhavika Kaul, Kelly Magill Rosales, Alana Newell, Stacey Rose

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Introduction: Empathy is a critical competency for health care providers. However, empathy levels in medical students and residents have been shown to paradoxically decrease during training. Arts and humanities education and reflective practice may reduce burnout and promote empathy during medical school.

Methods: We developed and implemented an art education elective for medical students focusing on observation and reflective practice and measured its impact on empathy. Between 2017 and 2022, first-year medical students were offered an annual, 4-week elective led by art educators that featured visualization exercises and discussions on the role of bias and perspective in art interpretation. Curriculum …

Treatment And Life Goals Among Veterans With Gulf War Illness, Nicole Sullivan, Hannah Schorpp, Sarah Crosky, Scott Thien, Drew A Helmer, David R Litke, Wilfred R Pigeon, Karen S Quigley, Lisa M Mcandrew

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Medically unexplained syndromes (MUS), also termed persistent physical symptoms, are both prevalent and disabling. Yet treatments for MUS are marked by high rates of patient dissatisfaction, as well as disagreement between patients and providers on the management of persistent physical symptoms. A better understanding of patient-generated goals could increase collaborative goal setting and promote person-centered care, a critical component of MUS treatment; yet research in this area is lacking. This paper aimed to develop a typology of treatment and life goals among Gulf War veterans with a medically unexplained syndrome (Gulf War Illness). We examined participants’ responses to open-ended questions …

Behavioral Improvements Following Lesion Resection For Pediatric Epilepsy: Pediatric Psychosurgery?, Huy Dang, Abdul Basit Khan, Nisha Gadgil, Himanshu Sharma, Cristina Trandafir, Fatema Malbari, Howard L Weiner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Resection of brain lesions associated with refractory epilepsy to achieve seizure control is well accepted. However, concurrent behavioral effects of these lesions such as changes in mood, personality, and cognition and the effects of surgery on behavior have not been well characterized. We describe 5 such children with epileptogenic lesions and significant behavioral abnormalities which improved after surgery.

Case descriptions: Five children (ages 3-14 years) with major behavioral abnormalities and lesional epilepsy were identified and treated at our center. Behavioral problems included academic impairment, impulsivity, self-injurious behavior, and decreased social interaction with diagnoses of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and …

Imaging Synaptic Density In Depression, Sophie E Holmes, Chadi Abdallah, Irina Esterlis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Major depressive disorder is a prevalent and heterogeneous disorder with treatment resistance in at least 50% of individuals. Most of the initial studies focused on the monoamine system; however, recently other mechanisms have come under investigation. Specific to the current issue, studies show synaptic involvement in depression. Other articles in this issue report on reductions in synaptic density, dendritic spines, boutons and glia associated with stress and depression. Importantly, it appears that some drugs (e.g., ketamine) may lead to rapid synaptic restoration or synaptogenesis. Direct evidence for this comes from preclinical work. However, neuroimaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging …

Improvement In The Capacity For Activity Versus Improvement In Performance Of Activity In Daily Life During Outpatient Rehabilitation, Catherine E. Lang, Carey L. Holleran, Michael J. Strube, Terry D. Ellis, Caitlin A. Newman, Meghan Fahey, Tamara R. Deangelis, Timothy J. Nordahl, Darcy S. Reisman, Gammon M. Earhart, Keith R. Lohse, Marghuretta D. Bland

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: We addressed questions about the potential discrepancy between improvements in activity capacity and improvements in activity performance in daily life. We asked whether this discrepancy is: 1. Common in routine, outpatient care, or an artifact of intervention studies? 2. Unique to upper limb (UL) rehabilitation, or is it seen in walking rehabilitation too? 3. Only seen in persons with stroke, or a broader neurorehabilitation problem?

METHODS:: A longitudinal, observational cohort of 156 participants with stroke or Parkinson disease (PD) receiving outpatient rehabilitation at 5 clinics was assessed around admission and monthly during their episode of care. Individual, longitudinal capacity …

Study Protocol: A Cross-Sectional Survey Of Clinicians To Identify Barriers To Clinical Practice Guideline Implementation In The Assessment And Treatment Of Persistent Tic Disorders, Jaclyn M. Martindale, Harini Sarva, Davide Martino, Donald L. Gilbert, Christos Ganos, Tamara Pringsheim, Kevin J. Black, Irene A. Malaty

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Eight members of the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Society Tic and Tourette Syndrome Study Group formed a subcommittee to discuss further barriers to practice guideline implementation. Based on expert opinion and literature review, the consensus was that practice variations continue to be quite broad and that many barriers in different clinical settings might negatively influence the adoption of the American Academy of Neurology and the European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome published guidelines.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To identify how clinical practices diverge from the existing American Academy of Neurology and European Society for the Study of …

Eating Disorders In Weight-Related Therapy (Edit): Protocol For A Systematic Review With Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis Of Eating Disorder Risk In Behavioural Weight Management, Hiba Jebeile, Denise E. Wilfley, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The Eating Disorders In weight-related Therapy (EDIT) Collaboration brings together data from randomised controlled trials of behavioural weight management interventions to identify individual participant risk factors and intervention strategies that contribute to eating disorder risk. We present a protocol for a systematic review and individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis which aims to identify participants at risk of developing eating disorders, or related symptoms, during or after weight management interventions conducted in adolescents or adults with overweight or obesity. We systematically searched four databases up to March 2022 and clinical trials registries to May 2022 to identify randomised controlled trials of …

Tourette Syndrome Research Highlights From 2022, Andreas Hartmann, Per Andrén, Cyril Atkinson-Clément, Virginie Czernecki, Cécile Delorme, Nanette Marinette Monique Debes, Kirsten Müller-Vahl, Peristera Paschou, Natalia Szejko, Apostolia Topaloudi, Keisuke Ueda, Kevin J. Black

2020-Current year OA Pubs

This is the ninth yearly article in the Tourette Syndrome Research Highlights series, summarizing selected research reports from 2022 relevant to Tourette syndrome. The authors briefly summarize reports they consider most important or interesting.

Habenular Molecular Targets For Depression, Impulsivity, And Addiction, Snigdha Srivastava, Benjamin R Arenkiel, Ramiro Salas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Use Of Lithium In Pediatric Bipolar Disorders And Externalizing Childhood- Related Disorders: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Delfina Janiri, Lorenzo Moccia, Silvia Montanari, Valentina Zani, Claudia Prinari, Laura Monti, Daniela Chieffo, Marianna Mazza, Alessio Simonetti, Georgios D Kotzalidis, Luigi Janiri

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Lithium is the standard treatment for bipolar disorders (BD) in adults. There is a dearth of data on its use in the pediatric age. This review aimed to investigate the use of lithium in pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) and other externalizing childhood-related disorders.

Methods: We applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses criteria (PRISMA) to identify randomized controlled trials evaluating the use of lithium in pediatric (BD), conduct disorder (CD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. The primary outcome of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of lithium compared …

A Pregnant Patient Presents With Leakage Of Vaginal Fluid In The Second Trimester, Alison N Goulding, Jennifer R Mckinney, Diana Crabtree Sokol, Anitra D Beasley

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Morning Report is a time-honored tradition where physicians-in-training present cases to their colleagues and clinical experts to collaboratively examine an interesting patient presentation. The Morning Report section seeks to carry on this tradition by presenting a patient’s chief concern and story, inviting the reader to develop a differential diagnosis and discover the diagnosis alongside the authors of the case.

This report examines the story of a 43-year-old (gravida 3, para 2) woman who sought evaluation for leakage of vaginal fluid at 15 weeks of gestation. Using questions, physical examination, and testing, an illness script for the presentation emerges. As her …

Cardiac Function, Structural, And Electrical Remodeling By Microgravity Exposure, Mary R Sy, Joshua A Keefe, Jeffrey P Sutton, Xander H T Wehrens

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Space medicine is key to the human exploration of outer space and pushes the boundaries of science, technology, and medicine. Because of harsh environmental conditions related to microgravity and other factors and hazards in outer space, astronauts and spaceflight participants face unique health and medical challenges, including those related to the heart. In this review, we summarize the literature regarding the effects of spaceflight on cardiac structure and function. We also provide an in-depth review of the literature regarding the effects of microgravity on cardiac calcium handling. Our review can inform future mechanistic and therapeutic studies and is applicable to …

Can Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Alter Cognition Chronically? A Limbic-Cenc Multicenter Study, William C Walker, Maya E O'Neil, Zhining Ou, Terri K Pogoda, Heather G Belanger, Randall S Scheibel, Angela P Presson, Shannon R Miles, Elisabeth A Wilde, David F Tate, Maya Troyanskaya, Mary Jo Pugh, Amy Jak, David X Cifu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: While outcome from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is generally favorable, concern remains over potential negative long-term effects, including impaired cognition. This study examined the link between cognitive performance and remote mTBIs within the Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC) multicenter, observational study of Veterans and service members (SMs) with combat exposure.

Method: Baseline data of the participants passing all cognitive performance validity tests (n = 1,310) were used to conduct a cross-sectional analysis. Using multivariable regression models that adjusted for covariates, including age and estimated preexposure intellectual function, positive mTBI history …

Editorial: Surgical Techniques For The Management Of Pain, Anthony K Allam, Ashwin Viswanathan, Jason M Schwalb, Parag G Patil, M Benjamin Larkin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Emergency Department Presentations Of Diabetic Ketoacidosis In A Large Cohort Of Children, Lise E Nigrovic, Nathan Kuppermann, Simona Ghetti, Jeff E Schunk, Michael J Stoner, Arleta Rewers, Julie K Mcmanemy, Kimberly S Quayle, Jennifer L Trainor, Leah Tzimenatos, Jonathan E Bennett, Maria Y Kwok, Sage R Myers, Kathleen M Brown, T Charles Casper, Cody S Olsen, Nicole S Glaser

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a potentially life-threatening complication of childhood diabetes. However, the influence of demographic factors on presentation are not well-defined.

Methods: We included children from 12 centers who were < 18 years with DKA (glucose > 300 mg/dL, serum pH < 7.25, or serum bicarbonate < 15 mEq/L) enrolled in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Fluid Therapies Under Investigation in DKA (FLUID) Trial. Data were also collected for children who presented to the centers during the enrollment period but were not enrolled due to disease or treatment-related reasons. We compared demographic, clinical, and biochemical findings among children with newly and previously diagnosed diabetes and children in different age groups.

Results: Of the 1,679 DKA episodes in 1,553 children, 799 (47.5%) episodes occurred in children with newly diagnosed diabetes and 396 (23.6%) were severe (pH < 7.1). Newly diagnosed children < 6 years of age were not more likely to have severe DKA in terms of pH, but had more severe hypocarbia and higher blood urea nitrogen levels, factors previously associated with the risk of cerebral injury. Lower socioeconomic status (SES) (based on family income and maternal education level) were associated with more severe DKA in new onset children, and recurrent DKA in the previously diagnosed children.

Conclusions: Greater efforts are needed to identify the children with diabetes early and to prevent recurrent DKA, particularly among children in low-SES groups. Young children with DKA may need more intensive monitoring due to higher risk of cerebral injury.

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Long Term Physical And Mental Sequelae Of Covid-19 Pandemic: Call For Research Priority And Action, Na Zeng, Yi-Miao Zhao, Wei Yan, Chao Li, Qing-Dong Lu, Lin Liu, Shu-Yu Ni, Huan Mei, Kai Yuan, Le Shi, Peng Li, Teng-Teng Fan, Jun-Liang Yuan, Michael V Vitiello, Thomas Kosten, Alexandra L Kondratiuk, Hong-Qiang Sun, Xiang-Dong Tang, Mei-Yan Liu, Ajit Lalvani, Jie Shi, Yan-Ping Bao, Lin Lu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The long-term physical and mental sequelae of COVID-19 are a growing public health concern, yet there is considerable uncertainty about their prevalence, persistence and predictors. We conducted a comprehensive, up-to-date meta-analysis of survivors' health consequences and sequelae for COVID-19. PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched through Sep 30th, 2021. Observational studies that reported the prevalence of sequelae of COVID-19 were included. Two reviewers independently undertook the data extraction and quality assessment. Of the 36,625 records identified, a total of 151 studies were included involving 1,285,407 participants from thirty-two countries. At least one sequelae symptom occurred in 50.1% (95% …

Stereo-Eeg-Guided Network Modulation For Psychiatric Disorders: Surgical Considerations, Sameer A Sheth, Ben Shofty, Anusha Allawala, Jiayang Xiao, Joshua A Adkinson, Raissa K Mathura, Victoria Pirtle, John Myers, Denise Oswalt, Nicole R Provenza, Nisha Giridharan, Angela M Noecker, Garrett P Banks, Ron Gadot, Ricardo A Najera, Adrish Anand, Ethan Devara, Huy Dang, Eleonora Bartoli, Andrew Watrous, Jeffrey Cohn, David Borton, Sanjay J Mathew, Cameron C Mcintyre, Wayne Goodman, Kelly Bijanki, Nader Pouratian

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and other neuromodulatory techniques are being increasingly utilized to treat refractory neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVE: /Hypothesis: To better understand the circuit-level pathophysiology of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and treat the network-level dysfunction inherent to this challenging disorder, we adopted an approach of inpatient intracranial monitoring borrowed from the epilepsy surgery field.

METHODS: We implanted 3 patients with 4 DBS leads (bilateral pair in both the ventral capsule/ventral striatum and subcallosal cingulate) and 10 stereo-electroencephalography (sEEG) electrodes targeting depression-relevant network regions. For surgical planning, we used an interactive, holographic visualization platform to appreciate the 3D anatomy …

Unmet Needs And Coping Strategies Of Older Underserved Veterans During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Trenton M Haltom, Joyce Tiong, Tracy L Evans, Nipa Kamdar, Gala True, Mark E Kunik

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on people with diabetes, a group with high morbidity and mortality. Factors like race, age, income, Veteran-status, and limited or interrupted resources early in the COVID-19 pandemic compounded risks for negative health outcomes. Our objective was to characterize the experiences and needs of under-resourced Veterans with type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews (March through September 2021) with U.S. military Veterans with diabetes. Transcripts were analyzed using a team-based, iterative process of summarizing and coding to identify key themes. Participants included Veterans (n = 25) who …

Digital Solutions Observed In Clinical Trials: A Formative Feasibility Scoping Review, Taylor M Harrison, Sungrim Moon, Liwei Wang, Sunyang Fu, Hongfang Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Growing digital access accelerates digital transformation of clinical trials where digital solutions (DSs) are increasingly and widely leveraged for improving trial efficiency, effectiveness, and accessibility. Many factors impact DS success including technology barriers, privacy concerns, or user engagement activities. It is unclear how those factors are considered or reported in the literature. Here, we perform a formative feasibility scoping review to identify gaps impacting DS quality and reproducibility in trials. Articles containing digital terms published in English from 2009 to 2022 were collected (n=4,167). 130 articles published between 2016 and 2022 were randomly selected for full-text review. Eligible articles (n=100) …

Text Classification Of Cancer Clinical Trial Eligibility Criteria, Yumeng Yang, Soumya Jayaraj, Ethan Ludmir, Kirk Roberts

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Automatic identification of clinical trials for which a patient is eligible is complicated by the fact that trial eligibility are stated in natural language. A potential solution to this problem is to employ text classification methods for common types of eligibility criteria. In this study, we focus on seven common exclusion criteria in cancer trials: prior malignancy, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, psychiatric illness, drug/substance abuse, and autoimmune illness. Our dataset consists of 764 phase III cancer trials with these exclusions annotated at the trial level. We experiment with common transformer models as well as a new pre-trained …

The Neurobiology Of Duration Of Untreated Psychosis: A Comprehensive Review, Anthony W Zoghbi, Jeffrey A Lieberman, Ragy R Girgis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is defined as the time from the onset of psychotic symptoms until the first treatment. Studies have shown that longer DUP is associated with poorer response rates to antipsychotic medications and impaired cognition, yet the neurobiologic correlates of DUP are poorly understood. Moreover, it has been hypothesized that untreated psychosis may be neurotoxic. Here, we conducted a comprehensive review of studies that have examined the neurobiology of DUP. Specifically, we included studies that evaluated DUP using a range of neurobiologic and imaging techniques and identified 83 articles that met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Overall, 27 …

Sex-Specific Associations Between Urinary Bisphenols Concentrations During Pregnancy And Problematic Child Behaviors At Age 2 Years, Sarah Dee Geiger, Salma Musaad, Jennifer Hill, Andréa Aguiar, Susan Schantz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Effects of prenatal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on child behavior are mixed with some reports suggesting increased problematic behaviors in girls (e.g., aggression and emotional reactivity) and in boys (i.e., externalizing behaviors), while other reports suggest decreased problematic behaviors in girls. Little is known about the potential impact of pregnancy bisphenol S (BPS) exposure on child behavior. In a prospective cohort study (n=68), five maternal spot urine samples collected across pregnancy were pooled and analyzed for BPA and BPS. Child behavior at 2 years was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Linear regression models were used to assess associations …

Protocol For The Promoting Resilience In Stress Management (Prism) Intervention: A Multi-Site Randomized Controlled Trial For Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Maeve B O'Donnell, Samantha R Scott, Britney M Ellisor, Viena T Cao, Chuan Zhou, Miranda C Bradford, Catherine Pihoker, Daniel J Desalvo, Faisal S Malik, Marisa E Hilliard, Abby R Rosenberg, Joyce P Yi-Frazier

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at high risk for elevated diabetes distress, which greatly impacts diabetes management, glycemic outcomes and overall quality of life. Developing protective skills and "resilience resources" to navigate adversity and manage diabetes distress has high potential to help adolescents with T1D achieve optimal behavioral, psychological, and health outcomes. The "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management" (PRISM) program is a manualized, brief, skills-based intervention delivered over 6 months via two 45-60 min one-on-one sessions and a family meeting with a PRISM coach, and supplemented by booster calls and a digital app. This trial (PRISM versus …

Perceived Care Partner Burden At 1-Year Post-Injury And Associations With Emotional Awareness, Functioning, And Empathy After Tbi: A Tbi Model Systems Study, Daniel W Klyce, Kritzianel Merced, Alexander Erickson, Dawn M Neumann, Flora M Hammond, Angelle M Sander, Jennifer A Bogner, Tamara Bushnik, Joyce S Chung, Jacob A Finn

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: People with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lack awareness of their own emotions and often have problems with emotion dysregulation, affective disorders, and empathy deficits. These impairments are known to impact psychosocial behaviors and may contribute to the burden experienced by care partners of individuals with TBI.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of emotional awareness, emotional functioning, and empathy among participants with TBI with care partner burden.

METHOD: This multisite, cross-sectional, observational study used data from 90 dyads (participants with TBI and their care partner) 1-year post-injury. Participants with TBI completed the Difficulty with Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS; Awareness, …

Participant Perceptions Of Changes In Psychosocial Domains Following Participation In An Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation Trial, Amanda R Merner, Kristin Kostick-Quenet, Tiffany A Campbell, Michelle T Pham, Clarissa E Sanchez, Laura Torgerson, Jill Robinson, Stacey Pereira, Simon Outram, Barbara A Koenig, Philip A Starr, Aysegul Gunduz, Kelly D Foote, Michael S Okun, Wayne Goodman, Amy L Mcguire, Peter Zuk, Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: There has been substantial controversy in the neuroethics literature regarding the extent to which deep brain stimulation (DBS) impacts dimensions of personality, mood, and behavior.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: Despite extensive debate in the theoretical literature, there remains a paucity of empirical data available to support or refute claims related to the psychosocial changes following DBS.

METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the perspectives of patients who underwent DBS regarding changes to their personality, authenticity, autonomy, risk-taking, and overall quality of life.

RESULTS: Patients (n = 21) who were enrolled in adaptive DBS trials for Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, obsessive-compulsive …

Modeling Suicidality With Multimodal Impulsivity Characterization In Participants With Mental Health Disorder, Nidal Moukaddam, Bishal Lamichhane, Ramiro Salas, Wayne Goodman, Ashutosh Sabharwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death across different age groups. The persistence of suicidal ideation and the progression of suicidal ideations to action could be related to impulsivity, the tendency to act on urges with low temporal latency, and little forethought. Quantifying impulsivity could thus help suicidality estimation and risk assessments in ideation-to-action suicidality frameworks.

METHODS: To model suicidality with impulsivity quantification, we obtained questionnaires, behavioral tests, heart rate variability (HRV), and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements from 34 participants with mood disorders. The participants were categorized into three suicidality groups based on their …

Reward Sensitivity Predicts The Response To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Children With Autism And Anxiety, Matthew J Hollocks, Jeffrey J Wood, Eric A Storch, An-Chuen Cho, Connor M Kerns, Philip C Kendall

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, research has yet to examine what cognitive characteristics may influence treatment response. The current study investigated decision-making ability and social cognition as potential (a) predictors of differential treatment response to two versions of CBT and (b) moderators of the effect of treatment condition.

Method: The study included 148 children (mean age = 9.8 years) with interfering anxiety and a diagnosis of ASD who were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial comparing two versions of CBT for anxiety (standard and adapted for ASD). …

Towards Fair Patient-Trial Matching Via Patient-Criterion Level Fairness Constraint, Chia-Yuan Chang, Jiayi Yuan, Sirui Ding, Qiaoyu Tan, Kai Zhang, Xiaoqian Jiang, Xia Hu, Na Zou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clinical trials are indispensable in developing new treatments, but they face obstacles in patient recruitment and retention, hindering the enrollment of necessary participants. To tackle these challenges, deep learning frameworks have been created to match patients to trials. These frameworks calculate the similarity between patients and clinical trial eligibility criteria, considering the discrepancy between inclusion and exclusion criteria. Recent studies have shown that these frameworks outperform earlier approaches. However, deep learning models may raise fairness issues in patient-trial matching when certain sensitive groups of individuals are underrepresented in clinical trials, leading to incomplete or inaccurate data and potential harm. To …

Coping During The Covid-19 Pandemic Among Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness And Unstable Housing: A Qualitative Study, Karen Divalerio Gibbs, Jennifer Torres Jones, Whitney Lamark, Sarah Abdulmooti, Lauren Bretz, Kelly D Kearney, Sarah Carter Narendorf, Diane M Santa Maria

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Young adults experiencing homelessness (YAEH) experience more stressors compared to housed peers, yet little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these youth. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how YAEH perceived the pandemic's impact on their well-being and coping.

METHODS: YAEH were recruited from those participating in an HIV prevention study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysis was guided by Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping.

RESULTS: Four major themes were identified from interviews with 40 youth: (1) ongoing harms, (2) COVID-19 as a stressor, (3) mental health impacts, …