The Challenges and Strategies of Affordable Care Act Navigators and In-Person Assisters with Enrolling Uninsured, Violently Injured Young Black Men into Healthcare Insurance Coverage

Open Mandible and Maxillary Fractures Associated with Higher Risk of Infection in Victims of Assault

Background: Victims of assault (VOA) often present with fractures of the mandible and maxilla. They represent a complex challenge because of possible compromise of the airway, and infection-related complications because of potential involvement of the oral cavity. We hypothesized that open mandible and maxillary fractures in VOA are associated with a higher rate of infection compared with non-VOA patients with open facial fractures. Patients and Methods: Patients admitted to our level 1 trauma center from 2005 to 2020 with a diagnosis of open mandible and maxillary fractures were included. Demographics, mechanisms of injury, fracture location, cultures, infectious complications, antibiotic treatments, and clinical outcomes were abstracted. Patients were stratified by their mechanism of injury into VOA or non-VOA and were compared using χ2 and Student t-test using SPSS (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Results: We identified 316 patients with open mandible and maxillary fractures. There were 198 patients categorized as being VOA, and 118 as non-VOA. Nineteen of 316 patients were diagnosed with infection related to the fracture (3.8% abscesses, 1.9% cellulitis, and 1.9% osteomyelitis). Although the Injury Severity Score (ISS) was higher in non-VOA patients (5.8 ± 2.6 vs. 4.9 ± 1.8; p < 0.013), most of the infections were in the VOA cohort (17/19; 89.5%; p < 0.013). Conclusions: Open fractures of the mandible and maxilla in VOA are associated with a greater risk of infection compared with non-victims of assault. The relation between VOA and poor SDH has been studied recently; clinicians should be aware of this association and implement special considerations and appropriate follow-up visits to decrease the rate of infection in this currently expanding population.

Hospital-based patient navigation programs for patients who experience injury-related trauma and their caregivers: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

This review's objective is to map the literature on the characteristics, impact, barriers and facilitators of hospital-based patient navigation programmes that support patients who experience injury-related trauma and their caregivers. Patients who experience injury-related trauma frequently require support from multiple care teams and face many challenges to care, both in hospital and when transitioning across settings and services. Patient navigation can improve their care.

DESIGN

This review is conducted according to JBI methodology for scoping reviews. The initial database search took place on 6 June 2021 and the grey literature search took place between September and October 2021. The results are presented in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses for Scoping Reviews flow diagram.

SETTING

This review considered materials where the patient navigation programmes were delivered in hospital settings. There was no geographical limit to this study.

PARTICIPANTS

This review focused on hospital-based patient navigation programmes for patients who experience injury-related trauma and/or their caregivers.

RESULTS

This review captured 11 records that describe 10 programmes. All programmes were based in the USA. Most programmes provided education, care coordination, discharge planning, and referrals to resources, services, and programmes to assist patients and/or their families in the hospital or the community. Half the programmes were based in level 1 trauma centres. Common impacts included decreases in readmission rates and increases in satisfaction rates. Barriers included difficulty recruiting or enrolling patients with short hospital stays and hospital administrators' and healthcare providers' lack of understanding of the navigator role. Navigator background, either professional or experiential, was identified as a facilitator, as was flexibility in programme delivery and communication methods.

CONCLUSIONS

Eleven records show a small but distinct sample. Reported characteristics, impact, barriers and facilitators were consistent with findings from other patient navigation studies. The results can inform the development and implementation of similar programmes in trauma centres and support changes in policy to improve the delivery of care.

Lack of Consistent Investment in Federal Insurance Navigator Program Undermines Navigators' Equity Work in Vulnerable Communities

CONTEXT

Navigators in the federal Insurance Navigator Program ("Navigator Program"), who are employed by organizations in states with Federally Facilitated Marketplaces, provide enrollment assistance, outreach, and education to individuals who are eligible for health insurance coverage. Such work is central to public health efforts to address inequities but continues to be poorly understood and undervalued. More information is needed to understand the components of navigators' equity work and how decreases in program funding have affected their service provision.

OBJECTIVE

To examine navigators' labor at a granular level to better understand and highlight the equity work they do, the training and skills required for this work, and the Navigator Program-based challenges they face.

DESIGN

This was a descriptive qualitative study using data collected from interviews conducted in February-May 2021. We used a thematic analysis approach to develop major themes and subthemes.

SETTING

This was a national study.

PARTICIPANTS

We conducted 18 semistructured interviews with 24 directors, navigators, and other professionals at organizations funded as federally certified Navigator Programs.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Components of navigators' work; required training and skills; and challenges faced in accomplishing the work.

RESULTS

We identified 3 major themes: (1) navigators' health equity work goes beyond required responsibilities; (2) equity skills are built on the job; and (3) financial instabilities challenge navigators' health equity work.

CONCLUSION

Navigators bring specialized and essential skills and services to underserved communities. They are trusted sources of information, advocates, resource connectors, and, most significantly, health equity workers. However, the Navigator Program fails to support navigators' work and the communities they serve in the long term. To facilitate organizations' capacities to train, keep, and support navigators in this health equity work and to guarantee long-term enrollment assistance for underserved communities, efforts to stabilize funding are needed.

Compact for care: how the Affordable Care Act marketplaces fell short for a vulnerable population in Hawaii

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 to expand access to health insurance in the USA and promote innovation in health care delivery. While the law significantly reduced the proportion of uninsured, the market-based protection it provides for poor and vulnerable US residents is an imperfect substitute for government programs such as Medicaid. In 2015, residents of Hawaii from three Compact of Free Association nations (the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Marshall Islands) lost their eligibility for the state’s Medicaid program and were instructed to enrol in coverage via the ACA marketplace. This transition resulted in worsened access to health care and ultimately increased mortality in this group. We explain these changes via four mechanisms: difficulty communicating the policy change to affected individuals, administrative barriers to coverage under the ACA, increased out of pocket health care costs and short enrolment windows. To achieve universal health coverage in the USA, these challenges must be addressed by policy-makers.