Utilization of Counseling Services by Pediatric Patients With Obesity Using MarketScan Data (2017-2019)

The United States has implemented policy efforts for public and private insurance to cover counseling services related to the treatment of obesity. However, no research has yet studied counseling service utilization among pediatric patients with obesity. We used 3 years (2017-2019) of IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database and IBM MarketScan Multi-State Medicaid Data to examine such utilization patterns. We found the proportion of patients receiving any counseling services to be low among both privately insured (7.06%-7.97%) and Medicaid patients (9.51%-11.61%) within 6 months from diagnosis of obesity. This underutilization is concerning as many pediatric patients go undiagnosed, as evidenced in this research. Among the utilized services, nutrition counseling and face-to-face counseling were utilized the most by privately and Medicaid-insured patients over 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Our study underscores the need for implementing policies and programs to promote the utilization of counseling services among pediatric patients.

Nurse-led culturally relevant smoking reduction intervention among cardiovascular and respiratory patients in Pakistan

INTRODUCTION

Socioeconomically deprived populations are at greater risk for smoking-induced diseases and death, such as cancers, and cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. The initiation of a nurse-led smoking cessation program in clinical practice is an effective method to enhance smoking cessation among cardiovascular and respiratory patients in Pakistan. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of nurse-led smoking reduction intervention performed at out-patient clinics in Karachi, Pakistan.

METHODS

A single group pre-and post-test study was conducted on eligible patients (n = 83) with a typical profile of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in a tertiary care hospital from December 2020 to July 2021.

INTERVENTION

The multi-modal nurse-led intervention consisted of two face-to-face motivational counseling (30-min) and free nicotine replacement therapy with telephonic counseling and follow-ups offered to all eligible patients for 2 months.

RESULTS

The nurse-led intervention resulted in a significant decrease in daily cigarette consumption in most of the patients (75.9%) by 50% and 16.9% of the patients reported smoking abstinence (quitter) at 1-week follow-up (p < .001), verified by a CO breath test.

CONCLUSION

A nurse-managed smoking reduction intervention for even a short duration (2 months) in clinics is an effective approach in enhancing smoking abstinence and reduction among cardiovascular and respiratory patients.

Comparative study of the effect of two counseling methods on fertility motivation in infertile couples

BACKGROUND

Reproductive motivation is a complex issue that has cultural, behavioral, and ideological roots and changes in the context of population transfer and economic and social development. Reproductive motivations include positive and negative motivations that can be influenced by education. Training can be done in different ways. It seems that face-to-face training increases learning. On the other hand, face-to-face training increases participants' cooperation and desire for educational topics. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare and determine the effect of two counseling methods on the fertility motivation of infertile couples.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This intervention study was performed on 68 men and women with infertility referring to Milad Infertility Center in Mashhad in 2016-2017. Subjects were randomly assigned to two methods of counseling. Participants completed written consent to participate in the study. Infertile couples were included in the study if they met the inclusion criteria. The fertility motivation questionnaire was completed by the participants at the beginning of the study before the consultation and 2 weeks after the consultation. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS Software Version 16.

RESULTS

According to the independent t-test, there was no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of positive fertility motivation in the two groups of face-to-face and telephone counseling before the intervention. Independent t-test showed that 2 weeks after the intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of this variable (P = 0.283). There was no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of positive fertility motivation in the face-to-face counseling group before and after the intervention. Further, in the telephone counseling group, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of positive fertility motivation in the two stages before and after the intervention. According to the independent t-test, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of negative fertility motivation in the two groups of face-to-face and telephone counseling before the intervention (P = 0.025). However, this test showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of this variable 2 weeks after the intervention.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed that face-to-face and telephone counseling did not have a significant effect on fertility motivations of infertile couples. In other words, the mean scores of positive and negative fertility motivations before and after counseling remained unchanged in both groups and the two groups did not differ in this regard. In other words, the issue of fertility motivation in infertile women can be affected by different characteristics such as social, family, cultural, and economic conditions of individuals. If infertile people do not make having a child a necessity in their lives and cope with it more easily, no counseling can change their motivation. On the other hand, if infertile women consider having a child as an essential part of their married life and the health of their married life, counseling can have the greatest effect on them.

Observational and Accelerometer Analysis of Head Movement Patterns in Psychotherapeutic Dialogue

Psychotherapists, who use their communicative skills to assist people, review their dialogue practices and improve their skills from their experiences. However, technology has not been fully exploited for this purpose. In this study, we analyze the use of head movements during actual psychotherapeutic dialogues between two participants-therapist and client-using video recordings and head-mounted accelerometers. Accelerometers have been utilized in the mental health domain but not for analyzing mental health related communications. We examined the relationship between the state of the interaction and temporally varying head nod and movement patterns in psychological counseling sessions. Head nods were manually annotated and the head movements were measured using accelerometers. Head nod counts were analyzed based on annotations taken from video data. We conducted cross-correlation analysis of the head movements of the two participants using the accelerometer data. The results of two case studies suggest that upward and downward head nod count patterns may reflect stage transitions in counseling dialogues and that peaks of head movement synchrony may be related to emphasis in the interaction.

Comparison of the effect of two methods of counseling (face to face and telephone) on awareness and attitude toward adoption in infertile couples

INTRODUCTION

Many infertile people have heard about adoption, but little is known about the true meaning of adoption and how it is accepted. Giving the right information about adoption is effective in making the right decision for couples. As a result, there is a need to intervene and provide training to improve community attitudes and increase adoption among infertile people. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effect of two counseling methods (face-to-face and telephone) on awareness and attitude toward adoption in infertile couples.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study is a randomized quasi-experimental study of two groups in the Milad Infertility Center of Mashhad on 34 (each group of 17 couples) infertile couples with the criteria to enter the study. Couples were randomly assigned to two telephone and face-to-face counseling groups, and each individual's awareness and attitudes toward adoption were completed separately before and after counseling. The average number of face-to-face sessions for face-to-face counseling was three 60-min sessions and six 30-min sessions for telephone counseling.

RESULTS

Based on the results of t-test, there was a statistically significant difference between the average score of awareness of adoption before and after the intervention (2 weeks after the last counseling session), in infertile couples in face-to-face training group and in telephone training group (P < 0.0001). The score of the attitude toward adoption before counseling in the face-to-face counseling group was 60.55 ± 5.5, which reached 66.76 ± 4.7 after counseling. Based on the results of the T-pair test, this difference was significant (P < 0.0001). In addition, in the telephone counseling group, the score of attitude toward adoption increased from 59.53. 7.4 to 67.73 ± 7.5, which was a significant difference in terms of t-pair test. The mean score of attitudes toward adoption was not statistically significant in the two groups (P = 0.653).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed that both counseling methods (face to face and telephone) increase the level of awareness and attitude of couples about adoption, but neither method was superior to the other.

College students' attitudes, stigma, and intentions toward seeking online and face-to-face counseling

OBJECTIVE(S)

To investigate differences in public stigma, self-stigma, attitudes (value and discomfort), and intentions to seek help between online and face-to-face counseling. To identify a difference in the relationship between these variables and both counseling modalities.

METHOD

An online survey completed by 538 college students from one university in the Southeastern United States. The sample included 412 females and 126 males with a mean age of 20.21 years (standard deviation [SD] = 1.26).

RESULTS

Significantly higher levels of self-stigma and discomfort toward online counseling were reported. Significantly higher value and intentions were reported toward face-to-face counseling. Self-stigma was positively related to public stigma, value was negatively related to self-stigma, and intentions toward seeking help was positively related to value.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest face-to-face counseling is seen as a more favorable method of service delivery compared to online counseling. Value toward online counseling is an important predictor for seeking this type of help.

Preferences for Online and/or Face-to-Face Counseling among University Students in Malaysia

Increasingly, online counseling is considered to be a cost-effective and highly accessible method of providing basic counseling and mental health services. To examine the potential of online delivery as a way of increasing overall usage of services, this study looked at students' attitudes toward and likelihood of using both online and/or face-to-face counseling. A survey was conducted with 409 students from six universities in Malaysia participating. Approximately 35% of participants reported that they would be likely to utilize online counseling services but would be unlikely to participate in face-to-face counseling. Based on these results, it is suggested that offering online counseling, in addition to face-to-face services, could be an effective way for many university counseling centers to increase the utilization of their services and thus better serve their communities.

Effectiveness of additional follow-up telephone counseling in a smoking cessation clinic in Beijing and predictors of quitting among Chinese male smokers

BACKGROUND

No previous studies have investigated whether additional telephone follow-up counseling sessions after face-to-face counseling can increase quitting in China, and whether this strategy is feasible and effective for promoting smoking cessation is still unclear.

METHODS

A non-randomized controlled study was conducted in Beijing. We compared the quit rates of one group which received face-to-face counseling (FC) alone (one session of 40 min) to another group which received the same face-to-face counseling plus four follow-up sessions of brief telephone counseling (15-20 min each) at 1 week, 1, 3 and 6 month follow-up (FCF). No smoking cessation medication was provided. From October 2008 to August 2013, Chinese male smokers who sought treatment in a part-time regular smoking cessation clinic of a large general hospital in Beijing were invited to participate in the present study. Eligible male smokers (n = 547) were divided into two groups: FC (n = 149) and FCF (n = 398). Main outcomes were self-reported 7-day point prevalence and 6 month continuous quit rates at 12 month follow-up.

RESULTS

By intention to treat, at 12 month follow-up, the 7-day point prevalence and 6 month continuous quit rates of FC and FCF were 14.8 % and 26.4 %, and 10.7 % and 19.6 % respectively. The adjusted odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals) of quitting in FCF compared to FC was 2.34 (1.34-4.10) (P = 0.003) and 2.41 (1.28-4.52) (P = 0.006), respectively. Stepwise logistic regression showed that FCF, being married, unemployed and a lower Fagerström score were significant independent predictors of 6 month continuous quitting at 12 month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Using systematically collected data from real-world practice, our smoking cessation clinic has shown that the additional telephone follow-up counseling sessions doubled the quit rate.