University of Texas Health San Antonio, USA.
South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Washington, DC, USA.
J Appl Gerontol. 2020 Jun;39(6):635-643. doi: 10.1177/0733464818782853. Epub 2018 Jun 20.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggests that linkages between primary care practices and community-based resources can improve health in lower income and minority patients, but examples of these are rare. We conducted a prospective, mixed-methods observational study to identify indicators of primary care-community linkage associated with the frequency of visits to community-based senior centers and improvements in diabetes-related outcomes among 149 new senior center members (72% Hispanic). We used semistructured interviews at baseline and 9-month follow-up, obtaining visit frequency from member software and clinical assessments including hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) from colocated primary care clinics. Members' discussion of their activities with their primary care providers (PCPs) was associated with increased visits to the senior centers, as well as diabetes-related improvements. Direct feedback from the senior centers to their PCPs was desired by the majority of members and may help to reinforce use of community resources for self-management support.
美国医学研究所（IOM）建议，初级保健实践与社区资源之间的联系可以改善低收入和少数族裔患者的健康状况，但这种例子很少。我们进行了一项前瞻性、混合方法观察性研究，以确定与社区老年人中心就诊频率以及 149 名新加入的老年人中心成员（72%为西班牙裔）的糖尿病相关结果改善相关的初级保健与社区联系的指标。我们在基线和 9 个月随访时进行了半结构化访谈，从成员软件中获取就诊频率，并从相邻的初级保健诊所获取包括糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）在内的临床评估结果。成员与初级保健提供者（PCP）讨论他们的活动与增加老年人中心就诊次数以及糖尿病相关改善有关。大多数成员希望老年人中心能直接向他们的 PCP 反馈，这可能有助于加强利用社区资源进行自我管理支持。
