Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Multimedia
    • Collections
    • Past Issues
    • Articles by Subject
    • Articles by Type
    • Supplements
    • The Issue in Brief (Plain Language Summaries)
    • Call for Papers
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Media
    • Job Seekers
  • About
    • Annals of Family Medicine
    • Editorial Staff & Boards
    • Sponsoring Organizations
    • Copyrights & Permissions
    • Announcements
  • Engage
    • Engage
    • e-Letters (Comments)
    • Subscribe
    • RSS
    • Email Alerts
    • Journal Club
  • Contact
    • Feedback
    • Contact Us
  • Careers

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
Annals of Family Medicine
  • My alerts
Annals of Family Medicine

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Multimedia
    • Collections
    • Past Issues
    • Articles by Subject
    • Articles by Type
    • Supplements
    • The Issue in Brief (Plain Language Summaries)
    • Call for Papers
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Media
    • Job Seekers
  • About
    • Annals of Family Medicine
    • Editorial Staff & Boards
    • Sponsoring Organizations
    • Copyrights & Permissions
    • Announcements
  • Engage
    • Engage
    • e-Letters (Comments)
    • Subscribe
    • RSS
    • Email Alerts
    • Journal Club
  • Contact
    • Feedback
    • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Follow annalsfm on Twitter
  • Visit annalsfm on Facebook
EditorialEditorial

In This Issue: Social Context; Disease Causes

Kurt C. Stange and James M. Gill
The Annals of Family Medicine November 2016, 14 (6) 498-499; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1997
Kurt C. Stange
Roles: Editor
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
James M. Gill
Roles: Associate Editor
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

This issue of Annals provides new insights into the social and systems context of practice, and the etiology of disease.

In this issue we also call for diverse readers to help foment a revolution by sharing on-the-ground innovations in primary health care.1

The degree to which mobile technology use by young children affects families is evaluated in an in-depth qualitative study by Radesky et al.2

In a complement to a recent Annals supplement on peer support for diabetes self-management,3 a meta-analysis of peer support intervention trials among adults with diabetes discovers a small but significant effect on glycosylated hemoglobin, and larger effects among studies with predominantly Hispanic participants and among predominantly minority participants.4 If this personal intervention has an effect on this impersonal outcome, it would be interesting to know the effect of peer support on more overtly patient- and community-centered outcomes. This article is the basis for this issue’s Annals Journal Club.5

Another study uses qualitative methods to discover a conceptual model of the development of strong relationships as a foundation for effective health coaching to support health decision making and behavioral change.6

Kiran et al examine the reach of voluntary medical home reforms in Ontario, Canada, and find that patients enrolled in fee-for-service practices are more likely than patients in medical homes to be poor, urban, and new immigrants, and less likely to receive recommended screening services.7

Several studies in this issue have particularly direct relevance to primary care practice, and to understanding the causes of disease.

A study discovers an unrecognized and potentially modifiable risk factor for falling. This study of hospital inpatients finds that nearly one-third of patients at risk for falling have subclinical peroneal neuropathy. Even after controlling for potentially confounding factors, patients with subclinical peroneal neuropathy are nearly 5 times as likely to have fallen in the past year.8

Three studies provide new insights into the pathophysiology of respiratory infections.

Teepe et al observe the natural history of lower respiratory infection by following more than 1,000 people in the control arm of a clinical trial of people with acute cough. They find that a bacterial etiology, as determined by microbiological and serological analysis, is associated with more follow-up consultations and worse symptoms on days 2 to 4 after presentation, but no difference in resolution of symptoms rated moderately bad or worse.9

Two meta-analyses by Ebell and colleagues synthesize the literature to provide new insights into potential pathogens that are not typically subjected to diagnosis and treatment. The authors find high rates of atypical bacterial pathogens in patients with acute lower respiratory tract diseases.10 In patients with sore throat, the researchers find rates of Group C betahemolytic streptococcus of about 6% and of about 19% for Fusobacterium necrophorum.11 These findings raise the possibility of undiagnosed and untreated causes of common respiratory tract infections. However, the clinical implications are uncertain since we do not know whether treatment of these pathogens improves outcomes.

A research brief by Hero et al finds that in a nationally-representative sample, the high-risk behavior of saving opioid pills for later use is substantially less likely among patients who report having been counseled by their physicians about the risks of prescription painkiller addiction.12

Finally, in a era of rising clinician burnout, an essay by Doolittle asks, “Are we the walking dead?”13

We welcome your reflections at http://www.AnnFamMed.org.

  • © 2016 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

References

  1. ↵
    1. Stange KC,
    2. Frey JJ
    . Call for stories of on-the-ground innovations in primary health care. Ann Fam Med. 2016; 14(6): 502.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  2. ↵
    1. Radesky JS,
    2. Eisenberg S,
    3. Kistin CJ,
    4. et al
    . Overstimulated consumers or next-generation learners? Parent tensions about child mobile technology use. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6): 503–508.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  3. ↵
    Peers for Progress Supplement to Annals of Family Medicine. 2013;13(Suppl 1). http://www.annfammed.org/content/13/Suppl_1.Accessed Oct 1, 2016.
  4. ↵
    1. Patil S,
    2. Ruppar T,
    3. Koopman RJ,
    4. et al
    . Peer support interventions for adults with diabetes: a meta-analysis of hemoglobin A1c outcomes. Ann Fam Med. 2016; 14(6): 540–551.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  5. ↵
    1. Johansen ME
    . Annals Journal Club: A meta-analysis of perr-support interventions for adults with diabetes. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):iii.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  6. ↵
    1. Thom DH,
    2. Wolf J,
    3. Gardner H,
    4. et al
    . A qualitative study of how health coaches support patients in making health-related decisions and behavioral changes. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):509–516.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  7. ↵
    1. Kiran T,
    2. Glazier RH,
    3. Kopp A
    . Those left behind from voluntary medical home reforms in Ontario, Canada. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):517–525.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  8. ↵
    1. Mackinnon SE,
    2. Groves A,
    3. Sacks G,
    4. et al
    . Sub-clinical peroneal neuropathy: a common, unrecognized, and preventable finding associated with a recent history of falling in hospitalized patients. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):526–533.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  9. ↵
    1. Teepe J,
    2. Broekhuizen BD,
    3. Loens K,
    4. et al
    . Disease course of lower respiratory tract infection with a bacterial cause. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):534–539.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  10. ↵
    1. Ebell MH,
    2. Marchello C,
    3. Perry A,
    4. Thai T,
    5. Han D
    . Prevalence of atypical pathogens in patients with cough and community-acquired pneumonia: a meta-analysis. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):552–566.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  11. ↵
    1. Ebell MH,
    2. Marchello C
    . Prevalence of Group C. Streptococcus and Fusobacterium Necrophorum in patients with sore throat: a meta-analysis. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):567–574.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  12. ↵
    1. Hero J,
    2. McMurtry C,
    3. Benson J,
    4. Blendon R
    . Discussing opioid risks with patients to reduce misuse and abuse: evidence from 2 surveys. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):575–577.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  13. ↵
    1. Doolittle BR
    . Are we the walking dead? Burnout as zombie apocalypse. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):578–580.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

The Annals of Family Medicine: 14 (6)
The Annals of Family Medicine: 14 (6)
Vol. 14, Issue 6
November/December 2016
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • In Brief
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Annals of Family Medicine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
In This Issue: Social Context; Disease Causes
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Annals of Family Medicine
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Annals of Family Medicine web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
10 + 2 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
In This Issue: Social Context; Disease Causes
Kurt C. Stange, James M. Gill
The Annals of Family Medicine Nov 2016, 14 (6) 498-499; DOI: 10.1370/afm.1997

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Get Permissions
Share
In This Issue: Social Context; Disease Causes
Kurt C. Stange, James M. Gill
The Annals of Family Medicine Nov 2016, 14 (6) 498-499; DOI: 10.1370/afm.1997
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Obstacles and Opportunities on the Path to Improving Health Professions Education and Practice: Lessons From HRSA’s Academic Units for Primary Care Training and Enhancement
  • COVID-19 and Primary Care: Taking Stock
  • A Follow-Up to “The Family Tree Spreads its Limbs: National Academy of Medicine Family Physician New Members 2021”
Show more Editorial

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Past Issues in Brief
  • Multimedia
  • Articles by Type
  • Articles by Subject
  • Multimedia
  • Supplements
  • Online First
  • Calls for Papers

Info for

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Media
  • Job Seekers

Engage

  • E-mail Alerts
  • e-Letters (Comments)
  • RSS
  • Journal Club
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Subscribe
  • Family Medicine Careers

About

  • About Us
  • Editorial Board & Staff
  • Sponsoring Organizations
  • Copyrights & Permissions
  • Contact Us
  • eLetter/Comments Policy

© 2023 Annals of Family Medicine