Improving Gout Care After an Emergency Department Visit for Acute Gout
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Summary
The prevalence of gout has been steadily increasing over several decades and is correlated with the rising burden of obesity, chronic cardiac and renal disease; all conditions overrepresented in the Southeastern U.S. - particularly in African Americans. Through a novel post-emergency department visit intervention, we aim to improve the care patients with gout receive, both during acute exacerbations and long-term. A secondary goal of the project is to concurrently enhance participation of minorities in biomedical research in the Deep South.
Description
The prevalence of gout has been steadily increasing and is correlated with the rising burden of obesity, chronic cardiac and renal disease; all conditions overrepresented in the Southeast U.S. - particularly in African Americans. Many patients with acute gout receive care at the emergency department (ED), particularly underserved urban populations in the Deep South. Appropriate outpatient follow-up for an acute flare after an ED visit is variable. Indeed, in a preliminary analysis of a retrospective cohort study of patients with acute gout treated at our urban medical center ED, only 46% of pa…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–99 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * ≥ 18 years old * Able to communicate and understand English or Spanish * Confirmed acute gout flare by EMR review at ED visit Exclusion Criteria: * Enrollment in an ongoing RCT (NCT04075903) testing a behavioral intervention employing "storytelling".
Interventions
- BehavioralPatient Navigation
A lay patient navigator working will contact patients seen in the UAB ED via phone within \~72 hours following the ED visit. During this initial phone conversation, the navigators will: 1) conduct a baseline assessment to identify barriers to attending an outpatient visit for gout care and to adhering to gout treatment recommendations and 2) determine the level of support and assistance needed by the patient.
Location
- University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama