eScholarship@UMassChan
eScholarship@UMassChan is a digital archive for UMass Chan Medical School's research and scholarship, including journal articles, theses, datasets and more. We welcome submissions from our faculty, staff, and students. eScholarship@UMassChan is a service of the Lamar Soutter Library, Worcester, MA, USA. See also our open access journal publishing services.
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Recent Publications
Publication Statistics That Can Shape Disability Policy.(2025-02-07)Policy makers need disability statistics to determine whether, or what, new policy approaches are needed. Led by the University of New Hampshire, the NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC) is a collaboration of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AUCD), Kessler Foundation, and Mathematica Policy Research. StatsRRTC's Disability Statistics Collection provides a singular location to obtain and compare the most recent federal, state, and county level disability statistics. This brief highlights just a few of the statistics can be that can be found through the work of StatsRRTC. © 2025 Boston University & UMass Chan Medical School. All Rights Reserved.Publication UMCCTS Newsletter, February 2025(UMass Chan Medical School, 2025-02-01)This is the February 2025 issue of the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science Newsletter containing news and events of interest.Publication Peer Academic Supports for Success: Pilot Randomised Controlled Feasibility Trial(2025-02)Introduction: Mental health conditions are prevalent among university students, putting them at elevated risk for dropout. Universities offer an array of peer programmes, and students often share their concerns with peers before professionals. A well-specified peer intervention to help sustain academic persistence that colleges can directly offer their undergraduates with mental health conditions should benefit this population. The Peer Academic Supports for Success coaching model was developed to address this need. Objective: This study's goal was to conduct a feasibility and preliminary impact study of the Peer Academic Supports for Success model and feasibility of randomised controlled trial research methods. Methods: Seventy-two undergraduate students with academically impairing mental health conditions were randomised to receive Peer Academic Supports for Success versus an active control condition. Survey data were collected at baseline and at the end of the next two semesters. Official transcripts were obtained. Intervention implementation data were assessed through coach and participant report. Results: Peer Academic Supports for Success was delivered with fidelity, successfully attracted and retained students, and was safe. Randomised controlled trial methods proved feasible. Findings revealed significant treatment effects on several of the targeted proximal outcomes. Conclusions: The findings suggest Peer Academic Supports for Success is a promising university-based intervention to support young adult students with mental health conditions and should be tested in a robust clinical trial.Publication Impact of smoking on recurrence rates among wide-neck intracranial aneurysms treated with Woven EndoBridge: a multicenter retrospective study(2025-01-31)Objective: Tobacco smoking is among the factors known to significantly augment the risk of untreated intracranial aneurysm (IA) growth and rupture. Smoking appears to have a variable effect on different endovascular treatment modalities. The impact of smoking on the safety, efficacy, and outcomes of Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device use for wide-neck IAs has not been evaluated. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of WEB devices by smoking status. Methods: A retrospective multicenter analysis was conducted on the data of patients from 36 sites worldwide treated with the WEB device for intracranial saccular aneurysms. Patients were stratified based on smoking status (current, former, and never smokers). The Student t-test and chi-square test were performed for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression was used to adjust for confounders. Results: Of 1376 patients with available smoking status, 504 were current smokers, 358 were former smokers, and 514 were never smokers. Upon adjusting for significant confounders, no association was found between smoking and recurrence outcomes (OR 1.39, 95% CI 0.69-2.80; p = 0.36), thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications, and mortality among IAs treated with the WEB device. There was no statistically significant difference in outcomes between former and never smokers (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.70-2.18; p = 0.46). The location of aneurysms differed between smoking groups, with former smokers having more anterior circulation aneurysms compared with current and never smokers (99.0% vs 96.9% vs 95.3%; p = 0.01). In terms of clinical symptoms, headache and dizziness were more common in the never smokers compared with current and former smokers (13.9% vs 8.9% vs 7.7%, p = 0.01). Conclusions: This large-scale study suggests no significant correlation between smoking and the recurrence of IAs treated with the WEB device. Biological studies are warranted to better understand the biological impact of smoking on the growth and rupture of treated IAs.Publication Skin Ulcer Development and Deterioration of Social Engagement Among Nursing Home Residents(2025-01-29)Objectives: Skin ulcers are a critical indicator of quality of care in nursing homes that influence residents' physical, psychological, and social health. The objective of this study is to understand the influence of developing skin ulcers on deterioration in social engagement in nursing home residents. Design: Observational retrospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up. Setting and participants: Nursing home residents ≥50 years of age were followed quarterly (2008/2009-2009/2010), the latest years in which the Minimum Data Set 2.0 measured social engagement. Methods: Cumulative incidence ratios (CIRs) and 95% CIs quantified the association between skin ulcer development and deterioration in residents' social engagement levels. Results: About 1.25% first developed new skin ulcers at the annual follow-up assessment; 1.22% developed skin ulcers at a quarterly assessment that persisted at the annual assessment, and 4.53% developed skin ulcers at a quarterly assessment that were resolved by annual assessment. Compared with residents who remained ulcer-free, those with new skin ulcer at annual assessment and persistent skin ulcers were at increased risk of experiencing a reduction in social engagement (CIR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.11-1.44; CIR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16-1.50, respectively). Those with resolved skin ulcers were also at increased risk of social engagement deterioration (CIR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.21) than those who remained ulcer-free. Conclusion and implications: Residents who develop skin ulcers are at a higher risk of deteriorating social engagement. Nursing home staff should strive not only to prevent and treat skin ulcers, but also to support social engagement for those with skin ulcers.