Stacey H Kovac

Journal article Prev Med · January 2013 OBJECTIVE: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a telephone-delivered, spouse-assisted lifestyle intervention to reduce patient LDL-C. METHOD: From 2007 to 2010, 255 outpatients with LDL-C>76 mg/dL and their spouses from the Durh ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Inappropriate nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use: prevalence and predictors.

Journal article J Patient Saf · June 2010 INTRODUCTION: Inappropriate nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use can occur by using more than one prescription or over-the-counter NSAID or exceeding the manufacturer's recommended dosage. There are risks associated with inappropriate NSAID use; ... Full text Link to item Cite

Study protocol: Couples Partnering for Lipid Enhancing Strategies (CouPLES) - a randomized, controlled trial.

Journal article Trials · February 6, 2009 BACKGROUND: Almost 50% of Americans have elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The behaviors required to lower LDL-C levels may be difficult to adhere to if they are inconsistent with spouses' health practices, and, alternatively, may be en ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of health-related quality of life with dual use of prescription and over-the-counter nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.

Journal article Arthritis Rheum · February 15, 2008 OBJECTIVE: Inadequate prescription therapy pain management, lack of doctor-patient communication about over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and easy accessibility of OTC medications may contribute to patients using more than 1 medication to manage pain. It ... Full text Link to item Cite

Agreement and validity of pharmacy data versus self-report for use of osteoporosis medications among chronic glucocorticoid users.

Journal article Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · October 2006 PURPOSE: Pharmacy and linked claims databases are commonly used to determine medication receipt as a measure of quality of care. However, these data sources have not been previously compared with self-reported data for receipt of medications used for gluco ... Full text Link to item Cite

Population-based assessment of adverse events associated with long-term glucocorticoid use.

Journal article Arthritis Rheum · June 15, 2006 OBJECTIVE: The frequency of many adverse events (AEs) associated with low-dose glucocorticoid use is unclear. We sought to determine the prevalence of glucocorticoid-associated AEs in a large US managed care population. METHODS: Using linked administrative ... Full text Link to item Cite

Health-related quality of life among self-reported arthritis sufferers: effects of race/ethnicity and residence.

Journal article Qual Life Res · April 2006 OBJECTIVE: We evaluated differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for African Americans and Caucasians with self-reported arthritis residing in rural and urban areas of a southern state. METHODS: 1,191 individuals completed a telephone survey, ... Full text Link to item Cite

A group randomized trial to improve safe use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Journal article Am J Manag Care · September 2005 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether audit/feedback and educational materials improve adherence to recommendations for laboratory monitoring and cytoprotective agents to detect and prevent adverse events caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs). ... Link to item Cite

Improving processes of hospital care during the last hours of life.

Journal article Arch Intern Med · August 8, 2005 BACKGROUND: Known for excellence in care in the last days and hours of life, hospice programs can help individuals have a "good death" and lead to higher family satisfaction with quality of care. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a multico ... Full text Link to item Cite

Post-myocardial infarction smoking cessation counseling: associations with immediate and late mortality in older Medicare patients.

Journal article Am J Med · March 2005 PURPOSE: To assess the difference in immediate (30 and 60 days after admission) and late (2-year) mortality between those who received inpatient post-myocardial infarction smoking cessation counseling and those who did not receive counseling. METHODS: We c ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug toxicity monitoring and safety practices.

Journal article J Rheumatol · December 2003 OBJECTIVE: Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) related gastrointestinal (GI) and renal adverse events are commonly reported. Although published guidelines recommend periodic laboratory monitoring, NSAID safety practices of physicians have not been i ... Link to item Cite

The effects of physician specialty and patient comorbidities on the use and discontinuation of coxibs.

Journal article Arthritis Rheum · June 15, 2003 OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of physician specialty and comorbidities on cyclooxygenase 2-selective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; coxibs) utilization. METHODS: Medical records of 452 patients from a regional managed care organization wi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Differing symptoms of abused versus nonabused women in obstetric-gynecology settings.

Journal article Am J Obstet Gynecol · March 2003 OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to document the prevalence rates of reported abuse in obstetric/gynecology settings and to characterize physical symptoms, function, and psychologic distress of women who report abuse. STUDY DESIGN: This was a descr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Can writing autobiographical essays lessen suicidal thinking?

Journal article Archives of Suicide Research · December 1, 2002 To assess if autobiographical writing would lessen suicidal thinking, improve mood, or reduce health center visits, 49 undergraduates were randomly assigned to write about profound topics (e.g., highly stressful, traumatic, or guilty experiences) or trivia ... Full text Cite

Does writing about suicidal thoughts and feelings reduce them?

Journal article Suicide Life Threat Behav · 2002 To assess whether writing with cognitive change or exposure instructions reduces depression or suicidality, 121 undergraduates screened for suicidality wrote for 20 minutes on 4 days over 2 weeks. They were randomly assigned to reinterpret or to write and ... Full text Link to item Cite

No-suicide contracts: an overview and recommendations.

Journal article Death Stud · January 2002 No-suicide contracts, in their various forms, can deepen commitment to a positive action, strengthen the therapeutic alliance, facilitate communication, lower anxiety, aid assessment, and document precautions. Conversely, they can anger or inhibit the clie ... Full text Link to item Cite

Does writing about the bereavement lessen grief following sudden, unintentional death?

Journal article Death Stud · March 2000 Writing about traumatic events produces improvement in an array of areas including physical and psychological functioning. To see if these improvements extended to improved bereavement recovery after the accidental or homicidal death of a loved one, 64 und ... Full text Link to item Cite

Writing projects: lessening undergraduates' unique suicidal bereavement.

Journal article Suicide Life Threat Behav · 2000 To assess if writing projects lessen undergraduates' grief following a loved one's suicide, 40 students whose loved one died by suicide in the past 2 years wrote on four occasions over 2 weeks about profound topics (e.g., events and emotions surrounding th ... Link to item Cite

Multicultural perspectives on suicide

Journal article Aggression and Violent Behavior · January 1, 1999 Cultural differences exist as to suicide rates, suicide attempts, suicide attitudes such as acceptability, and appropriate treatment of suicide. Although suicide has been studied cross-nationally to highlight cross-cultural differences, the nuances of suic ... Full text Cite