Development of Order Sets to Improve the Rate of Obesity Counseling by Healthcare Providers in a Women’s Health Clinic

Obesity is health epidemic associated with health conditions specific to women’s health. Healthcare providers must identify and develop a follow-up plan for patients with a body mass index of greater than 30 kg/m2 to meet the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System Quality Program rate for body mass index screening and follow-up. Barriers to addressing obesity in this population by healthcare providers include time available for counseling and knowledge about appropriate diagnosis and treatment options. This is a quality improvement project that implements a clinical template within an existing electronic health record platform that includes a treatment order set and prepopulated counseling prompts to improve the rate of which healthcare providers address obesity within the women’s health clinic. After 12 weeks, 27 patients started a weight management plan, and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System rate increased from 59% to 67%. Implementation of order set templates into electronic health record platforms with counseling guidance provides a framework for providers to develop a plan to address obesity to meet their patient’s health goals and reduce health disparities related to obesity in women.

Predicting Sleep Quality in Family Caregivers of Dementia Patients From Diverse Populations Using Wearable Sensor Data

This study aimed to use wearable technology to predict the sleep quality of family caregivers of people with dementia among underrepresented groups. Caregivers of people with dementia often experience high levels of stress and poor sleep, and those from underrepresented communities face additional burdens, such as language barriers and cultural adaptation challenges. Participants, consisting of 29 dementia caregivers from underrepresented populations, wore smartwatches that tracked various physiological and behavioral markers, including stress level, heart rate, steps taken, sleep duration and stages, and overall daily wellness. The study spanned 529 days and analyzed data using 70 features. Three machine learning algorithms—random forest, k nearest neighbor, and XGBoost classifiers—were developed for this purpose. The random forest classifier was shown to be the most effective, boasting an area under the curve of 0.86, an F1 score of 0.87, and a precision of 0.84. Key findings revealed that factors such as wake-up stress, wake-up heart rate, sedentary seconds, total distance traveled, and sleep duration significantly correlated with the caregivers' sleep quality. This research highlights the potential of wearable technology in assessing and predicting sleep quality, offering a pathway to creating targeted support measures for dementia caregivers from underserved groups. The study suggests that such technology can be instrumental in enhancing the well-being of these caregivers across diverse populations.