New in JPCRR: Updating the care of people with Down syndrome

Article series in Advocate Aurora Health’s Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews investigates disease prevalence in a Down syndrome population

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JPCRR Down Syndrome

People with Down syndrome are living much longer thanks to progressive advances in medicine. Accordingly, clinicians require new information on how best to adapt their approach to caring for this growing population.

In the latest issue of Advocate Aurora Research Institute’s Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews (JPCRR), a trio of brief reports utilizing systemwide patient health records identified the frequency with which mental health, infectious disease and endocrine conditions are diagnosed in people with Down syndrome compared to Advocate Aurora Health’s other patients.

“Standard screening tools and treatment guidelines do not necessarily or sufficiently apply to those with Down syndrome,” said Brian Chicoine, MD, coauthor of the studies and medical director of the Adult Down Syndrome Center at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. “It is important to conduct research pertaining specifically to these patients so that optimal patient-centered care can be developed.”

Additional research articles reported in Volume 9, Issue 1 of JPCRR tackle a variety of topics, including:

  • The association of patient experience with spine surgery outcomes;
  • Differential effects of diabetes on breast cancer survivors;
  • The feasibility of a novel physical therapy Mobility Checkup;
  • A flexible engagement model for involving patients in research;
  • A framework for community input on health product development; and
  • Protection of physicians-in-training from COVID-19 early in the pandemic.

In addition to Dr. Chicoine, Advocate Aurora-affiliated authors featured in this issue of JPCRR include family medicine physicians Dennis Baumgardner, MD, Jacob Bidwell, MD, and Wilhelm Lehmann, MD; researchers Laura Chicoine, Veronica Fitzpatrick, DrPH, Jessica Kram, MPH, and Anne Rivelli, MPH, laboratory technician Kenneth Copeland, PhD, and Manager of Graduate Medical Education Tricia La Fratta.

Visit aah.org/jpcrr to access the current issue or archived journal content. Follow @JPCRR on Twitter for regular publication updates and various patient-centered news.

Published by Advocate Aurora Health, the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews is a PubMed-indexed medical journal dedicated to scholarly works that aim to improve patient-centered care practices, health outcomes and patient experiences. JPCRR readership spans more than 200 countries.

To learn more about Advocate Aurora’s research, visit aah.org/research.

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About Advocate Aurora Research Institute

Advocate Aurora Research Institute is a not-for-profit, limited liability company of Advocate Aurora Health. Advocate Aurora has emerged as a national destination for patient-centered bench, translational and clinical research, and the Research Institute unifies the innovative research efforts throughout the health system. Advocate Aurora researchers focus on rapidly translating new discoveries from the scientist’s bench to the patient’s bedside and into the community we serve to improve options and outcomes that change not only the lives of individuals, but transform the health of populations.