NorTex Newsletter

The newsletter provides you with an update on NorTex projects and members. It is published twice a year.  Please let us know if you have any feedback, questions, or suggestions. Thank you again for your contribution to NorTex! We look forward to collaborating with you in the future.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a concept of the future. It is becoming an increasingly important tool in patient engagement and education. While AI cannot replace healthcare professionals, it can support patients to be stronger partners in health and provide more personalized care.

Along with our partners, NorTex is working on new projects on how AI can make healthcare easier to navigate and more responsive to the needs of patients and families. One proposed project focuses on improving healthcare experiences for autistic adults. By using a “guard-railed” AI system built from trusted, evidence-based resources, the project aims to help patients prepare for appointments by tailoring information to their communication preferences, sensory needs and healthcare priorities. A second proposed project explores how AI can improve medication safety by combining proven patient engagement tools with an AI-enabled interface. The goal is to help patients and caregivers prepare for healthcare visits, better understand their medications, and communicate more effectively with their healthcare team. A third project also focuses on medication safety but emphasizes patient engagement with community pharmacists. This project uses a plain-language AI chatbot that generates personalized information based on a patient’s specific medications and encourages users to connect with pharmacists, some of the most accessible healthcare professionals.

The chatbot focuses on helping patients prepare questions to ask pharmacists and healthcare providers, promoting safer medication use and more informed healthcare decisions. A pilot-tested chatbot was carried out at JPS and UNT Health primary care centers; both are affiliated with NorTex.

Although these projects address different healthcare challenges, they share a common goal: empowering patients. Whether helping patients prepare for a doctor’s appointment, better understand their medications or connect with healthcare professionals, AI has the potential to make healthcare more personalized, accessible and easier to understand. Importantly, these tools are designed to support and enhance, not replace, conversations between patients and their healthcare providers.

Like many NorTex initiatives, these projects reflect our commitment to community-engaged research and collaboration. By partnering with patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers and community organizations, we strive to ensure that emerging technologies are developed in ways that are practical, meaningful and responsive to real-world needs. NorTex remains committed to exploring AI-based approaches that improve communication, enhance patient safety, reduce health disparities and support better outcomes for the communities we serve. Although healthcare will continue to depend on human expertise, collaboration and trust, AI-based interventions, when implemented responsibly, can support better health outcomes for communities.

NORTEX RESEARCH PROJECTS

FEATURED CURRENT NORTEX PROJECT

Needs Assessment Surveys: health and research priorities

NorTex is currently leading three important survey initiatives designed to help shape future research and improve health outcomes across North Texas:

• The Community Needs Assessment Survey gathers input directly from community members about health concerns, barriers to care and research priorities. By collecting feedback in community settings, NorTex can better understand the needs and experiences of the populations it serves and ensure future research reflects those priorities.
• The Clinical Needs Assessment Survey will be conducted in participating clinic settings to gather feedback from patients about their healthcare experiences, health needs and challenges in accessing care. These insights will help researchers and healthcare providers identify opportunities to improve services, address gaps in care, and develop patient-centered research initiatives.
• The Clinical Demographic Survey Program collects information from NorTex member clinics regarding patient populations, services provided and research interests. This information helps strengthen research partnerships, identify opportunities for collaboration, and support studies that address real-world challenges in primary care.

Together, these three initiatives provide valuable perspectives from community members, patients and clinics, helping ensure that future research efforts

FEATURED COMPLETED NORTEX PROJECT

An Examination of Chronic Pain and Chronic Disease Burden Using a Primary Care Harmonized Electronic Health Records Dataset

 

Objective: The current study used EHR primary care data from three learning health systems to examine the prevalence of chronic pain and links to common comorbidities.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis using harmonized EHR data was examined. Multiple logistic regression models tested the associations between chronic pain and chronic conditions, adjusting for age, sex, race/ ethnicity and site of study learning health systems. Primary care adult patients (N = 329,901) with at least one primary care encounter between 2016 and 2023 were included in the analysis. Chronic pain was defined using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) groupings of ICD-10 codes of patients’ conditions meeting this criteria were merged creating Chronic Pain group (n = 138,416) and No Chronic Pain group (n = 191,485).

Outcome Measures: Chronic conditions, including asthma, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and thyroid disorder, along with chronic mental health conditions which included bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety, were examined. Multimorbidity was defined as ≥2 chronic conditions and was also examined as an outcome variable.

Results: Forty-two percent of the study population had a chronic pain condition. In unadjusted and adjusted analyses, patients diagnosed with a chronic pain condition were significantly more likely to also be diagnosed with each of the chronic conditions tested. Patients diagnosed with a chronic pain condition were 4.6 times more likely to have multimorbidity (Odds Ratio [OR] = 4.55, CI: 4.49, 4.62, p < 0.001) with remained significant in adjusted analyses (aOR = 3.59, CI: 3.53, 6.65, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Diagnosed chronic pain conditions were common among primary care patients, and the current study highlights the significant burden of comorbidities and multimorbidity for chronic pain patients within primary care. Future research should explore the direction of effect and whether pain or comorbidities may be causal in nature.

Authors: Strenth, CR; Sambamoorthi, U; Lopez, C; Fulda, K; Thakur, B; Espinoza, A; Woods, S; Young, R; Schneider, D

• Who can participate?
  Healthcare professionals, families, caregivers, advocates and individuals with lived experience are all welcome

• What is the goal?
  To improve care and support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism and substance use challenges.

• What is offered?
  - Monthly virtual Community of Practice meetings

  - Free resources and evidence-based practice guidance

  - An online Practice Hub for networking and resource sharing

  - Professional training opportunities

  - Support and resources for families and caregivers

• Why it matters?
  The group creates opportunities to share best practices, learn from each other, and develop practical solutions that improve outcomes for individuals and families.

• Cost?
  Always free. This nonprofit initiative is funded by the Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs.

Led by nationally recognized experts in disability services, mental health, addiction and public health, this collaborative effort is advancing person-centered care and strengthening support systems for individuals with IDD/A and substance use concerns.

Helping children reach their full potential through individualized, evidence-based care.
The Child Study Center specializes in treating children with complex developmental and behavioral disabilities, recognizing that every child has unique strengths and needs.

• Individualized care: Treatment plans are tailored to each child rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, with providers looking at the whole child and their environment.

• Evidence-based services: All therapies and interventions are grounded in scientific research and proven practices designed to achieve positive outcomes.

• Applied Behavior Analysis:
  The center offers ABA services for children with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, under the supervision of Board Certified Behavior Analysts.

• Family-centered support
  Providers work closely with parents and caregivers, offering guidance, education and resources to strengthen the entire family system.

• Shared mission: Through multidisciplinary expertise and compassionate care, the Child Study Center helps children develop skills, overcome challenges and achieve their fullest potential.

 

Dr. Tracey Barnett is the founding chair of the Department of Quantitative and Qualitative Health Sciences at UT San Antonio’s Kate Marmion School of Public Health. A social epidemiologist with more than 20 years of experience in public health, Dr. Barnett earned her doctorate in medical and applied sociology from Western Michigan University and held faculty appointments at both the University of Florida and UNT Health before helping launch UTSA’s newest school.

Her research has focused on tobacco use among youth and adults, emphasizing prevention for youth and cessation for adults, particularly within healthcare settings. Her scholarship spans a wide range of substance use topics, including e-cigarettes, hookah, alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents and young adults. More broadly, Barnett’s work centers on substance use prevention and health promotion, with a particular interest in addressing the needs of special populations, including individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Barnett’s work sits at the intersection of research and policy, translating complex public health data into resources that inform real decision-making. She recently completed a report for the State of Texas about reducing diabetes-related amputation. She and her team developed data visualizations on lower-extremity amputation prevention, incorporating hospital discharge and statewide survey data, as well as conducting interviews with stakeholders with experience in diabetes, resulting in a report that helps decision-makers interpret the statistics and see the real story behind the numbers.
Barnett enjoys mentoring students. She has taught multiple graduate-level courses in public health and works directly with students on their research projects. Outside of work, she enjoys reading and attempts to garden in this Texas heat.