Connie Davis MN, ARNP is a geriatric nurse practitioner, health care consultant and William Ziff Fellow at the Center for Advancing Health. This blog was originally posted on Connie’s website where she blogs about improving the patient experience. You can read Connie’s blogs and subscribe to her RSS feed here and follow her on twitter at @ConnieLDavis.

Self-Efficacy, part 2

Connie Davis | May 7, 2012
Whenever I am in an interaction, I know these three ideas can help shape the encounter. How is the person doing with these three tasks? What can I do to help? Are they confident in these three tasks?

Self-Efficacy, Part 1

Connie Davis | April 12, 2012
Self-efficacy is a very important concept in health care. It is nearly the same thing as self-confidence, or a belief that you can do something, like monitor mood, change eating habits and start being more physically active. It turns out that self-efficacy is linked to hospital utilization (low confidence = increased ER visits and days in hospital), to blood sugar control (low confidence = worse blood sugar control) and to changes in behavior.

Patient Engagement: Expert Connie Davis Talks about Challenges

Connie Davis | September 19, 2011
This interview with Connie Davis is the second in a series of brief chats between CFAH president and founder, Jessie Gruman and experts - our CFAH William Ziff Fellows - who have devoted their careers to understanding and encouraging people's engagement in their health and health care.

The Hidden Secrets of Evidence

Connie Davis | July 15, 2011
I have a fear. My fear is that the public has an unrealistic view of medicine and the science behind it.

Book Review: Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Connie Davis | November 29, 2010
I've been following evidence-based medicine for many years and I've been appalled by the way it is playing out. We have pay-for-performance that does not understand that the reliability we are after is not in reliably (read blindly) applying a guideline to a patient population, but rather reliably considering how the evidence applies to the individual in a health care interaction. We have guidelines that are based on expert opinion, often influenced by drug company funding, or based on bad science. And we have a news media that seems unable to present medical findings in a balanced and understandable way.

What Can Health Care Professionals Do About Poverty?

Connie Davis | October 20, 2010
A colleague of mine, Cheryl, has been trying to help a solo physician address a thorny issue. Through the use of 'How's Your Health', an amazing Web-based suite of health and practice tools, the physician realized that many of her patients struggled with maintaining an adequate income. Cheryl went looking for some ideas for the physician, and she came across this: Health Providers Against Poverty, an Ontario-based group that has a toolkit to help primary care professionals address poverty issues.

Learning About Public Participation

Connie Davis | September 29, 2010
I've been spending time lately becoming more familiar with methods of public participation and the evidence behind participation. When I first moved to British Columbia, the government was sponsoring 'Conversations on Health' which I initially found exciting and innovative. That effort was designed to give the public a voice about health care in the province. I sent in my comments via the website and read about the public meetings being held throughout the province. I became a skeptic when I compared the data and original reports from the conversations and the conclusions. They didn't seem to match.

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• All Jessie Gruman Blogs
• Jessie Gruman Biography

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How to Make a Doctor Appointment: 10 Steps

Finding Treatment Information