Search

Many nonregulatory interventions targeting children and youth have been implemented at three levels: directed at the individual (e.g., interactive video games), delivered to students at school (e.g., campus bans), and launched in the community (e.g., mass media campaigns). This systematic review aims to synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at preventing e-cigarette initiation among children and youth. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, APA PsycINFO, and Web of Science Core Collection were searched for papers published between January 1, 2004 and September 1, 2022 that reported more than one outcome on vaping prevention among individuals aged less than 21-years-old: vaping prevalence/incidence, initiation intentions, knowledge/attitudes, and other tobacco product use prevalence/initiation intentions. Interventions were at the individual, school, or community level. The risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-I and RoB 1. Thirty-nine publications met the eligibility criteria. Fourteen individually-based (4 parental monitoring, 3 video games, 2 text messages, 3 graphic message themes, 2 healthcare), 19 school-based (14 educational and skill interventions, 5 vape-free policies/bans), and 6 community-based (3 social media, 3 mass media campaigns) interventions were reported. E-cigarette initiation prevention was observed with high perceived parental monitoring; however, the cross-sectional study designs precluded causal claims. There was promising but limited evidence that social-emotional skills curricula and peer leader programming prevented vaping initiation. Some individual- and school-based interventions showed promise for preventing e-cigarette initiation among children and youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community Guide systematic economic reviews provide information on the cost, economic benefit, cost-benefit, and cost-effectiveness of public health interventions recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force on the basis of evidence of effectiveness. The number and variety of economic evaluation studies in public health have grown substantially over time, contributing to methodologic challenges that required updates to the methods for Community Guide systematic economic reviews. This paper describes these updated methods. The 9-step Community Guide economic review process includes prioritization of topic, creation of a coordination team, conceptualization of review, literature search, screening studies for inclusion, abstraction of studies, analysis of results, translation of evidence to Community Preventive Services Task Force economic findings, and dissemination of findings and evidence gaps. The methods applied in each of these steps are reported in this paper. Two published Community Guide reviews, tailored pharmacy-based interventions to improve adherence to medications for cardiovascular disease and permanent supportive housing with housing first to prevent homelessness, are used to illustrate the application of the updated methods. The Community Preventive Services Task Force reached a finding of cost-effectiveness for the first intervention and a finding of favorable cost-benefit for the second on the basis of results from the economic reviews. The updated Community Guide economic systematic review methods provide transparency and improve the reliability of estimates that are used to derive a Community Preventive Services Task Force economic finding. This may in turn augment the utility of Community Guide economic reviews for communities making decisions about allocating limited resources to effective programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the recent evidence from economic evaluations of team-based care for controlling high blood pressure. The search covered studies published from January 2011 through January 2021 and was limited to those based in the U.S. and other high-income countries. This yielded 35 studies: 23 based in the U.S. and 12 based in other high-income countries. Analyses were conducted from May 2021 through February 2023. All monetary values reported are in 2020 U.S. dollars. The median intervention cost per patient per year was $438 for U.S. studies and $299 for all studies. The median change in healthcare cost per patient per year after the intervention was −$140 for both U.S. studies and for all studies. The median net cost per patient per year was $439 for U.S. studies and $133 for all studies. The median cost per quality-adjusted life year gained was $12,897 for U.S. studies and $15,202 for all studies, which are below a conservative benchmark of $50,000 for cost-effectiveness. Intervention cost and net cost were higher in the U.S. than in other high-income countries. Healthcare cost averted did not exceed intervention cost in most studies. The evidence shows that team-based care for blood pressure control is cost-effective, reaffirming the favorable cost-effectiveness conclusion reached in the 2015 systematic review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite promising reductions in mortality from infectious diseases, premature death is a still major public health problem in Brazil. However, little is known about which diseases and injury mechanisms are the main causes of premature death. This paper aimed to detail the trends in leading causes of death among children and adolescents in Brazil. Data were extracted from medical death certificates from the Brazilian Mortality Information System for children and adolescents aged 1–19 years for 2000–2020. The 10 leading causes of death for children and adolescents were defined using primary cause of death codes, grouped by death for diseases and mechanism for injury, according to the ICD-10. All analyses were completed in 2022. From 2000 through 2020, there was a total of 772,729 child and adolescent deaths in Brazil. Despite an overall 34% reduction in child and adolescent mortality from 2000 to 2020, improvements were less pronounced for injury-related deaths than for communicable diseases. Therefore, by 2020, over half of deaths were from injury-related causes. Firearm-related injury was by far the leading cause, accounting for 21% of all deaths. There was a 38% reduction in firearm deaths in the last 4 years against a previously increasing trend, and homicide accounted for over 90% of all firearm deaths because suicide by firearm was rare. Injury-related deaths among children and adolescents are a growing concern in Brazil, and firearms are the current leading cause of child and adolescent death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers have suggested and implemented work requirements for safety-net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). If these work requirements impact program participation, they may lead to greater food insecurity. This paper investigates the effects of implementing the work requirement for the SNAP on emergency food assistance usage. Data were used from a cohort of food pantries in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi, which imposed the SNAP work requirement in 2016. Event study models were run in 2022, leveraging geographic variation in exposure to the work requirement to measure changes in the number of households served by the food pantries. The 2016 introduction of the SNAP work requirement increased the number of households served by food pantries. The impact is concentrated among urban food pantries. On average, an urban agency exposed to the work requirement served 34% more households in the 8 months after the work requirement than an agency with no exposure. Individuals who lose SNAP eligibility owing to the work requirement remain in need of assistance and seek other sources of food. SNAP work requirements thus increase the burden on emergency food assistance programs. Work requirements for other programs may also lead to increased emergency food assistance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Americans exceed the dietary recommendations for added sugars. Healthy People 2030 set a population target mean of 11.5% calories from added sugars for persons aged ≥2 years. This paper describes the reductions needed in population groups with varying added sugars intake to meet this target using four different public health approaches. Data from the 2015–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n =15,038) and the National Cancer Institute method were used to estimate the usual percentage calories from added sugars. Four approaches investigated lowering intake among (1) the general U.S. population, (2) people exceeding the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation for added sugars (≥10% calories/day), (3) high consumers of added sugars (≥15% calories/day), or (4) people exceeding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation for added sugars with two different reductions on the basis of added sugars intake. Added sugars intake was examined before and after reduction by sociodemographic characteristics. To meet the Healthy People 2030 target using the 4 approaches, added sugars intake needs to decrease by an average of (1) 13.7 calories/day for the general population; (2) 22.0 calories/day for people exceeding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation; (3) 56.6 calories/day for high consumers; or (4) 13.9 and 32.3 calories/day for people consuming 10 to <15% and ≥15% calories from added sugars, respectively. Differences in added sugars intake were observed before and after reduction by race/ethnicity, age, and income. The Healthy People 2030 added sugars target is achievable with modest reductions in added sugars intake, ranging from 14 to 57 calories/day depending on the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Self-measured blood pressure monitoring with support is an evidence-based intervention that helps patients control their blood pressure. This systematic economic review describes how certain intervention aspects contribute to effectiveness, intervention cost, and intervention cost per unit of the effectiveness of self-measured blood pressure monitoring with support.Methods: Papers published between data inception and March 2021 were identified from a database search and manual searches. Papers were included if they focused on self-measured blood pressure monitoring with support and reported blood pressure change and intervention cost. Papers focused on preeclampsia, kidney disease, or drug efficacy were excluded. Quality of estimates was assessed for effectiveness, cost, and cost per unit of effectiveness. Patient characteristics and intervention features were analyzed in 2021 to determine how they impacted effectiveness, intervention cost, and intervention cost per unit of effectiveness.Results: A total of 22 studies were included in this review from papers identified in the search. Type of support was not associated with differences in cost and cost per unit of effectiveness. Lower cost and cost per unit of effectiveness were achieved with simple technologies such as interactive phone systems, smartphones, and websites and where providers interacted with patients only as needed.Discussion: Some of the included studies provided only limited information on key outcomes of interest to this review. However, the strength of this review is the systematic collection and synthesis of evidence that revealed the associations between the characteristics of implemented interventions and their patients and the interventions' effectiveness and cost, a useful contribution to the fields of both research and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) Lung Working Group age-period-cohort methodology to study smoking patterns can be applied to tackle important issues in tobacco control and public health. This paper summarizes the analyses of smoking patterns in the U.S. by race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and family income and for each of the 50 U.S. states using the CISNET Lung Working Group age-period-cohort approach. We describe how decision makers, policy advocates, and researchers can use the sociodemographic analyses in this supplement to project state smoking trends and develop effective state-level tobacco control strategies. The all-cause mortality RR estimates associated with smoking for U.S. race/ethnicity and education groups are also discussed in the context of research that measures and evaluates health disparities. Finally, the application of the CISNET Lung Working Group age-period-cohort methodology to Brazil is reviewed with a view to how the same types of analyses can be applied to other low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mitigate the lack of specialty healthcare, Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) trains community-based primary care clinicians to better prevent the progression of, manage, and treat common health conditions. ECHO-Chicago launched in 2010 as the first urban-centered ECHO program, focusing on safety-net clinicians, and has trained over 5,175 community clinicians across 34 topic areas. This paper examines self-efficacy among ECHO-Chicago participants across 11 clinical series, including a novel use of qualitative themes from self-efficacy questions. Five years of baseline and postseries survey data were collected from 2014 to 2019, resulting in 951 participants. Paired t -tests assessed change from baseline survey to postsurvey, and Cohen's d determined effect size. Change was assessed by individual series, adult or pediatric focus, participants' prescription privilege status, and across series by qualitative question theme. Metrics included total change, any improvement, a 10% target, and a clinical competency threshold. Analysis occurred from July 2020 to January 2022. All clinical series achieved statistically significant improvement in self-efficacy, and most had a large effect size. A total of 88% had any improvement, 65% met the 10% target of 0.7 points, and 52% met the competency threshold of 5.0 in the postsurvey. Prescribers had a significantly greater increase in their self-efficacy scores than nonprescribers. With a comparison across series, each theme achieved statistical significance, with most reaching large effect sizes. ECHO-Chicago successfully increased participants' self-efficacy. This inquiry adds an urban focus, years of data, multiple series, and a novel qualitative theme component to enable comparisons across rather than solely within the ECHO series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Many low-income U.S. households experience food security changes over time, but little is known about how labor market transitions contribute to these changes. This paper uses longitudinal survey data collected from 2017 to 2020 to explore how changes in employment and earnings are associated with changes in food security status.Methods: Analyses were conducted in the spring of 2022 and include nearly 3,500 individuals who participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training program. Individuals responded to surveys at 2 points in time-12 months and 36 months after study enrollment-which asked for employment, earnings, and food security information. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between food security transitions and employment and earnings changes. Analyses also were conducted to assess whether these associations differed on the basis of individuals' previous employment and earnings volatility.Results: Individuals who experienced a job loss 2 months before the second survey interview had higher odds of becoming food insecure (OR=2.67; 95% CI=1.24, 5.75); those who experienced an earnings reduction in the month before the interview also had higher odds of becoming food insecure (OR=1.89; 95% CI=1.03, 3.47). The association between experiencing a job loss and becoming food insecure was greater among those who had experienced past earnings changes. There were no statistically significant associations between changes in earnings and employment and the likelihood of becoming food secure.Conclusions: Employment losses and earnings reductions are associated with becoming food insecure among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training participants. Providing additional support to individuals who experience these losses and reductions may reduce their risk of becoming food insecure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Treat pillar of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. plan calls for comprehensive strategies to enhance linkage to, and engagement in, HIV medical care to improve viral suppression among people with HIV and achieve the goal of 95% viral suppression by 2025. The U.S. has seen large increases in the proportion of people with HIV who have a suppressed viral load. Viral suppression has increased 41%, from 46% in 2010 to 65% in 2018. An additional increase of 46% is needed to meet the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. goal. The rate of viral suppression among those in care increased to 85% in 2018, highlighting the need to ensure sustained care for people with HIV. Greater increases in all steps along the HIV care continuum are needed for those disproportionately impacted by HIV, especially the young, sexual and racial/ethnic minorities, people experiencing homelessness, and people who inject drugs. Informed by systematic reviews and current research findings, this paper describes more recent promising practices that suggest an impact on HIV care outcomes. It highlights rapid linkage and treatment interventions; interventions that identify and re-engage people in HIV care through new collaborations among health departments, providers, and hospital systems; coordinated care and low-barrier clinic models; and telemedicine-delivered HIV care approaches. The interventions presented in this paper provide additional approaches that state and local jurisdictions can use to reach their local HIV elimination plans' goals and the ambitious Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. Treat pillar targets by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco-free oral nicotine products are an emerging class of noncombustible nicotine products. Oral nicotine product sales have increased since 2016, although little research has investigated consumer awareness, use, or correlates of oral nicotine product use. The purpose of this analysis was to assess the prevalence and correlates of oral nicotine product awareness and use.Methods: This paper is a cross-sectional analysis of 2,507 U.S. participants from Wave 3 (February-June 2020) of the International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey, a population-based survey of current and former cigarette smokers and nicotine vaping product users in the U.S. Oral nicotine product awareness and use prevalence were compared with those of heated tobacco products. Analyses conducted in late 2021 assessed the correlates of oral nicotine product awareness and use such as demographic characteristics, tobacco use (cigarettes, nicotine vaping products, smokeless tobacco), and tobacco quit attempts.Results: Almost 1 in 5 respondents claimed to have heard of oral nicotine products, 3.0% reported ever use, and 0.9% were current users, all of which were lower than for heated tobacco products. Ever use of oral nicotine products was more common among younger adults (e.g., aged 18-24 years), males, and current users of smokeless tobacco. Oral nicotine product prevalence was higher among those who reported having made attempts to stop smoking or vaping.Conclusions: Oral nicotine product use was low among current and former smokers and nicotine vaping product users. Oral nicotine product users were demographically similar to use among individuals who smoke/vape and also use smokeless tobacco. Future studies are needed to understand emerging oral nicotine products, particularly whether they are being used as product supplements (dual use), replacements (switching), or cessation aids (quitting). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Traditional methods of summarizing burden of disease have limitations in terms of identifying communities within a population that are in need of prevention and intervention resources. This paper proposes a new method of burden assessment for use in guiding these decisions.Methods: This new method for assessing burden utilizes the sum of population-weighted age-specific z-scores. This new Z-Score Burden Metric was applied to firearm-related deaths in North Carolina counties using 2010‒2017 North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System data. The Z-Score Burden Metric consists of 4 measures describing various aspects of burden. The Z-Score Burden Metric Overall Burden Measure was compared with 2 traditional measures (unadjusted and age-adjusted death rates) for each county to assess similarities and differences in the relative burden of firearm-related death.Results: Of all 100 North Carolina counties, 73 met inclusion criteria (≥5 actual and expected deaths during the study period in each age strata). Ranking by the Overall Burden Measure produced an ordering of counties different from that of ranking by traditional measures. A total of 8 counties (11.0%) differed in burden rank by at least 10% when comparing the Overall Burden Measure with age-adjusted and unadjusted rates. All the counties with large differences between the measures were substantially burdened by firearm-related death.Conclusions: The use of the Z-Score Burden Metric provides an alternative way of measuring realized community burden of injury while still facilitating comparisons between communities with different age distributions. This method can be used for any injury or disease outcome and may help to prioritize the allocation of resources to communities suffering high burdens of injury and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Epidemiologic studies relating health outcomes to dietary patterns captured by diet quality indices have shown better quality scores associated with lower mortality and chronic disease incidence. However, changing chronic disease risk factors only alters population health over time, and initial diet quality systematically varies across the population by sociodemographic status. This study uses microsimulation to examine 30-year impacts of improved diet quality by sociodemographic group.Methods: Diet quality across 12 sex-, race/ethnicity-, and education-defined subgroups was estimated from the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In 2021, the Future Adults (dynamic microsimulation) Model was used to simulate population health and economic outcomes over 30 years for these subgroups and all adults. The modeled pathway was through lowering risk for heart disease by following U.S. Dietary Guidelines.Results: Diet quality varied across the sociodemographic subgroups, and half of U.S. adults had diet quality that would be classified as poor. Improving U.S. diet quality to that reported for the top 20% in 2 large health professionals' samples could reduce incidence of heart disease by 9.9% (7.6%-13.8% across the 12 sociodemographic groups) after 30 years. Year 30 would also have 37,000 fewer deaths, 694,000 more quality-adjusted life years, and healthcare cost savings of $59.6 billion (2019 U.S. dollars).Conclusions: Dynamic microsimulation enables predictions of socially important outcomes of prevention efforts, most of which are many years in the future and beyond the scope of trials. This paper estimates the 30-year population health and economic impact of poor diet quality by sociodemographic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Around 23% of adults worldwide are insufficiently active. Wearable devices paired with virtual coaching software could increase physical activity. The effectiveness of 3 minimal contact interventions (paper-based physical activity diaries, activity trackers, and activity trackers coupled with virtual coaching) in increasing physical activity energy expenditure and cardiorespiratory fitness were compared over 12 weeks among inactive adults.Methods: This was an open label, parallel-group RCT. Inactive adults (aged ≥18 years, N=488) were randomized to no intervention (Control; n=121), paper-based diary (Diary; n=124), activity tracker (Activity Band; n=122), or activity tracker plus virtual coaching (Activity Band PLUS; n=121) groups. Coprimary outcomes included 12-week changes in physical activity energy expenditure and fitness (May 2012-January 2014). Analyses were conducted in 2019-2020.Results: There were no differences between groups overall (physical activity energy expenditure: p=0.114, fitness: p=0.417). However, there was a greater increase in physical activity energy expenditure (4.21 kJ/kg/day, 95% CI=0.42, 8.00) in the Activity Band PLUS group than in the Diary group. There were also greater decreases in BMI and body fat percentage in the Activity Band PLUS group than in the Control group (BMI= -0.24 kg/m2, 95% CI= -0.45, -0.03; body fat= -0.48%, 95% CI= -0.88, -0.08) and in theActivity Band PLUS group than in the Diary group (BMI= -0.30 kg/m2, 95% CI= -0.50, -0.09; body fat= -0.57%, 95% CI= -0.97, -0.17).Conclusions: Coupling activity trackers with virtual coaching may facilitate increases in physical activity energy expenditure compared with a traditional paper‒based physical activity diary intervention and improve some secondary outcomes compared with a traditional paper‒based physical activity diary intervention or no intervention.Trial Registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov ISRCTN31844443. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the Essentials for Childhood program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds 7 state health departments (states) to address the urgent public health problem of adverse childhood experiences and child abuse and neglect, in particular. Through interviews and document reviews, the paper highlights the early implementation of 2 primary prevention strategies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's child abuse and neglect technical package with the greatest potential for broad public health impact to prevent adverse childhood experiences-strengthening economic supports and changing social norms. States are focused on advancing family-friendly work policies such as paid family and medical leave, livable wage policies, flexible and consistent work schedules, as well as programs and policies that strengthen household financial security such as increasing access to Earned Income Tax Credit. In addition, states are launching campaigns that focus on reframing the way people think about child abuse and neglect and who is responsible for preventing it. State-level activities such as establishing a diverse coalition of partners, program champions, and state action planning have helped to leverage and align resources needed to implement, evaluate, and sustain programs. States are working to increase awareness and commitment to multisector efforts that reduce adverse childhood experiences and promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children. Early learning from this funding opportunity indicates that using a public health approach, states are well positioned to implement comprehensive, primary prevention strategies and approaches to ensure population-level impact for preventing child abuse and neglect and other adverse childhood experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse and positive childhood experiences have a profound impact on lifespan health and well-being. However, their incorporation into ongoing population-based surveillance systems has been limited. This paper outlines critical steps in building a comprehensive approach to adverse and positive childhood experiences surveillance, provides examples from the Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action cooperative agreement, and describes improvements needed to optimize surveillance data for action. Components of a comprehensive approach to adverse and positive childhood experiences surveillance include revisiting definitions and measurement, including generating and using uniform definitions for adverse and positive childhood experiences across data collection efforts; conducting youth-based surveillance of adverse and positive childhood experiences; using innovative methods to gather and analyze near real-time data; leveraging available data, including from administrative sources; and integrating data on community- and societal-level risk and protective factors for adverse childhood experiences, including social and health inequities such as racism and poverty, as well as policies and conditions that create healthy environments for children and families. Comprehensive surveillance data on adverse and positive childhood experiences can inform data-driven prevention and intervention efforts, including focusing prevention programming and services to populations in greatest need. Data can be used to evaluate progress in reducing the occurrence of adverse childhood experiences and bolstering the occurrence of positive childhood experiences. Through expansion and improvement in adverse and positive childhood experiences surveillance-including at federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local levels-data-driven action can reduce children's exposure to violence and other adversities and improve lifelong health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Applying systems science in public health trials is a recent innovation in childhood obesity prevention. This paper aims to use systems science conventions to propose a theory of change for community-based interventions aiming to build capacity and use exemplars from systems science for obesity prevention to describe how this approach works.Methods: Participants were community-based researchers. A dynamic hypothesis was created in workshops conducted in 2020 and 2021 by identifying variables critical to building community capacity for systems thinking. These were used to develop stock and flow diagrams representing individual causal relationships, feedback loops, and the overall theory of change.Results: The resultant model identified 9 stocks and 4 pairs of central balancing and reinforcing feedback loops. These represented building commitment through relationships, mutual learning, strengthening collaboration, and embedding capacity. The model is described using examples from 3 trials involving 25 communities across Victoria, Australia.Conclusions: This nonlinear and practice-based model illustrates the process of community-based obesity prevention. The model integrates >20 years of community-based intervention implementation experience, providing an overarching theory of how such interventions work to create change and prevent obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Health disparities among racial and ethnic and socioeconomic groups are pervasive, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not been an exception. This study explores the key demographic and socioeconomic factors related to racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage.Methods: Using recent (January 2021-March 2021) data on adults from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, a regression-based decomposition method was used to estimate how much of the observed racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination coverage could be explained by particular socioeconomic and demographic factors (i.e., age, number of children and adults in household).Results: Demographics, socioeconomic factors, and experiencing economic hardship during the pandemic each explained a statistically significant portion of vaccination coverage disparities between non-Hispanic White and racial/ethnic minority individuals. The largest disparity was observed among people who identified as Hispanic or Latino, whose vaccination coverage was 8.0 (95% CI=7.1, 8.9) percentage points lower than that of their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Socioeconomic factors explained 4.8 (95% CI=4.3, 5.2) percentage points of this disparity, and economic hardship explained an additional 1.4 (95% CI=1.2, 1.6) percentage points.Conclusions: This paper identified the key factors related to racial and ethnic disparities in adult vaccination coverage. The variables that explained the largest portions of the disparities were age, education, employment, and income. The study findings can help to inform efforts to increase equitable vaccine access and engage various segments of the population to prevent the further exacerbation of COVID-19 health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adherence to medications for cardiovascular disease and its risk factors is less than optimal, although greater adherence to medication has been shown to reduce the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This paper examines the economics of tailored pharmacy interventions to improve medication adherence for cardiovascular disease prevention and management.Methods: Literature from inception of databases to May 2019 was searched, yielding 29 studies for cardiovascular disease prevention and 9 studies for cardiovascular disease management. Analyses were done from June 2019 through May 2020. All monetary values are in 2019 U.S. dollars.Results: The median intervention cost per patient per year was $246 for cardiovascular disease prevention and $292 for cardiovascular disease management. The median change in healthcare cost per person per year due to the intervention was -$355 for cardiovascular disease prevention and -$2,430 for cardiovascular disease management. The median total cost per person per year was -$89 for cardiovascular disease prevention, with a median return on investment of 0.01. The median total cost per person per year for cardiovascular disease management was -$1,080, with a median return on investment of 7.52, and 6 of 7 estimates indicating reduced healthcare cost averted exceeded intervention cost. For cardiovascular disease prevention, the median cost per quality-adjusted life year gained was $11,298. There were no cost effectiveness studies for cardiovascular disease management.Discussion: The evidence shows that tailored pharmacy-based interventions to improve medication adherence are cost effective for cardiovascular disease prevention. For cardiovascular disease management, healthcare cost averted exceeds the cost of implementation for a favorable return on investment from a healthcare systems perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The annual economic burden of chronic homelessness in the U.S. is estimated to be as high as $3.4 billion. The Permanent Supportive Housing with Housing First (Housing First) program, implemented to address the problem, has been shown to be effective. This paper examines the economic cost and benefit of Housing First Programs.Methods: The search of peer-reviewed and gray literature from inception of databases through November 2019 yielded 20 evaluation studies of Housing First Programs, 17 from the U.S. and 3 from Canada. All analyses were conducted from March 2019 through July 2020. Monetary values are reported in 2019 U.S. dollars.Results: Evidence from studies conducted in the U.S. was separated from those conducted in Canada. The median intervention cost per person per year for U.S. studies was $16,479, and for all studies, including those from Canada, it was $16,336. The median total benefit for the U.S. studies was $18,247 per person per year, and it was $17,751 for all studies, including those from Canada. The benefit-to-cost ratio for U.S. studies was 1.80:1, and for all studies, including those from Canada, it was 1.06:1.Discussion: The evidence from this review shows that economic benefits exceed the cost of Housing First Programs in the U.S. There were too few studies to determine cost-benefit in the Canadian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper describes the sources, magnitude, and correlates of missing data in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity module.Methods: Missing data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity module fielded from 2014 to 2019 were ascribed to 4 sources: the optional nature of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity module, out-of-state cell phone respondents, interview termination, and item nonresponse. The prevalence of missingness from these 4 sources was examined in relation to sociodemographic factors and survey process factors. Data were analyzed in 2018-2020.Results: From 2014 to 2019, of 2,698,738 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System respondents, 1,330,025 (44.8%, weighted) were in states that did not administer the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity module. Among 723,301 cell phone interviews in states administering the module, 12.5% (weighted) were out of state. Among 1,316,174 otherwise potential respondents, 9.4% (weighted) terminated the interview before Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity module administration. Among 1,205,177 administered the module, item-level missingness was 3.4% for sexual orientation and 1.3% for gender identity. Correlates of missingness varied considerably at each stage.Conclusions: Missing the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity data is much more prevalent than item nonresponse alone would suggest. Analytic techniques that consider only item nonresponse, such as complete case analysis, risk producing biased findings. Including the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity module in the required core demographics section is the only feasible method to reduce the amount and complexity of missing data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper describes the methodology of partial identification and its applicability to empirical research in preventive medicine and public health.Methods: The authors summarize findings from the methodologic literature on partial identification. The analysis was conducted in 2020-2021.Results: The applicability of partial identification methods is demonstrated using 3 empirical examples drawn from published literature.Conclusions: Partial identification methods are likely to be of considerable interest to clinicians and others engaged in preventive medicine and public health research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper describes the occupations in the U.S. that involve close contact with others and whether the work is outdoors or indoors (risk factors for COVID-19), including the distribution of Black and Hispanic workers over these occupations.Methods: U.S. data released from 2014 to 2019 on employment, proximity to others at work, outdoor or indoor work, and Black and Hispanic worker percentages for occupations were used. Occupations were assigned to 6 categories defined as a low, medium, or high physical closeness (proximity) at work and outdoor or indoor work. A total of 3 of the 6 categories represent a higher risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2: medium-proximity indoor, high-proximity outdoor, and high-proximity indoor exposure.Results: A high proportion of U.S. workers may be at higher risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 because their occupations involve either high proximity to others indoors and outdoors (25.2%, 36.5 million workers) or medium-proximity indoors (48%, 69.6 million workers). There is a differential distribution of proximity and outdoor/indoor work by occupation, which disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic workers in some occupations.Conclusions: Implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures in work settings should be based on occupation-specific risk factors, including the extent of proximity to others and whether the work is conducted outdoors or indoors. It is important that communication messages are tailored to the languages and preferred media of the workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Adequate self-management could minimize the impact of falls in older adults. The efficacy of fall prevention self-management interventions has been widely studied, yet little is known about why some older adults engage in fall prevention self-management actions and behaviors, whereas others do not. Through a systematic review of fall prevention self-management studies, this study identified characteristics and the personal, social, and environmental factors of older adults who engage in self-management actions and behaviors.Evidence Acquisition: Medical and nursing literature related to fall prevention self-management was searched in PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL (1997-2017), and relevant publications were selected by three researchers to assess whether the papers included subject characteristics and their fall prevention self-management actions and behaviors. GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) was used by the researchers to assess the quality of the included studies and to determine the significance of the extracted characteristics.Evidence Synthesis: Searching literature through 2017, a total of 972 papers were identified, and 28 papers remained after removing those that did not meet inclusion criteria. Nine papers that addressed subject characteristics in relation to the study outcomes were included in a sub-analysis. The authors identified the following characteristics of older adults who participated in fall prevention self-management actions and behaviors: younger males, not living alone and with self-reported good health, having greater fear of falling and high fall prevention self-efficacy, and possessing high motivation for engagement with self-management activities.Conclusions: The systematic literature review revealed the personal characteristics of older adults who engage in fall prevention self-management actions and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched its first youth smoking prevention media campaign, "The Real Cost," with the goal of preventing cigarette smoking among at-risk youth aged 12–17 years in the U.S. This paper examines how the paid media strategy was developed, implemented, and refined between 2013 and 2016. Specifically, this paper discusses how research and best practices informed the media targeting strategy used to implement a multifaceted national campaign that successfully reached and influenced thousands of teens at risk for cigarette smoking. Supplement information This article is part of a supplement entitled Fifth Anniversary Retrospective of "The Real Cost," the Food and Drug Administration's Historic Youth Smoking Prevention Media Campaign, which is sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched its first youth smoking prevention media campaign, "The Real Cost," with the goal of preventing cigarette smoking among at-risk youth aged 12-17 years in the U.S. This paper examines how the paid media strategy was developed, implemented, and refined between 2013 and 2016. Specifically, this paper discusses how research and best practices informed the media targeting strategy used to implement a multifaceted national campaign that successfully reached and influenced thousands of teens at risk for cigarette smoking. SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION: This article is part of a supplement entitled Fifth Anniversary Retrospective of "The Real Cost," the Food and Drug Administration's Historic Youth Smoking Prevention Media Campaign, which is sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and evaluate the evidence on the effectiveness of repeat teen pregnancy prevention programs offered in clinical settings.Evidence Acquisition: Multiple databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles published from January 1985 to April 2016 that included key terms related to adolescent reproductive health services. Analysis of these studies occurred in 2017. Studies were excluded if they focused solely on sexually transmitted disease/HIV prevention services, or occurred outside of a clinic setting or the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, or New Zealand. Inclusion and exclusion criteria further narrowed the studies to those that included information on at least one short-term (e.g., increased knowledge); medium-term (e.g., increased contraceptive use); or long-term (e.g., decreased repeat teen pregnancy) outcome, or identified contextual barriers or facilitators for providing adolescent-focused family planning services. Standardized abstraction methods and tools were used to synthesize the evidence and assess its quality. Only studies of clinic-based programs focused on repeat teen pregnancy prevention were included in this review.Evidence Synthesis: The search strategy identified 27,104 citations, 940 underwent full-text review, and 120 met the adolescent-focused family planning services inclusion criteria. Only five papers described clinic-based programs focused on repeat teen pregnancy prevention. Four studies found positive (n=2) or null (n=2) effects on repeat teen pregnancy prevention; an additional study described facilitators for helping teen mothers remain linked to services.Conclusions: This review identified clinic-based repeat teen pregnancy prevention programs and few positively affect factors that may reduce repeat teen pregnancy. Access to immediate postpartum contraception or home visiting programs may be opportunities to meet adolescents where they are and reduce repeat teen pregnancy.Theme Information: This article is part of a theme issue entitled Updating the Systematic Reviews Used to Develop the U.S. Recommendations for Providing Quality Family Planning Services, which is sponsored by the Office of Population Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Daily aspirin use for primary cardiovascular disease prevention is common among adults. Numerous clinical trials observe reduced cardiovascular disease with regular low-dose aspirin. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in 2016 published guidelines for aspirin use, but controversy exists about the side effects, and overuse or underuse may be common despite the guidelines. Using the Task Force recommendations, this paper describes the prevalence of appropriate aspirin use and physician advice in a population sample.Methods: A random sample of men and women (aged 50-69 years) living in the Upper Midwest in 2017-2018 were surveyed, collecting demographic data, health history, and aspirin use. Appropriate primary prevention with aspirin was defined as having ≥10% cardiovascular disease risk (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking) with daily or every other day aspirin use. Those with prevalent cardiovascular disease were labeled as secondary prevention.Results: A total of 1,352 adults were surveyed (697 women, 655 men). The criteria for secondary prevention were fulfilled in 188 participants, and these were eliminated from the analysis. In the remaining group, aspirin was indicated in 32.9% (383 of 1,164). Among those, 46.0% (176 of 383) were appropriate users, and 54.0% (207 of 383) were nonusers despite indications. Overuse, where aspirin is not indicated, was common at 26.9% (210 of 781). Discussion with a physician, although reported in 29% of subjects, was associated with some improvement in the appropriate use but also with overuse and underuse.Conclusions: Aspirin use for primary cardiovascular disease prevention is common. However, many adults are medicating without indication (overuse) or are not using aspirin despite guidelines (underuse). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of smartphone ownership and broadband access has created new opportunities to reach smokers with cessation information and support using digital technologies. These technologies can both complement and be integrated with traditional support modalities such as telephone quitlines and 1-on-1 clinical cessation counseling. The National Cancer Institute's Smokefree.gov Initiative provides free, evidence-based cessation support to the public through a multimodal suite of digital interventions, including several mobile-optimized websites, text messaging programs, and 2 mobile applications. In addition to digital resources directed at the general population, the Smokefree.gov Initiative includes population-specific resources targeted to adolescents, women, military veterans, Spanish speakers, older adults, and other populations. This paper describes the reach and use of the Smokefree.gov Initiative's resources over a 5-year period between 2014 and 2018, including how users interact with the program's digital content in ways that facilitate engagement with live counseling support. Use of Smokefree.gov Initiative resources has grown steadily over time; in 2018 alone, approximately 7-8 million people accessed Smokefree.gov Initiative web- and mobile-based resources. Smokefree.gov Initiative utilization data show that people take advantage of the full range of technology tools and options offered as part of the Smokefree.gov Initiative's multiplatform intervention. The Smokefree.gov Initiative experience suggests that offering different, complementary technology options to meet the needs and preferences of smokers has the potential to meaningfully expand the reach of cessation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The general efficacy of quitlines has been widely demonstrated, but uncertainty exists regarding how quitlines might best intervene for persons with mental health conditions. A total of 1 in 5 people in the U.S. has a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. These individuals smoke at 2‒4 times the rate of smoking among those without a mental health condition and face high rates of related death and disability. About half of quitline callers self-report a mental health condition, but until recently, quitline protocols tailored to these smokers did not exist.Methods: This paper provides initial results for tailored mental health programs from the largest quitline providers in the U.S., Optum and National Jewish Health. From 2017 to 2018, cohorts of callers with a mental health condition who enrolled in tailored programs were compared with cohorts with a mental health condition who received standard care. Both mental health programs offered participants additional calls, longer duration of combination nicotine-replacement therapy, and attention to mental health issues. Analyses were conducted in 2018-2019.Results: Findings suggest that callers with a mental health condition benefit from both standard care and tailored mental health services. Tailored programming did well in engaging people with mental health conditions. At the same time, there were no significant differences in abstinence rates when comparing mental health programs with standard care. Mental health cohorts did receive significantly greater service durations, more counseling calls, and longer nicotine-replacement therapy duration.Conclusions: Tailored mental health quitline programs present a promising framework for testing the services that address psychiatric symptoms as well as other frequent population characteristics such as chronic illness. Implications for increasing reach to the often underserved population with a mental health condition are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the vaping research literature as it pertains to tobacco quitlines and describes vaping assessment, treatment, and evaluation quitline practices. It also presents 2014-2018 registration data (vaping in the past 30 days, number of use days, use for quitting smoking, and intentions to quit vaping) from 24 public quitlines (23 states and District of Columbia) and 110,295 enrollees to employer-sponsored quitlines. Trends in vaping rates over time, by state, and by age group are described. Approximately 57,000 adult public quitline enrollees in the U.S. reported vaping at registration in 2018 (14.7% of enrollees). Most quitline participants who vape also smoke cigarettes and contact the quitline for smoking cessation support. Rates of reporting vaping and no combustible or smokeless tobacco use in the past 30 days are 0.5% of all public quitline participants (<3% of public quitline vaping product users). Data are not systematically available regarding the number of quitline participants who are seeking help quitting vaping and only vape (do not use combustible or smokeless tobacco). Few quitline participants (<1%) are youth aged <18 years, but more than a third (35%) report vaping. This paper outlines research and evaluation priorities to inform the future quitline treatment landscape with respect to vaping. The quitline community is positioned to increase the likelihood that vaping has a positive impact for adults who smoke through harm reduction or supporting cessation and has opportunities to expand impacts on youth and young adult vaping prevention and cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. Utilizing family health history in cancer prevention holds promise in lessening the burden of cancer. Nevertheless, family health history is underutilized in public health and preventive medicine. Community health workers, also known as lay health educators, are ideal candidates to offer basic cancer family history-based education and services to the general public. The authors developed the first cancer family history-based genomics training program in cancer prevention tailored for community health workers. This paper details the development and pilot testing findings of the training. Specifically, a multidisciplinary research team of geneticists, genetic counselors, health educators, community health workers, and community health worker instructors developed a 7-module, 6-hour, bilingual (English and Spanish) cancer family history-based training focusing on cancer family history-based risk assessment, lifestyle recommendations, and genetic evaluation and testing. The curriculum was based on an integrated theoretical framework, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, the community health worker core competencies, and the 4MAT instructional model. The Texas Department of State Health Services approved and certified the curriculum with 2 delivery formats: in-person/face-to-face workshops and online training. A total of 34 community health workers completed the pilot training in person (n=17) and online (n=17) in 2018 and 2019. Participating community health workers' knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and intention in delivering basic cancer family history-based genomics education and services significantly increased on the immediate post-test measures compared with their pretest data. Positive ratings and feedback were also reported by the community health workers. Findings from this pilot study suggest that wider training is warranted for educating more community health workers in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the dangers posed by tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure, pediatricians should address tobacco use and exposure with patients and parents at every opportunity, but this is not consistently done in practice. One reason may be that many medical residents do not receive education on how to address tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure with patients and their parents. In a 2012 survey of U.S. pediatric program directors, 65% of programs reported covering tobacco control in their curricula, but most training programs focused on tobacco's health effects and not intervention strategies for clinical practice. Since that survey, electronic health records have been implemented broadly nationwide and utilized to address tobacco smoke exposure. Investigators surveyed U.S. program directors in 2018 and residents in 2019 to explore the ways in which the residents learn about tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure, components and use of the electronic record specific to tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure, and perceived resident effectiveness in this area. All the program directors and 85% of the residents valued training, but 21% of the residents reported receiving none. Moreover, a minority of the residents assessed themselves as effective at counseling parents (19%) or adolescents (23%), and their perceived effectiveness was related to small group learning and active learning workshops, modalities that were infrequently implemented in training. Respondents also reported infrequent use of electronic health record prompts regarding tobacco and the absence of prompts about critical issues (e.g., addressing tobacco smoke exposure in vehicles or other settings or offering treatment or referrals to parents who smoke). This paper provides recommendations about augmenting pediatric resident training in simple ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The opioid crisis is a pervasive public health threat in the U.S. Simulation modeling approaches that integrate a systems perspective are used to understand the complexity of this crisis and analyze what policy interventions can best address it. However, limitations in currently available data sources can hamper the quantification of these models.Methods: To understand and discuss data needs and challenges for opioid systems modeling, a meeting of federal partners, modeling teams, and data experts was held at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2019. This paper synthesizes the meeting discussions and interprets them in the context of ongoing simulation modeling work.Results: The current landscape of national-level quantitative data sources of potential use in opioid systems modeling is identified, and significant issues within data sources are discussed. Major recommendations on how to improve data sources are to: maintain close collaboration among modeling teams, enhance data collection to better fit modeling needs, focus on bridging the most crucial information gaps, engage in direct and regular interaction between modelers and data experts, and gain a clearer definition of policymakers' research questions and policy goals.Conclusions: This article provides an important step in identifying and discussing data challenges in opioid research generally and opioid systems modeling specifically. It also identifies opportunities for systems modelers and government agencies to improve opioid systems models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Rapidly urbanizing communities in middle-income countries could be sources of vaccine hesitancy, and may create hot spots of low vaccination coverage. This study characterizes vaccine hesitancy in Shanghai and identifies disparities in vaccine safety and efficacy concerns by residency status-a marker for recent migration into the city.Methods: Parents of children aged ≤18 years from immunization clinics in Shanghai were enrolled in summer 2019, with the data analyzed during winter 2019-2020. The paper questionnaire used the Parental Attitudes towards Childhood Vaccines scale, which included questions about vaccine safety and efficacy concerns. The primary independent variable was residency-whether an individual was a Shanghai local or a recent migrant (i.e., non-local). Linear regression models assessed the relationship between residency and vaccine safety and efficacy concerns.Results: Among 1,021 participants, 65.4% had local residency, and the remainder were urban non-locals (13.1%) or rural non-locals (21.5%). A majority of parents expressed concerns about vaccine side effects (73.8%), vaccine safety (63.9%), and vaccine effectiveness (52.4%). Compared with locals, rural non-locals were more concerned about vaccine side effects (β=0.26, 95% CI=0.07, 0.46), vaccine safety (β=0.42, 95% CI=0.19, 0.65), and vaccine effectiveness (β=0.37, 95% CI=0.16, 0.58).Conclusions: Differences in vaccine hesitancy by residency could lead to geographical and sociodemographic disparities in vaccination coverage and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease.Supplement Information: This article is part of a supplement entitled Global Vaccination Equity, which is sponsored by the Global Institute for Vaccine Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Previously, a web-based, patient-facing decision aid for lung cancer screening, shouldiscreen.com, was developed and evaluated. An initial evaluation was completed before the Medicare coverage decision and recruited a nondiverse sample of mostly former smokers, limiting the understanding of the potential effectiveness of the tool among diverse populations. This study evaluates shouldiscreen.com among African Americans in Metro Detroit.Methods: Using insights obtained from participatory workshops in this population, content changes to shouldiscreen.com were implemented, and this modified version was evaluated with a before-after study. Measures included knowledge of lung cancer screening, decisional conflict, and concordance between individual preference and screening eligibility. Surveys occurred between April and July 2018. Participants were contacted 6 months after the survey to assess subsequent screening behaviors. Analysis took place in 2019.Results: Data were collected from 74 participants aged 45-77 years, who were current/former smokers with no history of lung cancer. The average knowledge score increased by 25% from 5.7 (SD=1.94) before to 7.1 (SD=2.30) after (out of 13 points). Decisional conflict was halved between before and after. Concordance between individual preference and eligibility for screening increased from 22% (SD=41) to 35% (SD=47). Half of the participants felt uncomfortable answering surveys electronically and requested paper versions.Conclusions: The use of the tool led to small improvements in lung cancer screening knowledge and increased concordance with current recommendations. Additional design modifications and modes of information delivery of these decision aids should be considered to increase their efficacy in helping populations with lower educational attainment and computer literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The goal of the paper is to characterize the geographic and sociodemographic patterns of policies prohibiting tobacco sales to people aged <21 years (i.e., Tobacco 21) at the local, county, and state levels in the U.S. before the national law.Methods: This study assessed area-level markers for region, race/ethnicity, education, poverty status, and smoke-free law coverage as predictors of Tobacco 21 passage as of December 20, 2019, using modified Poisson and negative binomial regression models with robust SEs. Data were analyzed in 2020.Results: Before the passage of the national policy, 191 million people were covered by Tobacco 21 laws. Counties with higher percentages of non-Hispanic Blacks and individuals living below the poverty line had a lower probability of coverage, whereas counties with higher percentages of Hispanics/Latinxs and individuals with a college degree had a higher probability of coverage. Tobacco 21 coverage also varied by region, with far greater coverage in the Northeast than in the Midwest and South.Conclusions: The national Tobacco 21 law may address disparities in coverage by SES, race/ethnicity, and region that could have lasting implications with regard to health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study examines the feasibility and effectiveness of an intensive lifestyle intervention adapted for people with impaired mobility.Study Design: This was a randomized, wait-list controlled trial. The experimental group immediately received the 12-month weight loss program; the wait-list control group received it after a 6-month delay. Between-group comparisons were conducted for the 6-month RCT study design. Repeated measures were conducted for both groups combined after receiving the 12-month intervention. Data were collected August 2015-February 2017 and analyzed in 2017.Setting/participants: A community-based sample received 23, group-based sessions via a mix of telephone and in-person sessions in a hospital-based setting. Participants with impaired mobility (n=66) were middle-aged (49.80 [SD=11.37] years), mostly White (66.7%), female (66.7%), and most commonly had spinal cord injury (47.0%).Intervention: The 12-month intervention delivered 23 group-based sessions that promoted weight loss through reducing caloric intake and increasing physical activity.Main Outcome Measures: Primary outcomes were effectiveness measured as change in weight and time spent in moderate physical activity. Feasibility was assessed in 12-month combined group analyses, measured as retention, attendance, and dietary self-monitoring.Results: The 6-month RCT results showed that the immediate and delayed groups differed significantly (p<0.05) in weight (-1.66 [SD=4.42] kg loss vs 0.05 [SD=4.15] kg gain) and moderate physical activity (52.93 [SD=90.74] minutes/week increase vs -14.22 [SD=96.02] minutes/week decrease), accounting for baseline weight, time with disability, and age of onset. The 12-month results with groups combined demonstrated 74.2% retention and 77.7% core session attendance. Self-monitoring was higher in the delayed group (77.3%), who used a smartphone app, than the immediate group (47.3%), who mostly used paper trackers. Participants achieved significant 12-month weight loss of 3.31 (SD=10.13) kg (d=0.33) in mixed modeling analyses with groups combined yet did not significantly increase moderate physical activity.Conclusions: Group Lifestyle Balance Adapted for Individuals with Impaired Mobility is a feasible, effective approach to teach healthy lifestyle skills to individuals with mobility impairment, yielding modest weight loss and enhanced self-efficacy.Trial Registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT03307187. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Increased use of ENDS in the U.S. is related to acute adverse events from liquid nicotine exposure. This paper provides national estimates of U.S. hospital emergency department visits for exposures from liquid nicotine exposure in individuals aged ≥5 years.Methods: In 2018-2019, data from the 2013-2017 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program were used to identify cases of liquid nicotine-related exposures in individuals aged ≥5 years. National estimates of exposures related to liquid nicotine exposure in ENDS for those aged ≥5 years by demographic characteristics, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment dispositions were calculated.Results: From 2013 to 2017, an estimated 2,718 cases related to liquid nicotine among those aged ≥5 years were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments. Most exposures occurred among those who were aged ≥25 years (51.7%), white (74.1%), and male (51.9%). Most case patients were treated and released from the hospitals, and 7.5% were admitted. Poisoning was the most common diagnosis of these exposures (82.7%). The most common symptoms were cardiovascular (29.7%).Conclusions: This study provides national estimates of emergency department visits for injury and poisoning cases related to nicotine exposure from ENDS among individuals aged ≥5 years. Although long-term health outcome studies of liquid nicotine exposure are not available, these estimates provide some insight into the acute health effects. Findings from this study may inform education programs aimed at preventing exposures related to ENDS products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models can be valuable tools to address uncertainty, trade-offs, and preferences when trying to understand the effects of interventions. Availability of results from two or more independently developed models that examine the same question (comparative modeling) allows systematic exploration of differences between models and the effect of these differences on model findings. Guideline groups sometimes commission comparative modeling to support their recommendation process. In this commissioned collaborative modeling, modelers work with the people who are developing a recommendation or policy not only to define the questions to be addressed but ideally, work side-by-side with each other and with systematic reviewers to standardize selected inputs and incorporate selected common assumptions. This paper describes the use of commissioned collaborative modeling by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), highlighting the general challenges and opportunities encountered and specific challenges for some topics. It delineates other approaches to use modeling to support evidence-based recommendations and the many strengths of collaborative modeling compared with other approaches. Unlike systematic reviews prepared for the USPSTF, the commissioned collaborative modeling reports used by the USPSTF in making recommendations about screening have not been required to follow a common format, sometimes making it challenging to understand key model features. This paper presents a checklist developed to critically appraise commissioned collaborative modeling reports about cancer screening topics prepared for the USPSTF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Structural racism has attracted increasing interest as an explanation for racial disparities in health, including differences in adiposity. Structural racism has been measured most often with single-indicator proxies (e.g., housing discrimination), which may leave important aspects of structural racism unaccounted for. This paper develops a multi-indicator scale measuring county structural racism in the U.S. and evaluates its association with BMI.Methods: County structural racism was estimated with a confirmatory factor model including indicators reflecting education, housing, employment, criminal justice, and health care. Using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data (2011-2012) and a mixed-effects model, individual BMI was regressed on county structural racism, controlling for county characteristics (mean age, percentage black, percentage female, percentage rural, median income, and region). Analysis occurred 2017-2019.Results: The study included 324,572 U.S. adults. A 7-indicator county structural racism model demonstrated acceptable fit. County structural racism was associated with lower BMI. Structural racism and black race exhibited a qualitative interaction with BMI, such that racism was associated with lower BMI in whites and higher BMI in blacks. In a further interaction analysis, county structural racism was associated with larger increases in BMI among black men than black women. County structural racism was associated with reduced BMI for white men and no change for white women.Conclusions: The results confirm structural racism as a latent construct and demonstrate that structural racism can be measured in U.S. counties using publicly available data with methods offering a strong conceptual underpinning and content validity. Further study is necessary to determine whether addressing structural racism may reduce BMI among blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical graduates increasingly need public health skills to equip them to face the challenges of healthcare practice in the 21st century; however, incorporating public health learning within medical degrees remains a challenge. This paper describes the process and preliminary outcomes of the transformation, between 2016 and 2019, of a 5-week public health module taught within an undergraduate medical degree in New Zealand. The previous course consisted of a research project and standalone lectures on public health topics. The new course takes an active case-based learning approach to engage student interest and stimulate a broadening of perspective from the individual to the population while retaining relevance to students. A combination of individual- and population-level case scenarios aim to help students understand the context of health, think critically about determinants of health and health inequities, and develop skills in disease prevention, health promotion, and system change that are relevant to their future clinical careers. The new module is based on contemporary medical education theory, emphasizes reflective practice, and is integrated with other learning in the degree. It challenges students to understand the relevance of public health to every aspect of medicine and equips them with the skills needed to act to improve population health and reduce inequities as health professionals and leaders of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Low levels of physical activity are associated with several noncommunicable diseases. In Mexico, 39.5% of adolescents do not meet WHO physical activity guidelines. Previous literature suggests an association between perception of safety and physical activity. This paper examines the association between perceived crime and pedestrian safety and physical activity in Mexican adolescents.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from 4,079 adolescents aged 15-18 years in Mexico. Physical activity was measured with the Youth Physical Activity Questionnaire and was grouped into the following 5 domains: (1) moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, (2) sports activity, (3) leisure time activity, (4) physical education class, and (5) active commuting to school. Perception of safety was measured as pedestrian safety and crime safety, using the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale-Youth. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine the construct validity of this scale on the Mexican population. Data were collected in 2017 and analyzed in 2018. Associations between physical activity and perception of safety were examined using linear regression models.Results: Low perception of pedestrian safety was associated with lower moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week (coefficient= -0.12, 95% CI= -0.19, -0.05) and lower sports activity per week (coefficient= -0.13, 95% CI= -0.23, -0.03) in female adolescents. There was no association between perception of safety and physical activity among male adolescents.Conclusions: Pedestrian safety was negatively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sports participation in female youth. Environments with better lighting, crosswalks, and walking/cycle trails could increase physical activity in female youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editor's Note: This article is a reprint of a previously published article. For citation purposes, please use the original publication details: Harris RP, Helfand M, Woolf SH, et al. Current methods of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: a review of the process. Am J Prev Med. 2001;20(3S):21-35. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF/Task Force) represents one of several efforts to take a more evidence-based approach to the development of clinical practice guidelines. As methods have matured for assembling and reviewing evidence and for translating evidence into guidelines, so too have the methods of the USPSTF. This paper summarizes the current methods of the third USPSTF, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and two of the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs). The Task Force limits the topics it reviews to those conditions that cause a large burden of suffering to society and that also have available a potentially effective preventive service. It focuses its reviews on the questions and evidence most critical to making a recommendation. It uses analytic frameworks to specify the linkages and key questions connecting the preventive service with health outcomes. These linkages, together with explicit inclusion criteria, guide the literature searches for admissible evidence. Once assembled, admissible evidence is reviewed at three strata: (1) the individual study, (2) the body of evidence concerning a single linkage in the analytic framework, and (3) the body of evidence concerning the entire preventive service. For each stratum, the Task Force uses explicit criteria as general guidelines to assign one of three grades of evidence: good, fair, or poor. Good or fair quality evidence for the entire preventive service must include studies of sufficient design and quality to provide an unbroken chain of evidence-supported linkages, generalizable to the general primary care population, that connect the preventive service with health outcomes. Poor evidence contains a formidable break in the evidence chain such that the connection between the preventive service and health outcomes is uncertain. For services supported by overall good or fair evidence, the Task Force uses outcomes tables to help categorize the magnitude of benefits, harms, and net benefit from implementation of the preventive service into one of four categories: substantial, moderate, small, or zero/negative. The Task Force uses its assessment of the evidence and magnitude of net benefit to make a recommendation, coded as a letter: from A (strongly recommended) to D (recommend against). It gives an I recommendation in situations in which the evidence is insufficient to determine net benefit. The third Task Force and the EPCs will continue to examine a variety of methodologic issues and document work group progress in future communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Church-based interventions have been shown to improve the dietary health of underserved populations, yet few studies have examined sustainability of health behavior change over time. This paper examines dietary outcomes over a 24-month period (baseline and 6, 18, and 24 months) for fruit and vegetable and fat consumption behaviors of African-American participants in the Health for Hearts United church-based intervention in North Florida.Study Design: This quasi-experimental, longitudinal trial was conducted from 2009 to 2012. Data were analyzed in 2018.Setting/participants: Six churches in a 2-county area (3 treatment, 3 comparison) were selected for the study using community-based participatory research approaches. Participants were African-American adults (aged ≥45 years; n=211 at baseline) randomly selected from the churches, stratified by age and sex.Intervention: Health for Hearts United intervention was developed by the 3 treatment churches. The 18-month intervention was implemented in 3 6-month phases, framed around 3 conceptual components, which included 4 types of programs and 4 key messages.Main Outcome Measures: Fruit and vegetable consumption was assessed using a single item (fruit and vegetable intake) and the National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable Screener. Fat consumption was determined using a single item (fat intake) and the National Cancer Institute Fat Screener. Background characteristics included age, sex, educational level, and marital status.Results: Significant time effects only were found for daily fruit and vegetable intake (p<0.001), fat intake (p<0.001), and the Fat Screener (p<0.001) with dietary improvements in both treatment and comparison groups across the intervention phases. Fruit and Vegetable Screener results showed that time (p<0.001) and the interaction between time and treatment (p<0.01) were significant, with increases in fruit and vegetable consumption over time for both the treatment and comparison groups and with the increase differing between groups. Post hoc analysis revealed that the treatment group had greater increases in fruit and vegetable consumption than the comparison group between Phases 1 and 3 (p=0.03).Conclusions: Dietary behaviors of mid-life and older African Americans can be improved and sustained over 24 months using a church-based heart health intervention, with similar improvements noted for both comparison and treatment participants.Trial Registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.govNCT03339050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Various built environment factors might influence certain health behaviors and outcomes. Reliable, resource-efficient methods that are feasible for assessing built environment characteristics across large geographies are needed for larger, more robust studies. This paper reports the item response prevalence, reliability, and rating time of a new virtual neighborhood audit protocol, drop-and-spin auditing, developed for assessment of walkability and physical disorder characteristics across large geographic areas.Methods: Drop-and-spin auditing, a method where a Google Street View scene was rated by spinning 360° around a point location, was developed using a modified version of the virtual audit tool Computer Assisted Neighborhood Visual Assessment System. Approximately 8,000 locations within Essex County, New Jersey were assessed by 11 trained auditors. Using a standardized protocol, 32 built environment items per a location within Google Street View were audited. Test-retest and inter-rater κ statistics were from a 5% subsample of locations. Data were collected in 2017-2018 and analyzed in 2018.Results: Roughly 70% of Google Street View scenes had sidewalks. Among those, two thirds were in good condition. At least 5 obvious items of garbage or litter were present in 41% of Google Street View scenes. Maximum test-retest reliability indicated substantial agreement (κ ≥0.61) for all items. Inter-rater reliability of each item, generally, was lower than test-retest reliability. The median time to rate each item was 7.3 seconds.Conclusions: Compared with segment-based protocols, drop-and-spin virtual neighborhood auditing is quicker and similarly reliable for assessing built environment characteristics. Assessment of large geographies may be more feasible using drop-and-spin virtual auditing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the largest U.S. federally funded nutrition assistance program, providing food assistance to more than 40 million low-income Americans, half of whom are children. This paper examines trends in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among U.S. children and adolescents by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation status.Methods: Dietary data from 15,645 participants (aged 2-19 years) were obtained from the 2003-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination surveys. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation was categorized as: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participant, income-eligible nonparticipant, lower income-ineligible nonparticipant, and higher income-ineligible nonparticipant. Survey-weighted logistic regressions estimated predicted probabilities of daily sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and negative binomial regressions estimated predicted per capita daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage calories. Data were analyzed in 2019.Results: From 2003 to 2014, there were significant declines across all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation categories for sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (participants: 84.2% to 75.6%, p=0.009; income-eligible nonparticipants: 85.8% to 67.5%, p=0.004; lower income-ineligible nonparticipants: 84.3% to 70.6%, p=0.026; higher income-ineligible nonparticipants: 82.2% to 67.7%, p=0.001) and per capita daily sugar-sweetened beverage calories (participants: 267 to 182 kilocalories, p<0.001; income-eligible nonparticipants: 269 to 168 kilocalories, p<0.001; lower income-ineligible nonparticipants: 249 to 178 kilocalories, p=0.008; higher income-ineligible nonparticipants: 244 to 161 kilocalories, p<0.001). Per capita sports/energy drink consumption increased among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants (2 to 15 kilocalories, p=0.007).Conclusions: Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption has declined for children and adolescents in all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation categories, but current levels remain high. There were fewer favorable trends over time for consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage subtypes among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants relative to other participant categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper describes the adoption of an electronic health record-based social determinants of health screening tool in a national network of more than 100 community health centers.Methods: In 2016, a screening tool with questions on 7 social determinants of health domains was developed and deployed in the electronic health record, with technical instructions on how to use the tool and suggested clinical workflows. To understand adoption patterns, the study team extracted electronic health record data for any patient with a community health center visit between June 2016 and May 2018. Patients were considered "screened" if a response to at least 1 social determinants of health domain was documented in the electronic health record tool.Results: A total of 31,549 patients (2% of those with a visit in the study period) had a documented social determinants of health screening. The number of screenings increased over time, time; 71 community health centers (67%) conducted at least one screening, but almost 50% took place in only 4 community health centers. Over half (55%) of screenings only included responses for only 1 domain. Screening was most likely to occur during an office visit with an established patient and documented in the electronic health record by a medical assistant.Conclusions: Screening documentation patterns varied widely across the network of community health centers. Despite the growing national emphasis on the importance of screening for social determinants of health, these findings suggest that simply activating electronic health record tools for social determinants of health screening does not lead to widespread adoption. Potential barriers to screening adoption and implementation should be explored further.Supplement Information: This article is part of a supplement entitled Identifying and Intervening on Social Needs in Clinical Settings: Evidence and Evidence Gaps, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spurred by accumulated evidence documenting how social determinants of health shape health outcomes as well as the push for better value, the healthcare sector is embracing interventions that address patients' health-related social needs. An increasing number of healthcare organizations and payers are experimenting with strategies to identify needs and connect patients to resources that address identified needs with the goal of improving health outcomes, reducing avoidable utilization of costly health services, and improving health equity. Although many studies link social factors to health, relatively little published research exists about how the healthcare sector can effectively intervene to help identify and address social needs. This paper summarizes emerging evidence and identifies key areas where more research is needed to advance implementation and policy development. Although some healthcare-based social needs interventions have been shown to improve health and reduce avoidable utilization, important gaps remain in terms of comparative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of social needs intervention approaches. Additionally, the field would benefit from an increased understanding of mechanisms of action to maximize practitioners' ability to tailor interventions. More research is also needed to guard against unintended consequences and ensure these interventions reduce health inequities. Finally, implementation science research should identify supports and incentives for adoption of effective interventions. Focusing both public and private research efforts on these evidence gaps can help advance identification of interventions that maximize both health equity and healthcare value. SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION: This article is part of a supplement entitled Identifying and Intervening on Social Needs in Clinical Settings: Evidence and Evidence Gaps, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]