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This study determines a clinical cutting score for the 29-item Abuse Behavior Inventory (ABI) developed by Shepard and Campbell (1992) to measure both physical and psychological abuse experiences. The authors report on a sample of 392 White and African American women from primary care waiting rooms, who completed the ABI and the revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2). An ABI cutoff score of 10 maximizes validity and produces a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 81% compared to the CTS2. Cronbach's alpha is .92 for the entire scale, .91 for the psychological subscale, and .86 for the physical subscale. Correlation between the ABI and CTS2 is .76, with subscale correlations of .74 between ABI psychological and CTS2 verbal aggression, and .71 between ABI physical and CTS2 physical aggression, injury, and sexual coercion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: This study described the prevalence and characteristics of financial difficulty acquiring food and its relation to nutritional biomarkers in older disabled women. METHODS: Baseline data were analyzed from the Women's Health and Aging Study, a population-based survey of 1002 community-dwelling, disabled women 65 years and older from Baltimore, Md. RESULTS: Minority women (49.5%) were more likely than White women (13.4%) to report financial difficulty acquiring food (odds ratio [OR] = 6.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.5, 8.6). Of the women reporting financial difficulty acquiring food, only 19.3% received food stamps and fewer than 7% participated in food assistance programs. Women reporting financial difficulty acquiring food had higher levels of psychologic depression than women not reporting such difficulty. Greater likelihood of financial difficulty acquiring food was associated with poorer quality of life and physical performance among White women and with more medical conditions among minority women. Finally, anemia (hemoglobin < 120 g/L) was associated with financial difficulty acquiring food (age-adjusted OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.9, 4.3). CONCLUSIONS: Financial difficulty acquiring food was common, and receipt of nutritional services was rare, in community-dwelling, older disabled women. Nutrition assistance programs for the elderly should reexamine their effectiveness in preventing nutritional deficits in older disabled women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current investigation was to determine the dietary, physical activity, family history, and demographic predictors of relative weight change in a cohort of 146 children over a 3-year period. Results indicated that boys of normal-weight parents or who had only one parent overweight showed decreases in their body mass index (BMI) while those with two parents overweight showed increases. Girls with an overweight father showed BMI increases while others experienced decreases in BMI. Additionally, baseline intake of kilocalories from fat as well as decreases in fat intake were related to decreases in BMI. At higher levels of baseline aerobic activity, subsequent changes in BMI decreased. There was also a trend for changes in leisure activity--increases in children's leisure activity was associated with decreases in subsequent weight gain. Modifiable variables (ie, dietary intake, physical activity) accounted for more of the variance in changes in child BMI change than nonmodifiable variables (eg, number of parents obese). These results strongly suggest that encouragement of heart healthy dietary intake patterns and participation in physical activity can decrease accelerated weight gain and obesity, even in preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Reliability and validity were established for weight concern measures completed by 8-10-year-old African-American girls participating in a pilot obesity prevention program. METHODS: Two hundred ten girls and parents participated in the program. Girls completed subscales of the McKnight Risk Factor Survey (MRFS) and body silhouette ratings, had height, weight, and body fat measured, wore accelerometers for 3 days, and completed two dietary recalls. Principal components analysis, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were computed for weight concerns and body image measures along with convergent validity with body mass index (BMI), percent body fat (PBF), physical activity, and dietary intake. RESULTS: A Moderate Weight Control Behaviors (MWCB) subscale was derived from the MRFS. Overconcern with Weight and Shape (OWS) was a stand-alone scale. Internal consistency estimates for the scales were substantial ranging from 0.71 to 0.84. Test-retest reliabilities were moderate (0.45-0.58). OWS, MWCB, body silhouette rating, and body size discrepancy were positively associated with BMI and PBF. The 'like to look' silhouette rating was negatively associated with PBF. CONCLUSIONS: Weight concern measures had reasonable levels of internal consistency and promising validity, but only moderate test-retest reliability among preadolescent African-American girls. Refinement and further validation of weight concern measures in this population are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This paper presents reliability and validity analyses of physical activity-related psychosocial questionnaires completed by 8- to 10-year-old African-American girls at baseline and follow-up assessments of pilot intervention studies in the Girls health Enrichment Multi-site Study (GEMS). METHODS: Two hundred ten girls participated in the GEMS 12-week pilot studies and had their height and weight measured, wore an accelerometer for 3 days and completed a measure of their usual physical activity (PA) at baseline and after the 12-week intervention. Subgroups of girls also completed physical activity-related psychosocial measures at these two time points including: (a) self-concept; (b) self-efficacy; (c) outcome expectancies; and d) preferences. Principal components analysis was conducted on the psychosocial measures obtained at baseline. Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability were computed. Convergent validity was assessed by correlating the baseline psychosocial measures with baseline physical activity measures and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: The following sub-scales were derived: Activity Preference, Positive Expectancies and Negative Expectancies for physical activity. Physical Performance Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy for physical activity were kept as single dimensional scales. Sub-scales, derived from principal components analyses, were Activity Preference, Positive Expectancies, and Negative Expectancies for physical activity. Internal consistency estimates for the various scales were substantial to excellent (0.67-0.85), while test-retest reliability estimates were fair to moderate (0.22-0.56). Correlations between the PA psychosocial sub-scales and measured levels of activity measures showed evidence of convergent validity for the Activity Preference sub-scale, although social desirability may have influenced the significant associations observed. CONCLUSIONS: The Activity Preference was a fairly reliable and valid measure. Further studies are needed to examine the utility of activity-related psychosocial measures in interventions to increase physical activity among preadolescent African-American girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study described caregiver attitudes and the information sources they access about HPV vaccination for adolescents and determined their influence on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiation. An online survey was administered to 1,016 adults in July 2021. Participants were eligible if they were the caregiver of a child aged 9-17 residing in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and select counties in Southern Illinois. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the association of caregiver attitudes and information sources with HPV vaccination. Information from doctors or healthcare providers (87.4%) and internet sources other than social media (31.0%) were the most used sources for HPV vaccine information. The highest proportion of caregivers trusted their doctor or healthcare providers (92.4%) and family or friends (68.5%) as sources of information. The HPV vaccine series was more likely to be initiated in children whose caregivers agreed that the vaccine is beneficial (AOR = 4.39, 95% CI = 2.05, 9.39), but less likely with caregivers who were concerned about side effects (AOR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.88) and who received HPV vaccination information from family or friends (AOR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.35, 0.93). This study found that caregivers' attitudes, information sources, and trust in those sources were associated with their adolescent's HPV vaccination status. These findings highlight the need to address attitudes and information sources and suggest that tailored interventions considering these factors could increase HPV vaccination rates.

Importance: Pediatric patients with cancer commonly experience severely bothersome symptoms. The effectiveness of routine symptom screening with symptom feedback and symptom management care pathways is unknown., Objective: To determine whether thrice-weekly symptom screening with symptom feedback and management care pathways, compared with usual care, improves overall self-reported symptom scores measured by the Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool (SSPedi) in pediatric patients with cancer., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cluster randomized trial enrolled participants between July 2021 and August 2023 from 20 pediatric cancer centers in the US. Patients newly diagnosed with cancer aged 8 to 18 years receiving any cancer treatment were included. Twenty sites were randomized to provide symptom screening (n = 10) vs usual care (n = 10); 221 participants were enrolled at intervention sites and 224 participants at control sites. The date of final follow-up was October 18, 2023., Intervention: Symptom screening included providing thrice-weekly symptom screening prompts to participants, email alerts to the health care team, and locally adapted symptom management care pathway implementation., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was self-reported total SSPedi score at week 8 (range, 0-60; higher scores indicate more bothersome). Secondary outcomes were Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Fatigue score (mean [SD] score, 50 [10]; higher scores indicate more fatigue), Pediatric Quality of Life 3.0 Acute Cancer Module scores (range, 0-100; higher scores indicate better health), symptom documentation and interventions at week 8, and unplanned health care encounters., Results: A total of 445 participants (median [range] age, 14.8 [8.1-18.9] years; 58.9% males) were enrolled. The mean (SD) 8-week SSPedi score was 7.9 (7.2) in the symptom screening group vs 11.4 (8.7) in the usual care group. Symptom screening was associated with significantly better 8-week total SSPedi scores (adjusted mean difference, -3.8 [95% CI, -6.4 to -1.2]) and less bothersome individual symptoms, with 12 of 15 symptoms being statistically significantly reduced. There was no difference in fatigue or quality of life. The mean (SD) number of emergency department visits was 0.77 (1.12) in the symptom screening group and 0.45 (0.81) in the usual care group. There were significantly more emergency department visits in the symptom screening group (rate ratio, 1.72 [95% CI, 1.03-2.87])., Conclusions: Symptom screening with symptom feedback and symptom management care pathways was associated with improved symptom scores and increased symptom-specific interventions. Future work should integrate symptom screening into routine clinical care., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04614662.

The potential and threat of digital tools to achieve health equity has been highlighted for over a decade, but the success of achieving equitable access to health technologies remains challenging. Our paper addresses renewed concerns regarding equity in digital health access that were deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our viewpoint is that (1) digital health tools have the potential to improve health equity if equitable access is achieved, and (2) improving access and equity in digital health can be strengthened by considering behavioral science-based strategies embedded in all phases of tool development. Using behavioral, equity, and access frameworks allowed for a unique and comprehensive exploration of current drivers of digital health inequities. This paper aims to present a compilation of strategies that can potentially have an actionable impact on digital health equity. Multilevel factors drive unequal access, so strategies require action from tool developers, individual delivery agents, organizations, and systems to effect change. Strategies were shaped with a behavioral medicine focus as the field has a unique role in improving digital health access; arguably, all digital tools require the user (individual, provider, and health system) to change behavior by engaging with the technology to generate impact. This paper presents a model that emphasizes using multilevel strategies across design, delivery, dissemination, and sustainment stages to advance digital health access and foster health equity., (©Maura M Kepper, Lauren A Fowler, Isabelle S Kusters, Jean W Davis, Manal Baqer, Sara Sagui-Henson, Yunyu Xiao, Adati Tarfa, Jean C Yi, Bryan Gibson, Kristin E Heron, Nicole M Alberts, Marissa Burgermaster, Veronica PS Njie-Carr, Lisa M Klesges. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 01.08.2024.)

Background: Hydroxyurea is an evidence-based disease-modifying therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) but is underutilized. The Integration of Mobile Health into Sickle Cell Disease Care to Increase Hydroxyurea Utilization (meSH) multicenter study leveraged mHealth to deliver targeted interventions to patients and providers. SCD studies often underenroll; and recruitment strategies in the SCD population are not widely studied. Unanticipated events can negatively impact enrollment, making it important to study strategies that ensure adequate study accrual., Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate enrollment barriers and the impact of modified recruitment strategies among patients and providers in the meSH study in response to a global emergency., Methods: Recruitment was anticipated to last 2 months for providers and 6 months for patients. The recruitment strategies used with patients and providers, new recruitment strategies, and recruitment rates were captured and compared. To document recruitment adaptations and their reasons, study staff responsible for recruitment completed an open-ended 9-item questionnaire eliciting challenges to recruitment and strategies used. Themes were extrapolated using thematic content analysis., Results: Total enrollment across the 7 sites included 89 providers and 293 patients. The study acceptance rate was 85.5% (382/447) for both patients and providers. The reasons patients declined participation were most frequently a lack of time and interest in research, while providers mostly declined because of self-perceived high levels of SCD expertise, believing they did not need the intervention. Initially, recruitment involved an in-person invitation to participate during clinic visits (patients), staff meetings (providers), or within the office (providers). We identified several important recruitment challenges, including (1) lack of interest in research, (2) lack of human resources, (3) unavailable physical space for recruitment activities, and (4) lack of documentation to verify eligibility. Adaptive strategies were crucial to alleviate enrollment disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These included remote approaching and consenting (eg, telehealth, email, and telephone) for patients and providers. Additionally, for patients, recruitment was enriched by simplification of enrollment procedures (eg, directly approaching patients without a referral from the provider) and a multitouch method (ie, warm introductions with flyers, texts, and patient portal messages). We found that patient recruitment rates were similar between in-person and adapted (virtual with multitouch) approaches (167/200, 83.5% and 126/143, 88.1%, respectively; P=.23). However, for providers, recruitment was significantly higher for in-person vs remote recruitment (48/50, 96% and 41/54, 76%, respectively, P<.001)., Conclusions: We found that timely adaptation in recruitment strategies secured high recruitment rates using an assortment of enriched remote recruitment strategies. Flexibility in approach and reducing the burden of enrollment procedures for participants aided enrollment. It is important to continue identifying effective recruitment strategies in studies involving patients with SCD and their providers and the impact and navigation of recruitment challenges., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT03380351; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03380351., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): RR2-10.2196/16319., (©Chinonyelum Nwosu, Hamda Khan, Rita Masese, Judith M Nocek, Siera Gollan, Taniya Varughese, Sarah Bourne, Cindy Clesca, Sara R Jacobs, Ana Baumann, Lisa M Klesges, Nirmish Shah, Jane S Hankins, Matthew P Smeltzer. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 16.04.2024.)

Background: We assessed whether five geographic-based socioeconomic factors (medically underserved area (MUA); healthcare provider shortage area (HPSA); persistent poverty; persistent child poverty; and social vulnerability index (SVI)) were associated with the odds of HPV vaccination initiation, series completion, and parental vaccine hesitancy, and whether the observed relationships varied by gender of the child., Methods: An online panel service, administered through Qualtrics®, was used to recruit parents of adolescents 9-17 years of age to complete a one-time survey in 2021. Coverage of the panel included five US states: Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Southern Illinois. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to assess population-level associations between five geographic-based socioeconomic factors (MUA; HPSA; persistent poverty; persistent child poverty; and SVI) and three HPV vaccination outcomes (initiation, series completion, and hesitancy). All GEE models were adjusted for age of child and clustering at the state level., Results: Analyses were conducted using responses from 926 parents about their oldest child in the target age range (9-17 years). The analytic sample consisted of 471 male children and 438 female children across the five states. In adjusted GEE models, persistent child poverty and HPSA were negatively associated with HPV vaccination initiation and series completion among female children, respectively. Among male children, high social vulnerability was negatively associated with HPV vaccine series completion. Additionally, persistent poverty and high social vulnerability were negatively associated with HPV vaccine hesitancy in male children., Conclusions: The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that geographic-based socioeconomic factors, particularly, HPSA, persistent poverty, and SVI, should be considered when implementing efforts to increase HPV vaccine coverage for adolescents. The approaches to targeting these geographic factors should also be evaluated in future studies to determine if they need to be tailored for male and female children., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a vaccine strategy bundle to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine initiation and completion in a specialty clinic setting., Study Design: Our Hematology clinic utilized an implementation framework from October 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019, involving nurses, nursing coordinators, and clinicians in administering the HPV vaccination series to our adolescent sickle cell sample of nearly 500 patients. The bundle included education for staff on the need for HPV vaccine administration, provider incentives, vaccines offered to patients in SCD clinics, and verification of patients' charts of vaccine completion., Results: Following the implementation of the bundle, the cumulative incidence of HPV vaccination initiation and completion improved from 28% to 46% and 7% to 49%, respectively. Both rates remained higher postimplementation as well. HPV vaccination series completion was associated with a decreased distance to the health care facility, lower state deprivation rank, and increased hospitalizations., Conclusion: Our clinic's implementation strategy successfully improved vaccine completion rates among adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD) while continuing to educate staff, patients, and families on the importance of cancer prevention among people living with SCD., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest There are no potential conflicts of interest, real or perceived, by any of the authors regarding the study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, writing of the report, or decision to submit the paper for publication. Dr Heather Brandt received funding support from P30CA021765 during the conduct of this study. The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Screening can reduce cancer mortality, but uptake is suboptimal and characterized by disparities. Home-based self-sampling can facilitate screening for colorectal cancer (with stool tests, eg, fecal immunochemical tests) and for cervical cancer (with self-collected human papillomavirus tests), especially among patients who face barriers to accessing health care. Additional data are needed on feasibility and potential effects of self-sampling tools for cancer screening among underserved patients., Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial with patients (female, ages 50-65 years, out of date with colorectal and cervical cancer screening) recruited from federally qualified health centers in rural and racially segregated counties in Pennsylvania. Participants in the standard-of-care arm (n = 24) received screening reminder letters. Participants in the self-sampling arm (n = 24) received self-sampling tools for fecal immunochemical tests and human papillomavirus testing. We assessed uptake of screening (10-week follow-up), self-sampling screening outcomes, and psychosocial variables. Analyses used Fisher exact tests to assess the effect of study arm on outcomes., Results: Cancer screening was higher in the self-sampling arm than the standard-of-care arm (colorectal: 75% vs 13%, respectively, odds ratio = 31.32, 95% confidence interval = 5.20 to 289.33; cervical: 79% vs 8%, odds ratio = 72.03, 95% confidence interval = 9.15 to 1141.41). Among participants who returned the self-sampling tools, the prevalence of abnormal findings was 24% for colorectal and 18% for cervical cancer screening. Cancer screening knowledge was positively associated with uptake (P < .05)., Conclusions: Self-sampling tools can increase colorectal and cervical cancer screening among unscreened, underserved patients. Increasing the use of self-sampling tools can improve primary care and cancer detection among underserved patients., Clinical Trials Registration Number: STUDY00015480., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Hydroxyurea reduces sickle cell disease (SCD) complications, but medication adherence is low. We tested 2 mobile health (mHealth) interventions targeting determinants of low adherence among patients (InCharge Health) and low prescribing among providers (HU Toolbox) in a multi-center, non-randomized trial of individuals with SCD ages 15-45. We compared the percentage of days covered (PDC), labs, healthcare utilization, and self-reported pain over 24 weeks of intervention and 12 weeks post-study with a 24-week preintervention interval. We enrolled 293 patients (51% male; median age 27.5 years, 86.8% HbSS/HbSβ0-thalassemia). The mean change in PDC among 235 evaluable subjects increased (39.7% to 56.0%; P < 0.001) and sustained (39.7% to 51.4%, P < 0.001). Mean HbF increased (10.95% to 12.78%; P = 0.03). Self-reported pain frequency reduced (3.54 to 3.35 events/year; P = 0.041). InCharge Health was used ≥1 day by 199 of 235 participants (84.7% implementation; median usage: 17% study days; IQR: 4.8-45.8%). For individuals with ≥1 baseline admission for pain, admissions per 24 weeks declined from baseline through 24 weeks (1.97 to 1.48 events/patient, P = 0.0045) and weeks 25-36 (1.25 events/patient, P = 0.0015). PDC increased with app use (P < 0.001), with the greatest effect in those with private insurance (P = 0.0078), older subjects (P = 0.033), and those with lower pain interference (P = 0.0012). Of the 89 providers (49 hematologists, 36 advanced care providers, 4 unreported), only 11.2% used HU Toolbox ≥1/month on average. This use did not affect change in PDC. Tailoring mHealth solutions to address barriers to hydroxyurea adherence can potentially improve adherence and provide clinical benefits. A definitive randomized study is warranted. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT04080167., (© 2023 by The American Society of Hematology. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.)

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell disorder associated with frequent painful events and organ damage. Hydroxyurea (HU) is the recommended evidence-based treatment of SCD. However, among patients eligible for HU, prescription rates are low. Utilizing a scoping review approach, we summarized and synthesized relevant findings regarding provider barriers and facilitators to the prescription of HU in youth and adults with SCD and provided suggestions for future implementation strategies to improve prescription rates. Relevant databases were searched using specified search terms. Articles reporting provider barriers and/or facilitators to prescribing HU were included. A total of 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Common barriers to the prescription of HU identified by providers included: doubts around patients' adherence to HU and their engaging in required testing, concerns about side effects, lack of knowledge, cost and patient concerns about side effects. Facilitators to the prescription of HU included beliefs in the effectiveness of HU, provider demographics and knowledge. Findings suggest significant provider biases exist, particularly in the form of negative perceptions towards patients' ability to adhere to taking HU and engaging in the required follow-up. Improving provider knowledge and attitudes towards HU and SCD may help improve low prescription rates., (© 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Haematology published by British Society for Haematology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: This study seeks to understand how and for whom COVID-19 disrupted cancer care to understand the potential for cancer health disparities across the cancer prevention and control continuum., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants age 30+residing in an 82-county region in Missouri and Illinois completed an online survey from June-August 2020. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables separately and by care disruption status. Logistic regression modeling was conducted to determine the correlates of care disruption., Results: Participants (N=680) reported 21% to 57% of cancer screening or treatment appointments were canceled/postponed from March 2020 through the end of 2020. Approximately 34% of residents stated they would need to know if their doctor's office is taking the appropriate COVID-related safety precautions to return to care. Higher education (OR = 1.26, 95% CI:1.11-1.43), identifying as female (OR = 1.60, 95% CI:1.12-2.30), experiencing more discrimination in healthcare settings (OR = 1.40, 95% CI:1.13-1.72), and having scheduled a telehealth appointment (OR = 1.51, 95% CI:1.07-2.15) were associated with higher odds of care disruption. Factors associated with care disruption were not consistent across races. Higher odds of care disruption for White residents were associated with higher education, female identity, older age, and having scheduled a telehealth appointment, while higher odds of care disruption for Black residents were associated only with higher education., Conclusions: This study provides an understanding of the factors associated with cancer care disruption and what patients need to return to care. Results may inform outreach and engagement strategies to reduce delayed cancer screenings and encourage returning to cancer care., Funding: This study was supported by the National Cancer Institute's Administrative Supplements for P30 Cancer Center Support Grants (P30CA091842-18S2 and P30CA091842-19S4). Kia L. Davis, Lisa Klesges, Sarah Humble, and Bettina Drake were supported by the National Cancer Institute's P50CA244431 and Kia L. Davis was also supported by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Callie Walsh-Bailey was supported by NIMHD T37 MD014218. The content does not necessarily represent the official view of these funding agencies and is solely the responsibility of the authors., Competing Interests: KD, NA, NL, CW, SH, BD No competing interests declared, LK has received consulting fees from Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The author is on the Board of Directors for American College of Epidemiology and Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. The author has no other competing interests to declare, VS has received consulting fees from Novaris and Chan-Zuckerburg Initiave via National Academies of Science. The author has received payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from St. Jude Hospital, Scholar Strategies, University of Missouri St. Louis, Ohio State University Health Services and Management Program Management Institute Annual Conference, and Nebraska Conference on Health Equity Key Note. The author is a Board Director, Vice Chair and Programmatic Strategies Chairperson for Missouri Foundation for Health, and the author receives no financial compensation for these roles. The author has no other competing interests to declare, (© 2023, Davis et al.)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid scaling of telehealth limited the extent to which proactive planning for equitable implementation was possible. The deployment of telehealth will persist in the postpandemic era, given patient preferences, advances in technologies, growing acceptance of telehealth, and the potential to overcome barriers to serve populations with limited access to high-quality in-person care. However, aspects and unintended consequences of telehealth may leave some groups underserved or unserved, and corrective implementation plans that address equitable access will be needed. The purposes of this paper are to (1) describe equitable implementation in telehealth and (2) integrate an equity lens into actionable equitable implementation., (©Allison M Gustavson, Allison A Lewinski, Ellen E Fitzsimmons-Craft, Gloria D Coronado, Sarah E Linke, Denalee M O'Malley, Alyce S Adams, Russell E Glasgow, Lisa M Klesges. Originally published in the Interactive Journal of Medical Research (https://www.i-jmr.org/), 15.05.2023.)

Background: There is substantial heterogeneity in symptom management provided to pediatric patients with cancer. The primary objective was to describe the adaptation process and specific adaptation decisions related to symptom management care pathways based on clinical practice guidelines. The secondary objective evaluated if institutional factors were associated with adaptation decisions., Methods: Fourteen previously developed symptom management care pathway templates were reviewed by an institutional adaptation team composed of two clinicians at each of 10 institutions. They worked through each statement for all care pathway templates sequentially. The institutional adaptation team made the decision to adopt, adapt or reject each statement, resulting in institution-specific symptom management care pathway drafts. Institutional adaption teams distributed the 14 care pathway drafts to their respective teams; their feedback led to care pathway modifications., Results: Initial care pathway adaptation decision making was completed over a median of 4.2 (interquartile range 2.0-5.3) weeks per institution. Across all institutions and among 1350 statements, 551 (40.8%) were adopted, 657 (48.7%) were adapted, 86 (6.4%) were rejected and 56 (4.1%) were no longer applicable because of a previous decision. Most commonly, the reason for rejection was not agreeing with the statement (70/86, 81.4%). Institutional-level factors were not significantly associated with statement rejection., Conclusions: Acceptability of the 14 care pathways was evident by most statements being adopted or adapted. The adaptation process was accomplished over a relatively short timeframe. Future work should focus on evaluation of care pathway compliance and determination of the impact of care pathway-consistent care on patient outcomes., Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04614662. Registered 04/11/2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04614662?term=NCT04614662&draw=2&rank=1 ., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: In 2019-2020, with National Cancer Institute funding, seven implementation laboratory (I-Lab) partnerships between scientists and stakeholders in 'real-world' settings working to implement evidence-based interventions were developed within the Implementation Science Centers in Cancer Control (ISC3) consortium. This paper describes and compares approaches to the initial development of seven I-Labs in order to gain an understanding of the development of research partnerships representing various implementation science designs., Methods: In April-June 2021, members of the ISC3 Implementation Laboratories workgroup interviewed research teams involved in I-Lab development in each center. This cross-sectional study used semi-structured interviews and case-study-based methods to collect and analyze data about I-Lab designs and activities. Interview notes were analyzed to identify a set of comparable domains across sites. These domains served as the framework for seven case descriptions summarizing design decisions and partnership elements across sites., Results: Domains identified from interviews as comparable across sites included engagement of community and clinical I-Lab members in research activities, data sources, engagement methods, dissemination strategies, and health equity. The I-Labs use a variety of research partnership designs to support engagement including participatory research, community-engaged research, and learning health systems of embedded research. Regarding data, I-Labs in which members use common electronic health records (EHRs) leverage these both as a data source and a digital implementation strategy. I-Labs without a shared EHR among partners also leverage other sources for research or surveillance, most commonly qualitative data, surveys, and public health data systems. All seven I-Labs use advisory boards or partnership meetings to engage with members; six use stakeholder interviews and regular communications. Most (70%) tools or methods used to engage I-Lab members such as advisory groups, coalitions, or regular communications, were pre-existing. Think tanks, which two I-Labs developed, represented novel engagement approaches. To disseminate research results, all centers developed web-based products, and most (n = 6) use publications, learning collaboratives, and community forums. Important variations emerged in approaches to health equity, ranging from partnering with members serving historically marginalized populations to the development of novel methods., Conclusions: The development of the ISC3 implementation laboratories, which represented a variety of research partnership designs, offers the opportunity to advance understanding of how researchers developed and built partnerships to effectively engage stakeholders throughout the cancer control research lifecycle. In future years, we will be able to share lessons learned for the development and sustainment of implementation laboratories., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a progressive genetic disease that causes organ damage and reduces longevity. Hydroxyurea is an underutilized evidence-based medication that reduces complications and improves survival in SCD. In a multi-site clinical trial, part of the NIH-funded Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (SCDIC), we evaluate the implementation of a multi-level and multi-component mobile health (mHealth) patient and provider intervention to target the determinants and context of low hydroxyurea use. Given the complexity of the intervention and contextual variability in its implementation, we combined different behavioral and implementation theories, models, and frameworks to facilitate the evaluation of the intervention implementation. In this report, we describe engagement with stakeholders, planning of the implementation process, and final analytical plan to evaluate the implementation outcomes., Methods: During 19 meetings, a 16-member multidisciplinary SCDIC implementation team created, conceived, and implemented a project that utilized Intervention Mapping to guide designing an intervention and its evaluation plan. The process included five steps: (1) needs assessment of low hydroxyurea utilization, (2) conceptual framework development, (3) intervention design process, (4) selection of models and frameworks, and (5) designing evaluation of the intervention implementation., Results: Behavioral theories guided the needs assessment and the design of the multi-level mHealth intervention. In designing the evaluation approach, we combined two implementation frameworks to best account for the contextual complexity at the organizational, provider, and patient levels: (1) the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) that details barriers and facilitators to implementing the mHealth intervention at multiple levels (users, organization, intervention characteristics, broader community), and (2) the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a conceptual model specific for explaining the intent to use new information technology (including mHealth). The Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used to measure the outcomes., Discussion: Our research project can serve as a case study of a potential approach to combining different models/frameworks to help organize and plan the evaluation of interventions to increase medication adherence. The description of our process may serve as a blueprint for future studies developing and testing new strategies to foster evidence-based treatments for individuals living with SCD., Competing Interests: JSH receives consultancy fees from Forma Therapeutics, CVS Health, and Global Blood Therapeutics., (© 2023 Hankins, Potter, Fernandez, Melvin, DiMartino, Jacobs, Bosworth, King, Simon, Glassberg, Kutlar, Gordeuk, Shah, Baumann, Klesges and the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium.)

Purpose: Multidisciplinary lung cancer care is assumed to improve care delivery by increasing transparency, objectivity, and shared decision making; however, there is a lack of high-level evidence demonstrating its benefits, especially in community-based health care systems. We used implementation and team science principles to establish a colocated multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic in a large community-based health care system and evaluated patient experience and outcomes within and outside this clinic., Methods: We conducted a prospective frequency-matched comparative effectiveness study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02123797) evaluating the thoroughness of lung cancer staging, receipt of stage-appropriate treatment, and survival between patients receiving care in the multidisciplinary clinic and those receiving usual serial care. Target enrollment was 150 patients on the multidisciplinary arm and 300 on the serial care arm. We frequency-matched patients by clinical stage, performance status, insurance type, race, and age., Results: A total of 526 patients were enrolled: 178 on the multidisciplinary arm and 348 on the serial care arm. After adjusting for other factors, multidisciplinary patients had significantly higher odds (odds ratio [OR]: 2.3 [95% CI, 1.5 to 3.4]) of trimodality staging compared with serial care. Patients on the multidisciplinary arm also had higher odds of receiving invasive stage confirmation (OR: 2.0 [95% CI, 1.4 to 3.1]) and mediastinal stage confirmation (OR: 1.9 [95% CI, 1.3 to 2.8]). Additionally, patients receiving multidisciplinary care were significantly more likely to receive stage-appropriate treatment (OR: 1.8 [95% CI, 1.1 to 3.0]). We found no significant difference in overall or progression-free survival between study arms., Conclusion: The multidisciplinary clinic delivered significant improvements in evidence-based quality care on multiple levels. Even in the absence of a demonstrable survival benefit, these findings provide a strong rationale for recommending this model of care.

We recruited women (primarily non-Hispanic White) from 14 rural, segregated counties in a Northeastern US state for an explanatory sequential study: 100 women (ages 50-65 years) completed a survey, and 16 women participated in focus groups. We sought to identify personal (e.g., healthcare mistrust) and environmental (e.g., travel time to healthcare providers) factors related to colorectal and cervical cancer screening. Quantitatively, 89% of participants were up-to-date for cervical screening, and 65% for colorectal screening. Factors interacted such that compounding barriers were associated with lower odds of screening (e.g., insurance status and healthcare mistrust: interaction p = .02 for cervical; interaction p = .05 for colorectal). Qualitatively, three themes emerged regarding barriers to screening: privacy concerns, logistical barriers, and lack of trust in adequacy of healthcare services. While cancer screening was common in rural, segregated counties, women who reported both environmental and personal barriers to screening had lower uptake. Future interventions to promote screening can target these barriers., (© 2021. American Association for Cancer Education.)

Purpose: Prior cancer research is limited by inconsistencies in defining rurality. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of cancer risk factors and cancer screening behaviors across various county-based rural classification codes, including measures reflecting a continuum, to inform our understanding of cancer disparities according to the extent of rurality., Methods: Using an ecological cross-sectional design, we examined differences in cancer risk factors and cancer screening behaviors from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and National Health Interview Survey (2008-2013) across rural counties and between rural and urban counties using four rural-urban classification codes for counties and county-equivalents in 2013: U.S. Office of Management and Budget, National Center for Health Statistics, USDA Economic Research Service's rural-urban continuum codes, and Urban Influence Codes., Results: Although a rural-to-urban gradient was not consistently evident across all classification codes, the prevalence of smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and binge alcohol use increased (all p trend  < 0.03), while colorectal, cervical and breast cancer screening decreased (all p trend  < 0.001) with increasing rurality. Differences in the prevalence of risk factors and screening behaviors across rural areas were greater than differences between rural and urban counties for obesity (2.4% vs. 1.5%), physical activity (2.9% vs. 2.5%), binge alcohol use (3.4% vs. 0.4%), cervical cancer screening (6.8% vs. 4.0%), and colorectal cancer screening (4.4% vs. 3.8%)., Conclusions: Rural cancer disparities persist across multiple rural-urban classification codes, with marked variation in cancer risk factors and screening evident within rural regions. Focusing only on a rural-urban dichotomy may not sufficiently capture subpopulations of rural residents at greater risk for cancer and cancer-related mortality., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Historically, marginalized patients were prescribed less opioid medication than affluent, white patients. However, because of persistent differential access to nonopioid pain treatments, this direction of disparity in opioid prescribing may have reversed., Objective: To compare social disadvantage and health in patients with chronic pain who were managed with versus without chronic opioid therapy. It was hypothesized that patients routinely prescribed opioids would be more likely to live in socially disadvantaged communities and report worse health., Design: Cross-sectional analysis of a retrospective cohort defined from medical records from 2000 to 2019., Setting: Single tertiary safety net medical center., Patients: Adult patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain who were managed longitudinally by a physiatric group practice from at least 2011 to 2015 (n = 1173), subgrouped by chronic (≥4 years) adherent opioid usage (n = 356) versus no chronic opioid usage (n = 817)., Intervention: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was the unadjusted between-group difference in social disadvantage, defined by living in the worst national quartile of the Area Deprivation Index (ADI). An adjusted effect size was also calculated using logistic regression, with age, sex, race, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Interference and Physical Function scores as covariates. Secondary outcomes included adjusted differences in health by chronic opioid use (measured by PROMIS)., Results: Patients managed with chronic opioid therapy were more likely to live in a zip code within the most socially disadvantaged national quartile (34.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 29.9-39.9%; vs. 24.9%; 95% CI 21.9-28.0%; P < .001), and social disadvantage was independently associated with chronic opioid use (odds ratio [OR] 1.01 per ADI percentile [1.01-1.02]). Opioid use was also associated with meaningfully worse PROMIS Depression (3.8 points [2.4-5.1]), Anxiety (3.0 [1.4-4.5]), and Pain Interference (2.6 [1.7-3.5]) scores., Conclusions: Patients prescribed chronic opioid treatment were more likely to live in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods, and chronic opioid use was independently associated with worse behavioral health. Improving access to multidisciplinary, nonopioid treatments for chronic pain may be key to successfully overcoming the opioid crisis., (© 2021 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.)

Objective: The aim of the study was to better address sociodemographic-related health disparities. This study examined which sociodemographic variables most strongly correlate with self-reported health in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain., Design: This single-center, cross-sectional study examined adult patients, followed by a physiatrist for chronic (≥4 yrs) musculoskeletal pain. Sociodemographic variables considered were race, sex, and disparate social disadvantage (measured as residential address in the worst vs. best Area Deprivation Index national quartile). The primary comparison was the adjusted effect size of each variable on physical and behavioral health (measured by Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System [PROMIS])., Results: In 1193 patients (age = 56.3 ± 13.0 yrs), disparate social disadvantage was associated with worse health in all domains assessed (PROMIS Physical Function Β = -2.4 points [95% confidence interval = -3.8 to -1.0], Pain Interference = 3.3 [2.0 to 4.6], Anxiety = 4.0 [1.8 to 6.2], and Depression = 3.7 [1.7 to 5.6]). Black race was associated with greater anxiety than white race (3.2 [1.1 to 5.3]), and female sex was associated with worse physical function than male sex (-2.5 [-3.5 to -1.5])., Conclusions: Compared with race and sex, social disadvantage is more consistently associated with worse physical and behavioral health in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Investment to ameliorate disadvantage in geographically defined communities may improve health in sociodemographically at-risk populations., Competing Interests: Financial disclosure statements have been obtained, and no conflicts of interest have been reported by the authors or by any individuals in control of the content of this article., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Sickle cell disease (SCD) leads to chronic and acute complications that require specialised care to manage symptoms and optimise clinical results. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) evidence-based guidelines assist providers in caring for individuals with SCD, but adoption of these guidelines by providers has not been optimal. The objective of this study was to identify barriers to treating individuals with SCD., Methods: The SCD Implementation Consortium aimed to investigate the perception and level of comfort of providers regarding evidence-based care by surveying providers in the regions of six clinical centres across the USA, focusing on non-emergency care from the providers' perspective., Results: Respondents included 105 providers delivering clinical care for individuals with SCD. Areas of practice were most frequently paediatrics (24%) or haematology/SCD specialist (24%). The majority (77%) reported that they were comfortable managing acute pain episodes while 63% expressed comfort with managing chronic pain. Haematologists and SCD specialists showed higher comfort levels prescribing opioids (100% vs 67%, p=0.004) and managing care with hydroxyurea (90% vs 51%, p=0.005) compared with non-haematology providers. Approximately 33% of providers were unaware of the 2014 NHLBI guidelines. Nearly 63% of providers felt patients' medical needs were addressed while only 22% felt their mental health needs were met., Conclusions: A substantial number of providers did not know about NHLBI's SCD care guidelines. Barriers to providing care for patients with SCD were influenced by providers' specialty, training and practice setting. Increasing provider knowledge could improve hydroxyurea utilisation, pain management and mental health support., Competing Interests: Competing interests: JSH receives research funding support from Global Blood Therapeutics and is received consultancy fees from Bluebird Bio, Forma Therapeutics, and Global Blood Therapeutics; JG receives research funding support from Pfizer; AK owns stock in Magenta Therapeutics., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Objectives were to describe barriers to pediatric cancer symptom management care pathway implementation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical research evaluating their implementation., Methods: We included 25 pediatric oncology hospitals in the United States that supported a grant submission to perform a cluster randomized trial in which the intervention encompassed care pathways for symptom management. A survey was distributed to site principal investigators prior to randomization to measure contextual elements related to care pathway implementation. Questions included the inner setting measures of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), study-specific potential barriers and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical research. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare characteristics of institutions that agreed that their department supported the implementation of symptom management care pathways vs. institutions that did not agree., Results: Of the 25 sites, one withdrew because of resource constraints and one did not respond, leaving 23 institutions. Among the seven CFIR constructs, the least supported was implementation climate; 57% agreed there was support, 39% agreed there was recognition and 39% agreed there was prioritization for symptom management care pathway implementation at their institution. Most common barriers were lack of person-time to create care pathways and champion their use (35%), lack of interest from physicians (30%) and lack of information technology resources (26%). Most sites reported no negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across research activities. Sites with fewer pediatric cancer patients were more likely to agree that staff are supported to implement symptom management care pathways (P = 0.003)., Conclusions: The most commonly reported barriers to implementation were lack of support, recognition and prioritization. The COVID-19 pandemic may not be a major barrier to clinical research activities in pediatric oncology., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: There is a growing body of research and evidence for the efficacy of Internet-based eating disorder (ED) prevention interventions for adults. However, much less is known about the reach, adoption, implementation and maintenance of these interventions. The RE-AIM (reach, efficacy/effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) model provides a framework to systematically assess this information., Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO for articles published between 2000 and 2019. Additionally, reference lists of the studies included and existing reviews published until the end of 2020 were searched. Sixty original articles describing 54 individual studies fulfilled inclusion criteria. Data were extracted for a total of 43 RE-AIM indicators for each study. Fostering and hindering factors for reach, adoption, implementation and maintenance were assessed qualitatively., Results: Overall reporting rates were best for the RE-AIM dimensions reach (62.6%), implementation (57.0%) and effectiveness (54.2%), while adoption (24.2%) and maintenance (21.5%) had comparatively low overall reporting rates. Reporting on indicators of internal validity, such as sample size, effects or description of interventions was better than indicators relevant for dissemination and implementation in real-world settings, e.g. characteristics of non-participants, characteristics and representativeness of settings, and data to estimate cost., Conclusions: Because most Internet-based ED prevention interventions are provided in a research-funded context, little is known about their public health impact. Better reporting of factors determining external validity is needed to inform dissemination and implementation of these interventions., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.)

Introduction: Suboptimal pathologic nodal staging prevails after curative-intent resection of lung cancer. We evaluated the impact of a lymph node specimen collection kit on lung cancer surgery outcomes in a prospective, population-based, staggered implementation study., Methods: From January 1, 2014, to August 28, 2018, we implemented the kit in three homogeneous institutional cohorts involving 11 eligible hospitals from four contiguous hospital referral regions. Our primary outcome was pathologic nodal staging quality, defined by the following evidence-based measures: the number of lymph nodes or stations examined, proportions with poor-quality markers such as nonexamination of lymph nodes, and aggregate quality benchmarks including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria. Additional outcomes included perioperative complications, health care utilization, and overall survival., Results: Of 1492 participants, 56% had resection with the kit and 44% without. Pathologic nodal staging quality was significantly higher in the kit cases: 0.2% of kit cases versus 9.8% of nonkit cases had no lymph nodes examined; 3.2% versus 25.3% had no mediastinal lymph nodes; 75% versus 26% attained the National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria (p < 0.0001 for all comparisons). Kit cases revealed no difference in perioperative complications or health care utilization except for significantly shorter duration of surgery, lower proportions with atelectasis, and slightly higher use of blood transfusion. Resection with the kit was associated with a lower hazard of death (crude, 0.78 [95% confidence interval: 0.61-0.99]; adjusted 0.85 [0.71-1.02])., Conclusions: Lung cancer surgery with a lymph node collection kit significantly improved pathologic nodal staging quality, with a trend toward survival improvement, without excessive perioperative morbidity or mortality., (Copyright © 2021 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Cancer in the United States accounts for $600 billion in health care costs, lost work time and productivity, reduced quality of life, and premature mortality. The future of oncology delivery must mend disconnects to equitably improve patient outcomes while constraining costs and burden on patients, caregivers, and care teams. Embedding learning health systems into oncology can connect care, engaging patients and providers in fully interoperable data systems that remotely monitor patients; generate predictive and prescriptive analytics to facilitate appropriate, timely referrals; and extend the reach of clinicians beyond clinic walls. Incorporating functional learning systems into the future of oncology and follow-up care requires coordinated national attention to 4 synergistic strategies: (1) galvanize and shape public discourse to develop and adopt these systems, (2) demonstrate their value, (3) test and evaluate their use, and (4) reform policy to incentivize and regulate their use.

The Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM) recommends expanding access to high-speed, high-definition internet and increasing broadband width for rural communities in the USA to increase telehealth opportunities for populations facing geographic barriers to accessing quality healthcare. High-speed telehealth will allow healthcare providers to care for patients in "real time" and will expand access to specialty providers thereby increasing timely follow-up, improving health outcomes, and reducing rural health disparities. Moreover, SBM recommends that the current National Broadband Plan legislation be protected and enhanced to ensure high-quality, but also affordable, internet services in rural areas. Several legislative bills have been put forth but are not fully funded or enacted by individual states. In addition, further mechanisms and supplemental funding are needed to address the continued lack of resources to enhance rural broadband including infrastructure, research, and regulatory reform., (© Society of Behavioral Medicine 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Past research has yielded promising results on the effectiveness of Internet-based interventions to prevent eating disorders (EDs) in adolescents, but further information is needed to evaluate the public health impact of their large-scale dissemination. This article used an established framework to systematically review the extent to which indicators of the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance [cf. Reach-Effectiveness-Adoption-Implementation-Maintenance (RE-AIM)-framework] of universal and targeted online ED prevention programmes are reported in the literature, in order to estimate their future dissemination potential., Methods: The literature search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO, and complemented by searching existing reviews and the reference lists of the studies included. Twenty-two studies published between 2000 and April 2019 met the inclusion criteria. We extracted data on a total of 43 indicators, within RE-AIM dimensions for each article, including qualitative coding of fostering and hindering factors., Results: Reach (55.0%) and implementation (54.0%) were the dimensions reported on most frequently, followed by effectiveness (46.8%), adoption (34.7%) and maintenance (18.2%). While internal validity indicators were frequently reported (e.g. sample size, effects and intervention intensity), most studies failed to report on elements of external validity, such as representativeness of participants and settings, adoption rates, implementation costs and programme sustainability., Conclusions: Evidence indicates that Internet-based ED prevention programmes can reach a large number of adolescents and can be feasibly implemented in school settings. However, given the paucity of large-scale dissemination studies available for review, the degree to which schools are willing to adopt preventive interventions, as well as the transferability of programmes to different settings and geographical regions remains unclear., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.)

Background: Child obesity is a major public health challenge, increasing the risk of chronic medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension. Among U.S. states, Tennessee has one of the highest rates of child obesity. Emerging communication technologies can help to deliver highly disseminable population-level interventions to improve health behavior. The aim of this paper is to report the implementation and the evaluation of the reach of Memphis FitKids, a web-based application, intended to promote healthy behaviors for families and children., Methods: A community-level demonstration project, Memphis FitKids, was developed and implemented in Tennessee's Greater Memphis Area. This application ( www.memphisfitkids.org ) was designed for parents to assess their children's obesity risk through determinants such as weight, diet, physical activity, screen time, and sleep adequacy. A built-in "FitCheck" tool used this collected information to create a report with tailored recommendations on how to make healthy changes. A Geographic Information Systems component was implemented to suggest low-cost neighborhood resources that support a healthy lifestyle. A social marketing framework was used to develop and implement FitKids, and a Community Advisory Board with representatives from community partners (e.g., the YMCA of Memphis, the Pink Palace Family of Museums, and the Memphis Public Library) supported the implementation of the project. Five kiosks distributed in the community served as public access points to provide a broad reach across socioeconomic strata. Presentations at community events and the use of Facebook facilitated the promotion of FitKids. Website traffic and Facebook usage were evaluated with Google Analytics and Facebook Insights, respectively., Results: In Tennessee, 33,505 users completed 38,429 FitCheck sessions between July 2014 and December 2016. Among these, 6763 sessions were completed at the five kiosks in the community. FitKids was presented at 112 community events and the social media posts reached 23,767 unique Facebook users., Conclusions: The Memphis FitKids demonstration project showed that web-based health tools may be a viable strategy to increase access to information about healthy weight and lifestyle options for families. Mobile-friendly web-based applications like Memphis FitKids may also serve health professionals in their efforts to support their clients in adopting healthy behaviors.

Background: Responsible for 25% of all US cancer deaths, lung cancer presents complex care-delivery challenges. Adoption of the highly recommended multidisciplinary care model suffers from a dearth of good quality evidence. Leading up to a prospective comparative-effectiveness study of multidisciplinary vs. serial care, we studied the implementation of a rigorously benchmarked multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic., Methods: We used a mixed-methods approach to conduct a patient-centered, combined implementation and effectiveness study of a multidisciplinary model of lung cancer care. We established a co-located multidisciplinary clinic to study the implementation of this care-delivery model. We identified and engaged key stakeholders from the onset, used their input to develop the program structure, processes, performance benchmarks, and study endpoints (outcome-related process measures, patient- and caregiver-reported outcomes, survival). In this report, we describe the study design, process of implementation, comparative populations, and how they contrast with patients within the local and regional healthcare system. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02123797., Results: Implementation: the multidisciplinary clinic obtained an overall treatment concordance rate of 90% (target >85%). Satisfaction scores were high, with >95% of patients and caregivers rating themselves as being "very satisfied" with all aspects of care from the multidisciplinary team (patient/caregiver response rate >90%). The Reach of the multidisciplinary clinic included a higher proportion of minority patients, more women, and younger patients than the regional population. Comparative effectiveness: The comparative effectiveness trial conducted in the last phase of the study met the planned enrollment per statistical design, with 178 patients in the multidisciplinary arm and 348 in the serial care arm. The multidisciplinary cohort had older age and a higher percentage of racial minorities, with a higher proportion of stage IV patients in the serial care arm., Conclusions: This study demonstrates a comprehensive implementation of a multidisciplinary model of lung cancer care, which will advance the science behind implementing this much-advocated clinical care model., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: Dr. R Osarogiagbon has the following potential conflicts of interest: stock ownership in Eli Lilly, Foundation Medicine and Pfizer; paid consultant for Association of Community Cancer Centers, Eli Lilly, Roche/Genentech; paid speaker for Roche/Genentech; patent application pending for a surgical lymph node specimen collection kit. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Background: Whereas children's active travel to school (ATS) has confirmed benefits, only a few large national surveys of ATS exist., Methods: Using data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2009-2010 US survey, we conducted a logistic regression model to estimate the odds ratios of ATS and a linear regression model to estimate the adjusted mean differences of the percentage of ATS within a school., Results: Overall, 21.4% of children engaged in at least one way of active travel to or from school. ATS was less common for trips to school than from school. Greater distance to school was a major barrier preventing children from ATS. Children living in large cities were more likely to engage in ATS, and schools located in a large city had higher proportions of ATS rate. Children having lower family satisfaction, or engaging in a greater number of physically active days during the past week were all more likely to engage in ATS., Conclusions: Although ATS is low among US children, significant variation exists. HBSC is a promising data source for an ATS study. As the first study to explore the variation of ATS at school level, this research contributes uniquely to current knowledge., (© 2016, American School Health Association.)

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) clinical guidelines at present rarely assign the highest grade recommendation to behavioral counseling interventions for chronic disease prevention or risk reduction because of concerns about the certainty and quality of the evidence base. As a result, the broad integration of behavioral counseling interventions in primary care remains elusive. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel perspectives on how to generate the highest-quality and -certainty evidence for primary care-focused behavioral counseling interventions. As members of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM)--a multidisciplinary scientific organization committed to improving population health through behavior change--we review the USPSTF mandate and current recommendations for behavioral counseling interventions and provide a perspective for the future that calls for concerted and coordinated efforts among SBM, USPSTF, and other organizations invested in the rapid and wider uptake of beneficial, feasible, and referable primary care-focused behavioral counseling interventions. This perspective highlights five areas for further development, including (1) behavioral counseling-focused practice-based research networks; (2) promotion of USPSTF evidence standards and the increased use of pragmatic RCT design; (3) quality control and improvement procedures for behavioral counseling training; (4) systematic research on effective primary care-based collaborative care models; and (5) methodologic innovations that capitalize on disruptive technologies and healthcare transformation. Collective efforts to improve the health of all Americans in the 21st century and beyond must ensure that effective, feasible, and referable behavioral counseling interventions are embedded in modern primary care practice., (Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Improving quality of care in lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and in the United States, is a major public health challenge. Such improvement requires accurate and meaningful measurement of quality of care. Preliminary indicators have been derived from clinical practice guidelines and expert opinions, but there are few standard sets of quality of care measures for lung cancer in the United States or elsewhere. Research to develop validated evidence-based quality of care measures is critical in promoting population improvement initiatives in lung cancer. Furthermore, novel research designs beyond the traditional randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed for wide-scale applications of quality improvement and should extend into alternative designs such as quasi-experimental designs, rigorous observational studies, population modeling, and other pragmatic study designs. We discuss several study design options to aid the development of practical, actionable, and measurable quality standards for lung cancer care. We also provide examples of ongoing pragmatic studies for the dissemination and implementation of lung cancer quality improvement interventions in community settings.

As the field of public health advances toward addressing complex, systemic problems, future public health professionals must be equipped with leadership and interprofessional skills that support collaboration and a culture of health. The University of Memphis School of Public Health has infused innovative strategies into graduate education via experiential learning opportunities to enhance leadership, collaboration, and professional development. Novel training programs such as Day One, Public Health Interdisciplinary Case Competition, and Memphis Healthy U support Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health cross-cutting competencies and prepare Master of Public Health and Master of Health Administration graduates to function effectively at the outset of their careers and become catalysts for creating a culture of health.

Research often fails to find its way into practice or policy in a timely way, if at all. Given the current pressure and pace of health care change, many authors have recommended different approaches to make health care research more relevant and rapid. An emerging standard for research, the "5 R's" is a synthesis of recommendations for care delivery research that (1) is relevant to stakeholders; (2) is rapid and recursive in application; (3) redefines rigor; (4) reports on resources required; and (5) is replicable. Relevance flows from substantive ongoing participation by stakeholders. Rapidity and recursiveness occur through accelerated design and peer reviews followed by short learning/implementation cycles through which questions and answers evolve over time. Rigor is the disciplined conduct of shared learning within the specific changing situations in diverse settings. Resource reporting includes costs of interventions. Replicability involves designing for the factors that may affect subsequent implementation of an intervention or program in different contexts. These R's of the research process are mutually reinforcing and can be supported by training that fosters collaborative and reciprocal relationships among researchers, implementers, and other stakeholders. In sum, a standard is emerging for research that is both rigorous and relevant. Consistent and bold application will increase the value, timeliness, and applicability of the research enterprise., (© 2014 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.)

Objectives: Elevated body mass index (BMI) has been reported in pediatric cancer survivors. It is unclear whether this is related to altered energy intake (via disordered eating), decreased energy expenditure (via limited exercise), or treatment-related direct/indirect changes. The aims of this study are to describe the occurrence of overweight and obesity, exercise frequency, and the extent of disordered eating patterns in this sample of survivors, and to examine relationships among BMI, eating patterns, exercise frequency, and demographic and disease and treatment-related variables to identify those survivors most at risk for overweight/obesity., Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 98 cancer survivors (50 acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL], 48 brain tumor [BT]), aged 12 to 17 years and ≥12 months posttreatment from a large pediatric oncology hospital. Survivors completed health behavior measures assessing disordered eating patterns and physical activity. Clinical variables were obtained through medical record review. Univariate analyses were conducted to make comparisons on health behaviors by diagnosis, gender, treatment history, and BMI category., Results: Fifty-two percent of ALL survivors and 41.7% of BT survivors were classified as overweight/obese. Overweight/obesity status was associated with higher cognitive restraint (odds ratio = 1.0; 95% confidence interval = 1.0-1.1). Only 12% of ALL survivors and 8.3% of BT survivors met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for physical activity. Males reported more physical activity, t(96) = 2.2, P < .05., Conclusions: Overweight/obese survivors may attempt to purposefully restrict their food intake and rely less on physiological cues to regulate consumption. Survivors should be screened at follow-up for weight-related concerns.