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Live Well Allegheny: Lifting Wellness for African Americans (LWA2) is a coalition in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) initiative. LWA2 consists of partner organizations addressing chronic disease prevention in six Black communities through nutrition, physical activity, and community–clinical linkage strategies. This analysis focuses on qualitative data exploring the influence of COVID-19 on coalition functioning and communities. We conducted focus groups with residents in REACH communities and collected evaluation reports from partner organizations. Three focus groups assessed awareness of and participation in the REACH initiative, feedback, and the impact of COVID-19 when applicable. An additional focus group included questions related to flu vaccine messaging and the COVID-19 vaccine. These data sources provided insight regarding how COVID-19 affected planned tasks. Evaluation team members analyzed focus groups and collated summaries as part of a larger comprehensive evaluation. Partner organizations experienced an increase in food stamp applications, delays in opening farmers’ markets, a shift to virtual preventive health programs, canceled in-person events, and programmatic interruptions that shifted long-term goals. Community resident concerns included difficulty accessing public transportation, decreased physical activity, fear of in-person interactions, and increased wait times for mental health services. Coalition members developed methods to continue functioning and sustaining program activities. Residents were able to engage differently with chronic illness prevention techniques. Reports from the ongoing analysis will be used to adapt coalition functioning.

Background: Sleep problems may contribute to the disproportionate burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) among African Americans (AAs). Objective: To examine the role of sleep problems in contributing to cognitive function and clinically adjudicated cognitive impairment in a predominantly AA sample. Methods: This study (n = 216, 78.8% female; mean age = 67.7 years) examined associations between 1) the level (i.e., measured in 2018) and 2) change over time (from 2013 to 2018; n = 168) in actigraphy-assessed sleep with domain-specific cognitive function and clinically adjudicated cognitive impairment (2018) in a community-dwelling, predominantly AA (96.9%) sample. A comprehensive cognitive battery assessed global cognitive function (3MS) and domain-specific cognitive function (attention, visuo-spatial ability, language, delayed recall, immediate recall, and executive function) in 2018. Sleep was measured in 2013 and 2018 via actigraphy. Results: Higher sleep efficiency and less wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO; measured in 2018) were associated with greater attention, executive function, and visuospatial ability. Increases in sleep efficiency between 2013 and 2018 were associated with better executive function, language, immediate recall, and visuospatial ability, whereas increases in WASO (2013–2018) were associated with poorer attention, executive function, and visuospatial ability. Level or change in sleep duration were not associated with domain-specific cognitive function, nor were any sleep measures associated with clinically adjudicated cognitive impairment. Conclusion: In a predominantly AA sample of older adults, both the level and change (i.e., worsening) of sleep efficiency and WASO were associated with poorer cognitive function. Improving sleep health may support ADRD prevention and reduce health disparities.

Purpose of Review To summarize evidence of impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on diabetes risk, morbidity, and mortality and to illustrate this impact in a population context. Recent Findings Key findings from the American Diabetes Association’s scientific review of five SDOH domains (socioeconomic status, neighborhood and physical environment, food environment, health care, social context) are highlighted. Population-based data on Black/African American adults illustrate persisting diabetes disparities and inequities in the SDOH conditions in which this population is born, grows, lives, and ages, with historical contributors. SDOH recommendations from US national committees largely address a health sector response, including health professional education, SDOH measurement, and patient referral to services for social needs. Fewer recommendations address solutions for systemic racism and socioeconomic discrimination as root causes. Summary SDOH are systemic, population-based, cyclical, and intergenerational, requiring extension beyond health care solutions to multi-sector and multi-policy approaches to achieve future population health improvement.

The majority of observed couple communication research has focused on physically healthy couples and those who are White, educated, and affluent. In the present study, we observed persons with Type 2 diabetes and their romantic partners discuss how to improve diabetes management; afterward, we measured positive affect, negative affect, and discussion evaluations. We also measured mood and self-care behavior over the next 2 weeks. Couples (n = 207) were recruited from the community and varied in education, income, and race. Half of patients were White (53%), and half were Black (47%). Results showed that observed patient warmth was related to a more positive evaluation of the discussion, more postdiscussion positive affect, less postdiscussion negative affect, and better 2-week daily happy mood; observed patient negativity was related to less postdiscussion progress, a more negative evaluation of the discussion, less postdiscussion positive affect, and poorer 2-week dietary adherence; and observed patient distress was related to a more negative discussion evaluation, more postdiscussion negative affect, and worse mood over the next 2 weeks. Two of the findings were moderated by race, in the direction of links being stronger for Black than White patients. Partner warmth was rarely related to outcomes, but partner negativity was related to patients' poorer discussion evaluation, patient's lower happy mood and higher angry mood over the next 2 weeks, and patient's poorer 2-week dietary adherence. Future research on couple interactions should attend to important contextual variables such as race, ethnicity, income, and social status. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction Despite the growing recognition of the importance of neighborhood conditions for cardiometabolic health, causal relationships have been difficult to establish owing to a reliance on cross-sectional designs and selection bias. This is the first natural experiment to examine the impact of neighborhood revitalization on cardiometabolic outcomes in residents from 2 predominantly African American neighborhoods, one of which has experienced significant revitalization (intervention), whereas the other has not (comparison). Methods The sample included 532 adults (95% African American, 80% female, mean age=58.9 years) from 2 sociodemographically similar, low-income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA, with preintervention and postintervention measures (2016 and 2018) of BMI, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, HbA1c, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and covariates. Data were collected in 2016 and 2018 and analyzed in 2020. Results Difference-in-difference analyses showed significant improvement in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in intervention residents relative to that in the comparison neighborhood (β=3.88, 95% CI=0.47, 7.29). There was also a significant difference-in-difference estimate in diastolic blood pressure (β=3.00, 95% CI=0.57, 5.43), with residents of the intervention neighborhood showing a greater increase in diastolic blood pressure than those in the comparison neighborhood. No statistically significant differences were found for other outcomes. Conclusions Investing in disadvantaged neighborhoods has been suggested as a strategy to reduce health disparities. Using a natural experiment, findings suggest that improving neighborhood conditions may have a mixed impact on certain aspects of cardiometabolic health. Findings underscore the importance of examining the upstream causes of health disparities using rigorous designs and longer follow-up periods that provide more powerful tests of causality.

From the onset of the pandemic in the United States, racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes have been evident. In April 2020, several events prompted a concerned group of colleagues to form the Black Equity Coalition (BEC), a Black-led coalition in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which brings together professionals from multiple sectors who aim to ensure an equitable response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several significant milestones have been achieved, and this article describes the development, functioning, and outcomes of the Coalition in the first 15 months of operation (April 2020–June 2021). COVID-19 was the reason for such an unprecedented effort, but this BEC infrastructure will be needed long after COVID-19 is controlled. In addition to short-term activities and reactive measures to prevent and mitigate COVID-19 in Black populations, the BEC is serving as a crucial link between government, health care stakeholders, and communities to produce long-term systemic change.

Objectives: This study sought to: 1) under­stand how the perceived food environment (availability, accessibility, and affordability) is associated with cardiometabolic health outcomes in predominately low-income Black residents in urban neighborhoods with limited healthy food access; and 2) examine the association of shopping at specific store types with cardiometabolic health outcomes. Methods: We report on cross-sectional data from 459 individuals participating in the Pittsburgh, PA Hill/Homewood Research on Neighborhoods and Health (PHRESH) study. Mean participant age was 60.7 (SD=13.9); 81.7% were female. We used logistic regression to examine associations between three factors (perceived fruit and vegetable availability, quality, and price; primary food shopping store characteristics; and frequency of shopping at stores with low or high access to healthy foods) and cardiometabolic and self-rated health. Results: Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, participants with higher perceived fruit and vegetable accessibility (AOR:.47, 95%CI: .28-.79, P=.004) and affordability (AOR:.59, 95%CI: .36-.96, P=.034) had lower odds of high blood pres­sure. Shopping often (vs rarely) at stores with low access to healthy foods was associated with higher odds of high total cholesterol (AOR:3.52, 95%CI: 1.09-11.40, P=.035). Finally, primary food shopping at a discount grocery (vs full-service supermarket) was as­sociated with lower odds of overweight/obe­sity (AOR:.51, 95%CI: .26-.99, P=.049). Conclusions: These results suggest that both perceived accessibility and affordability of healthy foods are associated with reduced cardiometabolic risk factors in this urban, low-income predominantly Black population. Additionally, discount grocery stores may be particularly valuable by providing access and affordability of healthy foods in this population. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(4):537-546; doi:10.18865/ed.31.4.537

OBJECTIVE Approximately 34 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. With this illness come substantial changes to psychological and physical health. However, type 2 diabetes disproportionately affects non-Hispanic Black compared with non-Hispanic White populations. The purpose of this study was to examine racial differences in psychological, behavioral, and physical health over time among individuals recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data were collected from a community sample of 193 adults recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (44% female; 45% Black). Measures of distress, self-care behaviors, and HbA1c were taken at an initial interview (time 1) and 6 months later (time 2). Individuals wore an Actical accelerometer to assess physical activity and participated in three 24-h dietary recall interviews to assess dietary intake within 2 weeks of the initial interview. RESULTS From time 1 to time 2, Black women showed the highest increase in depressive symptoms. There was a greater increase in regimen and physician distress among White compared with Black participants. White men and Black women reported a decline in medication adherence over time. There were no racial differences in changes in physical activity across 6 months. However, Black individuals had higher overall calorie consumption with greater protein, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake than White individuals. There were no race or sex differences in changes in glycemic stability. CONCLUSIONS Initial adjustment to a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes differentially influences Black and White men and women in terms of depressive symptoms, diabetes distress, and self-care.

Introduction In 2018, The Live Well Allegheny: Lifting Wellness for African Americans (LWA2) Initiative was developed to support six priority, Black communities in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania to address health equity in chronic disease. The LWA2 coalition members participated in ongoing anti-racism and racial equity sessions with a nationally recognized anti-racist facilitation team. The sessions included a 2-days experience in January 2020 along with follow up meetings throughout 2020. Methods Surveys were administered to understand their perceptions related to anti-racism and oppression and subsequent actions as a result of the sessions. Additionally, we conducted nine in-depth interviews with organizational partners (January -May 2020) to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the coalition and inform future activities. Results Ten participants completed the post session surveys. Seven out of 10 survey respondents felt they had a good understanding of how oppression (racism, sexism, capitalism) influenced their life and work. However, the majority indicated needing the tools to implement anti-racist strategies in their work. The in-depth interviews with organizational partners revealed that racial equity was of concern to all partners but there was variability in intentionality around racial equity as a core element of each organization’s mission, goals and subsequent actions. Discussion As a result of the interviews, coalition members developed a racial equity statement and theory of change for implementation in the coalition work and within individual organizations along with a plan for implementing an equity audit of the coalition. Coalitions of this kind should be intentional about implementing continuous strategies related to anti-racism for structural changes toward achieving racial equity in their overall work.

Background: Stress can lead to adverse physiological and psychological outcomes. Therefore, understanding stress during pregnancy provides insight into racial disparities in maternal health, particularly Black maternal health. Objectives: This study aimed to describe (1) daily exposure to self-reported stress levels during pregnancy, and (2) sources of stress among participants that identified as Black or White using data collected via ecological momentary assessment. Methods: We leveraged survey data from the Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study, a prospective longitudinal study using ecological momentary assessment data collection methods to describe patterns of stress during pregnancy. This article is descriptive and documents patterns of self-reported stress levels and sources of stress. Frequencies and percentages of stress responses were computed to describe these patterns. Results: The sample ( n = 296) was 27% Black ( n = 78) and 63% White ( n = 184). Results were based on at least one measurement of that stress level during pregnancy. A similar number of Black and White participants reported no stress during pregnancy. White (85%–95%) and Black (60%–70%) participants reported low to moderate levels of stress. Black participants (38%) and White participants (35%) reported experiencing high stress. Black and White participants reported similar sources of stress: stress from a partner, too many things to do, a baby or other children, and financial concerns. White participants reported work as a top stressor, and Black participants reported financial issues as a top source of stress. Conclusion: This study provides insight into daily exposure to stress that has implications for maternal health. We described patterns of self-reported stress and sources of stress among Black and White participants. The daily exposures to stress reported by this sample exist within a context of root causes of structural inequities in education, health care, income, wealth, and housing that must be addressed to achieve maternal health equity.

Routine implementation of cognitive screening and assessment by therapy providers in post-acute settings may promote improved care coordination. This study examined the frequency of cognitive screening and assessment documentation across post-acute settings, as well as its relationship with contextual factors and outcomes.Cross-sectional observational study using Medicare claims and electronic health record data from 1 large health system.Older adults admitted to post-acute care after an acute hospitalization.Descriptive analysis examined documentation of cognitive screening and assessment. Logistic and hierarchical linear regression evaluated the relationship among patient factors, cognitive screening and assessment, and patient outcomes.The most common admission diagnoses for the final sample (n=2535) were total hip or knee joint replacement (41.7%) and stroke (15.3%). Following acute hospitalization, patients were discharged to inpatient rehabilitation (22.6%), skilled nursing (9.3%), or home health (68.1%). During the post-acute care stay, 38% of patients had documentation of cognitive screening by any therapy discipline. Patterns of documentation varied across disciplines and post-acute settings. Documentation of standardized cognitive assessments was limited, occurring for less than 2% of patients. Admission for stroke was associated with significantly higher odds of cognitive screening or assessment [odds ratio (OR) 2.07, 95% CI 1.13, 3.82] compared to patients with other diagnoses. There was no significant relationship between documentation of cognitive screening or assessment and 30-day readmissions (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.53, 1.28).The key finding was inconsistent documentation of cognitive screening and assessment across disciplines and post-acute settings, which could be in part due to variation in electronic health record platforms. Future work can expand on these results to understand the degree to which contextual factors facilitate or inhibit routine delivery and documentation of cognitive screening and assessment. Findings can support implementation of standardized data elements to lead to improved care coordination and outcomes.

Disproportionate exposure to adverse neighborhood conditions and greater discrimination may contribute to health disparities among African Americans (AAs). We examined whether adverse neighborhood conditions, alone or in conjunction with discrimination, associate with shorter leukocyte telomere length among a predominantly AA cohort. The sample included 200 residents from two low-income neighborhoods (96% AA; mean age = 67 years). Perceived neighborhood conditions and discrimination were surveyed in 2018, and objective neighborhood conditions (total crime rate, neighborhood walkability, ambient air pollution (PM

Background Black adults in the U.S. experience significant health disparities related to tobacco use and obesity. Conducting observational studies of the associations between smoking and other health behaviors and indicators among Black adults may contribute to the development of tailored interventions. Purpose We examined associations between change in cigarette smoking and alcohol use, body mass index, eating behavior, perceived stress, and self-rated health in a cohort of Black adults who resided in low-income urban neighborhoods and participated in an ongoing longitudinal study. Methods Interviews were conducted in 2011, 2014, and 2018; participants (N = 904) provided at least two waves of data. We fit linear and logistic mixed-effects models to evaluate how changes in smoking status from the previous wave to the subsequent wave were related to each outcome at that subsequent wave. Results Compared to repeated smoking (smoking at previous and subsequent wave), repeated nonsmoking (nonsmoking at previous and subsequent wave) was associated with greater likelihood of recent dieting (OR = 1.59, 95% CI [1.13, 2.23], p = .007) and future intention (OR = 2.19, 95% CI [1.61, 2.98], p < .001) and self-efficacy (OR = 1.64, 95% CI [1.21, 2.23], p = .002) to eat low calorie foods, and greater odds of excellent or very good self-rated health (OR = 2.47, 95% CI [1.53, 3.99], p < .001). Transitioning from smoking to nonsmoking was associated with greater self-efficacy to eat low calorie foods (OR = 1.89, 95% CI [1.1, 3.26], p = .021), and lower perceived stress (β = −0.69, 95% CI [−1.34, −0.05], p = .036). Conclusions We found significant longitudinal associations between smoking behavior and eating behavior, perceived stress, and self-rated health. These findings have implications for the development of multiple behavior change programs and community-level interventions and policies.

Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions (NSECs) are associated with resident diet, but most research has been cross-sectional. We capitalized on a natural experiment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in which 1 neighborhood experienced substantial investments and a sociodemographically similar neighborhood that did not, to examine pathways from neighborhood investments to changed NSECs and changed dietary behavior. We examined differences between renters and homeowners. Data were from a random sample of households (n = 831) in each of these low-income Pittsburgh neighborhoods that were surveyed in 2011 and 2014. Structural equation modeling tested direct and indirect pathways from neighborhood to resident dietary quality, adjusting for individual-level sociodemographics, with multigroup testing by homeowners versus renters. Neighborhood investments were directly associated with improved dietary quality for renters (β = 0.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.05, 0.50) and homeowners (β = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.92). Among renters, investments also were associated with dietary quality through a positive association with commercial prices (β = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.54) and a negative association with residential prices (β = −0.30, 95% CI: −0.59, −0.004). Among homeowners, we did not observe any indirect pathways from investments to dietary quality through tested mediators. Investing in neighborhoods may support resident diet through improvements in neighborhood commercial environments for renters, but mechanisms appear to differ for homeowners.

Study objectives The current study examined the prevalence and correlates of obstructive sleep apnea in a sample of low-income, predominantly African-American women using two waves of data. Methods Participants were adults from two urban neighborhoods who enrolled in the PHRESH Zzz Study (N = 828; Pittsburgh Hill/Homewood Research on Neighborhoods, Sleep, and Health). A subsample who reported never receiving OSA diagnosis completed home sleep apnea testing in 2016 (n = 269, mean age 55.0 years, 79.6% female) and again in 2018 (n = 135). Correlates of OSA tested included demographic and anthropometric variables, health behavior/conditions, psychological distress and general health, smoking status, actigraphy-measured sleep, and neighborhood factors measured at baseline. Results 18.0% of all 2016 participants reported receiving physician diagnoses of OSA. Among those who completed in–home assessment, 19.3% had AHI ≥15 and 33.8% had AHI ≥5 plus one or more sleep symptoms. Estimates of the prevalence of OSA in all 2016 participants were 33.8%–45.7% based on physician diagnoses and AHI results, depending on the criteria used. Age, gender, BMI, blood pressure, habitual snoring, neighborhood walkability, actigraphy-measured sleep characteristics, and smoking were concurrently associated with OSA in 2016. Changes in AHI categories from 2016 to 2018 were documented. Conclusions Low-income African Americans, including women, are a high-risk group for OSA, but remain under-diagnosed and under-treated. The current findings show a high prevalence of OSA in African-American women and are among the first to demonstrate that both individual and neighborhood factors are implicated in OSA prevalence.

Racial/ethnic disparities in health behaviors and disease outcomes on the national level have persisted over time despite overall improvements in public health. To better understand the changes over time in racial/ethnic health disparities at the county level, we examined the Allegheny County Health Survey (ACHS) for Pittsburgh, PA and the surrounding area, which was conducted in 2009/2010 and 2015/2016 using random digit dialing of residents aged 18 and older. The prevalence rates and rate ratios at each time period were calculated using survey weights and general linear models. The change in prevalence over time was calculated using race-time interaction terms. The results showed a significant improvement in asthma, stroke, cholesterol, and fair or poor health disparities as well as persistent disparities in diabetes and hypertension after adjustment for socioeconomic factors. The change over time in the prevalence of fair or poor health in black compared to white respondents was significant, with absolute improvement of approximately 5% versus

African Americans and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals have higher rates of a variety of sleep disturbances, including short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and fragmented sleep. Such sleep disturbances may contribute to pervasive and widening racial and socioeconomic (SES) disparities in health. A growing body of literature demonstrates that over and above individual-level SES, indicators of neighborhood disadvantage are associated with poor sleep. However, there has been scant investigation of the association between sleep and the most proximal environments, the home and residential block. This is the first study to examine the association between objective and self-reported measures of housing and block conditions and sleep. The sample included 634 adults (mean age = 58.7 years; 95% African American) from two low-income urban neighborhoods. Study participants reported whether they experienced problems with any of seven different housing problems (e.g., broken windows) and rated the overall condition of their home. Trained data collectors rated residential block quality. Seven days of wrist actigraphy were used to measure average sleep duration, efficiency, and wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO), and a sleep diary assessed sleep quality. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted for each sleep outcome with housing or block conditions as predictors in separate models. Participants reporting “fair” or “poor” housing conditions had an adjusted average sleep duration that was 15.4 min shorter than that of participants reporting “good” or “excellent” conditions. Those reporting any home distress had 15.9 min shorter sleep and .19 units lower mean sleep quality as compared with participants who did not report home distress. Poor objectively measured block quality was associated with 14.0 min shorter sleep duration, 1.95% lower sleep efficiency, and 10.7 additional minutes of WASO. Adverse housing and proximal neighborhood conditions are independently associated with poor sleep health. Findings highlight the importance of considering strategies that target upstream determinants of sleep health disparities.

Background In the United States, there are considerable racial inequities in adverse perinatal outcomes. Exposure to racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression may help explain these inequities. Objectives To describe the application of real-time data collection using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and smartphone technology to assess exposure to stress, racism, sexism, microaggressions, and other forms of oppression. Methods The Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study (PMOMS) is an ongoing longitudinal cohort study that began recruitment in December 2017. Participants delivering at a hospital in Pittsburgh, PA are recruited by 29 weeks' gestation. Using smartphones and smart scales, participants complete daily surveys related to psychosocial, behavioural, and contextual factors and weigh themselves weekly for approximately 15 months. We provide a preliminary descriptive analysis of EMA self-reported measures of stress, racism, sexism, and microaggressions; and non-EMA measures of stress and major discrimination. Results The sample (n = 230) is 63.5% White, 24.8% Black/African American, and 7% Hispanic origin. The most commonly reported item from the Major Discrimination Scale is being unfairly fired (18.1% of the sample). Of those, 31.7% and 17.1% attribute unfair firing to their gender and race, respectively. From the random EMA measures, on average, participants report experiences of racism and sexism at least once daily, in an average 12-hour day over the 4-week period. Black participants indicate about two experiences per day of racism, and White participants indicate more than 1 per day of sexism. Mean stress levels from the EMA measures were similar to the stress measures collected at baseline. Conclusions The methods applied in PMOMS provide real-time data regarding how participants' daily experiences of stress and discrimination influence their lives. Future work will include understanding if and how these EMA measures may relate to already established measures of racism, sexism, and stress; and ultimately understanding associations with perinatal inequities.

BACKGROUND The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank (GPCFB) developed the Green Grocer mobile food market to address limited access to fresh, affordable food options in local communities. GPCFB and researchers from the University of Pittsburgh established a partnership for Green Grocer implementation and evaluation, including application of geospatial techniques to help identify locations of stops for Green Grocer. OBJECTIVES We used geospatial analyses to identify locations in Allegheny County with limited food access as potential stops for the Green Grocer mobile food market. METHODS Using census, county, city, and public health data, we conducted a spatial overlay analysis based on five key metrics: poverty/income rates, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) use, obesity rates, grocery/supermarket access, and mass transit access. We first defined our base target areas by finding the intersection of tracts with high rates of poverty, SNAP use, and obesity. To obtain our final recommended target neighborhoods, we then calculated the symmetric difference between these base target areas and areas of low grocery access and transit use. RESULTS As identified from our overlay analysis, six neighborhoods became the targeted pilot sites for Green Grocer. These particular communities had higher poverty rates than Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and Pennsylvania averages. A separate pilot evaluation was conducted after the initial sites were selected to examine additional population characteristics and to help determine any modifications to the program. CONCLUSIONS Geospatial overlay analysis identified key locations to help the GPCFB target allocation of fresh food and produce. When used in tandem with other programmatic information and processes, this data-driven approach was essential in the development and identification of distribution of resources.

During the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $6 billion in competitive grants called HOPE VI to spur neighborhood redevelopment. We add to HOPE VI research by examining the impacts of a large set of public-private real estate investments, including HOPE VI, made over a 16-year period in a distressed Pittsburgh neighborhood called the Hill District. Specifically, we estimate the effects of the $468 million additional public-private investments that Hill District received compared to a demographically similar neighborhood on sale prices, rental prices, and crime. We find large and statistically significant impacts of the public-private investments on residential sales prices, commercial sales prices, and on rental prices, but only a marginally significant yet meaningful decline in non-violent arrests. For each additional $10 million of public-private investment, we find a 0.95 percent increase in residential sales prices, 2.7 percent increase in commercial sales prices, and 0.55 percent increase in rental prices. Because there was an accumulated difference over 16 years of $468 million in the amount of public-private investment across the two neighborhoods we examine, these percentage increases amount to large changes in real estate prices over that time. Commercial real estate investors and homeowners benefited the most, followed by residential landlords. Our analyses imply cities should anticipate the potential impacts of major neighborhood investment on low-income households, especially unsubsidized renters that most directly experience the brunt of rising rents.

Beer remains the greatest source of per capita alcohol consumption in the United States, and increasing market availability and consumer demand for higher alcohol has meaningful public health consequences.

Introduction: Higher levels of residential segregation have been associated with poorer cardiometabolic health profiles among women. Still, it remains unclear whether segregation may differentially impact the development of gestational hypertension (gHTN) among an ethnically-diverse cohort of pregnant women. We used birth record data from 2003-2009 and data from the 2000 US Census to determine whether racial and economic segregation are associated with gHTN among a diverse cohort of child-bearing women in the greater Philadelphia area. Methods: We quantified racial and economic segregation using sociodemographic data from the US Census and the local Getis-Ord (Gi*) spatial statistic. The Gi* produces a spatially-weighted z-score for each census tract reflecting the degree of clustering of racially-similar neighborhoods in an area relative to the surrounding Philadelphia region. We categorized each type of segregation as low (Gi*1.96), and assigned these to each woman by her census tract of residence. Gestational hypertension was defined in the birth record data as the development of pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia. We used hierarchical generalized linear mixed effect models to obtain risk ratios and differences (per 1000 women) for the relationships between each form of residential segregation and gHTN. All models were stratified by maternal race/ethnicity, and sequentially adjusted for maternal sociodemographics, health behaviors, medical histories, and neighborhood-level characteristics. Results: Our sample consisted of 220,897 Non-Hispanic (NH) Black (26%), NH White (64%), and Hispanic (10%) women, of whom 4% developed gHTN. However, a much greater proportion of NH Black women both developed gHTN and lived in high segregation neighborhoods compared to NH Whites and Hispanics. After adjustment, NH Black women in moderate and high economic segregation areas had 16% higher risk (RR=1.16, 95% CI: 1.03-1.31) and 23% higher risk (RR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.08-1.39) of gHTN, respectively, compared to NH Black women living in low segregation areas. NH Black women in highly racially segregated neighborhoods saw an additional 9 cases of gHTN (per 1000 women) compared to NH Black women living in more racially integrated neighborhoods (RD=8.47, 95% CI: 3.14-13.80). Among NH White and Hispanic women, economic segregation was not associated with gHTN, and only marginally significant findings were observed for racial segregation. Conclusions: In our diverse sample of child-bearing women from the greater Philadelphia area, higher levels of racial and economic segregation were associated with greater risk of gHTN among NH Black women. Future work should seek to delineate the specific pathways by which neighborhoods differentially impact individual level cardiovascular health based upon race.

BACKGROUND Stress is associated with adverse birth and postpartum health outcomes. Few studies have longitudinally explored racial differences in maternal stress in a birthing population in the United States during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to do the following: (1) assess changes in reported stress before, during, and after initial emergency declarations (eg, stay-at-home orders) were in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) assess Black-White differences in reported stress in a pregnant and postpartum population from Southwestern Pennsylvania. METHODS We leveraged data from the ongoing Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study (PMOMS), which surveys participants in real time throughout the pregnancy and postpartum periods via ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and smartphone technology. We analyzed data from a subset of PMOMS participants (n=85) who were either Black or White, and who submitted EMA responses regarding stress between November 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020, the time frame of this study. We divided data into four phases based on significant events during the COVID-19 pandemic: “pre” phase (baseline), “early” phase (first case of COVID-19 reported in United States), “during” phase (stay-at-home orders), and “post” phase (stay-at-home orders eased). We assessed mean stress levels at each phase using linear mixed-effects models and post hoc contrasts based on the models. RESULTS Overall mean stress (0=not at all to 4=a lot) during the pre phase was 0.8 for Black and White participants (range for Black participants: 0-3.9; range for White participants: 0-2.8). There was an increase of 0.3 points (t5649=5.2, Pt5649=3.1, P=.002) in the post phase compared with the pre phase (n=85). No difference was found between Black and White participants in the change in mean stress from the pre phase to the during phase (overall change predicted for the regression coefficient=–0.02, P=.87). There was a significant difference between Black and White participants in the change in mean stress from the during phase to the post phase (overall change predicted for the regression coefficient=0.4, P CONCLUSIONS There was an overall increase in mean stress levels in this subset of pregnant and postpartum participants during the same time as the emergency declarations/stay-at-home orders in the United States. Compared to baseline, mean stress levels remained elevated when stay-at-home orders eased. We found no significant difference in the mean stress levels by race. Given that stress is associated with adverse birth outcomes and postpartum health, stress induced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have adverse implications for birthing populations in the United States. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/13569

AIMS: Dietary intake provides a potential intervention target to reduce the high risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) in type 1 diabetes. This effort aimed to identify patterns of nutrient intake in young/middle-aged adults with type 1 diabetes and to examine associations between those patterns and development of CAD. METHODS: Principal component analysis was used to derive nutrient intake patterns among 514 individuals with childhood-onset (

Geographically-explicit Ecological Momentary Assessment (GEMA), an extension of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), allows to record time-stamped geographic location information for behavioural data in the every-day environments of study participants. Considering that GEMA studies are continually gaining the attention of researchers and currently there is no single approach in collecting GEMA data, in this paper, we propose and present a GEMA architecture which can be used to conduct any GEMA study based on our experience developing and maintaining the Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study (PMOMS). Our GEMA client-server architecture can be customized to meet the specific requirements of each GEMA study. Key features of our proposed GEMA architecture include: utilization of widely used smartphones to make GEMA studies practical; alleviation of the burden of activities on participants by: designing clients (mobile applications) that are very lightweight and servers that are heavyweight in terms of functionality; utilization of at least one positioning sensor to determine EMA contexts marked with locations; and communication through the Internet. We believe that our proposed GEMA architecture, with the illustrated foundation for GEMA studies in our exemplar study (PMOMS), will help researchers from any field conduct GEMA studies efficiently and effectively.

Background: Neighborhood disadvantage is a robust and independent risk factor for poor cardiometabolic health, however, causal relationships have been difficult to establish. We used a natural experiment design to examine neighborhood investment on cardiometabolic risk factors among a randomly selected cohort of residents from two, low-income, urban, and predominately African American matched neighborhoods. Methods: The sample included 532 participants (80% female; mean age=59 years; mean income=$21,073). During the study period (2016-2018), the intervention neighborhood received substantially more publicly-funded investments (housing and commercial investment) than a demographically matched comparison neighborhood. Difference-in-difference analyses tested for differential change between the neighborhoods in BMI, HbA1c, HDL-c, and SBP and DBP. Covariates included age, sex, income, education, presence of children in the home, length of residence in neighborhood, and BMI (for all outcomes except BMI). Results: Contrary to expectations, relative to the comparison neighborhood, we saw a net increase in DBP (β=3.00, SE=1.24; p =.02) and a marginally significant increase in SBP (β= 4.30, p = .07) in the intervention neighborhood. In contrast, for HbA1c and HDL-c, intervention neighborhood residents showed improvements in these outcomes, relative to the comparison neighborhood; however, the effects were non or marginally significant after covariate adjustment (p=.12 for HbA1c and p=0.06 for HDL-c). There were no significant changes in BMI. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the potential cardiometabolic benefits of neighborhood revitalization may manifest over a longer period of follow-up, and that there may be some interim consequences for certain health outcomes, in the process of neighborhood change. These findings highlight the importance of examining root causes of health disparities and using robust study designs. Disclosure T. Gary-Webb: None. T. Dubowitz: None. T.A. Bogart: None. M. Ghosh Dastidar: None. W.M. Troxel: None. Funding National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL131531)

Introduction: The food environment, including food retail venues, has been shown to be associated with diet, and many disadvantaged neighborhoods lack access to high quality and affordable healthy foods. Research has sought to understand whether and how the food retail environment influences diet, and it is possible that shopping at different types of stores (e.g. full-service vs discount grocery store) influences diet and self-reported health outcomes. There is limited understanding of whether factors of the food environment and primary shopping location impact cardiometabolic health (blood pressure, HbA1c, cholesterol) and self-rated health. Methods: We report on 459 individuals who participated in a blood draw in 2018 as part of the Pittsburgh Hill/Homewood Research on Eating, Shopping, and Health, a longitudinal natural-experiment study among African American adults from two socioeconomically similar neighborhoods. Participants reported their perceived access to fruit and vegetables within their neighborhood and where they did their primary food shopping. Outcomes include measured height, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol (HDL, Total), HbA1c, and participant’s self-rated health. We employed logistic regression to examine associations between 1) perceived fruit and vegetable availability, quality, and price and 2) primary food shopping store type and reason for shopping there, with cardiometabolic and self-rated health outcomes. Covariates were neighborhood, years lived in neighborhood, age, race, income, education, and marital status. Results: Participants were on average, 60.7 years old (SD=13.9); 81.7% (375 of 459) female; 80.4% (369 of 459) overweight/obese. After covariate adjustment, both more perceived accessibility of purchasing (OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.79) and pricing of fruits and vegetables (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.96) within one’s neighborhood were associated with lower odds of high blood pressure. More accessible purchasing (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.90), pricing (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.94), and higher quality of fruits and vegetables (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.42, 0.97) within one’s neighborhood were associated with lower odds of poor self-rated health. Doing one’s primary food shopping at a discount grocery store compared to a full-service grocery store was associated with lower odds of being overweight (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.99). Choosing a primary food store based on price rather than quality of food was associated with increased odds of high cholesterol (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.19, 3.45). Conclusion: These results suggest that higher perceptions of access to fruits and vegetables in one’s neighborhood and choice of primary food shopping store are important correlates of cardiometabolic health. Further research should look towards understanding how direct food choices made at stores impact cardiometabolic outcomes within this population.

Background Diabetes self-management and glycemic control are suboptimal among Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes with a large proportion of patients identified with metabolic syndrome. Objectives Based on social cognitive theory, this study examines the effect of selected personal, behavioral, and environmental factors on self-management behaviors, glycemic control, metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 207 Chinese with Type 2 diabetes living in a suburban area of Beijing, China. Regression models were applied to examine the effect of selected personal, behavioral, and environmental factors on self-management behaviors, glycemic control, and metabolic syndrome. The relationship among individual self-management behaviors, glycemic control, and metabolic syndrome was also examined. Results Self-efficacy was significantly associated with all self-management behaviors. Social support was related to overall self-management, diabetes knowledge was related to diet, and depressive symptoms was related to self-monitoring. Problem-solving and self-management behaviors related to medication adherence and diet were significant correlates of glycemic control. Health literacy and self-management behaviors related to physical activity were correlates of metabolic syndrome. Discussion Findings suggest that a multifactorial approach may be beneficial when providing care for Chinese with Type 2 diabetes. In addition, these findings provide support for developing and testing tailored interventions that address problem-solving, health literacy, and self-efficacy, among other factors, to help patients achieve optimal glycemic control and thereby reduce their risk for metabolic syndrome and related complications.

Purpose The purpose of the study is to describe the characteristics and selected health outcomes of a sample of Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and to examine gender differences based on social cognitive theory. There is limited study in theory-driven research conducted in China and a lack of evidence in collectively examining the associated factors among Chinese patients with T2DM based on a theory, especially among those living in a suburban area. Methods Following a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 207 patients (50.2% women; mean age, 56.1 years) with T2DM from an outpatient clinic in a suburban area of Beijing, China. Participants completed a survey, and clinical values were retrieved from the patients’ medical records. Results Of the participants, more than half had suboptimal glycemic control; only a small proportion had recommended levels in performing self-management behaviors. A large proportion had metabolic syndrome and were overweight or obese. Compared with men, women demonstrated poorer health literacy and problem solving, received less social support, and presented with more depressive symptoms. Conclusion Glycemic control and self-management were suboptimal in this sample, and a large proportion of the sample was at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Gender differences exist regarding health literacy, depressive symptoms, problem solving, and social support. Social cognitive theory may provide a lens for addressing factors that are important in improving health outcomes among Chinese patients with T2DM. This evidence will help health care providers to identify pertinent factors through a multifactorial approach, therefore providing tailored care for Chinese patients with T2DM.

There is a significant evidence base for the Diabetes Prevention Program, a lifestyle intervention to prevent onset of type 2 diabetes among high-risk individuals; however, translation of this intervention for men has been challenging. This report presents outcomes of the pilot study of an adapted 16-week diabetes prevention program entitled “ Power Up for Health.” The study goal was to better engage men of color with prediabetes from disadvantaged neighborhoods of New York City. It was implemented at five different recreation centers located in predominantly low-income neighborhoods across New York City. The curriculum was facilitated by male lifestyle coaches only; one group was conducted in Spanish. Primary outcome was weight loss from baseline to 16 weeks. Other measures included lifestyle activities, depressive symptoms, and self-reported health status. Men ( N = 47) were screened by telephone. Of the 29 eligible men who began the program, 25 attended at least 4 sessions (52% non-Latino Black, 32% Latino, mean age 51.7 ± SD 9.9 years, mean body mass index 35 ± SD 6.9 kg/m2). End of program outcomes ( n = 23) varied by site and included a mean weight loss of 3.8% (9.7 lbs); 3 of the 5 sites had a mean weight loss of 5.6%, meeting the national goal of 5%–7%. Men ( n = 23) attended a mean of 11.6 of 16 sessions. Improvement in depressive symptoms, healthy eating and exercise, and health status were also seen. While recruitment was challenging with many lessons learned, the adapted men’s diabetes prevention program shows promise of success for participants and their coaches.

Background Stress is associated with adverse birth and postpartum health outcomes. Few studies have longitudinally explored racial differences in maternal stress in a birthing population in the United States during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Objective This study aimed to do the following: (1) assess changes in reported stress before, during, and after initial emergency declarations (eg, stay-at-home orders) were in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) assess Black-White differences in reported stress in a pregnant and postpartum population from Southwestern Pennsylvania. Methods We leveraged data from the ongoing Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study (PMOMS), which surveys participants in real time throughout the pregnancy and postpartum periods via ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and smartphone technology. We analyzed data from a subset of PMOMS participants (n=85) who were either Black or White, and who submitted EMA responses regarding stress between November 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020, the time frame of this study. We divided data into four phases based on significant events during the COVID-19 pandemic: “pre” phase (baseline), “early” phase (first case of COVID-19 reported in United States), “during” phase (stay-at-home orders), and “post” phase (stay-at-home orders eased). We assessed mean stress levels at each phase using linear mixed-effects models and post hoc contrasts based on the models. Results Overall mean stress (0=not at all to 4=a lot) during the pre phase was 0.8 for Black and White participants (range for Black participants: 0-3.9; range for White participants: 0-2.8). There was an increase of 0.3 points (t5649=5.2, P Conclusions There was an overall increase in mean stress levels in this subset of pregnant and postpartum participants during the same time as the emergency declarations/stay-at-home orders in the United States. Compared to baseline, mean stress levels remained elevated when stay-at-home orders eased. We found no significant difference in the mean stress levels by race. Given that stress is associated with adverse birth outcomes and postpartum health, stress induced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have adverse implications for birthing populations in the United States. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.2196/13569

African-Americans bear a disproportionate burden of the obesity epidemic, yet have historically been underrepresented in weight loss research. We conducted a narrative review of large (N > 75) randomized prospective clinical trials of standard behavioral treatment for weight loss that reported results in the past fifteen years (2001-2015) to: 1) determine the rates of inclusion and reported results for African-Americans, and 2) further identify strategies that may result in improved outcomes. Of the 23 trials reviewed, 69.6% of the studies met or exceeded population estimates for African-Americans in the United States. However, only 10 reported outcomes and/or considered race in the analytic approach. At 6 months, African-American participants consistently lost less weight than white participants. The use of culturally tailored intervention materials and monthly personal telephone calls were reported as factors that may have enhanced treatment response. Future behavioral weight loss trials should also increase reporting of outcomes by race.

Background Perceived neighborhood characteristics, including satisfaction with one’s neighborhood as a place to live, are associated with lower obesity rates and more favorable cardiovascular risk factor profiles. Yet, few studies have evaluated whether changes in perceived neighborhood characteristics over time may be associated with cardiometabolic health indicators. Methods Changes in perception of one’s neighborhood (2013–2016) were determined from a cohort of residents who lived in one of two low-income urban neighborhoods. Changes were categorized into the following: improvement vs. no change or worsening over the three-year time-period. Multivariable linear regression was used to measure the association between perceived improvement in each of the neighborhood characteristics with cardiometabolic outcomes (BMI, SBP, DBP, HbA1c, HDL-c) that were assessed in 2016, and compared with those who perceived no change or worsening of neighborhood characteristics. Models were adjusted for age, sex, income, education, marital status, physical function, neighborhood, and years spent in neighborhood. To examine potential sex differences, follow-up models were conducted and stratified by sex. Results Among the 622 individuals who remained in the same neighborhood during the time period, 93% were African American, 80% were female, and the mean age was 58 years. In covariate-adjusted models, those who perceived improvement in their neighborhood safety over the time period had a significantly higher BMI (kg/m2) than those who perceived no improvement or worsening (β = 1.5, p = 0.0162); however, perceived improvement in safety was also significantly associated with lower SBP (mmHg) (β = − 3.8, p = 0.0361). When results were stratified by sex, the relationship between improved perceived neighborhood safety and BMI was only evident in females. Conclusions These findings suggest that perceived neighborhood characteristics may impact cardiometabolic outcomes (BMI, SBP), but through differing pathways. This highlights the complexity of the associations between neighborhood characteristics and underscores the need for more longitudinal studies to confirm the associations with cardiometabolic health in African American populations.

BACKGROUND There are significant racial disparities in pregnancy and postpartum health outcomes, including postpartum weight retention and cardiometabolic risk. These racial disparities are a result of a complex interplay between contextual, environmental, behavioral, and psychosocial factors. OBJECTIVE This protocol provides a description of the development and infrastructure for the Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study (PMOMS), designed to better capture women’s daily experiences and exposures from late pregnancy through 1 year postpartum. The primary aims of PMOMS are to understand the contextual, psychosocial, and behavioral factors contributing to racial disparities in postpartum weight and cardiometabolic health, with a focus on the daily experiences of stress and racism, as well as contextual forms of stress (eg, neighborhood stress and structural racism). METHODS PMOMS is a longitudinal observation study that is ancillary to an existing randomized control trial, GDM2 (Comparison of Two Screening Strategies for Gestational Diabetes). PMOMS uses an efficient and cost-effective approach for recruitment by leveraging the infrastructure of GDM2, facilitating enrollment of participants while consolidating staff support from both studies. The primary data collection method is ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and through smart technology (ie, smartphones and scales). The development of the study includes: (1) the pilot phase and development of the smartphone app; (2) feedback and further development of the app including selection of key measures; and (3) implementation, recruitment, and retention. RESULTS PMOMS aims to recruit 350 participants during pregnancy, to be followed through the first year after delivery. Recruitment and data collection started in December 2017 and are expected to continue through September 2020. Initial results are expected in December 2020. As of early May 2019, PMOMS recruited a total of 305 participants. Key strengths and features of PMOMS have included data collection via smartphone technology to reduce the burden of multiple on-site visits, low attrition rate because of participation in an ongoing trial in which women are already motivated and enrolled, high EMA survey completion and the use of EMA as a unique data collection method to understand daily experiences, and shorter than expected timeframe for enrollment because of the infrastructure of the GDM2 trial. CONCLUSIONS This protocol outlines the development of the PMOMS, one of the first published studies to use an ongoing EMA and mobile technology protocol during pregnancy and throughout 1 year postpartum to understand the health of childbearing populations and enduring racial disparities in postpartum weight and cardiometabolic health. Our findings will contribute to the improvement of data collection methods, particularly the role of EMA in capturing multiple exposures and knowledge in real time. Furthermore, the results of the study will inform future studies investigating weight and cardiometabolic health during pregnancy and the postpartum period, including how social determinants produce population disparities in these outcomes. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPOR DERR1-10.2196/13569

Background There are significant racial disparities in pregnancy and postpartum health outcomes, including postpartum weight retention and cardiometabolic risk. These racial disparities are a result of a complex interplay between contextual, environmental, behavioral, and psychosocial factors. Objective This protocol provides a description of the development and infrastructure for the Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study (PMOMS), designed to better capture women's daily experiences and exposures from late pregnancy through 1 year postpartum. The primary aims of PMOMS are to understand the contextual, psychosocial, and behavioral factors contributing to racial disparities in postpartum weight and cardiometabolic health, with a focus on the daily experiences of stress and racism, as well as contextual forms of stress (eg, neighborhood stress and structural racism). Methods PMOMS is a longitudinal observation study that is ancillary to an existing randomized control trial, GDM2 (Comparison of Two Screening Strategies for Gestational Diabetes). PMOMS uses an efficient and cost-effective approach for recruitment by leveraging the infrastructure of GDM2, facilitating enrollment of participants while consolidating staff support from both studies. The primary data collection method is ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and through smart technology (ie, smartphones and scales). The development of the study includes: (1) the pilot phase and development of the smartphone app; (2) feedback and further development of the app including selection of key measures; and (3) implementation, recruitment, and retention. Results PMOMS aims to recruit 350 participants during pregnancy, to be followed through the first year after delivery. Recruitment and data collection started in December 2017 and are expected to continue through September 2020. Initial results are expected in December 2020. As of early May 2019, PMOMS recruited a total of 305 participants. Key strengths and features of PMOMS have included data collection via smartphone technology to reduce the burden of multiple on-site visits, low attrition rate because of participation in an ongoing trial in which women are already motivated and enrolled, high EMA survey completion and the use of EMA as a unique data collection method to understand daily experiences, and shorter than expected timeframe for enrollment because of the infrastructure of the GDM2 trial. Conclusions This protocol outlines the development of the PMOMS, one of the first published studies to use an ongoing EMA and mobile technology protocol during pregnancy and throughout 1 year postpartum to understand the health of childbearing populations and enduring racial disparities in postpartum weight and cardiometabolic health. Our findings will contribute to the improvement of data collection methods, particularly the role of EMA in capturing multiple exposures and knowledge in real time. Furthermore, the results of the study will inform future studies investigating weight and cardiometabolic health during pregnancy and the postpartum period, including how social determinants produce population disparities in these outcomes. International registered report identifier (irrid) DERR1-10.2196/13569.

Health disparities and their social determinants are critical for public health students to understand in order to pursue a more equitable state of health for all. To improve an existing Health Equity Certificate to train a multidisciplinary workforce able to address health inequities, authors reviewed public health schools and programs across the United States to determine the extent of graduate-level academic focus on this area. The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health offers 1 of 11 health equity academic programs offered nationally. University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health has recently restructured the Health Equity Certificate, incorporating crosscutting competencies, broadening applicability across disciplines, and reworking courses to include more comprehensive review of social determinants that reflect avoidable differences in access to health care, quality of health care, and health outcomes. Students pursuing the certificate take 15 credits plus a practical component. Through carefully sequenced courses, this certificate prepares students to address and prevent furthering disparities in their public health careers.