Disparities in child protective services involvement in pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of pediatric death and disability. Abusive head trauma confers greater morbidity and mortality compared with accidental TBI. National trends reveal disproportionate involvement of minority children in the child welfare system.

"They Don't Care If We Live or Die": A Qualitative Analysis Examining the US Immigration System's Treatment of Undocumented Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Historically, the US immigration system (ie, institutions, agencies, and laws) has served the goals and principles of white supremacy through its treatment of globally displaced people and this appears to have continued through the COVID pandemic. Yet, the implications for immigrant health are not routinely addressed in mainstream public health discourse, and especially so in regard to public health disasters. This study conducted a series of focus groups with participants from social justice organizations working with immigrants, migrants, undocumented persons, refugees, persons seeking asylum, and persons detained in immigration jails to collect stories on how the immigration system undermined efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 and exacerbated health inequity within immigrant jails and across related community contexts during the pandemic.

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Outcomes and Disparities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: To study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient demographic, clinical and trauma related characteristics, and outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective chart review was conducted on pediatric TBI patients admitted to a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center between January 2015 and June 2022. The pre-COVID era was defined as January 1, 2015, through March 12, 2020.

Disparities in Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Introduction: Screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the clinical setting is set to become more commonplace with continued efforts to reimburse clinicians for screening. However, an examination of disparities in ACEs screening and related attitudes and beliefs is needed.

Methods: Using the 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), this study examined if several measures of socioeconomic status, access to care and identities were associated with 3 outcomes: 1) getting screened for ACEs by a clinician; 2) beliefs about the importance of screening and 3) satisfaction with efforts to address the impacts of ACEs.

A window of opportunity: Adverse childhood experiences and time alone with a provider in the United States.

Background: To date, there is limited literature on the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the quality of health care provider encounters. This is key, as people with a history of ACEs have a greater burden of illness.

Methods: This study uses data from the 2020-2021 National Survey of Children's Health to examine relationships between ACEs and (1) spending less than ten minutes with a health care provider, and (2) spending time alone with a health care provider.

Outcomes of neonates born through meconium-stained amniotic fluid pre and post 2015 NRP guideline implementation.

A shift in the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) guidelines occurred in 2015 from routine intubation and endotracheal suctioning of all meconium-stained non-vigorous infants towards less aggressive interventions based on response to initial resuscitation. This study aims to examine the impact of this change on outcomes of non-vigorous infants born through meconium-stained amniotic fluid at a level III academic NICU encompassing years before and after the change in guideline. This single-center retrospective study compared NICU therapies and clinical outcomes of 117 non-vigorous newborns pre-guideline implementation to 106 non-vigorous newborns post-guideline implementation.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Family-Centered Care.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) include experiences of child maltreatment and household dysfunction. Prior work has shown that children with ACEs may have suboptimal utilization of preventive health care, including annual well-visits, however little is known about the relationship between ACEs and quality of patient care. Using data from the 2020 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 22,760) a series of logistic regression models estimated associations between ACEs, both individually and cumulatively, and five components of family-centered care.

Change in cardiometabolic risk factors in a pilot safety-net plant-based lifestyle medicine program.

Introduction: Interventions emphasizing healthful lifestyle behaviors are proliferating in traditional health care settings, yet there is a paucity of published clinical outcomes, outside of pay-out-of-pocket or employee health programs.

Methods: We assessed weight, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood pressure, and cholesterol for 173 patients of the Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program piloted in a New York City safety-net hospital. We used Wilcoxon signed-rank tests to assess changes in means, from baseline to six-months, for the full sample and within baseline diagnoses (i.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Non-Discretionary Risk Factors for COVID-19 Among Patients in an Early COVID-19 Hotspot.

Background: Baseline disparities in non-discretionary risk factors, i.e., those not readily altered, like family size and work environment, appear to underlie the disproportionate COVID-19 infection rates seen among Hispanic persons and, at surge onsets, Black persons.

Polymorphisms in common antihypertensive targets: Pharmacogenomic implications for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

The idea of personalized medicine came to fruition with sequencing the human genome; however, aside from a few cases, the genetic revolution has yet to materialize. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, and hypertension is a common prelude to nearly all cardiovascular diseases. Thus, hypertension is an ideal candidate disease to apply tenants of personalized medicine to lessen cardiovascular disease.

Persistent Disparities in Immunization Rates for the Seven-Vaccine Series Among Infants 19-35 Months in the United States.

The seven-vaccine series protects infants from several preventable diseases, yet disparities in its use remain in the United States. We assessed the seven-vaccine immunization rate and its predictors in infants 19-35 months using the National Immunization Survey from 2009 to 2018. The seven-vaccine series rate was 72.

Association of Age at Cancer Diagnosis and Clinical Trial Participation.

This cross-sectional study uses data from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data set to examine the association of age at cancer diagnosis with patients’ participation in clinical trials among cancer survivors.

Association between Friends' Use of Nicotine and Cannabis and Intake of both Substances among Adolescents.

Nicotine and cannabis use are common among adolescents and may be associated with behavioral problems, poor academic outcomes and use disorders. The goals of this analysis were the following: (1) Describe the influence of friends' nicotine and cannabis smoking and vaping on self-reported use. (2) Describe the relationship between friends' nicotine and cannabis use on participants' urinary biomarkers of nicotine (cotinine) and cannabis (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁸tetrahydrocannabinol=THC-COOH).

The Value of Obtaining Colonic Mucosal Biopsies of Grossly Normal Tissue in Pediatric Patients.

Objectives: Current practice during pediatric colonoscopy is to obtain random colonic biopsies, even from normal appearing tissue. The majority of literature published on colonic biopsy practice analyzes adults; however, limited data examines the pediatric population. The lack of standardization regarding tissue sampling during pediatric colonoscopy reinforces the necessity to study this question objectively.

The Muslim Ban and preterm birth: Analysis of U.S. vital statistics data from 2009 to 2018.

Anti-immigrant stigma or xenophobia is increasingly pervasive globally. Racism is a determinant of adverse health outcomes, but the epidemiological implications of the recent wave of xenophobic policies have not been well studied. The 2017 travel ban on individuals from Muslim majority countries is an example of such policy efforts in the United States.

The 2016 presidential election and periviable births among Latina women.

Objective: Research suggests that sociopolitical stressors connected with the 2016 presidential election were associated with increases in preterm birth among Latina women. This study determined whether periviable births (<26 weeks gestation), which exhibit extremely high rates of infant morbidity and mortality, among US Latina women increased above expected levels after the 2016 US presidential election.

Methods: We assigned singleton live births among Latina and non-Latina white women in the US to 96 monthly conception cohorts conceived from January 2009 through December 2016.

Racial and Citizenship Disparities in Health Care Among Middle Eastern Americans.

Objective: To assess differences in health access and utilization among Middle Eastern American adults by White racial identity and citizenship.

Methods: Data from the 2011 to 2018 National Health Interview Surveys (N=1013) and survey-weighted logistic regression analyses compare Middle Eastern immigrants by race and citizenship on access and utilization of health care in the United States.

Results: White respondents had 71% lower odds of delaying care [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.

Insurance Types, Usual Sources of Health Care, and Perceived Discrimination.

Introduction: Discrimination can compromise access to and utilization of health care and lead to poorer health. As such, it is important to understand the factors associated with experiences of discrimination in health care.

Methods: Using data from the 2015 to 2017 California Health Interview Survey (n = 63,100), this study examined whether insurance types and sites of usual sources of care were associated with reasons for perceived discrimination in health care and whether the reasons were associated with delaying health care.

Variations in Access to Care After the Affordable Care Act Among Different Immigrant Groups.

To assess how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) impacted changes in access and utilization of health care between groups by examining differences across groups of immigrants and by citizenship status. Data came from respondents of the 2011-2016 National Health Interview Survey aged 18 to 64 who were born outside of the U.S.

Association of Preterm Births Among US Latina Women With the 2016 Presidential Election.

Importance: The circumstances surrounding the 2016 US presidential election have been proposed as a significant stressor in the lives of the US Latino population. Few studies to date, however, have evaluated the population health implications of the election for Latina mothers and their children.

Objective: To determine whether preterm births (gestational age, <37 weeks) among US Latina women increased above expected levels after the 2016 US presidential election.

Mental Health Services in Childhood: The Role of Family Adversity.

Objective: Much of the research on the effects of childhood adversity on mental health has focused on adults. The objective of our study was to examine the individual and cumulative effect of childhood adversity on mental health service use among children.

Methods: We used data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health (n = 79 834) to determine the use of mental health services in the past 12 months among children aged 2-17.

It Is About Trust: Trust in Sources of Tobacco Health Information, Perceptions of Harm, and Use of E-Cigarettes.

Introduction: Recent research has highlighted disparities in people who perceive as trustworthy sources of e-cigarette health information. Research has yet to examine if trusting a particular source of information is associated with use of e-cigarettes or perceptions of e-cigarette harm. We use a nationally representative survey of American adults to address these gaps in knowledge.

Examining the Impact of Child Adversity on Use of Preventive Health Care among Children.

Child adversity has a negative impact on child and adult health. The present study aimed to determine whether adverse family experiences (AFEs) were associated with use of preventive health care (PHC) among children and whether insurance status affected this association. This study examined data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 88,849) and included responses for children ages zero to 17 years.

Examining HPV Vaccination Practices and Differences Among Providers in Virginia.

Virginia has some of the lowest HPV vaccination rates, despite being one of the few states in the USA requiring adolescent girls receive the vaccine. Provider characteristics may be an important factor in HPV vaccination. Thus, the present study assessed provider vaccination, practices, knowledge about the vaccine, and confidence in performing behaviors related to the vaccine.

Sexual Assault and Cancer Screening Among Men and Women.

Emerging research has shown that experiences of sexual violence are associated with cancer screening behaviors. However, to date, little attention has been given to the impact of sexual assault on cancer screening behaviors, particularly among men. To address this, we used data from the 2014 Kansas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.