Preschool and Me: Educational-clinical linkage to improve health equity for children with developmental delays and disabilities from historically marginalized communities.

Societal and structural inequities have resulted in longstanding health care disparities among Black, Latino/a/e, and low-income preschool children with developmental delays and disabilities (PCw/DD), depriving them of educational and therapeutic services that improve future academic, economic, and health outcomes. To address this issue, we developed Preschool and Me (PreM), a community-clinical linkage (CCL) implemented within healthcare settings serving historically marginalized communities. This novel CCL, an educational-medical linkage model, aims to increase access to school-based services for PCw/DD.

Examining Caregiver- and Family-Level Psychosocial Influences on Child Oral Health Behavioral Outcomes in Racially and Economically Minoritized Urban Families.

Objectives: Understanding the pathways linking caregiver- and family-level psychosocial factors and child oral health behaviors is critical for addressing oral health disparities. The current study examined the associations between caregiver psychosocial functioning and family chaos and child toothbrushing behaviors in children at high risk for poor oral health outcomes.

Methods: Data were drawn from the baseline wave of the CO-OP Chicago Cohort Study (U01DE030067), a longitudinal study on child/caregiver dyads exploring oral health behaviors and caries development in young children ( = 296 dyads; child mean age = 5.

PATHway: Intervention optimization of a prevention program for adolescents at-risk for depression in the primary care setting.

With as many as 13% of adolescents diagnosed with depressive disorders each year, prevention of depressive disorders has become a key priority for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Currently, we have no widely available interventions to prevent these disorders. To address this need, we developed a multi-health system collaboration to develop and evaluate the primary care based technology "behavioral vaccine," Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive-Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Therapy (CATCH-IT).

Coordinated Health Care Interventions for Childhood Asthma Gaps in Outcomes (CHICAGO) plan.

Background: Evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes in minority children with uncontrolled asthma discharged from the emergency department (ED) are needed.

Objectives: This multicenter pragmatic clinical trial was designed to compare an ED-only intervention (decision support tool), an ED-only intervention and home visits by community health workers for 6 months (ED-plus-home), and enhanced usual care (UC).

Methods: Children aged 5 to 11 years with uncontrolled asthma were enrolled.

Oral Health Behaviors for Young Low-Income Urban Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Analysis.

This research assessed oral health behaviors changes in urban families with young children during the stay-at-home period of the COVID-19 pandemic (Nov 2020-August 2021). Survey data on oral health behaviors were collected in homes at three points before COVID-19, and via phone during COVID-19. A subset of parents and key informants from clinics and social service agencies completed in-depth interviews via video/phone.

Association between neighborhood disadvantage and children's oral health outcomes in urban families in the Chicago area.

Purpose: The prevalence of childhood caries in urban Chicago, compared with national and state data, indicates that neighborhood context influences oral health. Our objective was to delineate the influence of a child's neighborhood on oral health outcomes that are predictive of caries (toothbrushing frequency and plaque levels).

Methods: Our study population represents urban, Medicaid-enrolled families in the metropolitan Chicago area.

Oral health behaviors for young low-income urban children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods analysis.

This research assessed oral health behaviors changes in urban families with young children during the stay-at-home period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data on oral health behaviors were collected in homes at three points over one year before COVID-19, and then via phone during COVID-19. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model tooth brushing frequency.

Design of the Building Research in CRC prevention (BRIDGE-CRC) trial: a 6-month, parallel group Mediterranean diet and weight loss randomized controlled lifestyle intervention targeting the bile acid-gut microbiome axis to reduce colorectal cancer risk among African American/Black adults with obesity.

Background: Among all racial/ethnic groups, people who identify as African American/Blacks have the second highest colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence in the USA. This disparity may exist because African American/Blacks, compared to other racial/ethnic groups, have a higher prevalence of risk factors for CRC, including obesity, low fiber consumption, and higher intakes of fat and animal protein. One unexplored, underlying mechanism of this relationship is the bile acid-gut microbiome axis.

Effect of Mediterranean diet and Mediterranean diet plus calorie restriction on cognition, lifestyle, and cardiometabolic health: A randomized clinical trial.

A Mediterranean diet and intentional weight loss each positively affect cognitive functioning. Combining both could produce synergistic effects on cognition. The purpose of this study is to compare a Mediterranean diet lifestyle intervention with and without caloric restriction versus control on cognition, lifestyle, and cardiometabolic disease.

Oral community health worker-led interventions in households with average levels of psychosocial factors.

Introduction: Household-level psychosocial stress levels have been linked to child tooth brushing behaviors. Community health worker (CHW) interventions that target psychosocial factors in high-risk communities have been associated with changes in health behaviors.

Aim: Observe changes in psychosocial factors over time and an association between psychosocial factors and CHW intervention dose amongst urban Chicago families.

Community health worker intervention to improve tooth brushing in young children: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Coordinated Oral health Promotion (CO-OP) Chicago is a cluster randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a community health worker (CHW) intervention to improve tooth brushing in low-income children.

Methods: Four hundred twenty children under 3 years old (mean 21.5 months) were recruited from 20 sites in or near Chicago, IL.

Latin Dance and Working Memory: The Mediating Effects of Physical Activity Among Middle-Aged and Older Latinos.

Background: Physical activity (PA) is a promising method to improve cognition among middle-aged and older adults. Latinos are at high risk for cognitive decline and engaging in low levels of PA. Culturally relevant PA interventions for middle-aged and older Latinos are critically needed to reduce risk of cognitive decline.

BAILA: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Latin Dancing to Increase Physical Activity in Spanish-Speaking Older Latinos.

Background: Latinos are the fastest growing minority group of the older adult population. Although physical activity (PA) has documented health benefits, older Latinos are less likely to engage in leisure time PA than older non-Latino whites. Dance, popular among Latinos, holds promise as a culturally relevant form of PA.

Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of low-intensity physical activity for frail older adults: Promoting seniors' health with home care aides (Pro-Home).

Regular participation in physical activity benefits older adults physically and mentally. However, the availability and assessment of physical activity programs that are safe and appropriate for homebound older adults at risk for nursing home admission are limited. Here we describe the protocol for a randomized controlled trial that examines the effectiveness of a gentle physical activity program.

Fit and Strong! Plus: Twelve and eighteen month follow-up results for a comparative effectiveness trial among overweight/obese older adults with osteoarthritis.

This comparative effectiveness trial compared the longer-term effectiveness (12 and 18 months) of the standard Fit & Strong! physical activity program to Fit & Strong! Plus, which combined physical activity and dietary weight loss. Outcomes were weight, diet quality, physical activity, osteoarthritis symptoms, performance measures, and anxiety/depression. In this study, 413 overweight/obese participants with OA, ≥60 years old and primarily African American, were randomly assigned to Fit & Strong! (F&S!) or Fit & Strong! Plus (F&S! Plus), with outcomes assessed at 2, 6, 12, and 18 months.

Integrating a Medical Home in an Outpatient Dialysis Setting: Effects on Health-Related Quality of Life.

Background: Integrating primary care has been proposed to reduce fragmented care delivery for patients with complex medical needs. Because of their high rates of morbidity, healthcare use, and mortality, patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) may benefit from increased access to a primary care medical home.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of integrating a primary care medical home on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for patients with ESKD receiving chronic hemodialysis.

Comparative Effectiveness Trial of an Obesity Prevention Intervention in EFNEP and SNAP-ED: Primary Outcomes.

There is a need to disseminate evidence-based childhood obesity prevention interventions on a broader scale to reduce obesity-related disparities among underserved children. The purpose of this study was to test the comparative effectiveness of an evidence-based obesity prevention intervention, Hip-Hop to Health (HH), delivered through Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) versus the standard curriculum delivered by the programs (Standard Nutrition Education (NE)). A nonequivalent control group design was delivered to compare the effectiveness of HH to NE on weight gain prevention and health behavior outcomes at EFNEP and SNAP-Ed sites.

Fit & Strong! Plus Trial Outcomes for Obese Older Adults with Osteoarthritis.

Background And Objectives: We compared the effectiveness of standard Fit & Strong! (F&S!; targets physical activity [PA]) to Fit & Strong! Plus (F&S! Plus; targets PA and dietary weight loss) on weight, diet quality, and PA outcomes.

Research Design And Methods: We randomly assigned 413 overweight older adults with OA to the F&S! or F&S! Plus programs and assessed outcomes at 2 and 6 months.

Results: The F&S! Plus group lost -2.

FIT & STRONG! PLUS: DESCRIPTIVE DEMOGRAPHIC AND RISK CHARACTERISTICS IN A COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS TRIAL FOR OLDER AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADULTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS.

Objectives: The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) has increased in the US. We report on a comparative effectiveness trial that compares Fit & Strong!, an existing evidence-based physical activity (PA) program, to Fit & Strong! Plus, which combines the Fit & Strong! intervention with a weight management intervention.

Methods: Participants included 413 overweight/obese (BMI 25-50 kg/m) adults with lower extremity (LE) OA.

Foreclosures and weight gain: Differential associations by longer neighborhood exposure.

While home foreclosure can lead to mental and physical health declines in persons experiencing the foreclosure, whether neighborhood foreclosures can affect the health of other residents is debatable. Using a racially/ethnically diverse sample of Chicago metropolitan area residents linked to foreclosure data from 2008 to 2014, we assessed whether exposure to neighborhood foreclosure fillings was associated with changes in objectively measured body mass index (BMI) over time. Using a retrospective longitudinal design, we employed fixed-effects regression models that controlled for individual- and neighborhood-level covariates to test the association of neighborhood foreclosures and BMI in >60,000 individuals and for individuals who did not move during the follow-up period.

Facilitating primary care provider use in a patient-centered medical home intervention study for chronic hemodialysis patients.

Patients with chronic kidney disease have a high disease burand may benefit from primary care services and care coord A medical home model with direct access to primary care services is one approach that may address this need, yet has not been examined. As a substudy of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) patient-centered medical home for kidney disease (PCMH-KD) health system intervention study, we examined the uptake of free primary care physician (PCP) services. The PCORI PCMH-KD study was an initial step toward integrating PCPs, a nurse coordinator, a pharmacist, and community health workers (CHWs) within the health care delivery team.

Pragmatic statistical issues in biological research: Introduction to special series.

This is the introduction to a series of articles will be published over the next year in JMCC on statistical issues which commonly arise in types of studies published in the journal. Each article will cover a specific statistical topic and be prefaced with a typical related question that is likely to arise in laboratory and biomedical studies. There will be a discussion of the underlying statistical concepts followed by several websites which may be used to perform the relevant analysis on data.