Analyzing disparity trends for health care insurance coverage among non-elderly adults in the US: evidence from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1993-2009.

Objective: To explore the changing disparities in access to health care insurance in the United States using time-varying coefficient models.

Data: Secondary data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 1993 to 2009 was used.

Study Design: A time-varying coefficient model was constructed using a binary outcome of no enrollment in health insurance plan versus enrolled.

A new source of data for public health surveillance: Facebook likes.

Background: Investigation into personal health has become focused on conditions at an increasingly local level, while response rates have declined and complicated the process of collecting data at an individual level. Simultaneously, social media data have exploded in availability and have been shown to correlate with the prevalence of certain health conditions.

Objective: Facebook likes may be a source of digital data that can complement traditional public health surveillance systems and provide data at a local level.

A bibliometric analysis of U.S.-based research on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Background: Since Alan Pritchard defined bibliometrics as "the application of statistical methods to media of communication" in 1969, bibliometric analyses have become widespread. To date, however, bibliometrics has not been used to analyze publications related to the U.S.

Psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and burnout among international humanitarian aid workers: a longitudinal study.

Background: International humanitarian aid workers providing care in emergencies are subjected to numerous chronic and traumatic stressors.

Objectives: To examine consequences of such experiences on aid workers' mental health and how the impact is influenced by moderating variables.

Methodology: We conducted a longitudinal study in a sample of international non-governmental organizations.

The role of geographic scale in testing the income inequality hypothesis as an explanation of health disparities.

This study re-examined the role of geographic scale in measuring income inequality and testing the income inequality hypothesis (IIH) as an explanation of health disparities. We merged Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2000 data with income inequality indices constructed at different geographic scales to test the association between income inequality and four different health indicators, i.e.

Evaluation of variance estimators for the concentration and health achievement indices: a Monte Carlo simulation.

Although the concentration index (CI) and the health achievement index (HAI) have been extensively used, previous studies have relied on bootstrapping to compute the variance of the HAI, whereas competing variance estimators exist for the CI. This paper provides methods of statistical inference for the HAI and compares the available variance estimators for both the CI and the HAI using Monte Carlo simulation. Results for both the CI and the HAI suggest that analytical methods and bootstrapping are well behaved.

Rationale for regular reporting on health disparities and inequalities - United States.

Most U.S. residents want a society in which all persons live long, healthy lives; however, that vision is yet to be realized fully.

Examining the role of gender in career advancement at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the past decade, efforts to promote gender parity in the healing and public health professions have met with only partial success. We provide a critical update regarding the status of women in the public health profession by exploring gender-related differences in promotion rates at the nation's leading public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Using personnel data drawn from CDC, we found that the gender gap in promotion has diminished across time and that this reduction can be attributed to changes in individual characteristics (e.

Does a multifaceted environmental intervention alter the impact of asthma on inner-city children?

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a multifaceted environmental and educational intervention on the indoor environment and health in 5-12-year-old children with asthma living in urban environments.

Design: Changes in indoor allergen levels and asthma severity measurements were compared between children who were randomized to intervention and delayed intervention groups in a 14-month prospective field trial. Intervention group households received dust mite covers, a professional house cleaning, and had roach bait and trays placed in their houses.

Early detection of illness associated with poisonings of public health significance.

Since September 11, 2001, concern about potential terrorist attacks has increased in the United States. To reduce morbidity and mortality from outbreaks of illness from the intentional release of chemical agents, we examine data from the Toxic Exposure Surveillance System (TESS). TESS, a national system for timely collection of reports from US poison control centers, can facilitate early recognition of outbreaks of illness from chemical exposures.

Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning among children in a Mexican smelting community.

The authors evaluated mean blood lead levels (BLLs) and the prevalence of elevated BLLs in children 1-6 yr of age living in Torreón, Mexico, and assessed risk factors for lead exposure in these children. The study involved a simple random sample of households in the area around a local smelter, as well as a 2-stage cluster sample of neighborhoods and households in the remainder of Torreón. The geometric mean BLL of children in this study (N = 367) was 6.

Health programmes and policies associated with decreased mortality in displaced people in postemergency phase camps: a retrospective study.

Background: An estimated 35 million people have been displaced by complex humanitarian emergencies. International humanitarian organisations define policies and provide basic health and nutrition programmes to displaced people in postemergency phase camps. However, many policies and programmes are not based on supporting data.

Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning among children in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The phase-out of leaded gasoline began in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 1, 2001. We evaluated mean blood lead levels (BLLs) and the prevalence of elevated BLLs of Jakarta school children and assessed risk factors for lead exposure in these children before the beginning of the phase-out activities. The study involved a population-based, cross-sectional blood lead survey that included capillary blood lead sampling and a brief questionnaire on risk factors for lead poisoning.

Wildland forest fire smoke: health effects and intervention evaluation, Hoopa, California, 1999.

Objectives: To assess the health effects of exposure to smoke from the fifth largest US wildfire of 1999 and to evaluate whether participation in interventions to reduce smoke exposure prevented adverse lower respiratory tract health effects among residents of the Hoopa Valley National Indian Reservation in northwestern California.

Design: Observational study: epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention retrospectively reviewed medical records at the local medical center and conducted survey interviews of reservation residents.

Setting: Humboldt County, California.