Providing doula support to publicly insured women in central Texas: A financial cost-benefit analysis.

Background: Disparities in birth outcomes continue to exist in the United States, particularly for low-income, publicly insured women. Doula support has been shown to be a cost-effective intervention in predominantly middle-to-upper income White populations, and across all publicly insured women at the state level. This analysis extends previous studies by providing an estimate of benefits that incorporates variations in averted outcomes by race and ethnicity in the context of one region in Texas.

Health Care Use, Coverage, and Experiences During the Year Prior to Pregnancy in a Primarily Hispanic Population with Low Income: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

Introduction: A qualitative picture of the health care experiences prior to pregnancy can inform patient-centered strategies to optimize preconception health. This study describes health care utilization and experiences and how health care costs were covered in the year prior to pregnancy in a population of primarily Hispanic women with low income.

Methods: Pregnant participants were recruited from 5 Federally Qualified Health Center clinics.

Qualitative Research to Describe Food Bank-Health Care Partnerships: What Types of Models are Currently Being Used to Facilitate Food Bank-Health Care Partnerships in Texas?

Background: Food banks and health care are being increasingly called on to partner together to support individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, yet few published works highlight descriptions of current food bank-health care partnerships.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and describe food bank-health care partnerships, the impetus for development of partnerships, and challenges to sustainable partnerships within a single-state area.

Design: Qualitative data collection using semi-structured interviews was performed.

Implementing food bank and healthcare partnerships: a pilot study of perspectives from charitable food systems in Texas.

Background: Partnerships between charitable food systems and healthcare systems have been forming across the country to support individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, yet little research has focused on these partnerships, particularly from a food bank perspective. The objective of this exploratory pilot study was to identify implementation challenges and facilitators of charitable food system and healthcare partnerships from the food bank perspective.

Method: Texas food banks with existing food bank/healthcare partnerships were identify through website review and support from Feeding Texas.

Experiences and Perspectives on Adopting New Practices for Social Needs-targeted Care in Safety-net Settings: A Qualitative Case Series Study.

Introduction: Clinical settings are being encouraged to identify and address patients' social needs within the clinic or through partner organizations. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the current practice of social needs-targeted care in 3 Texas safety net clinics, and facilitators and barriers to adopting new social needs-targeted care tools and practices.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with staff at 3 safety net clinics serving small and mid-sized communities.

Immediate Postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Programs in Texas Hospitals Following Changes to Medicaid Reimbursement Policy.

Objectives: Provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) after delivery and prior to discharge is safe and advantageous, yet few Texas hospitals offer this service. Our study describes experiences of Texas hospitals that implemented immediate postpartum LARC (IPLARC) programs, in order to inform the development of other IPLARC programs and guide future research on system-level barriers to broader adoption.

Methods: Eight Texas hospitals that had implemented an IPLARC program were identified, and six agreed to participate in the study.

Promoting Influenza Vaccination Among an ACA Health Plan Subscriber Population: A Randomized Trial.

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of an intervention to promote influenza vaccination among members of an Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance plan.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Messages were delivered by a community-based, nonprofit health insurance provider to its members in Central Texas.

The Effect of New Shower Facilities on Physical Activity Behaviors of Employees: A Quasi-experiment.

Background: This quasi-experimental study assessed the effects of new workplace showers on physical activity behaviors in a sample of downtown employees in Austin, TX.

Methods: The study design was quasi-experimental with 2 comparison groups. Data were collected via internet-based surveys before and 4 months after shower installation at 1 worksite.

Does Parents' Social Cohesion Influence Their Perception of Neighborhood Safety and Their Children's Active Commuting to and From School?

Background: The role of parents' perceptions of the neighborhood environment in determining children's active commuting to and from school (ACS) is understudied. This study examined the association between parents' perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion, perceived neighborhood safety, and their children's ACS.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis (n = 857 from 81 elementary schools in Texas) examined baseline data from the Texas Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation project.

Increasing access to healthful foods: a qualitative study with residents of low-income communities.

Background: Inadequate access to healthful foods has been identified as a significant barrier to healthful dietary behaviors among individuals who live in low-income communities. The purpose of this study was to gather low-income community members' opinions about their food purchasing choices and their perceptions of the most effective ways to increase access to healthful foods in their communities.

Methods: Spanish and English focus groups were conducted in low-income, ethnically-diverse communities.

Measuring the bias, precision, accuracy, and validity of self-reported height and weight in assessing overweight and obesity status among adolescents using a surveillance system.

Background: Evidence regarding bias, precision, and accuracy in adolescent self-reported height and weight across demographic subpopulations is lacking. The bias, precision, and accuracy of adolescent self-reported height and weight across subpopulations were examined using a large, diverse and representative sample of adolescents. A second objective was to develop correction equations for self-reported height and weight to provide more accurate estimates of body mass index (BMI) and weight status.

Sociodemographic Factors, Population Density, and Bicycling for Transportation in the United States.

Background: Transportation bicycling is a behavior with demonstrated health benefits. Population-representative studies of transportation bicycling in United States are lacking. This study examined associations between sociodemographic factors, population density, and transportation bicycling and described transportation bicyclists by trip purposes, using a US-representative sample.

Environmental Correlates of Recreational Walking in the Neighborhood.

Purpose: To assess environmental correlates of neighborhood recreational walking.

Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey.

Setting: The study was conducted in the local community.

Parental safety concerns and active school commute: correlates across multiple domains in the home-to-school journey.

Background: Empirical evidence of the relationship between safety concerns and walking to school (WTS) is growing. However, current research offers limited understanding of the multiple domains of parental safety concerns and the specific mechanisms through which parents articulate safety concerns about WTS. A more detailed understanding is needed to inform environmental and policy interventions.