Building Public Health Competencies for Cross-Sector Leadership: Results From the National Leadership Academy for the Public's Health.

The public health workforce is increasingly being asked to provide leadership in addressing complex community health needs. Effective leadership requires adaptiveness and cross-sector collaboration in developing solutions to address community needs. An annual yearlong public health leadership development program, which engages cross-sector teams and uses an iterative design to build competencies for adaptive and collaborative leadership across sectors (e.

Tailoring a Text Messaging and Fotonovela Program to Increase Patient Engagement in Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Large Urban Community Clinic Population: Quality Improvement Project.

Background: Appropriate annual screenings for colorectal cancer (CRC) are an essential preventive measure for the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Studies have shown that CRC screening rates are influenced by various social determinants of health (SDOH) factors, including race, ethnicity, and geography. According to 2018 national data, participation in screening is lowest among Hispanic or Latinx individuals (56.

Using Text Messages and Fotonovelas to Increase Return of Home-Mailed Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests: Mixed Methods Evaluation.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is currently the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States; however, it is mostly preventable with appropriate screening and is often treatable when detected at early stages. Many patients enrolled in an urban Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) clinic were found to be past due for CRC screening.

Objective: This study described a quality improvement (QI) project to improve CRC screening rates.

The Ability of Practices to Report Clinical Quality Measures: More Evidence of the Size Paradox?

Purpose: To assess whether primary care practices with and without support from a larger organization differ in their ability to produce timely reports on cardiovascular disease quality measures.

Background: Although many primary care practices are now part of larger organizations, it is not clear whether such a shift will improve the ability of those who work in these primary care settings to easily access and use their own data for improvement.

Methods: Smaller primary care practices were enrolled in a trial of external practice support to build quality improvement (QI) capacity.

The association between sugar-sweetened beverage availability in school vending machines and school staff sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is a leading strategy to help combat high rates of adult obesity and overweight. Regulating SSB sales in schools has reduced access among youth. However, current federal school nutrition standards are focused on student rather than staff environments (i.

Improvements in Physical Activity Opportunities: Results From a Community-Based Family Child Care Intervention.

Introduction: Reaching preschool-aged children to establish healthy lifestyle habits, including physical activity, is an important component of obesity prevention efforts. However, few studies have examined family child care homes where nearly 1 million children receive care.

Study Design: A pre- and post-intervention evaluation without a control group was conducted to evaluate what changes occurred in family child care homes that participated in the Healthy Eating and Active Living project, a multicomponent obesity prevention initiative, focused on community-driven policy and environmental change in neighborhoods within Kaiser Permanente service areas.

Changes in Nutrition Policies and Dietary Intake in Child Care Homes Participating in Healthy Eating and Active Living Initiative.

Introduction: From 2012 to 2014, a total of 17 family child care homes participated in a multisector, community-wide initiative to prevent obesity. Strategies included staff workshops, materials, site visits, and technical assistance regarding development and implementation of nutrition policies. The purpose of the evaluation was to examine the impact of the initiative on family child care home nutrition-related policies and practices and child dietary intake.

Changes in Consumer Purchases in Stores Participating in an Obesity Prevention Initiative.

Introduction: From 2011 to 2014, small stores in three communities participated in a community-wide obesity prevention initiative. The study aimed to determine how participation in the initiative influenced store environments and consumer purchases.

Study Design: Pre- and post-intervention without control.

A Community-Level Initiative to Prevent Obesity: Results From Kaiser Permanente's Healthy Eating Active Living Zones Initiative in California.

Introduction: A growing number of health systems are leading health promotion efforts in their wider communities. What impact are these efforts having on health behaviors and ultimately health status? This paper presents evaluation results from the place-based Kaiser Permanente Healthy Eating Active Living Zones obesity prevention initiative, implemented in 2011-2015 in 12 low-income communities in Kaiser Permanente's Northern and Southern California Regions.

Methods: The Healthy Eating Active Living Zones design targeted places and people through policy, environmental, and programmatic strategies.

Boulder Food Rescue: An Innovative Approach to Reducing Food Waste and Increasing Food Security.

Unlabelled: Food waste and food insecurity are both significant issues in communities throughout the U.S., including Boulder, Colorado.

Increase in Physical Activity Sustained 1 Year After Playground Intervention.

Introduction: Regular physical activity is a vital component of child health, and schools play an important role in the promotion of physical activity among children. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a playground redesign involving structural and loose play equipment to increase students' physical activity at an intermediate school in Leadville, Colorado.

Methods: Direct observations were conducted during recess before the redesign in May 2014, then again at 6 months and 1 year after the redesign.

Using Population Dose to Evaluate Community-level Health Initiatives.

Unlabelled: Successful community-level health initiatives require implementing an effective portfolio of strategies and understanding their impact on population health. These factors are complicated by the heterogeneity of overlapping multicomponent strategies and availability of population-level data that align with the initiatives. To address these complexities, the population dose methodology was developed for planning and evaluating multicomponent community initiatives.

Dose as a Tool for Planning and Implementing Community-Based Health Strategies.

Unlabelled: A major challenge in community-based health promotion is implementing strategies that could realistically improve health at the population level. Population dose methodology was developed to help understand the combined impact of multiple strategies on population-level health behaviors. This paper describes one potential use of dose: as a tool for working collaboratively with communities to increase impact when planning and implementing community-level initiatives.

Family history of diabetes and pancreatic cancer as risk factors for pancreatic cancer: the PACIFIC study.

Genetic association studies have identified more than a dozen genes associated with risk of pancreatic cancer. Given this genetic heterogeneity, family history can be useful for identifying individuals at high risk for this disease. The goal of this analysis was to evaluate associations of family history of diabetes and family history of pancreatic cancer with risk of pancreatic cancer.

How to identify students for school-based depression intervention: can school record review be substituted for universal depression screening?

Problem: Early identification and intervention are critical for reducing the adverse effects of depression on academic and occupational performance. Cost-effective approaches are needed for identifying adolescents at high depression risk. This study evaluated the utility of school record review versus universal school-based depression screening for determining eligibility for an indicated depression intervention program implemented in the middle school setting.

Cost-effectiveness of a school-based emotional health screening program.

Background: School-based screening for health conditions can help extend the reach of health services to underserved populations. Screening for mental health conditions is growing in acceptability, but evidence of cost-effectiveness is lacking. This study assessed costs and effectiveness associated with the Developmental Pathways Screening Program, in which students undergo universal classroom emotional health screening and those who have positive screens are provided with on-site clinical evaluation and referral.

Depressive Symptoms Among Delinquent Youth: Testing Models of Association with Stress and Support.

The high prevalence of depression among incarcerated youth indicates a need to better understand factors that contribute to depression within this vulnerable subgroup. Previous research in general community samples has suggested that high levels of stress and low levels of parental support are associated with depression in young people, but it is unclear whether or how they might be associated with depression among incarcerated youth who are already vulnerable. Using a sample of 228 adolescents (aged 13-18 years) who were detained in the juvenile justice system, stress and support were modeled as independent main effects and as interactive risk factors in relation to depressive symptoms.

Universal Emotional Health Screening at the Middle School Transition.

This article describes the implementation of the Developmental Pathways Screening Program (DPSP) and an evaluation of program feasibility, acceptability, and yield. Using the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and externalizing questions from the Youth Self Report (YSR; Achenbach, 2001), universal classroom-based emotional health screening was implemented with students as they began middle school. Of all sixth graders enrolled in four participating Seattle schools, 861 (83%) were screened.

Using the short mood and feelings questionnaire to detect depression in detained adolescents.

The Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) is examined for its utility in screening youth in juvenile justice settings for depression. In a cross-sectional study conducted at King County Juvenile Detention Center, a representative sample of 228 detained adolescents complete structured assessments, including the MFQ and the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument. Fifty youth also complete the Voice-Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children.

What proportion of failure to complete secondary school in the US population is attributable to adolescent psychiatric disorder?

Using information available from the longitudinal Children in Community Study, population-attributable risk percentage was calculated to estimate the amount of failure to complete secondary school in the United States that is associated with adolescent psychiatric disorder. Over half the adolescents in the United States who fail to complete their secondary education have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. The proportion of failure to complete school that is attributable to psychiatric disorder is estimated to be 46%.