Rapid COVID-19 Testing of Symptomatic Health Care Personnel: A Strategy for Safely Maintaining the Workforce.

Determine performance characteristics and safety outcomes of two rapid COVID-19 screening methods to inform immediate return to work (RTW) decisions while (health care personnel) HCP await results of pending confirmatory laboratory test. Retrospective, occupational health quality improvement study comparing screening with rapid SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification (NAAT) and antigen test. 531 mildly symptomatic HCP screened over 16 months.

Risk of subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection among vaccinated employees with or without hybrid immunity acquired early in the Omicron-predominant era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Hybrid immunity, from COVID-19 vaccination followed by SARS-CoV-2 infection acquired after its Omicron variant began predominating, has provided greater protection than vaccination alone against subsequent infection over 1-3 months of observation. Its longer-term protection is unknown.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of COVID-19 case incidence among healthcare personnel (HCP) mandated to be vaccinated and report on COVID-19-associated symptoms, high-risk exposures, or known-positive test results to an employee health hotline.

Sensitivity and Specificity of the National Death Index for Multiple Causes of Death in People With HIV.

Objectives: Inaccuracies in cause-of-death information in death certificates can reduce the validity of national death statistics and result in poor targeting of resources to reduce morbidity and mortality in people with HIV. Our objective was to measure the sensitivity, specificity, and agreement between multiple causes of deaths from death certificates obtained from the National Death Index (NDI) and causes determined by expert physician review.

Methods: Physician specialists determined the cause of death using information collected from the medical records of 50 randomly selected HIV-infected people who died in San Francisco from July 1, 2016, through May 31, 2017.

Effects of a voter initiative on disparities in punishment severity for drug offenses across California counties.

Background: The jurisdiction where an offense is prosecuted significantly affects the severity of punishment for drug possession, creating geographic disparities in exposure to a social determinant of health. In California, felony conviction rates after drug possession arrests have historically varied enormously between counties. California Proposition 47 (Prop-47), passed in 2014, reduced drug possession offenses previously classified as felonies or wobblers (offenses for which prosecutors have discretion to file felony or misdemeanor charges) to misdemeanors.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Arrests for Drug Possession After California Proposition 47, 2011-2016.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of California Proposition 47, which reclassified felony drug offenses to misdemeanors in 2014, on racial/ethnic disparities in drug arrests.

Methods: Using data on all drug arrests made in California from 2011 to 2016, we compared racial/ethnic disparities in drug arrests between Whites, Blacks, and Latinos, immediately and 1 year after policy changes, controlling for secular and seasonal trends.

Results: In the month following passage, absolute Black-White disparities in monthly felony drug arrests decreased from 81 to 44 per 100 000 and continued to decrease over time.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Text Messaging Intervention to Promote Virologic Suppression and Retention in Care in an Urban Safety-Net Human Immunodeficiency Virus Clinic: The Connect4Care Trial.

Background: Text messaging is a promising strategy to support human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care engagement, but little is known about its efficacy in urban safety-net HIV clinics.

Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a supportive and motivational text messaging intervention, Connect4Care (C4C), among viremic patients who had a history of poor retention or were new to the clinic. Participants were randomized (stratified by new or established HIV diagnosis status) to receive either of the following for 12 months: (1) thrice-weekly intervention messages, plus texted primary care appointment reminders and a monthly text message requesting confirmation of study participation or (2) texted reminders and monthly messages alone.

The Effect of Patient Navigation on the Likelihood of Engagement in Clinical Care for HIV-Infected Individuals Leaving Jail.

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of patient navigation-enhanced case management in supporting engagement in HIV care upon release from jail relative to existing services.

Methods: We randomized 270 HIV-infected individuals to receive navigation-enhanced case management for 12 months or standard case management for 90 days following release from jail between 2010 and 2013. Participants were interviewed at 2, 6, and 12 months after release.

After the Fact: A Brief Educational Program on HIV Postexposure Prophylaxis for Female Detainees in a Local Jail.

Women who have been in jail are at increased risk of acquiring HIV when they are in the community. Nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (nPEP) reduces HIV transmission following high-risk behaviors and is an effective HIV prevention strategy. The authors designed a 15-minute interactive educational program to increase inmates' knowledge of nPEP.

A text messaging intervention to improve retention in care and virologic suppression in a U.S. urban safety-net HIV clinic: study protocol for the Connect4Care (C4C) randomized controlled trial.

Background: Few data exist on the use of text messaging as a tool to promote retention in HIV care and virologic suppression at the clinic level in the United States. We describe the protocol for a study designed to investigate whether a text messaging intervention that supports healthy behaviors, encourages consistent engagement with care, and promotes antiretroviral persistence can improve retention in care and virologic suppression among patients in an urban safety-net HIV clinic in San Francisco.

Methods/design: Connect4Care (C4C) is a single-site, randomized year-long study of text message appointment reminders vs.

An inpatient treatment and discharge planning protocol for alcohol dependence: efficacy in reducing 30-day readmissions and emergency department visits.

Background: Alcohol dependence results in multiple hospital readmissions, but no discharge planning protocol has been studied to improve outcomes. The inpatient setting is a frequently missed opportunity to discuss treatment of alcohol dependence and initiate medication-assisted treatment, which is effective yet rarely utilized.

Aim: Our aim was to implement and evaluate a discharge planning protocol for patients admitted with alcohol dependence.

Patient navigation facilitates medical and social services engagement among HIV-infected individuals leaving jail and returning to the community.

HIV-infected individuals leaving jails, facilities typically used to confine accused persons awaiting trial or to incarcerate persons for minor offenses, often face barriers to engagement with medical and social-support services. Patient navigation is a model that may ease these barriers by supporting individuals in negotiating fragmented and highly bureaucratic systems for services and care. While there is evidence linking navigation to a reduction in health disparities, little is known about the mechanisms by which the model works.

Effect of Methadone Dose on Maintenance Treatment and Health Consequences Among Heroin Addicts in South China.

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 197 adults receiving methadone maintenance treatment in Kunming city, South China, in 2010. The aim of the study was to determine the association of methadone maintenance dose on a variety of treatment outcomes. Treatment modalities, the adverse reactions to methadone treatment, the physical and mental outcomes of the treatment, and risk behavior changes were assessed.

Directly administered antiretroviral therapy: pilot study of a structural intervention in methadone maintenance.

Devising interventions to provide integrated treatment for addiction and medical problems is an urgent issue. This study piloted a structural intervention, Directly Administered Antiretroviral Therapy (DAART), to assist methadone-maintenance patients in HIV medication adherence. Twenty-four participants received: (1) antiretroviral medications at the methadone clinic daily before receiving their methadone; (2) take-home antiretroviral medication for days they were not scheduled to attend the methadone clinic, and (3) brief adherence counseling to address adherence barriers.

Directly observed versus self-administered antiretroviral therapies: preference of HIV-positive jailed inmates in San Francisco.

Directly observed therapy (DOT) of antiretroviral (ARV) medications has beneficial effects on HIV treatment for incarcerated inmates but has been associated with limited continuation after release and inadvertent disclosure of HIV status. Guided self-administered therapy (g-SAT) may be a preferred method of ARV delivery and may encourage medication-taking behavior. We surveyed the preference of 102 HIV-positive jailed inmates at the San Francisco City and County Jails regarding receiving ARVs via DOT versus g-SAT while incarcerated.

Isoniazid vs. rifampin for latent tuberculosis infection in jail inmates: toxicity and adherence.

This open-label randomized trial compared isoniazid (9 months) to rifampin (4 months) on toxicity and completion in a jailed population with latent tuberculosis infection. Rifampin resulted in fewer elevated liver function tests (risk ratio [RR] 0.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.

Contraceptive use and barriers to access among newly arrested women.

Incarcerated women report high rates of prior unintended pregnancies as well as low contraceptive use. Because jail could be a site of contraception care, this study aimed to assess women's access to contraception prior to their arrest. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 228 reproductive-aged, nonpregnant women arrested in San Francisco.

Confined to ignorance: the absence of prisoner information from nationally representative health data sets.

Background: Incarceration is associated with poor health and high costs. Given the dramatic growth in the criminal justice system's population and associated expenses, inclusion of questions related to incarceration in national health data sets could provide essential data to researchers, clinicians and policy-makers.

Objective: To evaluate a representative sample of publically available national health data sets for their ability to be used to study the health of currently or formerly incarcerated persons and to identify opportunities to improve criminal justice questions in health data sets.

HIV infection as a predictor of methadone maintenance outcomes in Chinese injection drug users.

This paper's design is descriptive and correlational based on retrospective self-report survey data collected in Kunming city, China. The study investigated the difference between a group of Chinese HIV positive (N=36) and negative (N=131) opioid dependent adults maintained on methadone treatment. Comparisons were based on their quality of life (QOL), methadone treatment adherence, adverse symptom occurrence related to methadone treatment, and HIV-related behavior changes.

Basic subsistence needs and overall health among human immunodeficiency virus-infected homeless and unstably housed women.

Some gender differences in the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been attributed to delayed treatment among women and the social context of poverty. Recent economic difficulties have led to multiple service cuts, highlighting the need to identify factors with the most influence on health in order to prioritize scarce resources. The aim of this study was to empirically rank factors that longitudinally impact the health status of HIV-infected homeless and unstably housed women.

Emergency contraception for newly arrested women: evidence for an unrecognized public health opportunity.

Incarceration affords an opportunity to provide health care to populations with limited access to care. Women in this population are at high risk for experiencing unintended pregnancies. It is not known what proportion of these women engage in unprotected intercourse in the days prior to incarceration and therefore may benefit from being offered emergency contraception upon their arrest to decrease their risk of unintended pregnancies.

The impact of antiretroviral therapy in a cohort of HIV infected patients going in and out of the San Francisco county jail.

Background: Jails are an important venue of HIV care and a place for identification, treatment and referral for care. HIV infected inmates in the San Francisco County jail are offered antiretroviral treatment (ART), which many take only while in jail. We evaluated the effect of ART administration in a cohort of jail inmates going in and out of jail over a nine year period.

Gender-specific correlates of incarceration among marginally housed individuals in San Francisco.

Objectives: We assessed how different patterns of housing instability affect incarceration and whether correlates of incarceration are gender specific.

Methods: We used multivariate logistic regression to assess associations between patterns of housing instability and recent jail stays among a reproducible sample of 1175 marginally housed adults in San Francisco, California.

Results: Over the previous year, 71% of men and 21% of women in the sample reported jail stays.

Profile of adults seeking voluntary HIV testing and counseling in rural Central India: results from a hospital-based study.

Rural India has an undetected load of HIV-positive individuals. Few rural adults present for HIV testing and counseling due to stigma, discrimination, and fear of social ostracization. In this rural hospital clinic-based study, we document profiles of rural adults seeking voluntary testing and counseling, and analyze correlates of HIV seropositivity.

Impact of round-the-clock, rapid oral fluid HIV testing of women in labor in rural India.

Background: Testing pregnant women for HIV at the time of labor and delivery is the last opportunity for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) measures, particularly in settings where women do not receive adequate antenatal care. However, HIV testing and counseling of pregnant women in labor is a challenge, especially in resource-constrained settings. In India, many rural women present for delivery without any prior antenatal care.