Research to Translation: The Healthy Schools Toolkit and New Approaches to the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model.

Background: The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model is an evidence-based comprehensive framework to address health in schools. WSCC model use improves health and educational outcomes, but implementation remains a challenge.

Methods: Working with 6 schools in 2 districts in the Midwest, we used a mixed-methods approach to determine the people, systems, and messages needed to activate WSCC implementation.

Resident-Led Neighborhood Development to Support Health: Identifying Strategies Using CBPR.

Evidence suggests that where people live, learn, work, and play affects a range of health outcomes for children and adults. Differential access to social, economic, and environmental supports puts some community members at greater risk, leading to disparities in health and well-being. The 2014 release of the For the Sake of All report highlighted persistent health disparities for African Americans in St.

Translating Research into Action: A Framework for Research That Supports Advances In Population Health.

The research community faces a growing need to deliver useful data and actionable evidence to support health systems and policymakers on ways to optimize the health of populations. Translating science into policy has not been the traditional strong suit of investigators, who typically view a journal publication as the of their work. They are less accustomed to seeing their data as an to the work of communities and policymakers to improve population health.

Enhancing workplace wellness efforts to reduce obesity: a qualitative study of low-wage workers in St Louis, Missouri, 2013-2014.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to examine workplace determinants of obesity and participation in employer-sponsored wellness programs among low-wage workers.

Methods: We conducted key informant interviews and focus groups with 2 partner organizations: a health care employer and a union representing retail workers. Interviews and focus groups discussed worksite factors that support or constrain healthy eating and physical activity and barriers that reduce participation in workplace wellness programs.

Outside the exam room: policies for connecting clinic to community in diabetes prevention and treatment.

The public health burden and racial/ethnic, sex, and socioeconomic disparities in obesity and in diabetes require a population-level approach that goes beyond provision of high-quality clinical care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America recommended 3 strategies for improving the nation's health: 1) invest in the foundations of lifelong physical and mental well-being in our youngest children; 2) create communities that foster health-promoting behaviors; and 3) broaden health care to promote health outside the medical system. We present an overview of evidence supporting these approaches in the context of diabetes and suggest policies to increase investments in 1) adequate nutrition through breastfeeding and other supports in early childhood, 2) community and economic development that includes health-promoting features of the physical, food, and social environments, and 3) evidence-based interventions that reach beyond the clinical setting to enlist community members in diabetes prevention and management.

Behavioral economics: "nudging" underserved populations to be screened for cancer.

Persistent disparities in cancer screening by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status require innovative prevention tools and techniques. Behavioral economics provides tools to potentially reduce disparities by informing strategies and systems to increase prevention of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. With an emphasis on the predictable, but sometimes flawed, mental shortcuts (heuristics) people use to make decisions, behavioral economics offers insights that practitioners can use to enhance evidence-based cancer screening interventions that rely on judgments about the probability of developing and detecting cancer, decisions about competing screening options, and the optimal presentation of complex choices (choice architecture).

Translating evidence into population health improvement: strategies and barriers.

Among the challenges facing research translation-the effort to move evidence into policy and practice-is that key questions chosen by investigators and funders may not always align with the information priorities of decision makers, nor are the findings always presented in a form that is useful for or relevant to the decisions at hand. This disconnect is a problem particularly for population health, where the change agents who can make the biggest difference in improving health behaviors and social and environmental conditions are generally nonscientists outside of the health professions. To persuade an audience that does not read scientific journals, strong science may not be enough to elicit change.

A systematic review of financial incentives for dietary behavior change.

In light of the obesity epidemic, there is growing interest in the use of financial incentives for dietary behavior change. Previous reviews of the literature have focused on randomized controlled trials and found mixed results. The purpose of this systematic review is to update and expand on previous reviews by considering a broader range of study designs, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental, observational, and simulation studies testing the use of financial incentives to change dietary behavior and to inform both dietetic practice and research.

Impacts of Child Development Accounts on maternal depressive symptoms: evidence from a randomized statewide policy experiment.

This study examines the impact of Child Development Accounts (CDAs)-asset-building accounts created for children at birth-on the depressive symptoms of mothers in a statewide randomized experiment conducted in the United States. The experiment identified the primary caregivers of children born in Oklahoma during 2007, and 2704 of the caregivers completed a baseline interview before random assignment to the treatment (n = 1358) or the control group (n = 1346). To treatment participants, the experiment offered CDAs built on the existing Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan.

Subjective religiosity, church attendance, and depression in the National Survey of American Life.

Studies have consistently indicated that blacks report lower rates of depression than whites. This study examined the association between religion and depression and whether religion explained lower rates of depression among blacks compared to whites. Data were drawn from the National Survey of American Life, a multi-ethnic sample of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and non-Hispanic whites (n = 6,082).

Mobile technology, cancer prevention, and health status among diverse, low-income adults.

Purpose: Characterize mobile technology ownership, use, and relationship to self-reported cancer prevention behaviors and health status in a diverse, low-income sample of callers to 2-1-1.

Design: Secondary analyses of cross-sectional survey data from a larger trial collected from June 2010 to December 2012.

Setting: United Way Missouri 2-1-1 serves 99 of 114 counties and received 166,000 calls in 2011.

Bone health issues in breast cancer survivors: a Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) study.

Purpose: Breast cancer treatments (chemotherapy and hormone therapy) can cause a rapid loss in bone mineral density, leading to osteoporosis and fractures later in life. Fortunately, preventative measures (vitamin D, exercise, etc.) can delay bone loss if employed early enough.

Healthcare navigation service in 2-1-1 San Diego: guiding individuals to the care they need.

Background: Connecting vulnerable populations to healthcare and health-related services remains a challenge. In San Diego County, California, many individuals are unaware that they are eligible for assistance, and community-based healthcare providers often do not have a single, reliable point of access for information on available programs.

Purpose: This paper describes how 2-1-1 San Diego worked with community partners to develop and implement a Healthcare Navigation Program.

Use of cancer control referrals by 2-1-1 callers: a randomized trial.

Background: Callers to 2-1-1 have greater need for and lesser use of cancer control services than other Americans. Integrating cancer risk assessment and referrals to preventive services into 2-1-1 systems is both feasible and acceptable to callers.

Purpose: To determine whether callers will act on these referrals.

Age-related Differences in Symptoms and Their Interference with Quality of Life in 903 Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship of age with symptoms and interference with daily function and QOL during RT. DESIGN: A prospective observational study. SETTING: A university-based radiation oncology department.

Cancer control needs of 2-1-1 callers in Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

Innovative interventions are needed to connect underserved populations to cancer control services. With data from Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington this study a) estimated the cancer control needs of callers to 2-1-1, an information and referral system used by underserved populations, b) compared rates of need with state and national data, and c) examined receptiveness to needed referrals. From October 2009 to March 2010 callers' (N=1,408) cancer control needs were assessed in six areas: breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, HPV vaccination, smoking, and smoke-free homes using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey items.

Perceived discrimination, psychological distress, and current smoking status: results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Reactions to Race module, 2004-2008.

Objectives: We examined the association between perceived discrimination and smoking status and whether psychological distress mediated this relationship in a large, multiethnic sample.

Methods: We used 2004 through 2008 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Reactions to Race module to conduct multivariate logistic regression analyses and tests of mediation examining associations between perceived discrimination in health care and workplace settings, psychological distress, and current smoking status.

Results: Regardless of race/ethnicity, perceived discrimination was associated with increased odds of current smoking.

Friendships of children and adolescents with spina bifida: social adjustment, social performance, and social skills.

Objective: To characterize dyadic and general friendships of youth with spina bifida (SB).

Methods: Families of youth with SB recruited a peer to participate; 106 dyads participated. Youth with SB and peers completed questionnaires and interviews regarding characteristics of the dyadic friendship and each individual's general friendships.

What are successful recruitment and retention strategies for underserved populations? Examining physical activity interventions in primary care and community settings.

The purposes of this review are to (1) describe recruitment and retention strategies for physical activity interventions focusing on underserved populations and (2) identify successful strategies which show the most promise for "best practices" recommendations to guide future research. The method used was systematic review. Data on recruitment and retention strategies were abstracted and analyzed according to participant characteristics, types of strategies used, and effectiveness using an ecological framework.

Do navigators' estimates of navigation intensity predict navigation time for cancer care?

Patient navigation requires that patient load be equitably distributed. We examined whether navigators could predict the relative amount of time needed by different patients for navigation. Analysis of 139 breast and colorectal cancer patients randomized to the navigation arm of a trial evaluating the effectiveness of navigation.

The effect of various vitamin D supplementation regimens in breast cancer patients.

Vitamin D deficiency in the patients treated for breast cancer is associated with numerous adverse effects (bone loss, arthralgia, and falls). The first aim of this study was to assess vitamin D status, determined by 25-OH vitamin D levels, among women diagnosed with breast cancer according to demographic/clinical variables and bone mineral density (BMD). The second aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of daily low-dose and weekly high-dose vitamin D supplementation on 25-OH vitamin D levels.

Effects of a structured weight-bearing exercise program on bone metabolism among breast cancer survivors: a feasibility trial.

Purpose: Treatments for breast cancer, specifically hormonal therapy, accelerate bone loss (BL) among breast cancer survivors, leading to osteoporosis and an increase in fracture risk. Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is a moderate form of weight-bearing exercise, equivalent to walking, and it has been shown to improve aerobic capacity and strength among breast cancer survivors and might also be effective in slowing bone loss in breast cancer survivors. This pilot study compared the influence of TCC with that of standard support therapy (ST; exercise control) on BL biomarkers among breast cancer survivors.