Effect of mental health staffing inputs on initiation of care among recently separated Veterans.

Objective: To estimate a causal relationship between mental health staffing and time to initiation of mental health care for new patients.

Data Sources And Study Setting: As the largest integrated health care delivery system in the United States, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides a unique setting for isolating the effects of staffing on initiation of mental health care where demand is high and out-of-pocket costs are not a relevant confounder. We use data from the Department of Defense and VHA to obtain patient and facility characteristics and health care use.

A Qualitative Study of A Health Center-Based Mobile Produce Market.

Healthcare-based food assistance programs have the potential to improve patients' food security, but are underutilized. We conducted a qualitative study of user and staff perceptions of an on-site mobile market at a federally-qualified health center (FQHC). Five themes were identified: 1) financial need drives the decision to use the market, 2) people attend specifically to receive healthy food, 3) users feel a connection to the FQHC, which increases participation, 4) social networks increase usage of the program, and 5) long lines, inclement weather, inaccessibility, and inconsistent marketing and communication are attendance barriers.

Factors Associated With Uptake of an Open Access Health Center-Based Mobile Produce Market: A Case for Expanded Eligibility.

Background: Health care-based food assistance programs show promise but are underutilized. Strict eligibility requirements and program scheduling may dampen reach and outcomes.

Objective: To explore factors associated with uptake of a health center-based mobile produce market with no eligibility requirements and few barriers to entry.

Healthcare-based food assistance programmes in the United States: a scoping review and typology.

This scoping review aimed to identify the breadth of healthcare-based food assistance programmes in the United States and organize them into a typology of programmes to provide implementation guidance to aspiring food assistance programmers in healthcare settings. We searched PubMed, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases for peer-reviewed articles published between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2021, and mined reference lists. We used content analysis to extract programmatic details from each intervention and to qualitatively analyse intervention components to develop a typology for healthcare institutions in the United States.

Clinical effectiveness and cost-impact after 2 years of a ketogenic diet and virtual coaching intervention for patients with diabetes.

Aim: We previously evaluated the impacts at 5 months of a digitally delivered coaching intervention in which participants are instructed to adhere to a very low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet. With extended follow-up (24 months), we assessed the longer-term effects of this intervention on changes in clinical outcomes, health care utilization and costs associated with outpatient, inpatient and emergency department use in the Veterans Health Administration.

Materials And Methods: We employed a difference-in-differences model with a waiting list control group to estimate the 24-month change in glycated haemoglobin, body mass index, blood pressure, prescription medication use, health care utilization rates and associated costs.

Impact of Mandated Case Review Policy on Opioid Discontinuation and Mortality Among High-Risk Long-Term Opioid Therapy Patients: The STORM Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Although long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) has its own risks, opioid discontinuation could pose harm for high-risk Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients receiving LTOT. There is limited information on the impact of a mandate requiring providers to perform case reviews on high-risk patients with an active opioid prescription (ie, mandated case review policy) on opioid discontinuation and mortality.

Methods: Our study is a secondary data analysis of a 23-month stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial between April 2018 and March 2020.

Excess Mortality at Veterans Health Administration Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in excess mortality among the general US population and at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. It is critical to understand the characteristics of facilities that experienced the highest and lowest pandemic-related mortality to inform future mitigation efforts.

Objective: To identify facility-level excess mortality during the pandemic and to correlate these estimates with facility characteristics and community-wide rates of COVID-19 burden.

Effect of a Veterans Health Administration mandate to case review patients with opioid prescriptions on mortality among patients with opioid use disorder: a secondary analysis of the STORM randomized control trial.

Aims: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) implemented the Stratification Tool for Opioid Risk Mitigation (STORM) to reduce the risk of serious adverse events (SAE) among patients with opioid analgesic prescriptions. VHA facilities were mandated to case review patients identified as high risk by STORM. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of this mandate on all-cause mortality and SAEs among VHA patients newly diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Randomized Policy Evaluation of the Veterans Health Administration Stratification Tool for Opioid Risk Mitigation (STORM).

Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) developed a dashboard Stratification Tool for Opioid Risk Mitigation (STROM) to guide clinical practice interventions. VHA released a policy mandating that high-risk patients of an adverse event based on the STORM dashboard are to be reviewed by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians.

Aim: Randomized program evaluation to evaluate if patients in the oversight arm had a lower risk of opioid-related serious adverse events (SAEs) or death compared to those in the non-oversight arm.

County-Level Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Excess Mortality Among U.S. Veterans: A Population-Based Study.

Background: As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to impact the world at large, Veterans of the US Armed Forces are experiencing increases in both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 mortality. Veterans may be more susceptible to the pandemic than the general population due to their higher comorbidity burdens and older age, but no research has examined if trends in excess mortality differ between these groups. Additionally, individual-level data on demographics, comorbidities, and deaths are provided in near-real time for all enrolees of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Effectiveness of a ketogenic diet and virtual coaching intervention for patients with diabetes: A difference-in-differences analysis.

Aim: To test the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet and virtual coaching intervention in controlling markers of diabetes care and healthcare utilization.

Materials And Methods: Using a difference-in-differences analysis with a waiting list control group-a quasi-experimental methodology-we estimated the 5-month change in HbA1c, body mass index, blood pressure, prescription medication use and costs, as well as healthcare utilization. The analysis included 590 patients with diabetes who were also overweight or obese, and who regularly utilize the Veterans Health Administration (VA) for healthcare.

Impact of Expanded Medicaid Eligibility on the Diabetes Continuum of Care Among Low-Income Adults: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis.

Introduction: The impact of Medicaid expansion on linkage to care, self-maintenance, and treatment among low-income adults with diabetes was examined.

Methods: A difference-in-differences design was used on data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2008-2018. Analysis was restricted to states with diabetes outcomes and nonpregnant adults aged 18-64 years who were Medicaid eligible on the basis of income.

Peer effects of obesity on child body composition.

This study investigates whether peer obesity is a driver of individual weight changes in public school children and whether the impact of peer effects changes as children age. Quantifying peer effects is important for understanding the social determinants of obesity and for planning effective school wellness policies. However, the extant empirical research on peer effects is limited due to difficulties in separating causal influences from confounding factors.

Adolescent Cognitive Aptitudes and Later-in-Life Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders.

Importance: Low early-life cognitive ability is a potential early marker of dementia risk in later life. Previous studies use only global measures of general intelligence and/or study this relationship in gender-specific samples. The contribution of early-life performance on specific cognitive abilities, such as language, reasoning, and visualization aptitudes, to indicating future dementia risk is unknown.

Food prices and obesity: a review.

In response to rising rates of obesity in the United States due in part to excess food consumption, researchers and policy makers have argued that levying food taxes on obesity-promoting foods, perhaps combined with subsidies on healthier options, would be an effective tool to stem the obesity epidemic. The extent to which overall energy intake or weight outcomes will improve as a result of these policies is ultimately an empirical question. This review examines the link between food or beverage price changes and energy intake or weight outcomes among U.

Mandatory menu labeling in one fast-food chain in King County, Washington.

Background: As part of a comprehensive effort to stem the rise in obesity, King County, Washington, enforced a mandatory menu-labeling regulation requiring all restaurant chains with 15 or more locations to disclose calorie information at the point of purchase beginning in January 2009.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to quantify the impact of the King County regulation on transactions and purchasing behavior at one Mexican fast-food chain with locations within and adjacent to King County.

Methods: To examine the effect of the King County regulation, a difference-in-difference approach was used to compare total transactions and average calories per transaction between seven King County restaurants and seven control locations focusing on two time periods: one period immediately following the law until the posting of drive-through menu boards (January 2009 to July 2009) and a second period following the drive-through postings (August 2009 through January 2010).

The economics of obesity.

The rise in obesity rates, both nationally and internationally, is a result of changes in the environment that have simultaneously lowered the cost of food production, lowered the time and monetary cost of food consumption, increased the real cost of being physically active at work and at home, and decreased the health consequences that result from obesity by bringing a host of new drugs and devices to the market to better manage the adverse health effects that obesity promotes. This changing environment is in response to consumers' demand for labor-saving technology and convenient, affordable food. To be successful, efforts to combat obesity therefore need to recognize and address these realities.