Association between education and allostatic load with risk of cancer mortality among Hispanic women.

Purpose: Cancer remains the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the US. While social determinants of health, such as educational attainment, have been linked to negative health outcomes, their biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We evaluated the association between educational attainment and allostatic load (AL), a measure of chronic physiologic stress, with risk of cancer mortality in Hispanic women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Nutrition's checkpoint inhibition: The impact of nutrition on immunotherapy outcomes.

Objectives: To determine if nutritional status effects response to immunotherapy in women with gynecologic malignancies.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on gynecologic cancer patients who received immunotherapy at a single institution between 2015 and 2022. Immunotherapy included checkpoint inhibitors and tumor vaccines.

Cancer health awareness through screening and education: A community approach to healthy equity.

Background: The Cancer Health Awareness through screeNinG and Education (CHANGE) initiative delivers cancer awareness education with an emphasis on modifiable risk factors and navigation to screening for prostate, breast, and colorectal cancers to residents of public housing communities who experience significant negative social determinants of health.

Methods: Residents of five communities participated. Community advisory board members were recruited and provided feedback to local environmental change projects, recruitment, and community engagement at each site.

Racial disparities in the relationship of regional socioeconomic status and colorectal cancer survival in the five regions of Georgia.

Introduction: The study's purpose was to examine 5-year colorectal cancer (CRC) survival rates between White and Black patients. We also determined whether regional socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with CRC survival between White and Black patients in the Clayton, West Central, East Central, Southeast, and Northeast Georgia public health districts.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis using data from the 1975 to 2016 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.

Preventive behaviors and behavioral risk factors among gynecologic cancer survivors: Results from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey.

Background: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an important factor in promoting positive outcomes for gynecologic cancer survivors.

Methods: We examined preventive behaviors among gynecologic cancer survivors (n = 1824) and persons without a history of cancer in a cross-sectional analysis, using data from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey (BRFSS). BRFSS is a cross-sectional telephone-based survey of U.

Understanding geographic and racial/ethnic disparities in mortality from four major cancers in the state of Georgia: a spatial epidemiologic analysis, 1999-2019.

We examined geographic and racial variation in cancer mortality within the state of Georgia, and investigated the correlation between the observed spatial differences and county-level characteristics. We analyzed county-level cancer mortality data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer mortality among adults (aged ≥ 18 years) in 159 Georgia counties from years 1999 through 2019. Geospatial methods were applied, and we identified hot spot counties based on cancer mortality rates overall and stratified by non-Hispanic white (NH-white) and NH-black race/ethnicity.

Implementing a self-monitoring application during pregnancy and postpartum for rural and underserved women: A qualitative needs assessment study.

Background: Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates within the US. This study describes the qualitative needs assessment undertaken to understand the needs of rural and underserved women and their perspectives on implementing a self monitoring application during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: Qualitative methodology was used to conduct the needs assessment of 12 health care providers (nurses, nurse-midwives, patient care coordinators, and physicians) and 25 women from rural and underserved populations in Georgia was conducted to ascertain common themes on three topics: pregnancy care experiences, comfort with technology, and initial perspectives on the proposed VidaRPM application.

Health literacy among cancer survivors: Results from the 2016 behavioral risk factor surveillance system survey.

Health literacy is a set of knowledge and skills that enables individuals to obtain, communicate, process and understand information, and services to make appropriate health decisions and to successfully navigate the health care system. Health literacy is important to quality of cancer survivorship care and patient self-management of their disease.We examined health literacy among cancer survivors, using data from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

A Health Survey of African American Men Seen at an Academic Medical Center in the Southern United States.

Background: African Americans have poorer cardiovascular health and higher chronic disease mortality than non-Hispanic whites. The high burden of chronic diseases among African Americans is a primary cause of disparities in life expectancy between African Americans and whites.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study via a postal survey among a sample of 65 male, African American patients aged ≥ 40 years.

Faith-Based Pregnancy Center Education Bridges the Maternal Health Gap.

Routine prenatal care in the United States has not been effective in reducing maternal mortality and preterm birth rates, nor addressing disparities among non-Hispanic Black women. Pregnant women from minority groups are more likely to be of low socioeconomic status and uninsured, and lacking resources to obtain preconception and early prenatal care to manage medical conditions. Faith-based pregnancy resource centers can help to fill the gap in maternal health among vulnerable populations.

Knowledge of prostate cancer among African American men: A systematic review.

Objective: Recent studies indicate that many African American men may not be making informed decisions about prostate cancer early detection. This is partly due to patients having limited knowledge about early detection of the disease.

Methods: The present review is based upon bibliographic searches in PubMed and CINAHL and relevant search terms.

Prevalence and Prevention of Reproducibility Deficiencies in Life Sciences Research: Large-Scale Meta-Analyses.

BACKGROUND Studies have found that many published life sciences research results are irreproducible. Our goal was to provide comprehensive risk estimates of familiar reproducibility deficiencies to support quality improvement in research. MATERIAL AND METHODS Reports included were peer-reviewed, published between 1980 and 2016, and presented frequency data of basic biomedical research deficiencies.

A logic framework for evaluating social determinants of health interventions in primary care.

Background: Increasing efforts have been made in primary care settings to screen for a broad array of social determinants of health including inadequate food and nutrition, lack of education, unemployment, and inadequate housing, and to refer patients to community resources. Core tenets of primary care include integration with community resources.

Methods: In the course of designing a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of a social determinants of health intervention aimed at adult, at-risk, African American primary care clinic patients, our research team developed a logic model to assist with the evaluation of the intervention.

Interprofessional Education in Dental Hygiene: Attitudes, barriers and practices of program faculty.

Interprofessional education (IPE) experiences are an essential component in preparing dental hygiene students to participate in future interprofessional (IP) collaborations to support comprehensive patient care. The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes, barriers and IPE practices in a national sample of dental hygiene faculty. A 25-item, researcher-designed, electronic survey was sent to 1,800 dental hygiene faculty members to determine attitudes, collaboration and practices involving interprofessional education (IPE).

Costs and Trends of Emergency Department Utilization Pre-ACA and Post-ACA: Evidence From a Rural Georgia Hospital.

Background: A high volume of emergency department (ED) visits in the rural United States may be the result of barriers to accessing primary care. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the number of insured, which may improve patient access to primary care and therefore reduce ED utilization. The objective of this study is to estimate the trends and cost of ED utilization pre-ACA and post-ACA implementation in a rural United States.

Are university rankings useful to improve research? A systematic review.

Introduction: Concerns about reproducibility and impact of research urge improvement initiatives. Current university ranking systems evaluate and compare universities on measures of academic and research performance. Although often useful for marketing purposes, the value of ranking systems when examining quality and outcomes is unclear.

Respiratory therapy faculty perspectives on interprofessional education: Findings from a cross-sectional online survey.

Interprofessional education (IPE) improves collaboration and patient care through joint education between health professions. Respiratory therapy (RT) has not been previously evaluated as participants in IPE. A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to evaluate the opportunities and barriers towards IPE of 874 respiratory therapy faculty with both quantitative measures and open-ended questions.

Respiratory Therapy Faculty Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Education.

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) improves collaboration and patient care through joint education between health professions. Respiratory therapy (RT) faculty were surveyed to evaluate their knowledge and attitudes toward IPE. We report current opportunities for IPE from faculty and compare responses from associate's, bachelor's, and master's degree programs and profit versus nonprofit institutions.

Big Data Clinical Research: Validity, Ethics, and Regulation.

Electronic Health Records (EHR) promise improvement for patient care and also offer great value for biomedical research including clinical, public health, and health services research. Unfortunately, the full potential of EHR big data research has remained largely unrealized. The purpose of this study was to identify rate limiting factors, and develop recommendations to better balance unrestricted extramural EHR access with legitimate safeguarding of EHR data in retrospective research.

Maternal stress predicts postpartum weight retention.

Postpartum weight retention (PPWR) is a significant contributor to the development of overweight and obesity in women of childbearing age. Stress may be a key mechanism making it more difficult for mothers to lose weight in the year following delivery. The aim of this study was to assess whether specific aspects of parenting stress and life stress influence postpartum weight retention in new mothers.

Micro- and macro-level correlates of adiposity in children.

Context: Recently, studies using a social ecological perspective have identified important micro- and macro-level risk factors for excessive adiposity in youth. Although considerable research exists examining these relationships, few studies have applied a socioecological approach to simultaneously examine both micro- and macro-level factors in young children while objectively assessing adiposity via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Objective: To examine race and sex differences in adiposity measured by DXA in a large sample of young children and to identify both micro- and macro-level correlates of adiposity.