In an effort to respond to the large surge in COVID-19 cases in Arizona that began between May and July 2020, the Arizona State University (ASU) Student Outbreak Response Team (SORT) formed a remote, volunteer-based case investigation team that worked in partnership with a local public health department through delegated public health authority.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study investigated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among adults over 18 years.
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Settings: A large public university.
Introduction: The long-term impact of COVID-19 is unknown. We developed a 5-year prospective cohort study designed to generate actionable community-informed research about the consequences of COVID-19 on adolescents ages 12-17 years in Arizona.
Methods: The study has two primary outcomes: 1) acute and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 illness and 2) symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Background: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, social science research has required recruiting many prospective participants. Many researchers have explicitly taken advantage of widespread public interest in COVID-19 to advertise their studies. Leveraging this interest, however, risks creating unrepresentative samples due to differential interest in the topic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring summer 2020, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) responded to a surge in COVID-19 cases. We used internet-based platforms to automate case notifications, prioritized investigation of cases more likely to have onward transmission or severe COVID-19 based on available preinvestigation information, and partnered with Arizona State University (ASU) to scale investigation capacity. We assessed the speed of automated case notifications and accuracy of our investigation prioritization criteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom May through July 2020, Arizona was a global hotspot for new COVID-19 cases. In response to the surge of cases, local public health departments looked for innovative ways to form external partnerships to address their staffing needs. In collaboration with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the Arizona State University Student Outbreak Response Team (SORT) created and implemented a virtual call center to conduct public health case investigations for COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To elucidate the symptoms of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases as compared with laboratory-confirmed negative individuals and to the untested general population among all participants who reported symptoms within a large prospective cohort study.
Setting And Design: This work was conducted within the framework of the Arizona CoVHORT, a longitudinal prospective cohort study conducted among Arizona residents.
Participants: Eligible participants were any individual living in Arizona and were recruited from across Arizona via COVID-19 case investigations, participation in testing studies and a postcard mailing effort.
We conducted a community seroprevalence survey in Arizona, from September 12 to October 1, 2020, to determine the presence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We used the seroprevalence estimate to predict SARS-CoV-2 infections in the jurisdiction by applying the adjusted seroprevalence to the county's population. The estimated community seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections was 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCDC recommends universal indoor masking by students, staff members, faculty, and visitors in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools, regardless of vaccination status, to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (1). Schools in Maricopa and Pima Counties, which account for >75% of Arizona's population (2), resumed in-person learning for the 2021-22 academic year during late July through early August 2021. In mid-July, county-wide 7-day case rates were 161 and 105 per 100,000 persons in Maricopa and Pima Counties, respectively, and 47.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To examine differences in the availability, variety and distribution of foods and beverages sold at street food stands (SFS) across neighbourhood income levels in Mexico City.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Setting: Twenty neighbourhoods representing low-, middle- and high-income levels in Mexico City.
Objective: To design and test the interrater reliability of a Street Food Stand Assessment Tool (SFSAT).
Design: Variables were adapted from validated assessment tools, field observations, and the Mexican Dietary Guidelines. Two researchers tested the SFSAT by observing street food stands (SFS) in 3 middle- to high-income neighborhoods.
Clinical presentation, outcomes, and duration of COVID-19 has ranged dramatically. While some individuals recover quickly, others suffer from persistent symptoms, collectively known as long COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). Most PASC research has focused on hospitalized COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
April 2021
Street food stands (SFS) are an understudied element of the food environment. Previous SFS studies have not used a rigorous approach to document the availability, density, and distribution of SFS across neighborhood income levels and points of access in Mexico City. A random sample ( = 761) of street segments representing 20 low-, middle-, and high-income neighborhoods were assessed using geographic information system (GIS) and ground-truthing methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study is a prospective, population-based cohort of individuals with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and those without past infection through multiple recruitment sources. The main study goal is to track health status over time, within the diverse populations of Arizona and to identify the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on health and well-being. A total of 2,881 study participants (16.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeginning in March 2020, the United States emerged as the global epicenter for COVID-19 cases with little to guide policy response in the absence of extensive data available for reliable epidemiological modeling in the early phases of the pandemic. In the ensuing weeks, American jurisdictions attempted to manage disease spread on a regional basis using non-pharmaceutical interventions (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOn 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Early epidemiological estimates show that COVID-19 is highly transmissible, infecting populations across the globe in a short amount of time. WHO has recommended widespread clinical testing in order to contain COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate the possible associations between the food environment and dietary intake in the Mexican population.
Design: Four databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, Web of Science and SCIelo) were used to retrieve relevant articles using an open timeframe. Articles were reviewed if they contained a systematic measure (i.
The US Food and Drug Administration's 2013 Unique Device Identification System Rule requires manufacturers to label devices with unique identifiers. Implantable devices are now shipped with unique identifiers, and many electronic health records have fields to incorporate them. Health policy changes have prompted hospital systems to assess implementation of implant barcode scanning systems to capture unique device identifiers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobal health education has been expanding rapidly and several universities have created an undergraduate major degree (bachelor's degree) in global heath or global health studies. Because there are currently no national guidelines for undergraduate degrees in global health, each of these programs was developed along individual lines. To guide the development of future global health majors, we conducted a systematic review of undergraduate majors in global health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: While prior studies have quantified the mortality burden of the 1957 H2N2 influenza pandemic at broad geographic regions in the United States, little is known about the pandemic impact at a local level. Here we focus on analyzing the transmissibility and mortality burden of this pandemic in Arizona, a setting where the dry climate was promoted as reducing respiratory illness transmission yet tuberculosis prevalence was high.
Methods: Using archival death certificates from 1954 to 1961, we quantified the age-specific seasonal patterns, excess-mortality rates, and transmissibility patterns of the 1957 H2N2 pandemic in Maricopa County, Arizona.
Background: U.S. health care is responding to significant regulation and meaningful incentives for higher quality care, patient safety, electronic documentation and data exchange.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisaster Med Public Health Prep
April 2015
Objective: This study examines the public perception of the 2009 H1N1 influenza risk and its association with flu-related knowledge, social contexts, and preventive behaviors during the second wave of the influenza outbreak in Arizona.
Methods: Statistical analyses were conducted on survey data, which were collected from a random-digit telephone survey of the general public in Arizona in October 2009.
Results: The public perceived different levels of risk regarding the likelihood and their concern about contracting the 2009 H1N1 flu.
FDA's Unique Device Identification (UDI) Rule will mandate manufacturers to assign unique identifiers to their marketed devices. UDI use is expected to improve implant documentation and identification. A 2012 American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons membership survey explored revision total hip and knee arthroplasty implant identification processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisaster Med Public Health Prep
September 2011
Similar to the triaging of patients by health care workers, legal and public health professionals must prioritize and respond to issues of law and ethics in declared public health emergencies. As revealed by the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza outbreak and other events, there are considerable inconsistencies among professionals regarding how to best approach these issues during a public health emergency. Our project explores these inconsistencies by attempting to assess how practitioners make legal and ethical decisions in real-time emergencies to further critical public health objectives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Public Health Manag Pract
November 2011
Objective: To examine public knowledge, perceptions, and preparedness for the 2009 influenza A/H1N1 pandemic.
Design: We conducted a telephone survey of selected households in Arizona during the month of October 2009.
Results: Among the 727 households interviewed, one-third (34%) were not aware that the terms swine flu and H1N1 refer to the same virus.