Uptake and Discontinuation of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Uninsured Transgender and Cisgender Women: A Public-Private Partnership Model in North Carolina.

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains underutilized among cis and trans women. The PrEP Initiative Program (PIP) is a novel public-private partnership implemented at 12 local clinics in North Carolina. PIP provides HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and clinical and laboratory monitoring for PrEP to uninsured/underinsured clients.

A pilot study of the adverse childhood experiences-dimensions questionnaire (ACE-DQ): Associations with depression.

Background: Recent ACE research proposed items to assess ACE dimensions, such as the frequency or timing of adverse events, that can be added to the original ACE-Study Questionnaire.

Objective: The goal of our study was to pilot-test the refined ACE-Dimensions Questionnaire (ACE-DQ) to determine its predictive validity and compare scoring approaches.

Participants And Setting: Cross-sectional online survey via MTurk with U.

The dimensionality of adverse childhood experiences: A scoping review of ACE dimensions measurement.

Objective: Despite extensive research, the concept of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is not fully developed and there is low agreement on how the concept should be defined and measured. The purpose of this study was to 1) identify different conceptual dimensions associated with ACEs, such as timing or frequency; and 2) determine how these dimensions have been operationalized and analyzed to this point, in order to advance the conceptual understanding of ACEs.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review of empirical journal articles on ACEs published after the original ACE-Study in 1998 to summarize the use of dimensions for the 10 conventional ACE domains.

Chilean Health Care Providers' Perceived Comfort in Performing Oral Rapid Testing for HIV: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: To understand key factors influencing Chilean health care providers' perceived comfort performing oral rapid HIV testing.

Design: One hundred and fifty health care providers completed a self-administered questionnaire that included a five-item scale measuring self-perceived comfort in conducting HIV pretest counseling, oral rapid testing, finger-prick testing, and delivering test results.

Results: Most participants (60%) envisioned good overall comfort performing oral rapid HIV testing (mean score of 16.

System Dynamics Approaches and Collective Action for Community Health: An Integrative Review.

System dynamics (SD) methods, from qualitative causal loop diagramming to quantitative simulation modeling, have the potential to be powerful tools for engaging community stakeholders interested in improving health. However, the extent to which SD drives collective action to improve community health is unclear. The objective of this review was to understand how often, why, and how SD has been used by cross-sector community collectives.

Implementation phase of the Tobacco-Free Parks Ordinance: a policy evaluation using photographic data.

Objective: Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, North Carolina) Board of County Commissioners took the unique step of passing a Tobacco-Free Parks Ordinance designating most county parks as tobacco-free including all smoking products, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes. The objective of the baseline phase of the Ordinance evaluation sought to assess whether signage in the parks was associated with the presence of tobacco-use litter.

Study Design: A qualitative study was conducted with photography as the method of observation across Mecklenburg County parks in North Carolina.

Paradoxes of Practice Guidelines, Professional Expertise, and Patient Centeredness: The Medical Care Triangle.

The coexistence of institutionalized evidence-based practice guidelines, professional expertise of medical practitioners, and the patient centeredness approach form a triangle. Each component of this Medical Care Triangle has characteristics that create paradoxes for health care professionals and their patients. The value of a paradox lies in uncovering and utilizing the contradiction to better understand the underlying organizational phenomenon.

The Association Between Preconception Care Receipt and the Timeliness and Adequacy of Prenatal Care: An Examination of Multistate Data from Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) 2009-2011.

Objectives Prenatal care (PNC) is a critical preventive health service for pregnant women and infants. While timely PNC has been associated with improved birth outcomes, improvements have slowed since the late 1990s. Therefore, focus has shifted to interventions prior to pregnancy.

Predictors of readiness for oral rapid HIV testing by Chilean health care providers.

Objective: This study identified the personal characteristics that affect Chilean health care providers' readiness to adopt HIV Oral Rapid Testing (ORT) in Chile as a new clinical evidence-based practice (EBP).

Methods: Using a cross-sectional research design, the study sampled 150 nurses, midwives, and physicians employed at four clinics within the Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile Health Network in Santiago. Participants completed a self-administered survey asking about their demographic background, EBP attitudes and experience, personal beliefs related to HIV, the importance of HIV testing, and perceived self-comfort in performing a rapid HIV test.

Wage Inequity: Within-Market Comparative Analysis of Salary for Public Health Nurses and Hospital Nurses.

The labor market perspective focuses on supply and demand for registered nurses (RNs) as employees. This perspective contrasts with beliefs in the public health sector that RNs working in local health departments (LHD) as public health nurses (PHNs) accept lower wages because of factors other than market demand. This study sought to describe the extent to which hourly wages of RNs working in LHDs are competitive with hospital RN wages within the same county market.