Patterns and trends in local health departments' efforts to promote access to care in local communities throughout the United States: The contributions of governance structures.

Public health agencies like local health departments (LHDs) play an important role in addressing healthcare access disparities and service delivery gaps in local communities throughout the United States. Previous research has provided important snapshots into specific access issues confronted by LHDs; however, the literature lacks a more comprehensive view of LHDs' efforts to ensure broad access to care, how these have evolved over time more recently, and whether certain types of LHDs governance structures are more likely to engage in activities to ensure access to care. The purpose of this study was to address these gaps in the literature by exploring the prevalence of different activities to ensure access to care, describing how the prevalence of these activities have evolved over time, and examining whether the prevalence of these activities varied as a function of different governance structures.

Association between the number of adopted implementation strategies and contextual determinants: a mixed-methods study.

Background: The successful implementation of evidence-based innovations to improve healthcare delivery often requires a well-planned strategy to support their use. With a greater recognition of the importance of an implementation process, researchers have turned their attention to implementation strategies and their customization to target specific organizational barriers and facilitators. Further, there is a paucity of empirical evidence demonstrating the link between implementation determinants and the number of selected implementation strategies.

Community social capital or health needs: What is driving hospital-community partnerships to address social determinants of health?

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are strongly linked to individual and population health outcomes. Hospitals and health systems are in a unique position to initiate or partner on community-wide efforts address SDOH. However, such efforts typically require collaboration with other healthcare and local community organizations since SDOH affect more than just medical care.

Service Profiles in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Are Treatment Facilities Consistent In Service Mix and Service Offerings?

Objective: Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities are the specialty treatment settings for individuals with SUDs and offer a variety of services for their treatment and long-term management. Despite the recommendations from evidence-based practice guidelines, individual facilities differ in terms of the number and type of services offered, resulting in gaps in service availability. The purpose of this study was to examine whether systematic differences exist among SUD treatment facilities based on the facility's service mix.

Estimating the differences in Caesarean section (C-section) rates between public and privately insured mothers in Florida: A decomposition approach.

Background: Caesarean section (C-sections) is a medically critical and often life-saving procedure for prevention of childbirth complications. However, there are reports of its overuse, especially in women covered by private insurance as compared to public insurance. This study evaluates the difference in C-Section rates among nulliparous women in Florida hospitals across insurance groups and quantifies the contribution of maternal and hospital factors in explaining the difference in rates.

Generation and Use of Evidence by Local Health Departments: The Role of Leader Attributes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether certain types of leaders were associated with the degree to which local health departments (LHDs) generate and use evidence to inform their service offering.

Design: Pooled, cross-sectional analysis using 4 waves (2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019) of the National Profiles of Local Health Departments sponsored by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Univariate analysis was used to assess the extent to which LHDs were generating and using evidence to improve the health of their local communities and whether this changed over time.

Organizational context and the learning and change readiness climate for implementing an evidence-based shared decision-making aid in US rheumatology clinics.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the organizational context that may support learning and change readiness climates that previous research has found to be conducive to implementing evidence-based interventions.

Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory, mixed method evaluation that included 15 rheumatology clinics throughout the United States was performed. Quantitative data were collected using a web-based survey completed by 135 clinic members.

Perspectives on life following a traumatic spinal cord injury.

Background: Persons living with traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) face challenges when returning to their communities. The Spain Rehabilitation Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is developing a continuum of care for SCI patients. The perspectives of individuals with SCI are critical to designing a person-centered approach to the continuum.

Burnout and Leadership Style in Behavioral Health Care: a Literature Review.

Burnout among behavioral health care providers and employees is associated with poor patient and provider outcomes. Leadership style has generally been identified as a means of reducing burnout, yet it is unclear whether some leadership styles are more effective than others at mitigating burnout. Additionally, behavioral health care is provided in a variety of contexts and a leadership style employed in one context may not be effective in another.