Role of Sex in the Association of Socioeconomic Status With Cardiovascular Health in Black Americans: The Jackson Heart Study.

Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with cardiovascular health (CVH). Potential differences by sex in this association remain incompletely understood in Black Americans, where SES disparities are posited to be partially responsible for cardiovascular inequities. The association of SES measures (income, education, occupation, and insurance) with CVH scores was examined in the Jackson Heart Study.

Racial Segregation Among Patients with Cholangiocarcinoma-Impact on Diagnosis, Treatment, and Outcomes.

Background: Racial segregation, an effect of historical marginalization, may impact cancer care and outcomes. We sought to examine the impact of racial segregation on the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA).

Patients And Methods: Data on Black and White patients with CCA were obtained from the linked SEER-Medicare database (2004-2015) and 2010 Census data.

The association of upward economic mobility with textbook outcomes among patients undergoing general and cardiovascular surgery.

Background: While disadvantaged neighborhoods may be associated with worse outcomes and earlier death, the relationship between economic opportunity and surgical outcomes remains unexplored.

Methods: Medicare beneficiaries who underwent AAA, CABG, colectomy or cholecystectomy were identified and stratified into quintiles based on upward economic mobility. Risk-adjusted probability of adverse postoperative outcomes were examined relative to economic mobility.

Impact of insurance type in postoperative emergency department utilization and clinical outcomes following ventral hernia repair (VHR).

Background: Access to care and barriers to achieving health equity remain persistent and prevailing issues in the USA, particularly for low socioeconomic (L-SES) populations. Previous studies have shown that public insurance (a surrogate marker for L-SES) is an independent predictor of emergent hernia repair. However, the impact of insurance type on postoperative healthcare utilization, including emergency department (ED) care, following ventral hernia repair (VHR) remains unknown.

Association of Socioeconomic Status With Ideal Cardiovascular Health in Black Men.

Background Black men are burdened by high cardiovascular risk and the highest all-cause mortality rate in the United States. Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with improved cardiovascular risk factors in majority populations, but there is a paucity of data in Black men. Methods and Results We examined the association of SES measures including educational attainment, annual income, employment status, and health insurance status with an ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) score, which included blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, physical activity, and smoking in African American Male Wellness Walks.

Marginalized patient identities and the patient-physician relationship in the cancer care context: a systematic scoping review.

Purpose: We sought to examine and categorize the current evidence on patient-physician relationships among marginalized patient populations within the context of cancer care using a systemic scoping review approach.

Methods: Web-based discovery services (e.g.

Impact of Race/Ethnicity and County-Level Vulnerability on Receipt of Surgery Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries With the Diagnosis of Early Pancreatic Cancer.

Background: Patients can experience barriers and disparities to access high-quality cancer care. This study sought to characterize receipt of surgery and chemotherapy among Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of early-stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma cancer (PDAC) relative to race/ethnicity and social vulnerability.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database was used to identify patients with a diagnosis of early-stage (stage 1 or 2) PDAC between 2004 and 2016.

Association of social vulnerability with the use of high-volume and Magnet recognition hospitals for hepatopancreatic cancer surgery.

Background: In an effort to improve perioperative and oncologic outcomes, there have been multiple quality improvement initiatives, including regionalization of high-risk procedures and hospital accreditation designations from independent organizations. These initiatives may, however, hinder access to high-quality surgical care for certain patients living in areas with high social vulnerability who may be disproportionally affected, leading to disparities in access and worse postoperative outcomes.

Methods: Medicare beneficiaries who underwent liver or pancreas resection for cancer were identified using the 100% Medicare Inpatient Standard Analytic Files.

Postoperative imaging surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma: How much is enough?

Background: The objective of the current study was to define trends in postoperative surveillance imaging following liver-directed treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and characterize the impact of high-intensity surveillance on long-term survival.

Methods: Patients who underwent liver- directed therapy for HCC between 2004 and 2016 were identified using the SEER-Medicare database. Trends in surveillance intensity over time, factors associated with high surveillance intensity and the impact of surveillance on long-term outcomes were examined.

High Social Vulnerability and "Textbook Outcomes" after Cancer Operation.

Background: The effect of community-level factors on surgical outcomes has not been well examined. We sought to characterize differences in "textbook outcomes" (TO) relative to social vulnerability among Medicare beneficiaries who underwent operations for cancer.

Methods: Individuals who underwent operations for lung, esophageal, colon, or rectal cancer between 2013 and 2017 were identified using the Medicare database, which was merged with the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI).

Sounding the Alarm: Six Strategies for Medical Students to Champion Anti-Racism Advocacy.

Every year, incoming medical students take the Hippocratic Oath and pledge that they: "will be an advocate for patients in need and strive for justice in the care of the sick," yet guidance on how to engage in community and public health advocacy is not a mandatory component of medical education. Therefore, students often feel insufficiently qualified to engage in advocacy efforts. As the nation has struggled with a viral pandemic (COVID-19) and witnessed an uprising against anti-Black racism and police brutality, it became immediately apparent that activism that marries medicine to anti-racism advocacy was needed.

Association of County-Level Vulnerability, Patient-Level Race/Ethnicity, and Receipt of Surgery for Early-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

This study assesses the association and interaction of county-level social vulnerability index with patient-level race/ethnicity compared with the probability of undergoing resection/transplant for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

County-level Social Vulnerability is Associated With Worse Surgical Outcomes Especially Among Minority Patients.

Objective: We sought to characterize the association between patient county-level vulnerability with postoperative outcomes.

Summary Background Data: Although the impact of demographic-, clinical- and hospital-level factors on outcomes following surgery have been examined, little is known about the effect of a patient's community of residence on surgical outcomes.

Methods: Individuals who underwent colon resection, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), lung resection, or lower extremity joint replacement (LEJR) were identified in the 2016 to 2017 Medicare database, which was merged with Center for Disease Control social vulnerability index (SVI) dataset at the beneficiary level of residence.

Sex-based differences in time to surgical care among pancreatic cancer patients: A national study of Medicare beneficiaries.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to characterize time from cancer symptoms to diagnosis and time from diagnosis to surgical treatment among patients undergoing pancreatectomy for cancer.

Methods: Medicare beneficiaries who underwent pancreatectomy for cancer between 2013 and 2017 were identified using the 100% Medicare Inpatient Standard Analytic Files. Mixed effects negative binomial regression models were utilized to determine which factors were associated with the number of weeks to diagnosis and pancreatic resection.

Community-engaged and community-based participatory research to promote American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 among African American adults: A systematic review.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and African Americans (AA) have a disproportionately greater burden of CVD as compared to Whites. The American Heart Association (AHA) Life's Simple 7 (LS7) framework outlines goals for attaining ideal cardiovascular health. Yet, there is a lack of evidence summarizing best practices to maximize LS7 attainment.

The association of neighborhood social vulnerability with surgical textbook outcomes among patients undergoing hepatopancreatic surgery.

Background: Previous studies have largely examined social determinants of health relative to individual surgery quality metrics. We sought to characterize possible differences in "textbook outcome," a composite measure of quality, relative to social vulnerability index.

Methods: The Medicare Standard Analytical Files from 2013 to 2017 were used to identify beneficiaries who underwent hepatopancreatic surgery.

Association of County-Level Social Vulnerability with Elective Versus Non-elective Colorectal Surgery.

Introduction: A person's community, or lived environment, may play an important role in achieving optimal health outcomes. The objective of the current study was to assess the association of county-level vulnerability with the probability of having a non-elective colon resection. We hypothesized that individuals from areas with a high social vulnerability would be at greater risk of non-elective colon resection compared with patients from low social vulnerability areas.

The association of ideal cardiovascular health with self-reported health, diabetes, and adiposity in African American males.

African American (AA) men have the highest age-adjusted all-cause mortality rate in the United States of America (US) and a high burden of cardiovascular risk factors. The African American Male Wellness Walk (AAMWW) seeks to reduce such health disparities among AA males. The association of a combination of ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) metrics (blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and smoking) with self-reported health, diabetes, and body fat percentage was examined among 729 AA male participants from the 2017 and 2018 AAMWWs.

Preoperative continuity of care and its relationship with cost of hepatopancreatic surgery.

Background: Continuity of care may be associated with health care outcomes and costs. The objective of the current study was to characterize the impact of continuity of care on perioperative outcomes, as well as on cost of care, among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing hepatopancreatic resection.

Methods: Patients with a minimum of 4 outpatient visits in the year before hepatopancreatic surgery were identified in the Medicare claims data.