Exploring low back and pelvic pain challenges: Administrative insights into prevalence during pregnancy among 2016-2021 South Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries.

Background: Musculoskeletal changes occur during pregnancy; one-half of pregnant women experienced low back pain and/or pelvic pain during pregnancy. Prescription opioid use for Medicaid enrolled pregnant women has increased dramatically due to severe low back pain/pelvic pain.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of low back pain/pelvic pain and related risk factors among a broader population.

Provider's Individual and Network Attributes in the Selection Process of a Predominant Antenatal Care Provider in South Carolina: A Case-Control Study.

Introduction: This study aims to examine the association between provider attributes, including network (patient panel size, degree-number of peer connections, and community size- number of a closely connected group of peers) and individual attributes (travel distance, specialties, and rural practice), and a predominant (most visited) provider.

Methods: This study utilized South Carolina's Medicaid claims data during 2014 to 2018, focusing on live births in hospitals. Samples were limited to pregnant women continuously enrolled in Medicaid throughout pregnancy.

The association of travel burden with prenatal care utilization, what happens after provider-selection.

Background: Birthing people in the United States face numerous challenges when accessing adequate prenatal care (PNC), with transportation being a significant obstacle. Nevertheless, previous studies that relied solely on the distance to the nearest provider cannot differentiate the effects of travel burden on provider selection and care utilization. These may exaggerate the degree of inequality in access and fail to capture perceived travel burden.

Who is your prenatal care provider? An algorithm to identify the predominant prenatal care provider with claims data.

Background: Using claims data to identify a predominant prenatal care (PNC) provider is not always straightforward, but it is essential for assessing access, cost, and outcomes. Previous algorithms applied plurality (providing the most visits) and majority (providing majority of visits) to identify the predominant provider in primary care setting, but they lacked visit sequence information. This study proposes an algorithm that includes both PNC frequency and sequence information to identify the predominant provider and estimates the percentage of identified predominant providers.

On the geographic access to healthcare, beyond proximity.

This study examined the incongruence of travel distance between the nearest provider and the provider that pregnant woman actually chose to visit. Using a dataset of South Carolina claims including rural and urban areas for the period 2014-2018 based on live births of 27,290 pregnant women, we compared the travel distance and travel time for two providers of health: the nearest facility and the main one for the area in question. The number of the former type was counted for every case.

Benefits of a Three-Day Bamboo Forest Therapy Session on the Physiological Responses of University Students.

Studies have indicated that natural environments have the potential to improve the relationship between a stressful life and psychological well-being and physical health. Forest therapy has recently received widespread attention as a novel solution for stress recovery and health promotion. Bamboo is an important forest type in many countries, especially in East and Southeast Asia and in African countries.

Geographic disparities in residential proximity to colorectal and cervical cancer care providers.

Background: Persistent rural-urban disparities for colorectal and cervical cancers raise concerns regarding access to treatment providers. To the authors knowledge, little is known regarding rural-urban differences in residential proximity to cancer specialists.

Methods: Using the 2018 Physician Compare data concerning physician practice locations and the 2012 to 2016 American Community Survey, the current study estimated the driving distance from each residential zip code tabulation area (ZCTA) centroid to the nearest cancer provider of the following medical specialties involved in treating patients with colorectal and cervical cancer: medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical oncology, general surgery, gynecological oncology, and colorectal surgery.

A systematic review of anxiety across smoking stages in adolescents and young adults.

Background: In adolescence and young adults, inconsistence of the association between anxiety and smoking remains to be investigated and clarified. The aim of this study is investigated and clarified the association between anxiety and smoking stages in adolescence and young adults.

Methods: The data on the causal influence of anxiety on smoking in adolescents and young adults aged 14 to 25 years old was retrieved from electronic databases.

Comparison of visceral and body fat indices and anthropometric measures in relation to untreated hypertension by age and gender among Chinese.

Background: The aim of the study was to compare the efficiency of bioelectrical indices (percentage body fat, PBF; visceral fat index, VFI) and various anthropometric measures (body mass index, BMI; waist circumference, WC; waist-to-height ratio, WHtR) on determining hypertension in Chinese.

Methods: We conducted the community-based cross-sectional survey during August of 2013 to August of 2015 in 66 sample sites selected by multistage random sampling method from Henan province. 14,364 residents were included in the study.

Quality Control and Validation of Oscillometric Blood Pressure Measurements Taken During an Epidemiological Investigation.

This study aims to validate blood pressure (BP) values measured by an oscillometric BP monitor and seek possible calibration methods if discrepancies exist. Noninvasive BP measurement outcomes were determined using an oscillometric BP monitor (Omron HBP-1300) versus a mercury sphygmomanometer (standard device). Two percent of subjects enrolled in an epidemiological investigation were systematically sampled in this study.