The impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures on neonatal health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between COVID-19 mitigation measures and stillbirth, low birth weight (LBW), and preterm birth (PTB) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Study Design: Systematic review/meta-analysis.

Methods: We searched six databases for literature indexed from January 2020 to December 2022 for studies examining COVID-19 policies and neonatal outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa.

A Remote Oral Self-Care Behaviors Assessment System in Vulnerable Populations: Usability and Feasibility Study.

Background: Preventative self-care can reduce dental disease that disproportionately burdens vulnerable populations. Personalized digital oral self-care behavioral interventions offer a promising solution. However, the success of these digital interventions depends on toothbrushing data collection e-platforms attuned to the needs and preferences of vulnerable communities.

Extended observation of reduced methamphetamine use with combined naltrexone plus bupropion in the ADAPT-2 trial.

Background And Aims: A 12-week placebo-controlled, sequential parallel Accelerated Development of Additive Pharmacotherapy Treatment for Methamphetamine Use Disorder (ADAPT-2) trial evaluated the effects of extended-release injectable naltrexone plus extended-release oral bupropion (NTX + BUPN) on methamphetamine (MA) use over two stages. This study reports on the previously unpublished stage 2 MA use in participants randomized at stage 1 to receive NTX + BUPN through both stages compared with those assigned to placebo.

Design: This is a secondary analysis of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) ADAPT-2 network trial.

Comparison of Imputation Strategies for Incomplete Longitudinal Data in Life-Course Epidemiology.

Incomplete longitudinal data are common in life-course epidemiology and may induce bias leading to incorrect inference. Multiple imputation (MI) is increasingly preferred for handling missing data, but few studies explore MI-method performance and feasibility in real-data settings. We compared 3 MI methods using real data under 9 missing-data scenarios, representing combinations of 10%, 20%, and 30% missingness and missing completely at random, at random, and not at random.

Randomized Comparative Effectiveness Trial of 2 Federally Recommended Strategies to Reduce Excess Body Fat in Overweight, Low-Income Patients: MyPlate.gov vs Calorie Counting.

Purpose: Since 2011, US authorities have supported the following 2 approaches to healthier body fat composition: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Diabetes Prevention Program's calorie counting (CC) approach and the US Department of Agriculture's MyPlate (adherence to federal nutrition guidelines). The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of CC vs MyPlate approaches on satiety/satiation and on achieving healthier body fat composition among primary care patients.

Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the CC and MyPlate approaches from 2015 to 2017.

Assessing Alternative Imputation Strategies for Infrequently Missing Items on Multi-item Scales.

Health-science researchers often measure psychological constructs using multi-item scales and encounter missing items on some participants. Multiple imputation (MI) has emerged as an alternative to methods (e.g.

Male-Female Disparities in Years of Potential Life Lost Attributable to COVID-19 in the United States: A State-by-State Analysis.

Males are at higher risk relative to females of severe outcomes following COVID-19 infection. Focusing on COVID-19-attributable mortality in the United States (U.S.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Years of Potential Life Lost Attributable to COVID-19 in the United States: An Analysis of 45 States and the District of Columbia.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in the United States has disproportionately impacted communities of color across the country. Focusing on COVID-19-attributable mortality, we expand upon a national comparative analysis of years of potential life lost (YPLL) attributable to COVID-19 by race/ethnicity (Bassett et al., 2020), estimating percentages of total YPLL for non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, non-Hispanic Asians, and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives, contrasting them with their respective percent population shares, as well as age-adjusted YPLL rate ratios-anchoring comparisons to non-Hispanic Whites-in each of 45 states and the District of Columbia using data from the National Center for Health Statistics as of 30 December 2020.

Intimate Partner Violence and Food Insecurity Predict Early Behavior Problems Among South African Children over 5-years Post-Birth.

Households experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and food insecurity are at high risk of lifelong physical and behavioral difficulties. Longitudinal data from a perinatal home-visiting cluster-randomized controlled intervention trial in South Africa townships were used to examine the relationships between household settings and mothers' histories of risk and children's behavior problems at 3 and 5 years of age. IPV, food insecurity, maternal depressed mood, and geriatric pregnancy (at age of 35 or older) were consistently associated with children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.

A Scalable System for Passively Monitoring Oral Health Behaviors Using Electronic Toothbrushes in the Home Setting: Development and Feasibility Study.

Background: Dental disease (including dental caries and periodontal disease) is largely preventable and closely linked to inadequate oral health behaviors. Digital health technologies have great potential for unobtrusively monitoring brushing behaviors in home settings and promoting optimal oral self-care routines at scale.

Objective: The aim of this study is to leverage the ubiquity of electronic toothbrushes and smartphones with the development of a Remote Oral Behaviors Assessment System (ROBAS) and evaluate its feasibility for passively tracking brushing behaviors in real-world settings.

Resilience Against Depression Disparities (RADD): a protocol for a randomised comparative effectiveness trial for depression among predominantly low-income, racial/ethnic, sexual and gender minorities.

Introduction: Depression is the leading cause of adult disability and common among sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults. The current study builds on findings showing the effectiveness of depression quality improvement (QI) and delivery of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) skills provided by community health workers in reducing depression. Depression QI approaches across healthcare and social/community services in safety-net settings have shown improvements in mental wellness, mental health quality of life and depression over 12 months.

Serial cross-sectional study for the association between urinary bisphenol A and paediatric obesity: Recent updates using NHANES 2003-2014.

Background: Several studies have reported bisphenol A (BPA) as a potential risk factor for paediatric obesity, but the findings were inconsistent among these studies.

Methods: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003 to 2014, we conducted a serial cross-sectional study to examine the association between urinary BPA and paediatric obesity among children aged 6 and 19 years. The association between paediatric obesity and urinary BPA concentrations with or without urinary creatinine adjustments was assessed using multivariable regression and cubic spline models fitted for regression models.

Comparative effectiveness trial comparing MyPlate to calorie counting for mostly low-income Latino primary care patients of a federally qualified community health center: study design, baseline characteristics.

Background: Primary care-based behavior change obesity treatment has long featured the Calorie restriction (CC), portion control approach. By contrast, the MyPlate-based obesity treatment approach encourages eating more high-satiety/high-satiation foods and requires no calorie-counting. This report describes study methods of a comparative effectiveness trial of CC versus MyPlate.

Benefits of Treatment Completion Over Premature Termination: Findings from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

: To evaluate potential differences in therapeutic outcomes between youths who completed a full course of treatment as planned compared to youths who terminated treatment prematurely. : Using longitudinal data from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) Core Data Set, the present study examined demographic characteristics, trauma history, scores on standardized measures, and ratings of functional impairment and behavior problems in a large clinical sample of children and adolescents exposed to trauma who received treatment at NCTSN centers across the United States. Baseline and follow-up data were used to compare treatment completers (= 3,108) and noncompleters ( = 4,029).

Maintaining Internal Validity in Community Partnered Participatory Research: Experience from the Community Partners in Care Study.

Objective: With internal validity being a central goal of designed experiments, we seek to elucidate how community partnered participatory research (CPPR) impacts the internal validity of public health comparative-effectiveness research.

Methods: Community Partners in Care (CPIC), a study comparing a community-coalition intervention to direct technical assistance for disseminating depression care to vulnerable populations, is used to illustrate design choices developed with attention to core CPPR principles. The study-design process is reviewed retrospectively and evaluated based on the resulting covariate balance across intervention arms and on broader peer-review assessments.

Comparative Effectiveness of Coalitions Versus Technical Assistance for Depression Quality Improvement in Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions.

Significance: Prior research suggests that Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) for coalition support compared with Resources for Services (RS) for program technical assistance to implement depression quality improvement programs improves 6- and 12-month client mental-health related quality of life (MHRQL); however, effects for clients with multiple chronic medical conditions (MCC) are unknown.

Objective: To explore effectiveness of CEP vs RS in MCC and non-MCC subgroups.

Design: Secondary analyses of a cluster-randomized trial.

Methamphetamine use and oral health-related quality of life.

Purpose: Methamphetamine (MA) is associated with adverse health effects, including the rampant tooth decay condition called "Meth Mouth." However, the impact of MA use on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) is unknown. This study assessed the relationship between MA use and self-reported OHRQOL.

Periodontal status of current methamphetamine users.

Background: Methamphetamine (MA) use is associated with extensive dental caries. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease in a convenience sample of MA users.

Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, MA users were recruited with a combination of snowball sampling and street outreach techniques.

Long-Term Effects of Pre-Placement Risk Factors on Children's Psychological Symptoms and Parenting Stress Among Families Adopting Children From Foster Care.

This exploratory longitudinal study examined behavioral outcomes and parenting stress among families with children adopted from foster care, taking into account environmental and biological risk factors. Child internalizing and externalizing problems and parenting stress were assessed in 82 adopted children and their families at 2 months post-placement, 12 months post-placement, and then yearly until 5 years post-placement. A history of abuse/neglect predicted significantly higher externalizing and internalizing problems at a borderline level of statistical significance.

Comparative Effectiveness of Two Models of Depression Services Quality Improvement in Health and Community Sectors.

Objective: The effectiveness of community coalition building and program technical assistance was compared in implementation of collaborative care for depression among health care and community sector clients.

Methods: In under-resourced communities, within 93 programs randomly assigned to coalition building (Community Engagement and Planning) or program technical assistance (Resources for Services) models, 1,018 clients completed surveys at baseline and at six, 12, or 36 months. Regression analysis was used to estimate intervention effects and intervention-by-sector interaction effects on depression, mental health-related quality of life, and community-prioritized outcomes and on services use.

A Community-Partnered, Participatory, Cluster-Randomized Study of Depression Care Quality Improvement: Three-Year Outcomes.

Objective: Community Partners in Care, a community-partnered, cluster-randomized trial with depressed clients from 93 Los Angeles health and community programs, examined the added value of a community coalition approach (Community Engagement and Planning [CEP]) versus individual program technical assistance (Resources for Services [RS]) for implementing depression quality improvement in underserved communities. CEP was more effective than RS in improving mental health-related quality of life, reducing behavioral health hospitalizations, and shifting services toward community-based programs at six months. At 12 months, continued evidence of improvement was found.