Declining Trends and Widening Disparities in Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Massachusetts Public School Districts, 2009-2014.

Objectives: We evaluated the overall and sociodemographic disparities in trends in prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Massachusetts public school districts between 2009 and 2014.

Methods: In 2009, Massachusetts mandated annual screening of body mass index for students in grades 1, 4, 7, and 10. This was part of the statewide Mass in Motion prevention programs.

Patient Characteristics Associated With Smoking Cessation Interventions and Quit Attempt Rates Across 10 Community Health Centers With Electronic Health Records.

Objectives: We used electronic health record (EHR) data to determine rates and patient characteristics in offering cessation interventions (counseling, medications, or referral) and initiating quit attempts.

Methods: Ten community health centers in New York City contributed 30 months of de-identified patient data from their EHRs.

Results: Of 302 940 patients, 40% had smoking status recorded and only 34% of documented current smokers received an intervention.

Effect of systems change and use of electronic health records on quit rates among tobacco users in a public hospital system.

Objectives: We examined electronic health records (EHRs) to assess the impact of systems change on tobacco use screening, treatment, and quit rates among low-income primary care patients in Louisiana.

Methods: We examined EHR data on 79,777 patients with more than 1.2 million adult primary care encounters from January 1, 2009, through January 31, 2012, for evidence of systems change.

Access to healthy food stores modifies effect of a dietary intervention.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that opening a grocery store in a food desert does not translate to better diet quality among community residents.

Purpose: This study evaluated the influence of proximity to a healthy food store on the effect of a dietary behavioral intervention on diet among obese adults randomized to either a high fiber or American Heart Association diet intervention.

Methods: Participants were recruited from Worcester County, Massachusetts, between June 2009 and January 2012.

The effect of systematic clinical interventions with cigarette smokers on quit status and the rates of smoking-related primary care office visits.

Background: The United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence includes ten key recommendations regarding the identification and the treatment of tobacco users seen in all health care settings. To our knowledge, the impact of system-wide brief interventions with cigarette smokers on smoking prevalence and health care utilization has not been examined using patient population-based data.

Methods And Findings: Data on clinical interventions with cigarette smokers were examined for primary care office visits of 104,639 patients at 17 Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA) sites.

Integrating tobacco cessation quitlines into health care: Massachusetts, 2002-2011.

QuitWorks is a Massachusetts referral program that links health care organizations, providers, and patients to the state's tobacco cessation quitline and provides feedback reporting. Designed collaboratively with all major Massachusetts health plans, QuitWorks was launched in April 2002. In 2010, approximately 340 institutions and practices used QuitWorks.

Who underreports smoking on birth records: a Monte Carlo predictive model with validation.

Background: Research has shown that self-reports of smoking during pregnancy may underestimate true prevalence. However, little is known about which populations have higher rates of underreporting. Availability of more accurate measures of smoking during pregnancy could greatly enhance the usefulness of existing studies on the effects of maternal smoking offspring, especially in those populations where underreporting may lead to underestimation of the impact of smoking during pregnancy.