Politicians, power, and the people's health: US elections and state health outcomes, 2012-2024.

Our descriptive study examined current associations (2022-2024) between US state-level health outcomes and 4 US state-level political metrics: 2 rarely used in public health research (political ideology of elected representatives based on voting records; trifectas, where 1 party controls the executive and legislative branches) and 2 more commonly used (state policies enacted; voter political lean). The 8 health outcomes spanned the life course: infant mortality, premature mortality (death at age <65), health insurance (adults aged 35-64), vaccination for children and persons aged ≥65 (flu; COVID-19 booster), maternity care deserts, and food insecurity. For the first 3 outcomes, we also examined trends in associations (2012-2024).

Visualizing Neighborhood COVID-19 Levels, Trends, and Inequities in Wastewater: An Equity-Centered Approach and Comparison to CDC Methods.

Context: Monitoring neighborhood-level SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations can help guide public health interventions and provide early warning ahead of lagging COVID-19 clinical indicators. To date, however, U.S.

Implementation of Neighborhood-Level Wastewater-Based Epidemiology to Measure and Mitigate Inequities in SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Boston, Massachusetts.

Starting October 2022, the Boston Public Health Commission implemented a neighborhood-level wastewater-based epidemiology program to inform strategies to reduce COVID-19 inequities. We collected samples twice weekly at 11 neighborhood sites, covering approximately 18% of Boston, Massachusetts's population. Results from the program's first year revealed inequities unobservable in regional wastewater data both between the City of Boston and the greater Boston area and between Boston neighborhoods.

School closures significantly reduced arrests of black and latinx urban youth.

Background & Methods: Youth of color are surveilled and arrested by police at higher rates than their White peers, contributing to racial inequities across the life course and in population health. Previous research points to schools as an increasingly relevant site for youth criminalization, but existing studies emphasize within-school mechanisms, with limited analysis of policing in surrounding school areas. To fill this gap, we study changes in police arrests of youth after initial COVID-19 school closures in 2020 across four US cities overall and in relation to public school locations.

Examining COVID-19 mortality rates by race and ethnicity among incarcerated people in 11 U.S. state prisons (March-October 2021).

Background: Populations who are incarcerated have experienced disproportionately high coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) mortality rates compared to the general population. However, mortality rates by race/ethnicity from federal, state, and local carceral settings are largely unavailable due to unregulated reporting; therefore, racial/ethnic inequities have yet to be examined. We aimed to estimate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates among individuals incarcerated in U.

Lifting Universal Masking in Schools - Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff.

Background: In February 2022, Massachusetts rescinded a statewide universal masking policy in public schools, and many Massachusetts school districts lifted masking requirements during the subsequent weeks. In the greater Boston area, only two school districts - the Boston and neighboring Chelsea districts - sustained masking requirements through June 2022. The staggered lifting of masking requirements provided an opportunity to examine the effect of universal masking policies on the incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in schools.

Community solutions to food apartheid: A spatial analysis of community food-growing spaces and neighborhood demographics in Philadelphia.

Black and low-income neighborhoods tend to have higher concentrations of fast-food restaurants and low produce supply stores. Limited access to and consumption of nutrient-rich foods is associated with poor health outcomes. Given the realities of food access, many members within the Black communities grow food as a strategy of resistance to food apartheid, and for the healing and self-determination that agriculture offers.

Racial Disparities in Neighborhood Arrest Rates during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Structural racism in police contact is an important driver of health inequities among the U.S. urban population.

Epidemiology of COVID-19 Among Incarcerated Individuals and Staff in Massachusetts Jails and Prisons.

This cohort study describes the COVID-19 burden among incarcerated individuals and staff in Massachusetts jails and prisons and assesses the association of COVID-19 case rates with decarceration and testing rates.

Comparison of Weighted and Unweighted Population Data to Assess Inequities in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Deaths by Race/Ethnicity Reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This cross-sectional study compares the use of weighted and unweighted population data to assess inequities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths by race/ethnicity as reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Epidemiology of tuberculosis among children and adolescents in the USA, 2007-17: an analysis of national surveillance data.

Background: Understanding tuberculosis epidemiology among children and adolescents informs treatment and prevention efforts, and efforts to eliminate disparities in tuberculosis incidence and mortality. We sought to describe the epidemiology of children and adolescents with tuberculosis disease in the USA, including tuberculosis incidence rates by parental country of birth and for US territories and freely associated states, which have not been previously described.

Methods: We analysed data for children aged younger than 15 years and adolescents aged 15-17 years with tuberculosis disease reported to the National Tuberculosis Surveillance System during 2007-17, and calculated tuberculosis incidence rates using population estimates from the US Census Bureau.

Programmatic Evaluation of an Algorithm for Intensified Tuberculosis Case Finding and Isoniazid Preventive Therapy for People Living With HIV in Thailand and Vietnam.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) screening affords clinicians the opportunity to diagnose or exclude TB disease and initiate isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) for people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Methods: We implemented an algorithm to diagnose or rule out TB among PLHIV in 11 HIV clinics in Thailand and Vietnam. We assessed algorithm yield and uptake of IPT and factors associated with TB disease among PLHIV.

The role of supplementary environmental surveillance to complement acute flaccid paralysis surveillance for wild poliovirus in Pakistan - 2011-2013.

Background: More than 99% of poliovirus infections are non-paralytic and therefore, not detected by acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance. Environmental surveillance (ES) can detect circulating polioviruses from sewage without relying on clinical presentation. With extensive ES and continued circulation of polioviruses, Pakistan presents a unique opportunity to quantify the impact of ES as a supplement to AFP surveillance on overall completeness and timeliness of poliovirus detection.