Publications by authors named "W Wesley Dowd"
Objectives: US community pharmacies are a unique and underused health service setting for identifying and potentially intervening with patients at risk of opioid overdose or opioid use disorder with evidence-based practices such as screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT). The aim of our study was to assess the feasibility of implementing SBIRT in community pharmacies in an urban county in terms of engagement, reach, and equity across the cascade of pharmacy screening and care.
Methods: Patients aged 18 years or older receiving a schedule II or III opioid prescription at 1 of 17 participating community pharmacies in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, were invited to engage in SBIRT as part of Project Lifeline-II from June 2020 through January 2023.
Article Synopsis
- Antarctic fish called notothenioids live in super cold water and don’t react like other fish do to heat stress.
- Scientists studied these fish to understand how they survive high temperatures without typical stress responses.
- They found that instead of reacting strongly, the fish showed a weak response, hinting that their bodies might work differently than expected due to unique proteins they have.
In natural environments, two or more abiotic parameters often vary simultaneously, and interactions between co-varying parameters frequently result in unpredictable, non-additive biological responses. To better understand the mechanisms and consequences of interactions between multiple stressors, it is important to study their effects on not only fitness (survival and reproduction) but also performance and intermediary physiological processes. The splash-pool copepod Tigriopus californicus tolerates extremely variable abiotic conditions and exhibits a non-additive, antagonistic interaction resulting in higher survival when simultaneously exposed to high salinity and acute heat stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Quantifying the economic burden of cardiovascular disease and stroke over the coming decades may inform policy, health system, and community-level interventions for prevention and treatment.
Methods: We used nationally representative health, economic, and demographic data to project health care costs attributable to key cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia) and conditions (coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation) through 2050. The human capital approach was used to estimate productivity losses from morbidity and premature mortality due to cardiovascular conditions.
Forecasting the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in the United States Through 2050-Prevalence of Risk Factors and Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association.
Circulation
July 2024
Article Synopsis
- Cardiovascular disease and stroke are becoming more common and costly, with projections indicating significant increases in related risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, and obesity up to 2050.
- Data from national health surveys suggests that while some issues like poor diet and smoking may improve, overall cardiovascular disease prevalence will still rise, significantly impacting millions of adults.
- There is a pressing need for targeted public health interventions to manage and potentially reverse these concerning trends, especially among vulnerable racial and ethnic groups.