Publications by authors named "Zack B"

Introduction: Modern antiretroviral therapy is associated with reduced rates of HIV-related morbidity and mortality. HIV viral suppression and retention in care are critically important outcomes requiring successful continuous patient engagement. However, barriers to such engagement are complex and require innovative solutions.

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Background: People released from correctional facilities face multifactorial barriers to continuing HIV treatment. We hypothesised that barriers faced in the first 6 months of community re-entry would be decreased by a multilevel group-based and peer-led intervention, the Transitional Community Adherence Club (TCAC).

Methods: We did a pragmatic, open-label, individually randomised controlled trial in five correctional facilities in Gauteng, South Africa.

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Objective: To know the perception of professionals about the assistance offered, during the pandemic period, in the care of children and adolescents who use alcohol and other drugs in a detox ward.

Method: Descriptive, qualitative research, carried out from September to December 2021, through interviews with the multidisciplinary team of the detoxification ward of a university hospital, systematized and analyzed according to Minayo.

Results: 19 professionals participated, mainly from nursing and women.

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Incarceration is a significant public health issue that disproportionately impacts transgender (trans) women, particularly those of color. The cycle of incarceration interacts with high levels of substance use, mental illness, and HIV to produce a high disease burden among trans women, but, to date, there are no published studies of trans-specific reentry support interventions. Informed by the Model of Gender Affirmation, we systematically adapted and pilot tested the evidence-based Project START intervention to create Girlfriends Connect (GC), a reentry support intervention for trans women incarcerated in a county jail.

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Following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions, many health care systems turned to telehealth as an alternative to in-person care. Current literature describes sustained patient satisfaction levels with virtual care throughout the pandemic era. However, provider opinions on the transforming landscape are largely unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of placing a microstent earlier versus later in patients undergoing glaucoma surgery.
  • It involved a retrospective analysis of 270 eyes (135 early and 135 later cases) from six surgeons across Canada, matched based on similar characteristics to ensure fairness in comparison.
  • Results indicated that the later cases demonstrated potentially better success rates, with fewer complications, and similar reoperation rates compared to the early cases.
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Background: Training and education may be effective strategies for the prevention of work-related contact dermatitis. While there is some information in the literature related to skin-specific training experiences, there is very little information available on workers' preferences related to content and format and to barriers and facilitators to training.

Objectives: To understand workers' experiences and preferences for workplace training and barriers and facilitators to training.

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Background: HIV care continuum outcomes deteriorate among people returning from incarceration. Interventions to improve care outcomes postincarceration have been characterized by substantial heterogeneity in approach, outcome metrics, and results. A large number of recently published interventions have not been systematically reviewed.

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Incarcerated persons living with HIV (PLWH) have relatively high levels of HIV care engagement and antiretroviral therapy adherence during incarceration, but few are able to maintain these levels upon reentry into the community. In Louisiana, PLWH nearing release from prisons were offered video conferences with case managers housed in community based organizations aimed at facilitating linkage to care in the community. Of the 144 persons who received a video conference during the study period, 74.

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Background: Contact dermatitis is a common and preventable work-related disease. Skin-specific training may be effective for preventing occupational contact dermatitis, but little information is available regarding actual workplace training and its effectiveness.

Aims: To describe workplace skin-specific training among workers with suspected contact dermatitis.

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Occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) is a common occupational disease that impacts a variety of worker groups. Skin protection and disease prevention training programs have shown promise for improving prevention practices and reducing the incidence of OCD. This review details the features of training programs for primary prevention of OCD and identifies gaps in the literature.

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Background: Workplace training may help to prevent contact dermatitis, a common work-related disease. Information on the characteristics of existing workplace training programs and worker perceptions of this training is limited.

Methods: Fourteen workers with suspected occupational contact dermatitis participated in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews.

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People with HIV who are released from custody frequently do not maintain the viral suppression and other health benefits achieved while incarcerated. This study was conducted to provide preliminary evidence of efficacy of an intervention to reduce HIV risk behaviors and increase use of HIV medical services following release from custody. People with HIV were recruited from San Francisco County jails, San Quentin State Prison and the California Medical Facility (Vacaville, CA), and randomly assigned to the "standard of care" or POST intervention.

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HIV+ inmates reentering their communities are at increased risk for poor health outcomes and for transmitting HIV. This article reports on a randomized trial comparing an ecosystem-based intervention and an individually focused intervention for reducing HIV transmission risk and improving medication adherence. Reincarceration was considered as a secondary variable.

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This field report describes Health through Wall's experience working in the largest men's prison in Haiti. Though there have been many reports of prison peer health education programs, this field report further describes how peers can increase the (self-reported) interest and uptake of HIV testing. More than 400 anonymous surveys were collected.

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The objectives of this study were to: (a) estimate the costs of providing a single-session HIV prevention intervention and a multi-session intervention, and (b) estimate the number of HIV transmissions that would need to be prevented for the intervention to be cost-saving or cost-effective (threshold analysis). Project START was evaluated with 522 young men aged 18-29 years released from eight prisons located in California, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Cost data were collected prospectively.

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High-content image analysis captures many cellular parameters, but current methods of interpretation of acquired multiple dimensions assume a normal distribution, which is rarely seen in biological data sets. We describe a novel statistically based approach that collapses a set of cellular measurements into a single value, permitting a simplified and unbiased comparison of heterogeneous cellular populations. Differences in multiple cellular responses across two populations are measured using nonparametric Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) statistics.

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Institutional policies, practices, and norms can impede the delivery of ethical standard-of-care treatment for people with HIV in correctional settings. In this commentary, we focus on the fundamental issues that must be addressed to create an ethical environment in which best medical practices can be implemented when working with correctional populations. Thus, we consider ethical issues related to access to services, patient privacy, confidentiality, informed consent for testing and treatment, and issues related to the provision of services in an institutional setting in which maintenance of security is the primary mission.

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Purpose: Previous studies have failed to find a significant difference in intraocular pressure (IOP) between one- and two-site phacotrabeculectomy. A possible explanation has been relatively small samples and short follow-up. We prospectively observed 80 patients for 2 years randomized to one- versus two-site phacotrabeculectomy with the primary outcome measure being IOP.

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Purpose: To describe treatment outcomes after Trabectome surgery in an initial series of 101 patients with open-angle glaucoma.

Methods: A 19-gauge microelectrosurgical device enabled ab interno removal of a strip of trabecular meshwork and inner wall of Schlemm's canal under gonioscopic control with continual infusion and foot-pedal control of aspiration and electrosurgery. A smooth, pointed ceramic-coated insulating footplate was inserted into Schlemm's canal to act as a guide within the canal and to protect adjacent structures from mechanical or heat injury during ablation of a 30- to 90-degree arc of angle tissue.

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Individuals leaving prison face challenges to establishing healthy lives in the community, including opportunities to engage in behavior that puts them at risk for HIV transmission. HIV prevention case management (PCM) can facilitate linkages to services, which in turn can help remove barriers to healthy behavior. As part of a federally funded demonstration project, the community-based organization Centerforce provided 5 months of PCM to individuals leaving 3 state prisons in California.

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A longitudinal study of demographic and behavioural characteristics associated with risky sexual behaviours of young men after release from prison. One hundred and six men were interviewed in prison and at one week and six months after release. Overall, 37% reported a previous sexually transmitted disease (STD) diagnosis.

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The prevalence of AIDS is five times higher among prison inmates than in the general population. Because recidivism is common and many inmates are serving short sentences for parole violation, HIV-seropositive inmates move frequently between prison and their home communities. We designed an eight-session prerelease intervention for HIV seropositive inmates to decrease sexual and drug-related risk behavior and to increase use of community resources after release.

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