A Prematurity Collaborative Birth Equity Consensus Statement for Mothers and Babies.

Introduction: In 2016, March of Dimes (MOD) launched its Prematurity Collaborative to engage a broad cross section of national experts to address persistent and widening racial disparities in preterm birth by achieving equity and demonstrated improvements in preterm birth. African-American and Native American women continue to have disproportionate rates of preterm birth and maternal death. As part of the Collaborative, MOD created the Health Equity Workgroup whose task was the creation of a scientific consensus statement articulating core values and a call to action to achieve equity in preterm birth utilizing health equity and social determinants of health frameworks.

Medical Provider Promotion of Oral Health and Women's Receipt of Dental Care During Pregnancy.

Objectives Dental care during pregnancy is important. We examined whether promotion of oral health by medical providers during pregnancy and pregnant women's receipt of dental care improved between 2009 and 2012 in California. Methods We used population-based postpartum survey data collected during 2009 (n = 3105) and 2012 (n = 6810) to compare the prevalence of women's reports that, during pregnancy, (a) their medical providers discussed oral health and/or suggested they see a dentist, and (b) they received dental care.

Swimming Against the Tide: Challenges in Pursuing Health Equity Today.

The term "health equity" has moved from obscurity to the mainstream, creating new possibilities for those who aspire to a world in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthy. One can now talk explicitly about health equity. The newfound acceptance, however, carries a risk: loss of meaning.

Retirements of Coal and Oil Power Plants in California: Association With Reduced Preterm Birth Among Populations Nearby.

Coal and oil power plant retirements reduce air pollution nearby, but few studies have leveraged these natural experiments for public health research. We used California Department of Public Health birth records and US Energy Information Administration data from 2001-2011 to evaluate the relationship between the retirements of 8 coal and oil power plants and nearby preterm (gestational age of <37 weeks) birth. We conducted a difference-in-differences analysis using adjusted linear mixed models that included 57,005 births-6.

Worry about racial discrimination: A missing piece of the puzzle of Black-White disparities in preterm birth?

Objectives: The causes of the large and persistent Black-White disparity in preterm birth (PTB) are unknown. It is biologically plausible that chronic stress across a woman's life course could be a contributor. Prior research suggests that chronic worry about experiencing racial discrimination could affect PTB through neuroendocrine, vascular, or immune mechanisms involved in both responses to stress and the initiation of labor.

Economic Hardship in Childhood: A Neglected Issue in ACE Studies?

Objectives Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked with ill-health in adulthood, but ACE literature has focused on family disruption or dysfunction (e.g., child abuse, parental separation), with less attention to economic adversity.

Methods to Assess Adverse Childhood Experiences of Children and Families: Toward Approaches to Promote Child Well-being in Policy and Practice.

Background: Advances in human development sciences point to tremendous possibilities to promote healthy child development and well-being across life by proactively supporting safe, stable and nurturing family relationships (SSNRs), teaching resilience, and intervening early to promote healing the trauma and stress associated with disruptions in SSNRs. Assessing potential disruptions in SSNRs, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), can contribute to assessing risk for trauma and chronic and toxic stress. Asking about ACEs can help with efforts to prevent and attenuate negative impacts on child development and both child and family well-being.

Interrelationships of physical activity in different domains: Evidence from the Geographic Research on Wellbeing (GROW) study.

Research has rarely distinguished between non-work (NW) and work (W) active transport (AT) or investigated relationships to other domains of physical activity ([PA], like leisure time [LTPA] or work [WPA]). We investigated correlates of AT by employment status, accounting for LTPA and WPA, in a population-based sample of California mothers (=2906) in the Geographic Research on Wellbeing (GROW) study (2012-2013). AT was measured by the National Household Travel Survey.

Physical education policy compliance and Latino children's fitness: Does the association vary by school neighborhood socioeconomic advantage?

Objectives: To investigate the contribution of school neighborhood socioeconomic advantage to the association between school-district physical education policy compliance in California public schools and Latino students' physical fitness.

Methods: Cross-sectional Fitnessgram data for public-school students were linked with school- and district-level information, district-level physical education policy compliance from 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, and 2000 United States Census data. Multilevel logistic regression models examined whether income and education levels in school neighborhoods moderated the effects of district-level physical education policy compliance on Latino fifth-graders' fitness levels.

Active school transport and fast food intake: Are there racial and ethnic differences?

Objectives: To investigate whether active school transport was associated with fast food consumption, and to examine differences across racial/ethnic groups.

Methods: Adolescent data (n=3194) from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey were analyzed with logistic regression models to examine the association between active school transport (AST) and fast food intake across racial/ethnic groups.

Results: In the overall sample, AST during 1-2days in the past week was associated with greater likelihood of fast food intake (OR: 1.

Social Cohesion and Food Insecurity: Insights from the Geographic Research on Wellbeing (GROW) Study.

Objectives Food insecurity in the United States is a stubborn public health issue, affecting more than one in five households with children and disproportionately impacting racial and ethnic minority women and their children. Past research and policy has focused on household predictors of food insecurity, but neglected broader factors, such as perceived neighborhood social cohesion, that might protect those most vulnerable to food insecurity. Methods We use a racially and ethnically diverse data set from the Geographic Research on Wellbeing study (N = 2847) of women and their young children in California to investigate whether social cohesion influences food insecurity and whether it moderates the relationship between race/ethnicity and food insecurity.

Latina Birth Outcomes in California: Not so Paradoxical.

Objectives To investigate Latina-White differences in birth outcomes in California from 2003 to 2010, looking for evidence of the often-cited "Latina paradox" and assessing the possible role of socioeconomic factors in observed differences. MethodsUsing statewide-representative data from the California Maternal and Infant Health Assessment, an annual population-based postpartum survey, we compared rates of preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) in five groups: U.S.

Association between competitive food and beverage policies in elementary schools and childhood overweight/obesity trends: differences by neighborhood socioeconomic resources.

Importance: To our knowledge, few published studies have examined the influence of competitive food and beverage (CF&B) policies on student weight outcomes; none have investigated disparities in the influence of CF&B policies on children's body weight by school neighborhood socioeconomic resources.

Objective: To investigate whether the association between CF&B policies and population-level trends in childhood overweight/obesity differed by school neighborhood income and education levels.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study, from July 2013 to October 2014, compared overweight/obesity prevalence trends before (2001-2005) and after (2006-2010) implementation of CF&B policies in public elementary schools in California.

The role of socioeconomic factors in Black-White disparities in preterm birth.

Objectives: We investigated the role of socioeconomic factors in Black-White disparities in preterm birth (PTB).

Methods: We used the population-based California Maternal and Infant Health Assessment survey and birth certificate data on 10 400 US-born Black and White California residents who gave birth during 2003 to 2010 to examine rates and relative likelihoods of PTB among Black versus White women, with adjustment for multiple socioeconomic factors and covariables.

Results: Greater socioeconomic advantage was generally associated with lower PTB rates among White but not Black women.

The social determinants of health: it's time to consider the causes of the causes.

During the past two decades, the public health community's attention has been drawn increasingly to the social determinants of health (SDH)-the factors apart from medical care that can be influenced by social policies and shape health in powerful ways. We use "medical care" rather than "health care" to refer to clinical services, to avoid potential confusion between "health" and "health care." The World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health has defined SDH as "the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age" and "the fundamental drivers of these conditions.

What are health disparities and health equity? We need to be clear.

"Health disparities" and "health equity" have become increasingly familiar terms in public health, but rarely are they defined explicitly. Ambiguity in the definitions of these terms could lead to misdirection of resources. This article discusses the need for greater clarity about the concepts of health disparities and health equity, proposes definitions, and explains the rationale based on principles from the fields of ethics and human rights.

What is health equity: and how does a life-course approach take us further toward it?

Although the terms "health equity" and "health disparities" have become increasingly familiar to health professionals in the United States over the past two decades, they are rarely defined. Federal agencies have often defined "health disparities" in ways that encompass all health differences between any groups. Lack of clarity about the concepts of health disparities and health equity can have serious consequences for how resources are allocated, by removing social justice as an explicit consideration from policy agendas.

The relationship between socioeconomic position and depression among a US nationally representative sample of African Americans.

Purpose: Findings from previous studies have not revealed significant, inverse relationships between socioeconomic position (SEP) and depression among African Americans. This study examined the relationship between multiple indicators of SEP and Major Depressive Episode (MDE) among African Americans.

Methods: Data were drawn from the National Survey of American Life main interview and re-interview.

Social conditions, health equity, and human rights.

The fields of health equity and human rights have different languages, perspectives, and tools for action, yet they share several foundational concepts. This paper explores connections between human rights and health equity, focusing particularly on the implications of current knowledge of how social conditions may influence health and health inequalities, the metric by which health equity is assessed. The role of social conditions in health is explicitly addressed by both 1) the concept that health equity requires equity in social conditions, as well as in other modifiable determinants, of health; and 2) the right to a standard of living adequate for health.

Most pregnant women in California do not receive dental care: findings from a population-based study.

Objectives: We examined the prevalence of dental care during pregnancy and reasons for lack of care.

Methods: Using a population-based survey of 21,732 postpartum women in California during 2002-2007, we calculated prevalence of dental problems, receipt of care, and reasons for non-receipt of care. We used logistic regression to estimate odds of non-receipt of care by maternal characteristics.

The social determinants of health: coming of age.

In the United States, awareness is increasing that medical care alone cannot adequately improve health overall or reduce health disparities without also addressing where and how people live. A critical mass of relevant knowledge has accumulated, documenting associations, exploring pathways and biological mechanisms, and providing a previously unavailable scientific foundation for appreciating the role of social factors in health. We review current knowledge about health effects of social (including economic) factors, knowledge gaps, and research priorities, focusing on upstream social determinants-including economic resources, education, and racial discrimination-that fundamentally shape the downstream determinants, such as behaviors, targeted by most interventions.

Socioeconomic disparities in adverse birth outcomes: a systematic review.

Context: Adverse birth outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight, have serious health consequences across the life course. Socioeconomic disparities in birth outcomes have not been the subject of a recent systematic review. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on the association of socioeconomic disadvantage with adverse birth outcomes, with specific attention to the strength and consistency of effects across socioeconomic measures, birth outcomes, and populations.

'Competitive' food and beverage policies: are they influencing childhood overweight trends?

We examined whether new policies restricting sales in schools of so-called competitive foods and beverages-those that fall outside of what is served through federally reimbursed school meal programs-influenced increasing rates of overweight children in the Los Angeles Unified School District and the rest of California. After these policies, which set stricter nutrition standards for certain food and beverages sold to students, took effect, the rate of increase in overweight children significantly diminished among fifth graders in Los Angeles and among fifth-grade boys and seventh graders in the rest of California. The extent to which the new nutritional policies contributed to the change is unclear.