A regional human services authority's rapid needs assessment of evacuees following natural disasters.

The Atlantic hurricane season of 2005 was not an ordinary season, and Hurricane Katrina was not an ordinary hurricane. Hurricane Katrina damaged more than 93,000 square miles of Gulf of Mexico coastline, displaced more than 1 million residents from New Orleans, and flooded more than 80 percent of New Orleans for weeks, which killed more than 1,300 people, mostly New Orleanians. Inland regional state and local healthcare and human services agencies rushed to assist evacuees, most of whom were uninsured or displaced without employer healthcare coverage.

Disparities in schizophrenic disorders and associated co-morbidities among inpatient discharges in Louisiana hospitals from the years 2000 to 2003.

National and international studies have suggested in the past that there are disparities based on the race of the patient for the diagnoses of schizophrenic disorders. The purpose of this study was to look for the same disparities in Louisiana inpatient population based on LAHIDD (Louisiana Hospital Inpatient Discharge Database) data from the years 2000 to 2003. We also looked for co-morbid substance and alcohol-related mental disorders in the same patient population.

Childhood immunization rates in Louisiana: trends from 1995-2004.

Immunization is an invaluable tool in preventing the morbidity and mortality associated with many infectious diseases. The CDC currently recommends that children obtain immunizations against 11 diseases. We examined immunization rates in Louisiana children aged 19-35 months from 1995-2003 and compared these rates with the rates in neighboring states and the national coverage rate.

Psychosocial predictors of being an underweight infant differ by racial group: a prospective study of Louisiana WIC program participants.

Objectives: In order to prospectively identify psychosocial predictors of infants being underweight, we followed 3,302 low-income infants. These infants received well-baby care in health departments and were enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Food Program from the newborn period to 12 months of age.

Methods: We linked risk factor data collected from newborn medical history records to anthropometric data from a WIC database.

The current status of malaria in Louisiana.

Between 1992 and 2004, 118 cases of malaria were reported to the Louisiana Office of Public Health. Case surveillance data were collected in response to these case reports. These data are presented and analyzed here.

Hepatitis C infection in Louisiana.

Estimating a prevalence of 1.8% of hepatitis C in the general population, there are in Louisiana about 81,000 individuals who have been infected with the hepatitis C virus. In 2002, the incidence of reported cases of acute hepatitis C was 2.

Assessment of sexually transmitted diseases as risk factors for HIV seroconversion in a New Orleans sexually transmitted disease clinic, 1990-1998.

Purpose: This investigation examined the role of ulcerative and non-ulcerative sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in increasing susceptibility to HIV seroconversion in a large population of uninfected and predominantly heterosexual persons attending a New Orleans STD clinic.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of clients with repeat HIV tests between January 1990 and April 1998 was constructed using three independent sources of information. Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify risk factors for HIV seroconversion while controlling for the effects of behavioral risk factors.

Lessons learned from hazardous chemical incidents--Louisiana Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system.

Since 2001, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) has participated in the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system. In 2001, there were 815 events qualified for HSEES surveillance. Data for each event was gathered and analyzed.

Readiness for evidence-based practice: information literacy needs of nurses in the United States.

In this paper U.S. nurses' readiness to provide Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) as measured by their information literacy knowledge and skills is described.

Estimating HIV incidence and detection rates from surveillance data.

Background: Markov models that incorporate HIV test information can increase precision in estimates of new infections and permit the estimation of detection rates. The purpose of this study was to assess the functioning of a Markov model for estimating new HIV infections and HIV detection rates in Louisiana using surveillance data.

Methods: We expanded a discrete-time Markov model by accounting for the change in AIDS case definition made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1993.

Racial differences in vaginal douching knowledge, attitude, and practices among sexually active adolescents.

Study Objective: The study sought to assess knowledge of, attitude toward, and practices of vaginal douching among adolescent females attending a public family planning clinic, in order to better understand racial influences on douching.

Design, Setting, Participants: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, a one-page questionnaire was administered to all adolescent females (< or=19 years) presenting to a public family planning clinic in a small southern city between March 1 and May 31, 1999.

Results: Of the 169 participants, the mean age was 17.

Vaginal douching in adolescents attending a family planning clinic.

Background: One of the variables most consistently associated with vaginal douching is race, with African-American women douching more regularly. Sparse data exists in the medical literature about the practice of vaginal douching among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence, knowledge, attitude, and practices of vaginal douching among adolescent females attending a public family planning clinic, and determine whether African-American (AA) females douche to a greater degree than Caucasian females.

Coalition, partnership, and constituency building by a state public health agency: a retrospective.

This article is a retrospective that traces the development of an evolutionary process for a state health agency in addressing the challenge of implementing core public health functions and the provision of essential services. Coalition, partnership, and constituency building were critical elements in the process. Various initiatives are described and their importance as building blocks to a larger process of organizational change is explained.

Louisiana Parish Health Profiles 1999: using information to drive local action.

The Parish Health Profiles 1999, published by the Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health (OPH), are intended to be a source of parish-level health information to be used for community-level planning. The third edition of the Profiles uses a broader definition of health to understand the quality of life of communities. The included information represents not only health status, but also other aspects of quality of life, such as the status of local education, economy, environment, and crime and safety.

Are you sanitary?

The authors present an annotated, condensed synopsis of the fundamental basis of public health practice in Louisiana, the state's Sanitary Code. The "tongue-in-cheek" remarks about some of the Code's requirements are just that, poking a bit of fun at the rule and law-making processes, but meant not in the least bit to underestimate the value of the public health rules and laws of the state.

Risky behaviors among Louisiana youth.

The main threats to adolescents' health are the risky behaviors they engage in and the choices they make. There are six health-risk behaviors that adolescents engage in that account for the majority of morbidity and mortality in this age group: alcohol and drug use; tobacco use; risky sexual behaviors; behaviors leading to intentional and unintentional injury; physical inactivity; and unhealthy dietary behaviors. These behaviors also greatly impact academic achievement.

Implementation of condom social marketing in Louisiana, 1993 to 1996.

Objectives: This article describes the implementation and impact of the first statewide condom social marketing intervention in the United States.

Methods: A statewide social marketing program made condoms freely available in 93 public health clinics, 39 community mental health centers, 29 substance abuse treatment sites, and more than 1000 businesses in neighborhoods with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV. Surveys about condom use were conducted annually.

Evaluation of the Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay for the detection of asymptomatic Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in male arrestees.

Background: The LET and Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay are used to screen male arrestees for evidence of infection with chlamydia and gonorrhea in the intake/booking area of the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

Goal Of This Study: To determine the accuracy of the Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay for the detection of asymptomatic infection with Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in male arrestees.

Study Design: From December 1993 to March 1994, 196 arrestees younger than 22 years were screened with the Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay and McCoy shell vial culture for Chlamydia trachomatis.

Unsafe sex in men who have sex with both men and women.

The sexual behaviors of bisexually active men, defined as men having sex with a man and a woman in previous 6 months, were compared with men who had sex with men only. Differential sexual practices associated with HIV risk between the two groups of men, as well as in the bisexual men with their male and female partners, were evaluated. Cross-sectional analyses were performed on baseline data from a prospective cohort of 508 young gay men recruited from bars, college campuses, and a health center in Boston from 1993 to 1994.

The Boston AIDS Survival Score (BASS): a multidimensional AIDS severity instrument.

Objectives: This study developed a new acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) severity system by including diagnostic, physiological, functional, and sociodemographic factors predictive of survival.

Methods: Three-hundred five persons with AIDS in Boston were interviewed; their medical records were reviewed and vital status ascertained.

Results: Overall median (+/- SD) survival for the cohort from the first interview until death was 560 +/- 14.

Blueprint for a national public health surveillance system for the 21st century.

This article lays out a blueprint for public health surveillance and assessment for the year 2000 and beyond. The blueprint defines the roles of local, state, and national public health agencies and partners in the medical care system in conducting surveillance and assessment activities. It proposes a new over-arching National Public Health Surveillance System to be the conceptual framework for all public health surveillance and assessment activities into the 21st century.