Racial and ethnic disparities in the uptake of SGLT2is and GLP-1RAs among Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes and heart failure, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, 2013-2019.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to investigate racial and ethnic disparities in the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor antagonists (GLP-1RAs) among older adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiorenal conditions.

Methods: Using Medicare fee-for-service data (2013-2019), this retrospective cohort study identified older adults (≥65 years) with type 2 diabetes initiating second-line therapies (SGLT2is, GLP1-RAs, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors [DPP4is] and sulfonylureas [SUs]) with (1) heart failure (HF), (2) atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), (3) chronic kidney disease (CKD) and (4) no recorded cardiorenal conditions. Participants were classified as non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic.

Social workers are key to addressing social determinants of health in integrated care settings.

Social workers play an important role in assessing social determinants of health (SDH) and providing behavioral health services in integrated care settings. Evidence suggests that integrated care interventions improve quality of life and other patient outcomes. However, the ambiguous role of social workers on the interdisciplinary team, the lack of protocol in SDH screening and intervention, and restrictions due to healthcare reimbursement limit social workers' ability to intervene.

Variation in Implementing Dementia-Friendly Community Initiatives: Advancing Theory for Social Change.

Dementia-friendly communities (DFC) have emerged as a global movement to make communities more supportive and inclusive of people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners. This study contributes to a nascent body of research on DFC initiatives by building theory on their local implementation. Based on an analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with 23 leaders of initiatives in Massachusetts (United States), we aimed to identify key dimensions of variation in the implementation of DFC initiatives.

Increase in body mass index during the COVID-19 pandemic among people who smoke: An analysis of multi-site electronic health records.

The effects of the COVID-19 period among people who smoke (compared by sex) are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare body mass index (BMI) increase among men and women who smoked during the pandemic. We used a retrospective longitudinal, observational study design of secondary data.

HIV Knowledge, Risk Behaviors, and Testing Among Chinese-, Korean-, and Vietnamese-American Women.

The relationship between HIV knowledge and testing behavior is poorly understood among young Chinese-, Korean-, and Vietnamese-American women. This study assesses: (1) levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge, (2) lifetime and annual prevalence of HIV testing, and (3) whether higher levels of HIV knowledge were associated with increased likelihood of testing after controlling for HIV risk behaviors. Fifty-one percent reported lifetime HIV testing (n=117); among those tested, 53% were tested within the past year.

The TRIBE model: How socioemotional processes fuel end-of-life treatment in the United States.

Prior interventions have repeatedly failed to decrease the prescription and receipt of treatments and procedures that confer more harm than benefit at the End-of-Life (EoL); new approaches to intervention are needed. Ideally, future interventions would be informed by a social-ecological conceptual model that explains EoL healthcare utilization patterns, but current models ignore two facts: (1) healthcare is an inherently social activity, involving clinical teams and patients' social networks, and (2) emotions influence social activity. To address these omissions, we scaffolded Terror Management Theory and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory to create the Transtheoretical Model of Irrational Biomedical Exuberance (TRIBE).

The association of COVID-19 vaccine availability with mental health among adults in the United States.

Objective: To assess whether COVID-19 vaccine approval and availability was associated with reduction in the prevalence of depression and anxiety among adults in the United States.

Methods: We adopted cross sectional and quasi-experimental design with mental health measurements before vaccine availability (June 2020, = 68,009) and after vaccine availability (March 2021, = 63,932) using data from Census Pulse Survey. Depression and anxiety were derived from PHQ-2 and GAD-2 questionnaires.

A mobile health + health coaching application for the management of chronic non-cancer pain in older adults: Results from a pilot randomized controlled study.

Introduction: The rapid growth of mobile health (mHealth) devices holds substantial potential for improving care and care outcomes in aging adults with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP), however, research evaluating these devices in older adults remains limited.

Objective: To ascertain the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an mHealth intervention (Mymee) that combines symptom, diet, and behavior tracking a smartphone application with data analytics to detect associations between symptoms and lifestyle factors along with weekly health coaching sessions to mitigate CNCP in adults 55 years of age and older.

Methods: Participants ( = 31) in this pilot study were recruited from one primary care practice in New York City and randomized to an intervention [app + up to 12 health coaching sessions (scheduled approximately once weekly) + usual care] or a control (app + usual care) arm.

Which Pain Treatment Goals Are Important to Community-Dwelling Older Adults?

Objective: In this cross-sectional study of 237 older adults, we ascertained the importance of seven pain treatment goals and identified factors associated with their perceived importance.

Methods: Participants (mean age = 72 years) ranked each goal (e.g.

An examination of correlates of simultaneous opioid and benzodiazepine use among patients in medication treatment for opioid use disorder in a small midwestern community.

Concurrent and/or simultaneous use of opioids and benzodiazepines has been associated with increased risk of accident and injury, as well as with co-occurring psychopathology. The purpose of the present study was to explore potential correlates of simultaneous opioid and benzodiazepine use in a small community, including perceived risk, positive screens for psychiatric symptoms, and opioid-related consequences. A sample of 267 participants were recruited from a medication treatment provider that serves a small Midwestern community.

Exposure to Self-Directed Violence: Understanding Intention to Help and Helping Behaviors among Adolescents and Emerging Adults.

Exposure to self-directed violence (SDV) is a public health issue. Prevention trains third parties to identify SDV risk and provide help. However, we know little about the range of help provided to those who engage in SDV.

Bystanders to Prevent Peer Sexual Violence: Understanding Patterns of Prosocial Behavior Over Time from Early to Later Adolescence.

Programs to prevent peer sexual violence that encourage positive bystander intervention are proliferating. Yet, little is known about how these prosocial behaviors unfold over time across middle to later adolescence. The current study examined helpful bystander actions over three years among students in grades 7-10 (mean age 13.

Acculturation and dental sealant use among US children.

Objectives: Healthcare (including dental care) service use is influenced by predisposing, enabling and need factors. One area with limited research is the association of acculturation (defined as behavioural changes in the adaptation to another culture) as a predisposing factor for dental care preventive service use. Preventive service use is a primary objective of Healthy People, 2030.

Stigma, HIV Risk, and Access to HIV Prevention and Treatment Services Among Men Who have Sex with Men (MSM) in the United States: A Scoping Review.

In light of recent advances in HIV prevention and treatment, we reviewed the literature to understand how different types of stigma impact HIV risk; access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services; and related health outcomes among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the US. We conducted a scoping literature review of observational and qualitative studies that examined stigma and HIV-related outcomes among MSM. Our search identified 5794 studies, of which 47 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final analysis.

The decision sampling framework: a methodological approach to investigate evidence use in policy and programmatic innovation.

Background: Calls have been made for greater application of the decision sciences to investigate and improve use of research evidence in mental health policy and practice. This article proposes a novel method, "decision sampling," to improve the study of decision-making and research evidence use in policy and programmatic innovation. An illustrative case study applies the decision sampling framework to investigate the decisions made by mid-level administrators when developing system-wide interventions to identify and treat the trauma of children entering foster care.

Does Reducing Drinking in Patients with Unhealthy Alcohol Use Improve Pain Interference, Use of Other Substances, and Psychiatric Symptoms?

Background: We aimed to investigate the impact of reducing drinking in patients with unhealthy alcohol use on improvement of chronic pain interference, substance use, and psychiatric symptoms.

Methods: We analyzed longitudinal data from 2003 to 2015 in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study, a prospective, multisite observational study of US veterans, by emulating a hypothetical randomized trial (a target trial). Alcohol use was assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire, and outcome conditions were assessed via validated survey items.

User-Centered Development and Patient Acceptability Testing of a Health-Coaching Intervention to Enhance Cancer Survivorship Follow-up in Primary Care.

We describe an iterative three-phase approach used to develop a cancer survivorship health-coaching intervention to guide self-management and follow-up care for post-treatment breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer survivors. Informed by theory (e.g.

Early sexual debut: A multi-country, sex-stratified analysis in sub-Saharan Africa.

This study examined outcomes associated with early sexual debut in five sub-Saharan African countries for males and females, separately. We employed Violence Against Children Surveys (VACS) from Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, restricting samples to males and females age 18-24 years. Early sexual debut was defined as having one's first sexual intercourse before 15.