The Cost of Unhealthy Days: A New Value Assessment.

For-profit companies addressing disparities in social determinants of health (SDOH), also known as companies, often lack member-level claims data to evaluate their organizational interventions. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Healthy Days Measure, offer a unique proxy metric to evaluate impact. This retrospective study sought to explore the association between self-reported physically and mentally unhealthy days with health care costs among a Medicare Advantage (MA) population.

Cross-sectional study examining household factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in low-income children in Los Angeles.

Objectives: This study aims to quantify the degree to which an underserved, Hispanic population in Los Angeles is impacted by SARS-CoV-2, and determine factors associated with paediatric seropositivity.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: AltaMed, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Los Angeles.

Application of Protection Motivation Theory to COVID-19 vaccination among a predominantly Hispanic sample of adolescents.

Despite the efficacy and widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine uptake has been relatively low in U.S. Hispanic communities, especially among adolescents.

Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Living with Dementia.

Background: The Beers Criteria identifies potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) that should be avoided in older adults living with dementia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide estimates of the prevalence and persistence of PIM use among community-dwelling older adults living with dementia in 2011-2017.

Methods: Medicare claims data were used to create an analytic dataset spanning from 2011 to 2017.

Socioeconomic risk factors of hypertension and blood pressure among persons aged 15-49 in Nepal: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study estimated the prevalence of hypertension, in accordance with the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association's 2017 guidelines, and examined the association between various socioeconomic factors and systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and hypertension.

Setting And Design: We used nationally representative data from the 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. Multivariate analysis was used to study the association of hypertension with socioeconomic factors: logistic regression was used for hypertension and linear regression was used for DBP and SBP.

Impact of cannabis legalization on healthcare utilization for psychosis and schizophrenia in Colorado.

Background: Emergency department (ED) visits involving psychosis and schizophrenia have increased at a rate exceeding population growth in the United States over the past decade. Research shows a strong dose-response relationship between chronic use of high-potency cannabis and odds of developing symptoms of psychosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of cannabis legalization on psychosis and schizophrenia-related ED visits in Colorado.

Uptake of Infliximab Biosimilars Among the Medicare Population.

This cross-sectional study uses Medicare data to examine the uptake of Inflectra and Renflexis, and investigates physician prescribing behavior in switching between biologic and biosimilar versions.

Public reporting of hydraulic fracturing chemicals in the USA, 2011-18: a before and after comparison of reporting formats.

Background: Hydraulic fracturing often involves the injection of millions of gallons of fracturing fluids into underground shales to extract oil and natural gas, raising health concerns over potential water contamination. Many state and federal governmental agencies rely on the third-party FracFocus online registry for disclosure of chemical ingredients in fracturing fluids, but withholding chemicals as trade secrets is common. In 2016, a new format, known as the systems approach was widely encouraged as a method of reducing withholding by decoupling disclosed chemicals from their functions, protecting against reverse-engineering of fracture fluid formulas by competitors.

Descriptive analysis of real-world medication use pattern of statins and antiplatelet agents among patients with acute coronary syndrome in Hong Kong and the USA.

Objectives: The objective was to explore the differences in medication use pattern of lipid-lowering drug (LLD) and antiplatelet agents among post-percutaneous coronary intervention patients with acute coronary syndrome aged <65 in Hong Kong (HK) and the USA.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: This study used deidentified claims data from Clinformatics Data Mart database (OptumInsight, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA) and electronic health records from HK Hospital Authority Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System database.

Where and why do illicit businesses cluster? Comparing sexually oriented massage parlors in Los Angeles County and New York City.

Immigrant-run sexually oriented massage parlors embody the intersection of important planning issues, including inequitable distribution of controversial land uses and economic functions of illicit businesses. We analyzed geocoded data from a ratings website to examine sexually oriented massage parlor clustering in Los Angeles County (LAC) and New York City (NYC). In LAC, clustering occurred in areas with more Asian and Hispanic residents.

Does Enrollment in High-Deductible Health Plans Encourage Price Shopping?

Objective: To investigate whether enrollment in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) led enrollees to choose lower-priced providers for office visits and laboratory tests.

Study Setting: Claims data from more than 40 large employers.

Study Design: We compared the change in price for office visits and laboratory tests for enrollees who switched to HDHPs versus enrollees who remained in traditional plans.