Ambient beta particle radioactivity and lung cancer survival: Results from the Boston Lung Cancer Study.

Background: Exposure to ionizing radiation is known to increase the risk of lung cancer. However, studies on the effect of environmental radiation associated with ambient particle air pollution on lung cancer survival are limited. We investigated the association between ambient beta particle radioactivity (PR-β) after a diagnosis and lung cancer survivals.

Diagnostic Delay of Psoriatic Arthritis of More Than Six Months Contributes to Poor Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Depression, Social Ability, and Disease Impact: A Cross-sectional Study.

Objective: We sought to correlate the time lag between psoriatic arthritis (PsA) symptom onset and diagnosis to the likelihood and severity of depression, social impairment, and disease impact on quality of life.

Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted by the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) surveyed individuals with PsA using patient-reported outcome measures.

Results: The analysis cohort comprised 2,196 patients with PsA.

Machine-Learning-Based Multi-Modal Force Estimation for Steerable Ablation Catheters.

Catheter-based cardiac ablation is a minimally invasive procedure for treating atrial fibrillation (AF). Electrophysiologists perform the procedure under image guidance during which the contact force between the heart tissue and the catheter tip determines the quality of lesions created. This paper describes a novel multi-modal contact force estimator based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs).

Navigating the Labyrinth of Pregnancy-Related Coverage for Undocumented Immigrants: An Assessment of Current State and Federal Policies.

Insurance coverage for prenatal care, labor and delivery care, and postpartum care for undocumented immigrants consists of a patchwork of state and federal policies, which varies widely by state. According to federal law, states must provide coverage for labor and delivery through Emergency Medicaid. Various states have additional prenatal and postpartum coverage for undocumented immigrants through policy mechanisms such as the Children's Health Insurance Program's "unborn child" option, expansion of Medicaid, and independent state-level mechanisms.

Vaping habits and respiratory symptoms using a smartphone app platform.

Background: Widespread use of e-cigarette (EC) or vaping products causes respiratory disorders including the nationwide outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) in 2019. Chronic adverse health effects are now being reported as well. To address this important public health issue, an innovative approach of epidemic control and epidemiologic study is required.

Spatial Accessibility and Uptake of Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccinations by Social Vulnerability.

Background And Objectives: Geographic accessibility predicts pediatric preventive care utilization, including vaccine uptake. However, spatial inequities in the pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rollout remain underexplored. We assessed the spatial accessibility of vaccination sites and analyzed predictors of vaccine uptake.

The state of the science on the health benefits of blueberries: a perspective.

Mounting evidence indicates that blueberry consumption is associated with a variety of health benefits. It has been suggested that regular consumption of blueberries can support and/or protect against cardiovascular disease and function, pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, and brain and cognitive function in individuals with health conditions and age-related decline. Further, mechanistic investigations highlight the role of blueberry anthocyanins in mediating these health benefits, in part through interactions with gut microbiota.

Performance of ChatGPT and Google Translate for Pediatric Discharge Instruction Translation.

Background And Objectives: Patients who speak languages other than English face barriers to equitable healthcare delivery. Machine translation systems, including emerging large language models, have the potential to expand access to translation services, but their merits and limitations in clinical practice remain poorly defined. We aimed to assess the performance of Google Translate and ChatGPT for multilingual translation of pediatric discharge instructions.

How Should Health Care Organizations Limit Roles of Human Trafficking in Their Labor and Supply Chains?

There has been little attention given to roles played by human trafficking in health care organizations' supply chains. Hand sanitizers and gloves, for example, might be produced by forced labor, which tends to increase in prevalence during pandemics, mass violence, migration, or other global crises. This article considers the nature and scope of health care organizations' corporate and social responsibilities to procure products and personnel justly, offers recommendations to minimize possibilities that supplies are produced by forced labor, and advocates for a public health approach to limiting human trafficking in organizations' supply chains.

Pregnancy Care Utilization, Experiences, and Outcomes Among Undocumented Immigrants in the United States: A Scoping Review.

Background: Undocumented immigrants face many barriers in accessing pregnancy care, including language differences, implicit and explicit bias, limited or no insurance coverage, and fear about accessing services. With the national spotlight on maternal health inequities, the current literature on undocumented immigrants during pregnancy requires synthesis.

Objective: We aimed to describe the literature on pregnancy care utilization, experiences, and outcomes of undocumented individuals in the United States.

The Association Between Breastfeeding and Growth Among Infants with Moderately Low Birth Weight: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To assess the association between breastfeeding competency, as determined by Latch, Audible swallowing, Type of nipple, Comfort, and Hold (LATCH) and Preterm Infant Breastfeeding Behavior Scale (PIBBS) scores, and exclusive breastfeeding and growth among infants with low birth weight (LBW) in India, Malawi, and Tanzania.

Study Design: We conducted LATCH and PIBBS assessments among mother-infant dyads enrolled in the Low Birthweight Infant Feeding Exploration (LIFE) observational study of infants with moderately LBW (1500g-2499 g) in India, Malawi, and Tanzania. We analyzed feeding and growth patterns among this cohort.

Health Care Access and Use Among U.S. Children Exposed to Neighborhood Violence.

Introduction: Neighborhood violence is an adverse childhood experience which impacts millions of U.S. children and is associated with poor health outcomes across the life course.

An Integrative Review of the State of POLST Science: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go?

Objectives: POLST is widely used in the care of seriously ill patients to document decisions made during advance care planning (ACP) conversations as actionable medical orders. We conducted an integrative review of existing research to better understand associations between POLST use and key ACP outcomes as well as to identify directions for future research.

Design: Integrative review.