Exploring Smoking Disparities and Sociodemographic Factors in a Peri-urban Landscape: A Census Tract-Level Analysis in McLennan County, Texas
This study focuses on examining smoking rates and related factors at the census tract level in McLennan County, Texas, a county that contains a mixture of urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. This study uses c ensus tract level aggregate sociodemographic, smoking, and health-related data from the American Community Survey and the PLACES Project City Health Dashboard. Geospatial analyses mapped co-occurrence of high prevalence of smoking, mental and physical distress, and co-occurrence of lower routine med ical check-ups, household income, and education. Multiple linear regression modeled associations between smoking and so...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Food and Housing Insecurity in Nevada During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This study analyzed the results of two telephone surveys of Nevada adults ’ experiences in 2020 (n = 1000) and 2021 (n = 1002). The results demonstrate between 2020 and 2021 an 8.24 percentage point decline in food insecurity (FI) from 30.2% to 21.96% and a 12.58 percentage point increase in housing insecurity (HI) from 12.27% to 24.85%. Age, disability status, and certain categories of race/ethnicity and income were associated with both HI and FI in 2020, but disability was no longer significant in 2021. Instead, spouse/partner-status, living with children ≤ 18-years-old and receipt of SNAP benefits were s...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Changes in Attitudes and Barriers to Seasonal Influenza Vaccination from 2007 to 2023
This study investigated how factors and barriers to flu vaccination among college students has changed over the past 16 years. Data were collected from 440 students using a survey and compared to previous data from the same university. Respondents were also asked about their experiences with Covid-19 and its effect on their intent to vaccinate. We found that vaccination rates had increased from 12.4 to 30.5%. Among the unvaccinated, expense, fear of getting influenza from vaccination, fear of side effects, and lack of information have decreased by 28%, 20%, 17%, and 15% respectively. Time, convenience, and perceived risk a...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Differences in Role and Support Between Volunteer and Paid Community Health Workers in the State of Nebraska
AbstractDespite the growing importance of community health workers (CHWs) in public health, it has been difficult to characterize the roles and scope of services for this workforce in part because of the variability in the employment status of CHWs, ranging from full-time, part-time, to volunteer. Based on analysis of survey data from a statewide assessment of the CHW workforce in Nebraska (n = 142) conducted between 2019 and 2020, the proportions of CHWs who worked full-time, part-time, or volunteer were respectively 64%, 12%, and 21%. Over three quarters (76.7%) of volunteer CHWs were primarily working with Hispanic...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
National and State-Level Trends in Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services at Federally Qualified Health Centers, 2012 –2019
ConclusionBehavioral health visit growth at FQHCs outpaced national prevalence of behavioral health conditions. This growth was driven by FQHCs serving an increasing number of patients with behavioral health conditions, without sacrificing the frequency of visits for individual patients with behavioral health conditions. (Source: Journal of Community Health)
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
A Review of Community Health Worker Integration in Health Departments
AbstractCommunity health workers (CHWs) are frontline public health workers who bridge the gap between historically marginalized communities, healthcare, and social services. Increasingly, states are developing the CHW workforce by implementing training and certification policies. Health departments (HDs) are primarily responsible for community health through policy implementation and provision of public health services. The two objectives of this study are to explore: (1) state progress in establishing CHW training and certification policies, and (2) integration of CHWs in HD workforces. In this scoping review, we searche...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
The Role of Community Pharmacies in Providing Access to HIV Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)
AbstractHIV affects an estimated 1.2 million individuals in the United States and is disproportionately concentrated among African Americans, Latinos, and people of multiple races. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) substantially decreases HIV transmission when started within 72 h after exposure, but problems of accessibility have hindered its widespread usage in communities at risk for HIV infection. Pharmacy-initiated PEP access was first permitted in New York City in 2017, allowing pharmacists to provide a 7-day supply of PEP without a prescription for consumers at hig h risk for HIV infection. It was expected that the b...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Development of a Needs Assessment for Low-income Seniors in Cleveland Ohio: A student-driven Interprofessional Approach
ConclusionsMultiple areas of need were successfully identified through a student-led interprofessional needs assessment. Future student teams can address the identified needs, again through interprofessional collaborations. This process may have unique benefits to help build robust community-academic partnerships, while fostering interprofessional collaborative opportunities among healthcare students. (Source: Journal of Community Health)
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
The Associations Between Drinking Motives and Alcohol-Related Consequences in Graduate Students from Universities in the United States
AbstractMany college students “mature out” of heavy drinking when they graduate. Yet, those who go onto graduate education report engaging in problematic drinking patterns. Drinking motives are one factor that uniquely predicts problematic drinking patterns in college students. Evidence suggests that these unique association s also generalize to individuals’ post-college, specifically between drinking motives and specific alcohol-related consequences. However, no research to date has examined the association between drinking motives and alcohol-related consequences in graduate students. The current study aimed to exa...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Wellness Tour for Tribal Communities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Uniting Sacred Space with Western Medicine to Prevent Substance Use
AbstractSubstance use disorders (SUD) and overdose deaths worsened further during the Covid-19 pandemic in American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities. The Native Dad ’s Network (NDN) delivered the Wellness Tour, offering cultural activities and SUD prevention education, from March 2021 to June 2022, to 11 AIAN tribal communities across California. The in-person program created a “sacred space” through culturally congruent song, dance, and prayer. SUD educa tion included: a lecture about opioids and SUD; group talking circles; an educational skit led by adolescents; and training in naloxone and fentanyl test...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Heavy Drinking by Occupation in Spain: Differences Between Weekdays and the Weekend
AbstractEstimating occupational disparity in heavy drinking jointly for weekdays and the weekend may be misleading for prevention purposes, because reasons for disparity in both periods may differ. The main objective was to assess occupational disparity in heavy average drinking (HAD) by week period and sex. 42,108 employees aged 16–64 were recruited from national surveys in Spain between 2011 and 2020. The outcome was HAD, defined as daily alcohol intake over 20 g (men) or 10 g (women). Occupation was classified in 15 categories. HAD adjusted prevalence ratios (HAD-aPRs) taking all occupations as reference, and rela...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Relative Risk of COVID-19 Reinfection by Demographic and Vaccination Factors During the Period March 2020-October 2022
AbstractThe risk of reinfection has been difficult to quantify throughout the pandemic, making the case for COVID-19 vaccination and receipt of booster doses to the public difficult for the public health community. To address this question, Michigan statewide COVID-19 infection and vaccination data was utilized in this cross-sectional study to determine the risk of reinfection by vaccination status. Cases were divided into subgroups by vaccination status, and the risk of reinfection in the various vaccination categories was then calculated by dividing the cumulative incidence of reinfection in a vaccine category by the cum...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Availability of Hand Sanitizers in Food Establishments of New York City: An Observational Study
AbstractHand hygiene is a crucial tool to limit the transmission of common respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. While hand sanitizers were ubiquitous early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of food establishments that have adequately maintained them remains unknown. Through systematic observations in 89 New York City food establishments, we found that hand sanitizer dispensers were present in only 40% of the stores, and only 23% had functional ones. This scarcity highlights the necessity of providing ongoing support to small business owners nationwide to promote and maintain primary prevention measures at all ti...
Source: Journal of Community Health - March 11, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
The Influence of Health-Related Behavior Profiles on College Students ’ Perceptions of COVID-19 Safety Measures
AbstractCollege students often engage in multiple health-related behaviors simultaneously which can lead to negative outcomes and further risky behaviors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, college students reported decreased condom use, increased solitary cannabis use, and increased alcohol consumption. This current study aimed to (1) identify profiles of health-related behaviors (i.e., alcohol consumption, cannabis use, and sexual behaviors), and (2) determine if these profiles would differ in engagement and perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 preventative measures. Participants were 273 college students from a large Northeas...
Source: Journal of Community Health - February 27, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
An Experimental Study on how Messaging from CDC Affects Attitudes toward Mandatory MMR Vaccination for Schoolchildren
ConclusionsPublic health officials at the local and state levels should not shy away from referring to the CDC in their vaccination messaging. (Source: Journal of Community Health)
Source: Journal of Community Health - February 27, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
