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Item Association Between Preadmission Acid Suppressive Medication Exposure and Severity of Illness in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19(Elsevier, 2021) Elmunzer, B. Joseph; Wolf, Bethany J.; Scheiman, James M.; Tierney, William M.; Taylor, Jason R.; North American Alliance for the Study of Digestive Manifestations of COVID-19; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthItem Low- and Middle-Income Country Perceptions of Global Health Engagements: A Scoping Review(Canadian Center of Science and Education (CCSE), 2024) Amick, Erick; Sharmin, Farzana; Bucher, Sherri; Henry, Beverly W.; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthMore than one million Americans are estimated to participate in global health engagements (GHEs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) each year. A growing number of studies document perceptions of GHEs from the perspective of American and other high-income country (HIC) visitors traveling to LMICs, particularly regarding motivations and satisfaction relative to their participation in these activities. Far fewer studies examine perceptions of GHEs from the perspective of LMIC hosts and other local constituent groups. The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze studies that examined local stakeholder perspectives of global health engagements in LMICs around the world. We conducted a scoping review of PubMed and Google Scholar using the Population-Concept-Context (PCC) framework. Assessment and analysis of articles was conducted by a team of three reviewers (EA, FS, SB). A total of 31 relevant papers published between 2009 and 2021 provided local perspectives of GHEs, with participants falling into three stakeholder categories- providers of care, recipients of care, and community members. Analysis revealed that stakeholder groups often held complex and highly nuanced perspectives of GHEs, perceiving these activities as having both positive and negative implications in the host communities. Synthesis of the eligible studies’ findings resulted in three thematic categories- resources and perceived benefits derived from GHEs; perceived challenges associated with GHEs; and opportunities for improvement of GHEs. To our knowledge, this scoping review is among the first to identify and collectively analyze LMIC stakeholder perceptions of GHEs. Recommendations for future research are provided.Item Smoking Behavior and Prognosis After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis: A Pooled Analysis of 11 Studies(Oxford University Press, 2021-08-31) Alwers, Elizabeth; Carr, Prudence R.; Banbury, Barbara; Walter, Viola; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Jansen, Lina; Drew, David A.; Giovannucci, Edward; Nan, Hongmei; Berndt, Sonja I.; Huang, Wen-Yi; Prizment, Anna; Hayes, Richard B.; Sakoda, Lori C.; White, Emily; Labadie, Julia; Slattery, Martha; Schoen, Robert E.; Diergaarde, Brenda; van Guelpen, Bethany; Campbell, Peter T.; Peters, Ulrike; Chan, Andrew T.; Newcomb, Polly A.; Hoffmeister, Michael; Brenner, Hermann; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthBackground: Smoking has been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality in previous studies, but current evidence on smoking in association with survival after CRC diagnosis is limited. Methods: We pooled data from 12 345 patients with stage I-IV CRC from 11 epidemiologic studies in the International Survival Analysis in Colorectal Cancer Consortium. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the associations of prediagnostic smoking behavior with overall, CRC-specific, and non-CRC-specific survival. Results: Among 12 345 patients with CRC, 4379 (35.5%) died (2515 from CRC) over a median follow-up time of 7.5 years. Smoking was strongly associated with worse survival in stage I-III patients, whereas no association was observed among stage IV patients. Among stage I-III patients, clear dose-response relationships with all survival outcomes were seen for current smokers. For example, current smokers with 40 or more pack-years had statistically significantly worse overall, CRC-specific, and non-CRC-specific survival compared with never smokers (hazard ratio [HR] =1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.68 to 2.25; HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.12 to 1.78; and HR = 2.67, 95% CI = 2.19 to 3.26, respectively). Similar associations with all survival outcomes were observed for former smokers who had quit for less than 10 years, but only a weak association with non-CRC-specific survival was seen among former smokers who had quit for more than 10 years. Conclusions: This large consortium of CRC patient studies provides compelling evidence that smoking is strongly associated with worse survival of stage I-III CRC patients in a clear dose-response manner. The detrimental effect of smoking was primarily related to noncolorectal cancer events, but current heavy smoking also showed an association with CRC-specific survival.Item Feasibility and acceptability of a novel biomedical device to prevent neonatal hypothermia and augment Kangaroo Mother Care in Kenya: Qualitative analysis of focus group discussions and key Informant Interviews(Public Library of Science, 2024-04-16) Bhuiya, Nudar A.; Liu, Scott; Muyodi, David; Bucher, Sherri L.; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthHypothermia is a leading newborn complication, especially among premature and/or low birth weight infants. Within low/middle-income countries where incubators and radiant warmers are often in short supply, leading to gaps in the thermal care chain, neonatal hypothermia underlies high rates of newborn morbidity and mortality. Kangaroo Mother Care/Skin-to-skin care is an effective method for prevention of hypothermia in premature and low birthweight babies but can be very burdensome for families and healthcare providers. Our international multidisciplinary team has developed a prototype for a wearable biomedical device ("NeoWarm") to provide continuous thermal care and augment kangaroo mother care practices in low-resource settings. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of NeoWarm and to obtain user design feedback for an early prototype from among adult end-users in Western Kenya. We performed key informant interviews (n = 17) among healthcare providers and 5 focus group discussions (FGDs) among 3 groups of adult stakeholders of premature babies, including: (1) parents/family members of premature babies aged 6 weeks or less (3 FGDs); (2) healthcare providers of newborns (e.g., nurses; physicians; 1 FGD); (3) community opinion leaders and stakeholders (e.g., traditional birth attendants; pastors; village elders; 1 FGD). Content and thematic analyses of transcripts indicate that NeoWarm is acceptable and feasible in promoting facility-based kangaroo mother care in the Kenyan setting. Novel findings derived from respondents include (1) the ability of the device to potentially overcome several barriers to traditional kangaroo mother care methods and (2) user-driven encouragement to expand the use case of the device to potentially include community-based kangaroo mother care and neonatal transport. User design feedback obtained during the interviews informed several key design iterations for subsequent prototypes of the device.Item Preclinical validation of NeoWarm, a low-cost infant warmer and carrier device, to ameliorate induced hypothermia in newborn piglets as models for human neonates(Frontiers Media, 2024-04-03) Bluhm, Nick D. P.; Tomlin, Grant M.; Hoilett, Orlando S.; Lehner, Elena A.; Walters, Benjamin D.; Pickering, Alyson S.; Bautista, Kevin Alessandro; Bucher, Sherri L.; Linnes, Jacqueline C.; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthIntroduction: Approximately 1.5 million neonatal deaths occur among premature and small (low birthweight or small-for gestational age) neonates annually, with a disproportionate amount of this mortality occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Hypothermia, the inability of newborns to regulate their body temperature, is common among prematurely born and small babies, and often underlies high rates of mortality in this population. In high-resource settings, incubators and radiant warmers are the gold standard for hypothermia, but this equipment is often scarce in LMICs. Kangaroo Mother Care/Skin-to-skin care (KMC/STS) is an evidence-based intervention that has been targeted for scale-up among premature and small neonates. However, KMC/STS requires hours of daily contact between a neonate and an able adult caregiver, leaving little time for the caregiver to care for themselves. To address this, we created a novel self-warming biomedical device, NeoWarm, to augment KMC/STS. The present study aimed to validate the safety and efficacy of NeoWarm. Methods: Sixteen, 0-to-5-day-old piglets were used as an animal model due to similarities in their thermoregulatory capabilities, circulatory systems, and approximate skin composition to human neonates. The piglets were placed in an engineered cooling box to drop their core temperature below 36.5°C, the World Health Organizations definition of hypothermia for human neonates. The piglets were then warmed in NeoWarm (n = 6) or placed in the ambient 17.8°C ± 0.6°C lab environment (n = 5) as a control to assess the efficacy of NeoWarm in regulating their core body temperature. Results: All 6 piglets placed in NeoWarm recovered from hypothermia, while none of the 5 piglets in the ambient environment recovered. The piglets warmed in NeoWarm reached a significantly higher core body temperature (39.2°C ± 0.4°C, n = 6) than the piglets that were warmed in the ambient environment (37.9°C ± 0.4°C, n = 5) (p < 0.001). No piglet in the NeoWarm group suffered signs of burns or skin abrasions. Discussion: Our results in this pilot study indicate that NeoWarm can safely and effectively warm hypothermic piglets to a normal core body temperature and, with additional validation, shows promise for potential use among human premature and small neonates.Item Enhancing PBL authenticity by engaging STEM professional volunteers(Purdue University, 2021) Nicholas, Celeste; Scribner, J. Adam; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthThe article profiles a project addressing a central issue in reform-driven STEM education – the need to align educational experiences with real-world STEM. We profile an interdisciplinary project which aimed for authenticity by: 1) purposefully designing an authentic PBL project and 2) incorporating STEM professional volunteers as facilitators. Volunteers enhanced authentic elements of the project task (e.g., open-ended task, accountability) and context (e.g., autonomy, collaboration). Volunteers alleviated pedagogical barriers to PBL – their expertise allowed both volunteers and teachers to take up the facilitator roles foundational to PBL. Professional volunteers can play vital roles in STEM capacity-building initiatives, including those seeking to broaden participation. Further research is needed to understand how to best prepare and utilize volunteers in a variety of classroom roles, including as PBL facilitators.Item Effectiveness of Homologous and Heterologous COVID-19 Booster Doses Following 1 Ad.26.COV2.S (Janssen [Johnson & Johnson]) Vaccine Dose Against COVID-19-Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters and Hospitalizations Among Adults - VISION Network, 10 States, December 2021-March 2022(Center for Disease Control, 2022-04-01) Natarajan, Karthik; Prasad, Namrata; Dascomb, Kristin; Irving, Stephanie A.; Yang, Duck-Hye; Gaglani, Manjusha; Klein, Nicola P.; DeSilva, Malini B.; Ong, Toan C.; Grannis, Shaun J.; Stenehjem, Edward; Link-Gelles, Ruth; Rowley, Elizabeth A.; Naleway, Allison L.; Han, Jungmi; Raiyani, Chandni; Vazquez Benitez, Gabriela; Rao, Suchitra; Lewis, Ned; Fadel, William F.; Grisel, Nancy; Griggs, Eric P.; Dunne, Margaret M.; Stockwell, Melissa S.; Mamawala, Mufaddal; McEvoy, Charlene; Barron, Michelle A.; Goddard, Kristin; Valvi, Nimish R.; Arndorfer, Julie; Patel, Palak; Mitchell, Patrick K.; Smith, Michael; Kharbanda, Anupam B.; Fireman, Bruce; Embi, Peter J.; Dickerson, Monica; Davis, Jonathan M.; Zerbo, Ousseny; Dalton, Alexandra F.; Wondimu, Mehiret H.; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo; Bozio, Catherine H.; Reynolds, Sue; Ferdinands, Jill; Williams, Jeremiah; Schrag, Stephanie J.; Verani, Jennifer R.; Ball, Sarah; Thompson, Mark G.; Dixon, Brian E.; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthCDC recommends that all persons aged ≥18 years receive a single COVID-19 vaccine booster dose ≥2 months after receipt of an Ad.26.COV2.S (Janssen [Johnson & Johnson]) adenovirus vector-based primary series vaccine; a heterologous COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is preferred over a homologous (matching) Janssen vaccine for booster vaccination. This recommendation was made in light of the risks for rare but serious adverse events following receipt of a Janssen vaccine, including thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome and Guillain-Barré syndrome† (1), and clinical trial data indicating similar or higher neutralizing antibody response following heterologous boosting compared with homologous boosting (2). Data on real-world vaccine effectiveness (VE) of different booster strategies following a primary Janssen vaccine dose are limited, particularly during the period of Omicron variant predominance. The VISION Network§ determined real-world VE of 1 Janssen vaccine dose and 2 alternative booster dose strategies: 1) a homologous booster (i.e., 2 Janssen doses) and 2) a heterologous mRNA booster (i.e., 1 Janssen dose/1 mRNA dose). In addition, VE of these booster strategies was compared with VE of a homologous booster following mRNA primary series vaccination (i.e., 3 mRNA doses). The study examined 80,287 emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits¶ and 25,244 hospitalizations across 10 states during December 16, 2021-March 7, 2022, when Omicron was the predominant circulating variant.** VE against laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-associated ED/UC encounters was 24% after 1 Janssen dose, 54% after 2 Janssen doses, 79% after 1 Janssen/1 mRNA dose, and 83% after 3 mRNA doses. VE for the same vaccination strategies against laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-associated hospitalizations were 31%, 67%, 78%, and 90%, respectively. All booster strategies provided higher protection than a single Janssen dose against ED/UC visits and hospitalizations during Omicron variant predominance. Vaccination with 1 Janssen/1 mRNA dose provided higher protection than did 2 Janssen doses against COVID-19-associated ED/UC visits and was comparable to protection provided by 3 mRNA doses during the first 120 days after a booster dose. However, 3 mRNA doses provided higher protection against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations than did other booster strategies during the same time interval since booster dose. All adults who have received mRNA vaccines for their COVID-19 primary series vaccination should receive an mRNA booster dose when eligible. Adults who received a primary Janssen vaccine dose should preferentially receive a heterologous mRNA vaccine booster dose ≥2 months later, or a homologous Janssen vaccine booster dose if mRNA vaccine is contraindicated or unavailable. Further investigation of the durability of protection afforded by different booster strategies is warranted.Item Waning 2-Dose and 3-Dose Effectiveness of mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19–Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters and Hospitalizations Among Adults During Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Predominance — VISION Network, 10 States, August 2021–January 2022(Center for Disease Control, 2022-02-18) Ferdinands, Jill M.; Rao, Suchitra; Dixon, Brian E.; Mitchell, Patrick K.; DeSilva, Malini B.; Irving, Stephanie A.; Lewis, Ned; Natarajan, Karthik; Stenehjem, Edward; Grannis, Shaun J.; Han, Jungmi; McEvoy, Charlene; Ong, Toan C.; Naleway, Allison L.; Reese, Sarah E.; Embi, Peter J.; Dascomb, Kristin; Klein, Nicola P.; Griggs, Eric P.; Konatham, Deepika; Kharbanda, Anupam B.; Yang, Duck-Hye; Fadel, William F.; Grisel, Nancy; Goddard, Kristin; Patel, Palak; Liao, I-Chia; Birch, Rebecca; Valvi, Nimish R.; Reynolds, Sue; Arndorfer, Julie; Zerbo, Ousseny; Dickerson, Monica; Murthy, Kempapura; Williams, Jeremiah; Bozio, Catherine H.; Blanton, Lenee; Verani, Jennifer R.; Schrag, Stephanie J.; Dalton, Alexandra F.; Wondimu, Mehiret H.; Link-Gelles, Ruth; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo; Barron, Michelle A.; Gaglani, Manjusha; Thompson, Mark G.; Fireman, Bruce; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthCDC recommends that all persons aged ≥12 years receive a booster dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine ≥5 months after completion of a primary mRNA vaccination series and that immunocompromised persons receive a third primary dose.* Waning of vaccine protection after 2 doses of mRNA vaccine has been observed during the period of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant predominance† (1-5), but little is known about durability of protection after 3 doses during periods of Delta or SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant predominance. A test-negative case-control study design using data from eight VISION Network sites§ examined vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits and hospitalizations among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years at various time points after receipt of a second or third vaccine dose during two periods: Delta variant predominance and Omicron variant predominance (i.e., periods when each variant accounted for ≥50% of sequenced isolates). Persons categorized as having received 3 doses included those who received a third dose in a primary series or a booster dose after a 2 dose primary series (including the reduced-dosage Moderna booster). The VISION Network analyzed 241,204 ED/UC encounters** and 93,408 hospitalizations across 10 states during August 26, 2021-January 22, 2022. VE after receipt of both 2 and 3 doses was lower during the Omicron-predominant than during the Delta-predominant period at all time points evaluated. During both periods, VE after receipt of a third dose was higher than that after a second dose; however, VE waned with increasing time since vaccination. During the Omicron period, VE against ED/UC visits was 87% during the first 2 months after a third dose and decreased to 66% among those vaccinated 4-5 months earlier; VE against hospitalizations was 91% during the first 2 months following a third dose and decreased to 78% ≥4 months after a third dose. For both Delta- and Omicron-predominant periods, VE was generally higher for protection against hospitalizations than against ED/UC visits. All eligible persons should remain up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations to best protect against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and ED/UC visits.Item Enhancing the nation’s public health information infrastructure: a report from the ACMI symposium(Oxford University Press, 2023) Dixon, Brian E.; Staes, Catherine; Acharya, Jessica; Allen, Katie S.; Hartsell, Joel; Cullen, Theresa; Lenert, Leslie; Rucker, Donald W.; Lehmann, Harold; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthThe COVID-19 pandemic exposed multiple weaknesses in the nation's public health system. Therefore, the American College of Medical Informatics selected "Rebuilding the Nation's Public Health Informatics Infrastructure" as the theme for its annual symposium. Experts in biomedical informatics and public health discussed strategies to strengthen the US public health information infrastructure through policy, education, research, and development. This article summarizes policy recommendations for the biomedical informatics community postpandemic. First, the nation must perceive the health data infrastructure to be a matter of national security. The nation must further invest significantly more in its health data infrastructure. Investments should include the education and training of the public health workforce as informaticians in this domain are currently limited. Finally, investments should strengthen and expand health data utilities that increasingly play a critical role in exchanging information across public health and healthcare organizations.Item Impact of community health workers on diabetes management in an urban United States Community with high diabetes burden through the COVID pandemic(Elsevier, 2024-02-09) Hansotte, Elinor; Andrea, Sarah B.; Weathers, Tess D.; Stone, Cynthia; Jessup, Alisha; Staten, Lisa K.; Community and Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthObjective: Community Health Worker (CHW) interventions are promising approaches to increasing access to health care, garnering better health outcomes, and decreasing health inequities for historically marginalized populations. This study examines the impact of a health system-based CHW program embedded in the Diabetes Impact Project - Indianapolis Neighborhoods (DIP-IN), a large, place-based, multi-year intervention to reduce diabetes burden. We assessed the CHW program's effectiveness in managing glucose control and reducing diabetes-associated complications across the COVID timeline. Methods: We examined the association between the CHW intervention and diabetes management in 454 CHW patients and 1,020 propensity score-matched comparison patients. Using electronic medical records for encounters between January 1, 2017, and March 31, 2022, we estimated the CHW program effect using a difference-in-difference approach through generalized linear mixed models. Results: Participation was associated with a significant reduction (-0.54-unit (95 % CI: -0.73, -0.35) in glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) on average over time that was beyond the change observed among comparison patients, higher odds of having ≥ 2 A1C measures in a year (OR = 2.32, 95 % CI: 1.79, 3.00), lower odds of ED visits (OR: 0.88; 95 % CI: 0.73, 1.05), and lower odds of hospital admission (OR: 0.81; 95 % CI: 0.60,1.09). When analyses were restricted to a pre-pandemic timeframe, the pattern of results were similar. Conclusion: This program was effective in improving diabetes management among patients living in diabetes-burdened communities, and the effects were persistent throughout the pandemic timeline. CHW programs offer crucial reinforcement for diabetes management during periods when routine healthcare access is constrained.