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Depression affects over 17 million American adults yearly and has been identified as the leading cause of disability in people between the ages of 15 and 44 years. There is evidence that feeling neglect or a lack of parental attachment during childhood is associated with depression. One construct that has been overlooked is love from a parent. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between individuals who felt not wanted/loved during adolescence and lifetime depression and to examine this association by gender. We examined 5114 participants aged 24–32 years at Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) public use dataset. We used logistic regression analysis to determine the association between an individual feeling not wanted/loved by their parent/caregiver prior to age 18, covariates, and lifetime depression. We then stratified by gender and ran logistic models for both men and women separately. Overall, 16.2% (n= 827) reported lifetime depression diagnosis, while 16.5% of the participants reported feeling not wanted/loved “often,” while 29.8% reported it as “sometimes.” Feeling not wanted/loved “often” was associated with higher odds of depression (AOR = 3.00; 95% CI, 2.45–3.66; p< .001) versus “sometimes” (AOR = 1.59; 95% CI, 1.31–1.90; p< .001). When stratified by gender, feeling not loved/wanted was associated with depression among both men (AOR = 3.70; 95% CI, 2.60–5.25; p< .001) and women (AOR = 2.73; 95% CI, 2.13–3.48; p< .001). Feeling not loved or wanted by a parent/caregiver during adolescence has serious implications, for both men and women. Future studies should further examine this construct and identify family-based interventions that focus on parent/caregiver and child relationships.

Objective: Preventable hospitalizations for heart failure result in a large proportion of hospitalizations. The primary objective of this study was to describe longitudinal trends in the association of race/ethnicity with preventable hospitalizations for heart failure in Connecticut and differences in disparities by age.Methods: We analyzed data on hospitalizations in all civilian acute-care hospitals in Connecticut during a 7-year period, 2009 through 2015. We used raking methodology to weight the nonhospitalized population to create a reference population representative of the state’s general population. Multivariate regression models examined racial/ethnic disparities among adults aged 35-64, controlling for age, sex, and type of health insurance. For adults aged ≥65, regression models controlled for age and sex.Results: After controlling for age and sex, the non-Hispanic black to non-Hispanic white odds ratio for preventable hospitalizations for heart failure ranged from 5.2-6.4 during the study period among adults aged 35-64. Among adults aged ≥65, non-Hispanic black adults had significantly higher odds (range, 1.2-1.8) of preventable hospitalizations than non-Hispanic white adults. Rates among Hispanic adults were significantly higher than rates among non-Hispanic adults after controlling for age and sex among adults aged ≥65 in 2014 and 2015.Conclusions: This research provides information for clinical and population-based interventions targeting racial/ethnic gaps in heart failure hospitalizations. Demonstrating the persistent black–white disparity and age differences in racial/ethnic disparities, this study emphasizes the need for focused prevention among vulnerable populations. Raking methodology is an innovative approach to eliminating selection bias in hospital discharge data.

Digital and mhealth interventions can be effective in improving health outcomes among minority patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, and chronic respiratory diseases. A number of electronic and digital approaches to individual and population-level interventions involving telephones, internet and web-based resources, and mobile platforms have been deployed to improve chronic disease outcomes. This paper summarizes the evidence supporting the efficacy of various behavioral and digital interventions targeting intermediate outcomes and hospitalizations with particular emphasis on studies examining the effects of these interventions on racial and ethnic minority population.

Hospitalizations due to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) result in high morbidity and economic burden on the American healthcare system. Admissions due to chronic ACSCs, in particular, cost the American healthcare system over 30 billion dollars annually. This paper presents the current research on racial and ethnic disparities in the burden of hospitalizations due to chronic ACSCs. For this narrative review, we evaluated over 800 abstracts from MEDLINE and Google Scholar and cited 62 articles. Since 1998, racial and ethnic disparities in hospitalizations from chronic ACSCs have increased resulting in over 430,000 excess hospitalizations among non-Hispanic Blacks compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Racial disparities in chronic ACSCs hospitalizations are pervasive in the USA. There is need for more research on the pathways through which an individual’s race modifies the risk for hospitalizations due to chronic ACSCs.

Gavgani et al., through their systematic review, explore the existing evidence in the area of information prescription and information therapy. The application of Information prescription and information therapy has been explored in a number of developed countries through randomized trials and observational studies. The low awareness about these concepts among medical practitioners has been highlighted. This commentary highlights the routes for IP/Ix dissemination and its application in current medical practice.

Directly observed therapy (DOT) for monitoring tuberculosis (TB) treatment is intended to reduce disease transmission, mortality and acquired drug resistance by facilitating treatment adherence and support. Synchronous (S-VOT) and asynchronous (A-VOT) video observed therapy are mHealth solutions for remotely monitoring medication ingestion. This paper synthesizes literature through December 2018 to describe existing VOT approaches, summarize evidence, identify knowledge gaps, evaluate VOT strengths and weaknesses, and examine patient and provider factors influencing VOT feasibility and acceptability. High rates of adherence and patient acceptance were obtained using both VOT methods. VOT reduced travel time for TB program staff and/or patients, improving program efficiency compared to in-person DOT while maintaining high patient satisfaction. The impact of VOT on TB treatment outcomes, such as cure and relapse, require further study with longer follow-up. Individual patient, provider and program factors should be considered in selecting either or both VOT approaches for provision of patient-centered care.