Search

The article provides information on study which assessed gains needed to achieve Healthy People 2030 (HP2030), a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative, breastfeeding targets among different sociodemographic groups. Topics discussed include insight on the National Immunization Survey--Child (NIS-Child), and range of gains needed to achieve the exclusive breastfeeding through six months target.

Background and Aims: chronic periodontitis is a slowgrowing inflammdory disease mostly evident in adults Many mental disorders such as depression are related to some physical diseases. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the indicators of chronic periodontitis in people with major depression compared to healthy people in Ilam city in 2021-2022. Materials and Methods: The type of cross-sectional study is descriptive and analytical. The statistical population included 84 patients with major depression who are hospitalized or outpatients in the psychiatric department of Mustafa Hospital. Information was collected through a researcher-made form. This form contains two parts: demographic information part (age, sex, education, place of residence, contact number, duration of illness); periodontal information section (including plaque index, pocket depth, bleeding and adhesion limit). Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18 and t-tests, analysis of variance and Pearson's correlation. Results: In this study, 84 people including depressed patients (42people) and healthy people (42people) were investigated. The average age of the two groups was 36.11 and 32.9 years, respectively. The indices of pocket depth and buccal and palatal bleeding, clinical attachment level and plaque were significantly higher in depressed patients. Older age, female sex, and lower education were more common in people with depression, but only the level of education was statistically significant (P<0.001). BOP in depressed patients was significantly more than healthy people.(p<0.01) This plaque index was significantly higher in depressed patients with less and higher education than healthy people .(p<0.01) Conclusion: It seems, Periodontal indexes such as gingival bleeding and pocket depth were higher in patients with major depressive disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is little information as to how America's broadband infrastructure might impact recent efforts to expand access to virtual care for underserved communities. Objective: To examine potential and realized access to broadband internet services within Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) that rely on community health care service providers for primary care. Methods: This cross‐sectional study included 214,946 US Census Block Group estimates from the 2017 and 2019 American Community Survey and the corresponding Federal Communications Commission database. Changes in household broadband subscription rates and Healthy People 2020 access thresholds within MUAs were assessed. Findings: In 2019, 24,304 MUA households (31.9%) met Healthy People 2020 targets for broadband subscription rates, compared to 64.4% of non‐MUA households (n = 89,285). On average, 74.7% of MUA households had a broadband internet subscription compared to 85.2% of non‐MUA households, whereas 61.1% (n = 46,635) of MUA households had access to broadband speeds of at least 25.0 Mbps, compared to 75.6% (n = 104,696) of non‐MUA households. Within urban households, there was a 0.8 to 1.3 to 1.6 annual percentage point convergence in MUA versus non‐MUA broadband disparities between across quintiles (P <.05). Rural MUA households showed little improvement in broadband access between 2017 and 2019. Conclusions: There has been an overall convergence of broadband access disparities between MUA and non‐MUA households over time, but less improvements in access among the most rural households. Reimbursement for audio‐only telehealth visits by state Medicaid agencies would help drive down barriers to virtual health care options for populations residing in MUAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: System Dynamics (SD) is a promising decision support modeling approach for growing shared understanding of complex maternal and child health (MCH) trends. We sought to inventory published applications of SD to MCH topics and introduce the MCH workforce to these approaches through examples to support further iteration and use. Methods: We conducted a systematic search (1958–2018) for applications of SD to MCH topics and characterized identified articles, following PRISMA guidelines. Pairs of experts abstracted information on SD approach and MCH relevance. Results: We identified 101 articles describing applications of SD to MCH topics. Approach: 27 articles present qualitative diagrams, 10 introduce concept models that begin to quantify dynamics, and 67 present more fully tested/analyzed models. Purpose: The most common purposes described were to increase understanding (n = 55) and support strategic planning (n = 26). While the majority of studies (n = 53) did not involve stakeholders, 40 included what we considered to be a high level of stakeholder engagement – a strength of SD for MCH. Topics: The two Healthy People 2020 topics addressed most frequently were early and middle childhood (n = 30) and access to health services (n = 26). The most commonly addressed SDG goals were "End disease epidemics" (n = 26) and "End preventable deaths" (n = 26). Conclusions for Practice: While several excellent examples of the application of SD in MCH were found, SD is still underutilized in MCH. Because SD is particularly well-suited to studying and addressing complex challenges with stakeholders, its expanded use by the MCH workforce could inform an understanding of contemporary MCH challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Broadband access is a "super determinant of health." Understanding the spatial distribution and predictors of access may help target government programs and telehealth applications. Our aim was to examine broadband access across geography and sociodemographic characteristics using American Community Survey (ACS) data. Methods: We used 5‐year ACS estimates from 2014 to 2018 to evaluate broadband access across contiguous US census tracts. Rural‐Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes were categorized as metropolitan, micropolitan, small town, and isolated rural. We performed bivariate analyses to determine differences by RUCA categories and meeting the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) objective (83.2% broadband access) or not. We conducted spatial statistics and spatial regression analyses to identify clusters of broadband access and sociodemographic factors associated with broadband access. Results: No RUCA grouping met the HP2020 objective; 80.6% of households had broadband access, including 82.0% of metropolitan, 73.9% of micropolitan, 70.7% of small town, and 70.0% of isolated rural households. Areas with high percentages of Black residents had lower broadband access, particularly in isolated rural tracts (54.9%). Low access was spatially clustered in the Southeast, Southwest, and northern plains. In spatial regression models, poverty and education were most strongly associated with broadband access, while the proportion of American Indian/Alaska Native population was the strongest racial/ethnic factor. Conclusions: Rural areas had less broadband access with the greatest disparities experienced among geographically isolated areas with larger Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations, more poverty, and lower educational attainment, following well‐known social gradients in health. Resources and initiatives should target these areas of greatest need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]