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Following the spread of COVID-19, the Rhode Island Department of Health delivered its first virtual World Diabetes Day (RIWDD) event. Evaluations exploring advantages and disadvantages of delivering public health events virtually are generally lacking. The aims of the present paper were to evaluate the reach, feasibility, and effectiveness of delivering RIWDD virtually. Quantitative methods were used to: (1) estimate and compare the target population to RIWDD's event reach; and (2) evaluate whether diabetes knowledge increased amongst attendees. Qualitative methods assessed event facilitators' perceptions of the strengths, limitations, and challenges of using a virtual format to inform planning and implementation of future RIWDD events. Results revealed segments of RI's population disproportionately affected by diabetes, including men, persons of color, and older adults were underrepresented at the event. The event was not associated with increases in diabetes knowledge; however, attendees possessed high diabetes knowledge overall. Facilitators identified several important factors associated with virtual delivery in the context of COVID-19. Considerations for delivering virtual events are discussed. A key takeaway of this evaluation is the critical need for cultural competency as a guiding framework for professional practice when delivering events virtually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate if duration of supplemental breastfeeding is associated with a lower asthma risk and whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) early in life influence this relationship in children ages 3 to 5 years. Methods: Data were from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate incident risk ratios (IRR) for lifetime and current asthma in young children aged 3 to 5 years (n = 15,642). We tested for effect measure modification using stratified analyses. Results: Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months or supplemental breastfeeding for children ≥12 months significantly reduced the risk of lifetime asthma prevalence compared to never breastfed children (IRR 0.64; 95% CI: 0.46-0.88, p = 0.007; and IRR 0.68; 95% CI: 0.47-0.99, p = 0.044, respectively), adjusted for covariates. In stratified analyses, breastfeeding reduced the risk of lifetime asthma for children who experienced 1 ACE but not for children who experienced 2 or more ACEs. Conclusion: Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months, with and without supplementation, appears to prevent asthma or delay its onset. The protective effect of breastfeeding was attenuated among children who experienced more than 2 ACEs. The known harmful effects that ACEs have on children's health may outweigh the benefits of breastfeeding in reducing the risk of a child developing asthma. Understanding how specific time periods in a child's life may be most affected by exposure to early life adversities, along with the protective effect of breastfeeding against asthma, are important areas of further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Estimate the association between smoking and emergency care in the past 12 months among asthmatic adults in a nationally representative sample.Methods: Using the 2011 Asthma Call-Back Survey, the association between smoking status and emergency department (ED) and urgent visits among asthmatic adults (n = 12 339) was assessed through multivariable logistic regression by a cross-sectional study design. Analyses used survey weights for US population-based estimates. Attributable and population attributable risk were calculated to describe the potential benefits of smoking cessation.Results: Adjusting for potential confounders, during the past 12 months former smokers had 1.30 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.74) times the odds and current smokers had 1.46 (95% CI: 1.05, 2.03) times the odds of visiting the ED compared to never smokers. Former smokers had 1.28 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.65) times the odds and current smokers had 1.29 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.73) times the odds of urgent visits compared to never smokers. Among adult asthmatics, an estimated 9% of ED visits and 6% of urgent visits can be attributed to current smoking while 7% of ED visits and 7% of urgent visits can be attributed to former smoking.Conclusions: Current and former smokers are more likely to need emergency care than never smokers. About 10% of emergency care visits among asthmatics can be attributed to smoking assuming smoking is causally related to emergency care. Long-term effective management of asthma, particularly the prevention and cessation of smoking, could reduce emergency care use and health care costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We describe the correlates of smoking among parents who have a child with asthma and examine whether the correlates changed from 2008 to 2010, when the United States experienced a severe recession and a sharp increase in unemployment, a stressor that could influence smoking behavior. Methods. Data are from the 2008 and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults age 18 and older. Separate logistic regressions estimated the association between unemployment and smoking in 2008 and 2010, adjusting for sociodemographic and other characteristics of parents of a child with asthma. Results. Being unemployed was a significant predictor of smoking in 2010 (AOR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.24-2.61), but was not a significant predictor in 2008 (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI: 0.82-1.95). One central component of well-being, as measured by being dissatisfied with one's life, was significantly associated with parental smoking in 2010 (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.00-4.27), but not in 2008 (AOR = 1.62, 95% CI: 0.85-3.11). Several covariates had similar associations with parental smoking in both survey years, including low education, not being currently married, not having health insurance, and binge drinking. Conclusions. Our results support the idea that during hard economic times unemployment and related stressors may be strong determinants of parental smoking when a child in the home has asthma. Given that the BFRSS is a cross-sectional survey, definitive conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the causal pathway connecting unemployment, global well-being, and parental smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent increase in the prevalence of asthma in children is now recognized as the result of a complex interplay of genetic, sociodemographic and environmental factors. Multilevel models simultaneously account for neighborhood characteristics that may be related to childhood asthma, independently of individual-level attributes. Most research that focuses on the physical and social characteristics of neighborhoods to explain disparities in childhood asthma assess such factors as persistent poverty, residential racial segregation and environmental degradation. Researchers have only begun to test models that specifically focus on risk and protective factors at the community/neighborhood level in relation to asthma. Social capital, which measures norms of reciprocity, social ties between neighborhood residents and civic engagement has the potential to buffer the effects of neighborhood risk factors on childhood asthma. Further research, specifically longitudinal studies, needs to be carried out to determine whether findings on neighborhood-level risk and protective factors can guide the development of preventive interventions for childhood asthma. INSET: Key issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study examining the association between screening for breast and cervical cancers, knowledge of cancer risk factors and perceptions of surviving cancer in the United States. Clinical breast examination; Mammography; Pap test; Demographic characteristics; Smoking status; Factors associated with joint screening for two cancers.