Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Laboratory Response To Anthrax Bioterrorism, New York City, 2001, Michael B. Heller, Michel L. Bunning, Martin E.B. France, Debra M. Niemeyer, Leonard Peruski, Tim Naimi, Phillip M. Talboy, Patrick H. Murray, Harald W. Pietz, John Kornblum, William Oleszko, Sara T. Beatrice, Joint Microbiological Rapid Response Team, New York City Anthrax Investigation Working Group, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

In October 2001, the greater New York City Metropolitan Area was the scene of a bioterrorism attack. The scale of the public response to this attack was not foreseen and threatened to overwhelm the Bioterrorism Response Laboratory’s (BTRL) ability to process and test environmental samples. In a joint effort with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the cooperation of the Department of Defense, a massive effort was launched to maintain and sustain the laboratory response and return test results in a timely fashion. This effort was largely successful. The development and expansion of the facility are described, as …

Relationship Between Low Quality-Of-Care Scores And Hmos' Subsequent Public Disclosure Of Quality-Of-Care Scores, Danny Mccormick, David U. Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler, Sidney M. Wolfe, David H. Bor

Publications and Research

Context Public disclosure of quality data on health maintenance organizations (HMOs) might improve public accountability, inform consumer decision making, and promote quality improvement. But, because disclosure is voluntary, some HMOs could subvert these objectives by refusing to release unfavorable data.

Objective To determine the association between HMO quality of care and withdrawal from public disclosure of quality-of-care data the subsequent year.

Design and Setting Retrospective cohort study of administrative and quality-of-care data on HMOs from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) annual Quality Compass databases for 1997, 1998, and 1999, including Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) …

Mercury Exposure And Malaria Prevalence Among Gold Miners In Pará, Brazil, Ellen K. Silbergeld, Denis Nash, Circey Trevant, G. Thomas Strickland, Jose Maria De Souza, Rui S.U. Da Silva

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Outbreak Of West Nile Virus Infection In The New York City Area In 1999, Denis Nash, Farzad Mostashari, Annie Fine, James Miller, Daniel O'Leary, Kristy Murray, Ada Huang, Amy Rosenberg, Abby Greenberg, Margaret Sherman, Susan Wong, Marcelle Layton

Publications and Research

Background In late August 1999, an unusual cluster of cases of meningoencephalitis associated with muscle weakness was reported to the New York City Department of Health. The initial epidemiologic and environmental investigations suggested an arboviral cause.

Methods Active surveillance was implemented to identify patients hospitalized with viral encephalitis and meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid, serum, and tissue specimens from patients with suspected cases underwent serologic and viral testing for evidence of arboviral infection.

Results Outbreak surveillance identified 59 patients who were hospitalized with West Nile virus infection in the New York City area during August and September of 1999. The median age …

The Role Of Pathology In An Investigation Of An Outbreak Of West Nile Encephalitis In New York, 1999, Wun-Ju Shieh, Jeannette Guarner, Marci Layton, Annie Fine, James Miller, Denis Nash, Grant L. Campbell, John T. Roehrig, Duane J. Gubler, Sherif R. Zaki

Publications and Research

An outbreak of encephalitis occurred in New York City in late August 1999, the first caused by West Nile virus in North America. Histopathologic and immunopathologic examinations performed on human autopsy materials helped guide subsequent laboratory and epidemiologic investigations that led to identification of the etiologic agent.

Update: West Nile Virus Encephalitis — New York, 1999, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

The West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis outbreak continues to wane in the Northeast with the onset of cooler temperatures and continued vector-control operations. This report updates the progress of the ongoing investigation. Since the last published update (1), five additional domestic human cases and one international case have been identified. As of October 19, 56 (31 confirmed and 25 probable) cases of WNV infection have been identified, including seven deaths (Figure 1). The date of onset of the latest cases was September 22. The international case was a Canadian citizen who had visited the New York City (NYC) area in …

Update: West Nile-Like Viral Encephalitis — New York, 1999, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

The outbreak of human arboviral encephalitis attributable to a mosquito-transmitted West Nile-like virus (WNLV) continues to wane in the Northeast (Figure 1). As of October 5, the number of laboratory-positive cases had increased to 50 (27 confirmed and 23 probable), including five deaths. The increase in cases is mainly a result of completed retesting with West Nile virus antigen of specimens previously tested with the related St. Louis encephalitis virus antigen and to intensive retrospective case finding in the ongoing epidemiologic investigations (1,2).

Outbreak Of West Nile-Like Viral Encephalitis -- New York, 1999, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

An outbreak of arboviral encephalitis was first recognized in New York City in late August and has since been identified in neighboring counties in New York state. Although initially attributed to St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus based on positive serologic findings in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples using a virus-specific IgM-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the cause of the outbreak has been confirmed as a West Nile-like virus based on the identification of virus in human, avian, and mosquito.

Quality Of Care In Investor-Owned Vs Not-For-Profit Hmos, David U. Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler, Ida Hellander, Sidney M. Wolfe

Publications and Research

Context The proportion of health maintenance organization (HMO) members enrolled in investor-owned plans has increased sharply, yet little is known about the quality of these plans compared with not-for-profit HMOs.

Objective To compare quality-of-care measures for investor-owned and not-for-profit HMOs.

Design, Setting, and Participants Analysis of the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Version 3.0 from the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Quality Compass 1997, which included 1996 quality-of-care data for 329 HMO plans (248 investor-owned and 81 not-for-profit), representing 56% of the total HMO enrollment in the United States.

Main Outcome Measures Rates for 14 HEDIS quality-of-care …

The Guillain-Barre Syndrome And The 1992-1993 And 1993-1994 Influenza Vaccines, Tamar Lasky, Gina J. Terracciano, Laurence Magder, Carol Lee Koski, Michael Ballesteros, Denis Nash, Shelley Clarke, Penina Haber, Paul D. Stolley, Lawrence B. Schonberger, Robert T. Chen

Publications and Research

Background
The number of reports of influenza-vaccine-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome to the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System increased from 37 in 1992-1993 to 74 in 1993-1994, arousing concern about a possible increase in vaccine-associated risk.

Methods
Patients given a diagnosis of the Guillain-Barré syndrome in the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 influenza-vaccination seasons were identified in the hospital-discharge data bases of four states. Vaccination histories were obtained by telephone interviews during 1995-1996 and were confirmed by the vaccine providers. Disease with an onset within six weeks after vaccination was defined as vaccine-associated. Vaccine coverage in the population was measured through a random-digit-dialing …

Relation Of Negative Affectivity To Self-Reports Of Job Stressors And Psychological Outcomes, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

A total of 250 new women teachers participated in a longitudinal study of the influence of negative affectivity (NA) on the relation of self-report work-environment measures to psychological outcomes. Three "neutrally worded" work-environment measures were specially constructed to minimize confounding with NA. The work-environment measures were moderately related to postemployment depressive symptoms, job satisfaction, and, among Whites but not among a principally Black and Hispanic subsample, motivation. Correlation and regression coefficients were largely unchanged when the preemployment psychophysiologic symptoms scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (L. S. Radloff, 1977), factors that tap NA, were controlled. Findings suggest NA …

A Population-Based Serologic Survey Of Immunity To Tetanus In The United States, Peter J. Gergen, Geraldine M. Mcquillan, Michele Kiely, Trena M. Ezzati-Rice, Roland W. Sutter, Gabriel Virella

Publications and Research

Background. Vaccination rates are frequently considered a surrogate measure of protection. To provide more accurate estimates, serum levels of antibody against tetanus were measured as part of the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), which studied a representative sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States.

Methods. We measured tetanus antitoxin using a solid- phase enzyme immunoassay in serum samples from 10,618 persons six years of age and older who were examined during phase 1 of NHANES III in 1988 to 1991.

Results. Overall, 69.7 percent of Americans six years of age and …

Methodological Issues In Occupational-Stress Research: Research In One Occupational Group And Its Wider Applications, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Jaesoon Rhee, Fang Xia

Publications and Research

The chapter addresses a number of important methodologic issues that are relevant to occupational-stress researchers. The issues addressed have arisen in the context of an ongoing research program involving cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of stress in teachers; the issues, however, apply to occupational research in general. The first issue involves measurement strategies required in operationalizing the stress process. The focal concern is the reduction of confounding in measures of the work environment. The second issue encompasses the question of whether to sample new or veteran workers. The third issue applies to types of job stressors. The chapter describes a …

Tabaco, Ambiente Y Salud. La Situación En Venezuela Y El Mundo, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Monóxido De Carbono: Amenaza Para La Salud Pública, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Assessing Stress In Teachers: Depressive Symptoms Scales And Neutral Self-Reports Of The Work Environment, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The focal interest of this chapter on teacher stress is methodologic. The chapter enumerates a number of defects in existing measures of job stress in teachers and, concomitantly, other helping professionals. Alternative ways of measuring stress in teachers are suggested and evaluated. The use of depressive symptom scales in concert with more 'objective' measures of the work environment is discussed. An application of the proposed alternative measurement strategy is described. The wider utility of the measurement strategy is briefly described.

Burnout In Teachers: Is It Burnout Or Is It Depression?, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Bibliography: Women, Aids, & Activism, Polly Thistlethwaite

Publications and Research

This annotated bibliography of the ACT UP/NY Women & AIDS Book Group's Women, AIDS & Activism reflects the scientific, feminist, gay, lesbian, HIV-community work that informed the book's production and ACT UP/NY's activism up to 1990. Book Group members: Marion Banzhaf, Cynthia Chris, Kim Christensen, Alexis Danzig, Risa Denenberg, Zoe Leonard, Deb Levine, Samuel Lurie, Monica Pearl, Catherine Gund, Polly Thistlethwaite, Judith Walker, and Brigitte Weil. Additional members of the original Women and AIDS Handbook Group included Jamie Bauer, Heidi Dorow, Maria Maggenti, Ellen Neipris, Ann Northrop, Sydney Pokorney, Karen Ramspacher, Maxine Wolfe, and Brian Zabcik.

Prostitution And Hiv Infection: Women, Aids, & Activism, Polly Thistlethwaite, Zoe Leonard

Publications and Research

This "Prostitution and HIV Infection" chapter of the ACT UP/NY Women & AIDS Book Group's Women, AIDS & Activism reflects the scientific, feminist, gay, lesbian, HIV-community work that informed ACT UP/NY's activism and analysis on women and HIV infection up to 1990. Book Group members: Marion Banzhaf, Cynthia Chris, Kim Christensen, Alexis Danzig, Risa Denenberg, Zoe Leonard, Deb Levine, Samuel Lurie, Monica Pearl, Catherine Gund, Polly Thistlethwaite, Judith Walker, and Brigitte Weil. Additional members of the original Women and AIDS Handbook Group included Jamie Bauer, Heidi Dorow, Maria Maggenti, Ellen Neipris, Ann Northrop, Sydney Pokorney, Karen Ramspacher, Maxine Wolfe, and …

Conduct Disorder And Cognitive Functioning: Testing Three Causal Hypotheses, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, David Shaffer, Patricia O'Connor, Stephanie Portnoy

Publications and Research

Studied the relation between cognitive functioning, as evidenced by IQ and achievement test performance, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) categories of conduct disturbance, using data from Black adolescents who were members of collaborative perinatal project from birth to age 7 yrs. At age 17 yrs, Ss and their parents were administered a battery of instruments that included standardized psychiatric diagnostic interviews as part of a call-back study. Analyses were compatible with the hypothesis that deficiencies in cognitive functioning are causally related to adolescent conduct disorder as defined by DSM—III. Results suggest that the relation of cognitive …

Caring Choices: Decision-Making About Treatment For Catastrophically Ill Newborns, Betty Wolder Levin

Publications and Research

Decision making for catastrophically ill newborns has recently emerged as a social issue. Advances in biomedical technology and practice, and changes in other economic, social and political factors have led to controversy about norms to guide treatment choice. While much has been written on how such decisions should be made, there has been little social science research on how such decisions are actually made.

The purpose of this dissertation is to elucidate the way that clinicians think about treatment decisions for catastrophically ill newborns. The focus is on decision making with respect to the limitation of treatment in those situations …