Medicine and Health Commons^™

The Social Determinants Of Ideal Cardiovascular Health: A Global Systematic Review, Farah Qureshi, Kelb Bousquet-Santos, Sakurako S. Okuzono, Elaine Tsao, Scott Delaney, Anne-Josie Guimond, Julia K. Boehm, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This systematic review synthesizes research published from January 2010-July 2022 on the social determinants of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) carried out around the world and compares trends in high-income countries (HICs) to those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 41 studies met inclusion criteria (n = 28 HICs, n = 13 LMICs). Most were from the United States (n = 22) and cross-sectional (n = 33), and nearly all evaluated associations among adults. Among studies conducted in LMICs, nearly all were from middle-income countries and only one was carried out in low-income country. Education (n = …

In The Eyes Of The Beholder: Race, Place And Health, Alfredo J. Velasquez, Jason A. Douglas, Fangqi Guo, Jennifer W. Robinette

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Racial and ethnic health disparities are fundamentally connected to neighborhood quality. For example, as a result of historical systemic inequities, racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in neighborhoods with signs of physical disorder (e.g., graffiti, vandalism), and physically disordered environments have been noted to associate with increased risk for chronic illness. Degree of exposure to neighborhood disorder may alter peoples' perception of their neighborhoods, however, with those most exposed (e.g., historically marginalized racial/ethnic groups) perhaps perceiving less threat from signs of neighborhood disorder. The purpose of the present study was to examine the complex interrelationships between people …

Citizenship Matters: Non-Citizen Covid-19 Mortality Disparities In New York And Los Angeles, Jason A. Douglas, Georgiana Bostean, Angel Miles Nash, Emmanuel B. John, Lawrence M. Brown, Andrew M. Subica

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

U.S. non-citizen residents are burdened by inequitable access to socioeconomic resources, potentially placing them at heightened risk of COVID-19-related disparities. However, COVID-19 impacts on non-citizens are not well understood. Accordingly, the current study investigated COVID-19 mortality disparities within New York (NYC) and Los Angeles (LAC) to test our hypothesis that areas with large proportions of non-citizens will have disproportionately high COVID-19 mortality rates. We examined ecological associations between March 2020–January 2021 COVID-19 mortality rates (per 100,000 residents) and percent non-citizens (using ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) for NYC and City/Community units of analysis for LAC) while controlling for sociodemographic factors. …

What Predicts How Safe People Feel In Their Neighborhoods And Does It Depend On Functional Status?, Alfredo J. Velasquez, Jason A. Douglas, Fangqi Guo, Jennifer W. Robinette

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Feeling unsafe in one's neighborhood is related to poor health. Features of the neighborhood environment have been suggested to inform perceptions of neighborhood safety. Yet, the relative contribution of these features (e.g., uneven sidewalks, crime, perceived neighborhood physical disorder) on perceived neighborhood safety, particularly among people with disabilities who may view themselves as more vulnerable, is not well understood. We examined whether sidewalk quality assessed by third party raters, county-level crime rates, and perceived neighborhood disorder would relate to neighborhood safety concerns, and whether functional limitations would exacerbate these links. Using data from the 2012/2014 waves of the Health and …

County-Level Factors That Influenced The Trajectory Of Covid-19 Incidence In The New York City Area, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Dinko Kranjac

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

More than a century of research has shown that sociodemographic conditions affect infectious disease transmission. In the late spring and early summer of 2020, reports of the effects of sociodemographic variables on the spread of COVID- 19 were used in the media with minimal scientific proof attached. With new cases of COVID-19 surging in the United States at that time, it became essential to better understand how the spread of COVID-19 was varying across all segments of the population. We used hierarchical exponential growth curve modeling techniques to examine whether community socioeconomic characteristics uniquely influence the incidence of reported COVID-19 …

Seroprevalence Of Novel Coronavirus Sars-Cov-2 At A Community Hospital Emergency Department And Outpatient Laboratory In Northern Orange County, California, Jason Yamaki, Harry Peled, Sajen Mathews, David Park, Mina Firoozi, Kim Smith, Lee Nguyen

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction

The severe acute respiratory syndrome related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected more than 20 million people worldwide, and the spread is most prevalent in the USA, where California had accounted over 240,000 cases in the initial 5 months of the pandemic. To estimate the number of infected persons in our community, we conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods

This cross-sectional study evaluated the presence of immunoglobulin G, antibody for SARS-CoV-2 during the time period of July 15, 2020, to July 27, 2020. Testing was done on serum samples from patients who had visited affiliated …

Covid-19 Treatment Resource Disparities And Social Disadvantage In New York City, Jason A. Douglas, Andrew M. Subica

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Black and Hispanic communities in the U.S. have endured a disproportionate burden of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. Racial and ethnic health disparities such as these are frequently aggravated by inequitable access to healthcare resources in disadvantaged communities. Yet, no known studies have investigated disadvantaged communities' access to COVID-19-related healthcare resources. The current study accordingly examined racial and ethnic differences in (1) April 2020 COVID-19 total and positive viral test rates across 177 New York City (NYC) ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA); and (2) November 2019–April 2020 licensed and intensive care unit (ICU) hospital bed access across 194 NYC ZCTAs. Pairwise …

Ecological Determinants Of Respiratory Health: Examining Associations Between Asthma Emergency Department Visits, Diesel Particulate Matter, And Public Parks And Open Space In Los Angeles, California, Jason A. Douglas, Reginald S. Archer, Serena E. Alexander

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Los Angeles County (LAC) low-income communities of color experience uneven asthma rates, evidenced by asthma emergency department visits (AEDV). This has partly been attributed to inequitable exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM). Promisingly, public parks and open space (PPOS) contribute to DPM mitigation. However, low-income communities of color with limited access to PPOS may be deprived of associated public health benefits. Therefore, this novel study investigates the AEDV, DPM, PPOS nexus to address this public health dilemma and inform public policy in at-risk communities. Optimized Hotspot Analysis was used to examine geographic clustering of AEDVs, DPM, and PPOS at the …

Child Obesity And The Interaction Of Family And Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context, Ashley W. Kranjac, Justin T. Denney, Rachel T. Kimbro, Brady S. Moffett, Keila N. Lopez

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The literature on neighborhoods and child obesity links contextual conditions to risk, assuming that if place matters, it matters in a similar way for everyone in those places. We explore the extent to which distinctive neighborhood types give rise to social patterning that produces variation in the odds of child obesity. We leverage geocoded electronic medical records for a diverse sample of over 135,000 children aged 2 to 12 and latent profile modeling to characterize places into distinctive neighborhood contexts. Multilevel models with cross-level interactions between neighborhood type and family socioeconomic standing (SES) reveal that children with different SES, but …

School‐Level Body Mass Index Shapes Children's Weight Trajectories, Ashley W. Kranjac

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

BACKGROUND

Embedded within children's weight trajectories are complex environmental contexts that influence obesity risk. As such, the normative environment of body mass index (BMI) within schools may influence children's weight trajectories as they age from kindergarten to fifth grade.

METHODS

I use 5 waves of the ECLS‐K—Kindergarten Class 1998‐1999 data and a series of multilevel growth models to examine whether attending schools with higher overall BMI influences children's weight status over time.

RESULTS

Results show that, net of child, family, and school sociodemographic characteristics, children who attend schools with higher rates of obesity have increased weight compared to children who …

The Disease Burden And The Extent Of Drug Therapy Problems In An Underserved Minority Population Receiving Medication Therapy Management At An Ambulatory Care Free Clinic, D. N. Ombengi, F. A. Ndemo, Ayman M. Noreddin, W. T. Harris

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: To determine the common medical conditions, medications, and associated drug therapy problems in an underserved minority population receiving medication therapy management services at a large Community Free Clinic compared to the findings of the Minnesota Pharmaceutical Care Project.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of a random sample of 60 minority patients referred for medication therapy management service at a Community Free Clinic from January 2012 to January 2014. Patient data including demographics, medication experience, past medical and medication history, medical conditions, active medications, allergies, immunization history and drug therapy was systematically evaluated to determine the most common conditions, …