Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Generational Impacts Of 1930s Housing Discrimination And The Imperative Need For The Healthy Start Initiative To Address Structural Racism, Brittney Butler, Michael Outrich, Jessica Roach, Arthur James

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

For nearly three decades, Healthy Start Initiative(HSI) has served communities with high rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes--with the goal to lower them by 50%. Despite a large focus on social determinants of health, HSI has narrowly addressed racism. The effects of legal housing discrimination continue to be felt and have profound implications for pregnancy. To understand the historical context of racism in these communities, we geospatially evaluated the relationship between HSI service areas and Home-Owners Loan Corporation(HOLC) graded maps. Using data from John Snow Inc, National Healthy Start Association, and Mapping Inequality we found that 73 of 100 communities served …

Child Food Insecurity In Nevada Counties, 2018, Ally Beckwith, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet synthesizes data on the child hunger discrepancies in Nevada counties from the Feeding America 2018 Map the Meal Gap Study. The information focuses on food insecurity experienced by children, and the food budget shortfall in Nevada.

Improving Health Care In Nevada, Ember Smith, Kaylie Pattni

Policy Briefs and Reports

Across the United States, improvements in health outcomes lag while health care costs rapidly rise. Medical personnel and resource shortages combined with high underinsured and uninsured rates further complicate access to quality, affordable health care. In order to better understand state-level solutions, we explore factors that contribute to health care deficiencies and emphasize Nevada’s unique obstacles.

The Las Vegas Medical District And The Unlv School Of Medicine: An Economic Analysis And Tax Revenue Study, Jaewon Lim, Robert E. Lang, Sabrina Wang

Policy Briefs and Reports

In the 2011 report, “Unify, Regionalize, Diversify,” The Brookings Institution, SRI International, and Brookings Mountain West detailed Las Vegas’s experiences during and after the Great Recession, and identified the health and medical industry as a particularly potent opportunity for economic diversification – one that could improve health outcomes while also generating sustainable economic activity and high-quality jobs. The Las Vegas Metro medical industry began growing in 2006, grew during the Great Recession, and is expected to continue to grow for the next 10-year period spurred by the rapidly growing population in Southern Nevada. The establishment and launch of the UNLV …

Covid-19: Coronavirus Cases At Colleges And Universities In The Mountain West, Madison Frazee-Bench, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet highlights coronavirus cases at colleges and universities in the Mountain West region. The New York Times recently published, “Tracking Coronavirus Cases at U.S. Colleges and Universities” which maps out the reported number of COVID-19 cases at higher education institutions in the U.S. at the start of the Fall 2020 semester.

Covid-19: The Risk Of Reopening Nevada Schools, Caitlin J. Saladino, Madison Frazee-Bench, Yanneli Llamas, Magdalena Martinez, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet presents data on Nevada schools, drawing from the New York Times report, “The risk that students could arrive at school with the Coronavirus,” published on July 31, 2020. Various risk scenarios are presented based on school size for the local conditions in 17 Nevada counties.

Regional Variation In States’ Naloxone Accessibility Laws In Association With Opioid Overdose Death Rates-Observational Study (Strobe Compliant), Hyo-Sun You, Jane Ha, Cyra-Y. Kang, Leeseul Kim, Jinah Kim, Jay J. Shen, Seong-Min Park, Sung-Youn Chun, Jinwook Hwang, Takashi Yamashita, Se Won Lee, Georgia Dounis, Yong-Jae Lee, Dong-Hun Han, David Byun, Ji Won Yoo, Hee-Taik Kang

Public Health Faculty Publications

Though overall death from opioid overdose are increasing in the United States, the death rate in some states and population groups is stabilizing or even decreasing. Several states have enacted a Naloxone Accessibility Laws to increase naloxone availability as an opioid antidote. The extent to which these laws permit layperson distribution and possession varies. The aim of this study is to investigate differences in provisions of Naloxone Accessibility Laws by states mainly in the Northeast and West regions, and the impact of naloxone availability on the rates of drug overdose deaths. This cross-sectional study was based on the National Vital …

A City On The Front Lines Of An Epidemic: The Opioid Crisis In Las Vegas, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Advanced Undergraduate Winner

While addiction to opioids kills more Americans every year, the purpose of this report is to assess the extent of the problem in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, and to propound ways in which local policy can help. A geospatial analysis of opioid demand nationally, regionally, and locally explains how the epidemic is diffusing, where divides exist in terms of access to treatment, and the differential effects of opioids driving this crisis. By tracking opioid-related prescriptions, hospital admissions, and deaths, the results show that opioid demand in the Las Vegas metro has decreased but remains well above …

Hospital Bed Capacity In Nevada Counties, Yanneli Llamas, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Health

This Fact Sheet shows data on hospital bed capacity within Nevada’s 17 counties, as originally published by High Country News on March 19, 2020. The original data source includes maps and charts compiled by Megan Lawson of Headwater Economics. The data include information from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce.

Covid-19: Hospital And Intensive Care Unit (Icu) Bed Capacity In The Mountain West, Ember Smith, Kaylie Pattni, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Health

Utilizing the Harvard Global Health Institute’s (HGHI) COVID-19 projections, this fact sheet examines the potential hospital and ICU bed shortages in the Mountain West region: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah.

Opioids In The Las Vegas Metro, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Health

In 2014, Nevada was one of 7 states selected to participate in a national policy coalition to reduce prescription drug abuse. As a result, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) created a data dashboard to track opioid prescriptions and opioid-involved overdose incidents. This Fact Sheet synthesizes state-level data from the Nevada Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard and focuses on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The data track opioid prescription rates as they correlate to opioid-involved overdose deaths, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations.

Opioids In Nevada, Peter Grema, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Health

This Fact Sheet presents data from the Washington Post’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) database on opioid shipments in the United States and provides information pertaining to Nevada and each of its 17 regions (16 counties and one independent city). This Fact Sheet compares the Washington Post’s opioid shipment data with opioid prescription rates relative to Nevada’s population in 2010.

A Health Disparity Action Plan: Achieving Equity Through Clinical Trials, Affordable Care, And Professional Development, Daniel Schafer, Shefa Moten, Ayesha Khan, Mauro Ferrari, Boris Lushniak, Edwin Burkett, Asad Moten

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Given the threatened nature of affordable care in the United States, it is crucial to underscore its importance. What is more, the reason such care is so important is the presence of an oft-unacknowledged disparity in access to quality care in this country and, indeed, around the world. A world without health disparities can be achieved and will be characterized by prompt and quality care available to all and at all stages of the care continuum. Further insurance reform is needed beyond the Affordable Care Act, while local care must be more accessible in rural, urban, and other underserved areas. …