Health Policy Commons^™

How Did Homelessness Change During The Great Recession And Recovery?, Jenny Schuetz, Matthew Ring

Policy Briefs and Reports

Job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated housing insecurity among low-income renters over the past year. Federal, state, and local policymakers have created temporary measures to help reduce displacement among people who have lost their jobs, but there is considerable uncertainty about what will happen when these temporary measures end. To gain insight into how homelessness changes over macroeconomic cycles, we examine changes in homelessness rates from 2007 to 2020. Our analysis focuses on four metro areas that were particularly hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Riverside. Overall homelessness rates declined in all metros …

Conflicts Of Interest: An Invisible Force Shaping Health Systems And Policies, Afifah Rahman-Shepherd, Priya Balasubramaniam, Meenakshi Gautham, Eleanor Hutchinson, Freddy E. Kitutu, Robert Marten, Mishal S. Khan

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Measuring Routine Childhood Vaccination Coverage In 204 Countries And Territories, 1980–2019: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2020, Release 1, Natalie C. Galles, Patrick Y. Liu, Rachel I. Updike, Stephen S. Lim, Jonathan F. Mosser, Asma Tahir Awan, Gbd 2020, Release 1, Vaccine Coverage Collaborators

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Background: Measuring routine childhood vaccination is crucial to inform global vaccine policies and programme implementation, and to track progress towards targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) and Immunization Agenda 2030. Robust estimates of routine vaccine coverage are needed to identify past successes and persistent vulnerabilities. Drawing from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Release 1, we did a systematic analysis of global, regional, and national vaccine coverage trends using a statistical framework, by vaccine and over time. Methods: For this analysis we collated 55 326 country-specific, cohort-specific, year-specific, vaccine-specific, and dose-specific …

Building Patient Participation In Quality Of Care Through The Healthcare Stories Project: A Demonstration Program In New York State Hiv Clinics, Abigail Baim-Lance, Freda Coren, Margaret Brown, Hazel Lever, Daniel Tietz, Bruce Agins

Patient Experience Journal

There is growing recognition that patients should play a central role in defining, assessing, and improving the quality of healthcare, thereby enhancing patient experiences. Healthcare organizations struggle to meet these goals, which require becoming more patient-centered and patient-involved. The Healthcare Stories Project (HCSP), a demonstration program of the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute, aimed to address this. HCSP comprises three, stepwise activities to: 1) Capture how patients define and experience ‘quality of care’ in the clinic; 2) Engage patients and providers as equal partners in understanding and improving the quality of care; and through partnerships, 3) Support the building …

The Right Premtm: Rasch Analysis Of A New Patient Reported Experience Measure For Use By Older People In Hospital, Louise Heuzenroeder, Jyoti Khadka, Alison Kitson

Patient Experience Journal

Healthcare rights exist to protect older people from harm and to empower older people to participate in their care with independence, choice and control. Multiple investigations revealing abuse provide evidence that older people’s rights are being breached. Older people must have the opportunity to report on their experience of care against their rights. The Right PREM^TM is a new instrument designed to measure older people’s experience of care against their healthcare rights. The objective of this cross-sectional validation study was to assess the psychometric properties of a new instrument to measure the experience of care consistent with the healthcare …

“Covid-19 Hospital Isolation Affects More Than Just The Sick”, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The author faces total hip replacement amid COVID-19 restrictions, politics, and disinformation.

“Take My Word For It”: Group Texts And Testimonials Enhance State And Federal Student Aid Applications', Jason Jabbari, Stephen Roll, Sam Bufe, Jessica Mckay

Social Policy Institute Research

"As the cost of college continues to rise, it has become increasingly important for students to apply for financial aid. However, many students are unaware of the benefits of FAFSA. We launched a field experiment with a non-profit organization to explore the impact of text message interventions on FAFSA application rates. 2,236 potential students were randomized into three groups: a control group that focused on reminders for upcoming deadlines, a treatment group that focused on benefits-framed messaging, and a second treatment group that added social proofing and norming. Each group received 8 text messages from late September 2020 to early …

Implementation Of Complex Interventions Lessons Learned From The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Transitional Care Portfolio, Sabina B. Gesell, Janet Prvu Bettger, Raymona H. Lawrence, Jing Li, Jeanne Hoffman, Barbara J. Lutz, Corita R. Grudzen, Anna M. Johnson, Jerry A. Krishnan, Lewis Hsu, Dorien Zwart, Mark V. Williams, Jeffrey L. Schnipper

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Background:

Despite the well-documented risks to patient safety associated with transitions from one care setting to another, health care organizations struggle to identify which interventions to implement. Multiple strategies are often needed, and studying the effectiveness of these complex interventions is challenging.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to present lessons learned in implementing and evaluating complex transitional care interventions in routine clinical care.

Research Design:

Nine transitional care study teams share important common lessons in designing complex interventions with stakeholder engagement, implementation, and evaluation under pragmatic conditions (ie, using only existing resources), and disseminating findings in outlets that …

Opening Pandora’S Box From Readmissions To Transitional Care Patient-Centered Outcome Measures, Mathew J. Reeves, Michele C. Fritz, Ifeyinwa Osunkwo, Corita R. Grudzen, Lewis L. Hsu, Jing Li, Raymona H. Lawrence, Janet Prvu Bettger

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Background:

Measuring the effectiveness of transitional care interventions has historically relied on health care utilization as the primary outcome. Although the Care Transitions Measure was the first outcome measure specifically developed for transitional care, its applicability beyond the hospital-to-home transition is limited. There is a need for patient-centered outcome measures (PCOMs) to be developed for transitional care settings (ie, TC-PCOMs) to ensure that outcomes are both meaningful to patients and relevant to the particular care transition. The overall objective of this paper is to describe the opportunities and challenges of integrating TC-PCOMs into research and practice.

Methods and Results:

This …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of The Roadside Transportation Related Air Quality (Startraq) And Neighborhood Characterization, Jaymin Kwon, Yushin Ahn, Steve Chung

Mineta Transportation Institute

To promote active transportation modes (such as bike ride and walking), and to create safer communities for easier access to transit, it is essential to provide consolidated data-driven transportation information to the public. The relevant and timely information from data facilitates the improvement of decision-making processes for the establishment of public policy and urban planning for sustainable growth, and for promoting public health in the region. For the characterization of the spatial variation of transportation-emitted air pollution in the Fresno/Clovis neighborhood in California, various species of particulate matters emitted from traffic sources were measured using real-time monitors and GPS loggers …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Church Gatherings In The Philippines: A Policy Analysis, Grace Zurielle Malolos, Joseph Christian Obnial, Rena Mallillin, Pamela Bianca Pasco, Erika Ong, Arianne Andes, Faith Ann Apat, Emma Teresa Carmela Aportadera, Rafael Valencia, Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno Iii

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

The Philippines is the largest Christian-majority country in Asia. With church gatherings playing a vital role in the nature of Christianity in the Filipino culture, the advent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Philippines posed challenges to public religious practices amid efforts to mitigate COVID-19 community transmission. Various policy pronouncements from both the government-led Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Diseases and the church-led Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) were issued. These guidelines were implemented in order to address the two-pronged problem on healthcare and religious obligations. While these guidelines were initially contributory to the mitigation …

Food Insecurity In Detroit: Exploring The Relationship Between Patient-Reported Food Insecurity And Proximity To Healthful Grocery Stores, Sara Santarossa, Alex B. Hill, Alexandra R. Sitarik, Mackenzie Taylor, Susan Hawkins, Katherine Scher, Aaron Sohaski, Mohammed Baseer, Rachael Dombrowski, Alexander Plum, Christine Lm Joseph

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Objective:
The objective of the current study was to determine if patients of a large health care system in Detroit who self-identify as food insecure live further away from healthy grocery stores compared with food secure patients. Second, we explored whether food insecurity and distance to healthy grocery stores are related to ecological measures of vehicle availability in the area of residence.

Design:
A secondary data analysis that uses baseline data from a pilot intervention/feasibility study.

Setting:
Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Participants:
Patients of Henry Ford Health System were screened for food insecurity to determine eligibility for a pilot intervention/feasibility study …

Timely And Well-Targeted Financial Assistance During Covid-19, Mathieu Despard, Selina Miller, Katie Kristensen

Social Policy Institute Research

The Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis partnered with PerkUp Financial Health LLC, a financial services technology company, to study an emergency financial assistance program offered to employees of three hotels in New Orleans, LA who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. PerkUp serves as a technology hub for a collaboration of non-profit partners that deliver financial support services and innovative products to employees of participating companies. The array of financial health services available through the PerkUp platform provides a financial safety net for the most financially vulnerable employees.

Assessment Of The Financial Health Of Rural Hospitals After Implementation Of The Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program, Bettye A. Apenteng, Samuel T. Opoku, Charles Owens, Emmanuel Akowuah, Linda Kimsey, Angela Peden

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Importance In 2016, Georgia implemented the Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program, which allows taxpayers to receive a tax credit for contributions to qualifying rural hospitals in the state. Empirical evidence of the program’s association with the viability of the state’s rural hospitals is needed.

Objective To examine the association of the tax credit program with the financial health of participating rural hospitals.

Design, Setting, and Participants This longitudinal cross-sectional study used hospital financial data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 2015 to 2019. A difference-in-differences analytic approach was used to examine the association of the tax credit …

The Disproportionate Impact Of Toxins In Consumer Products, Meredith Bollheimer, Elissa Reitz

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

The number of chemicals used in everyday products has grown exponentially over the last century. Many of these chemicals are known endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC’s) and they have not been proven to be safe for humans or for the environment. Rather, many of these chemicals have been linked to negative human health outcomes and damage to the environment. Corporate America is responsible for the production and liberal use of these chemicals in consumer and personal care products. The federal government has failed to provide effective or meaningful standards or regulations for the myriad chemicals of concern that make their way …

Review Of Sexual Health Issues Linked With Cardiovascular Disease And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Males, Veronica Collins, Tamara J. Swann, Jane Burns, Tim Moss, Mick Adams

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin

There are well established links between male sexual health conditions and chronic disease, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Erectile dysfunction (ED) and low testosterone are two sexual health conditions that are relatively common among the wider male population. However, there is a lack of data specifically about these sexual problems among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males.

One of the most important findings of research regarding the links between sexual health and chronic disease is that ED can be a risk marker for future CVD or undiagnosed T2DM. Understanding these links can lead to more holistic …

Support For Me Assessment Of Substance Use Treatment And Recovery Services Current Infrastructure And Future Needs: Summary Of Feedback From The Support For Me Community Focus Groups (Condensed), Katie Rosingana Ba, Mary Lindsey Smith Phd, Evelyn Ali Bs, Karen Pearson Mlos, Ma, Tyler Egeland Ba, Mark Richards Bs

Substance Use Research & Evaluation

In 2019, Maine’s Department of Health & Human Services received a $2.1 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) SUPPORT Act, establishing the SUPPORT for ME initiative within the Office of MaineCare Services. The primary goal of this planning grant is to increase MaineCare providers’ capacity to deliver Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services for Medicaid beneficiaries. In collaboration with Maine DHHS, the Cutler Institute conducted a series of virtual focus groups in Maine as part of a needs assessment for the SUPPORT for ME initative. These focus groups were conducted regionally by Public …

Support For Me Assessment Of Substance Use Treatment And Recovery Services Current Infrastructure And Future Needs: Findings From The Support For Me Youth Survey (Condensed), Evelyn Ali Bs, Katie Rosingana Ba, Mary Lindsey Smith Phd

Substance Use Research & Evaluation

In 2019, Maine’s Department of Health & Human Services received a $2.1 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) SUPPORT Act, establishing the SUPPORT for ME initiative within the Office of MaineCare Services. The primary goal of this planning grant is to increase MaineCare providers’ capacity to deliver Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services for Medicaid beneficiaries. In collaboration with Maine DHHS, the Cutler Institute conducted a survey for youth and young adults in Maine as part of a needs assessment for the SUPPORT for ME initative. The data collection goals of the survey …

Travelling For Abortion Services In Mexico 2016–2019: Community-Level Contexts Of Mexico City Public Abortion Clients, Laura E. Jacobson Mph, Biani Saavedra-Avendano, Evelyn Fuentes-Rivera, Raffaela Schiavon, Blair Darney

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: To describe the community context of women who travel to access Mexico City’s public sector abortion programme and identify factors associated with travelling from highly marginalised settings.

Methods: We used data from the Interrupción Legal de Embarazo (ILE) programme (2016–2019) and identified all abortion clients who travelled from outside Mexico City. We merged in contextual information at the municipality level and used descriptive statistics to describe ILE clients’ individual characteristics and municipalities on several measures of vulnerability. We also compared municipalities that ILE clients travelled from with those where no one travelled from. We used logistic regression to identify …

The Relationship Between Regulation And Care Access In The Doula Industry, Charissa Billings

University Honors Theses

Birth doulas are unregulated service providers in the United States, who provide informational, emotional, and physical support before, during, and after birth. Currently, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate amongst the most developed nations, as well as a serious racial gap, with Black women being twice as likely to die due to pregnancy-related complications when compared to White women. Birth doulas can help close the gaps with trained support and advocacy. Since over 40% of the births in the US are covered by Medicaid, providing birth doula services to Medicaid recipients could result in improved birth outcomes. …