Community investment interventions as a means for decarceration: A scoping review.

There is growing support to reverse mass incarceration in the United States, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about what types and scale of community investments are most effective to support mass decarceration. Using a public health prevention framework, we conducted a scoping review to examine community-based programs that reduced criminal legal involvement. We searched PubMed, Embase and three EBSCO databases from 1990 through September 2019 for all experimental or quasi-experimental studies testing interventions pertaining to education, housing, healthcare, employment, or social support services and how they affected an individual's criminal legal outcomes. Our review identified 53 studies that demonstrated the efficacy of early childhood educational interventions and nurse-family partnership programs, post-secondary education for incarcerated students, navigation programs linking incarcerated people to community resources, and peer support upon release to reduce criminal legal system exposure. In concert with legislative action to end mass incarceration, additional research is needed to test interventions designed to achieve mass decarceration which cross multiple domains, interrogate community-level impacts and ascertain long-term outcomes.

The Hepatitis C virus treatment cascade at an urban postincarceration transitions clinic.

Transitions clinics, which provide medical care to individuals who have been released from incarceration, reach a population at high risk for hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. We used the HCV treatment cascade to describe HCV care at an urban postincarceration transitions clinic, identifying gaps in care and determining reasons for lapses in care. In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed electronic health records for all formerly incarcerated individuals receiving care at the Bronx Transitions Clinic. HCV treatment cascade measures included the following: detection of HCV antibodies, confirmation of chronic infection, specialist referral, specialist evaluation, initiation of treatment, completion of treatment and achievement of SVR. We recorded reasons for lapses in care. Of 451 patients accessing care, 317 (70%) were screened for HCV antibodies, and 106 (33%) tested positive. Of the 106 antibody-positive patients, 93 (88%) were evaluated for HCV viremia and 84 (79%) were confirmed to have chronic HCV infection; 19% of the total sample had chronic HCV infection. Of these 84 with chronic HCV, 48 (57%) received specialist referral, 30 (36%) were evaluated, 8 (10%) initiated treatment, and 5 (6%) completed treatment and achieved SVR. Some treatment lapses occurred because patients were deemed unstable for treatment (12%) or were re-incarcerated (5%). Chronic HCV infection was common among transitions clinic patients. Few were treated and cured. Patients lost contact with providers before consideration for antiviral therapy. Referral to specialty providers was a gap in care. Increasing HCV treatment in this population will likely require intensive delivery models.

Transvaginal versus transabdominal sonography in patients suspected of having ectopic pregnancy.

To determine the value of transvaginal sonography in the evaluation of women with suspected ectopic pregnancy, we retrospectively studied 47 pregnant patients in whom both conventional transabdominal sonography (TAS) and transvaginal sonography (TVS) had been performed. Each patient had been given a standard TAS examination with the bladder moderately distended. After voiding, a TVS examination was performed. TAS and TVS were compared for their ability to reveal specific sonographic findings, including the double decidual sac sign, yolk sac, embryonic pole, and embryonic heart activity. Results indicate that the important sonographic findings of early pregnancy are more likely to be seen transvaginally than transabdominally. In 23% of the patients, only TVS provided the findings for diagnosis of the location and status of the pregnancy. In another 22%, the information gathered through TVS allowed increased confidence in the diagnostic accuracy of the TAS findings by providing additional findings. Therefore, in 45% of the cases, TVS influenced clinical decision-making. In no case was TVS less informative than TAS. These results support the claim that TVS contributes to diagnostic accuracy in early pregnancy. TVS should usually be used in conjunction with, and not as a substitute for, TAS. TVS is best used when TAS is not conclusive, or when immediate confirmation of an intrauterine pregnancy is desired.

Osteogenesis imperfecta: rehabilitation approach with infants and young children.

A rehabilitation approach, consisting of initial handling and positioning followed by functional and formal strengthening exercises, was developed for the child with severe progressive osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The program was developed because of the increased life expectancy for infants and children with severe progressive OI, combined with the lack of published reports dealing with their rehabilitation. The program can be followed easily by parents or therapists with regular monitoring by a psychiatrist. The goals are to improve the life span as well as the quality of life of these children by preventing the following: (1) positional contractures and deformities, (2) muscle weakness and osteoporosis, and (3) malalignment of the lower extremity joints prohibiting weight-bearing. Implementation of the program requires full cooperation of the parents. The initial results in four children between the ages of 3 and 11 years are encouraging. The benefits of increased strength and mobility leading to more age-appropriate activities and behaviors outweigh the only observed negative result, that is trauma-related lower extremity fractures in children with milder disease, and therefore greater mobility and higher activity levels.