Mapping racial and ethnic healthcare disparities for persons living with dementia: A scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: We set out to map evidence of disparities in Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias healthcare, including issues of access, quality, and outcomes for racial/ethnic minoritized persons living with dementia (PLWD) and family caregivers. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of the literature published from 2000 to 2022 in PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. The inclusion criteria were: (1) focused on PLWD and/or family caregivers, (2) examined disparities or differences in healthcare, (3) were conducted in the United States, (4) compared two or more racial/ethnic groups, and (5) reported quantitative or qualitative findings. RESULTS: Key findings include accumulating evidence that minoritized populations are less likely to receive an accurate and timely diagnosis, be prescribed anti-dementia medications, and use hospice care, and more likely to have a higher risk of hospitalization and receive more aggressive life-sustaining treatment at the end-of-life. DISCUSSION: Future studies need to examine underlying processes and develop interventions to reduce disparities while also being more broadly inclusive of diverse populations.

Emergency department visits for carbon monoxide poisoning in LA.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is preventable, yet it remains one of the most common causes of poisoning in the United States. This analysis was performed to estimate the number of emergency department (ED) visits in 2010 in Louisiana for all-cause (fire-related, non-fire, and unknown) unintentional CO poisoning. Results demonstrate approximately 1,696,746 total ED visits occurred in 2010. Among these, an estimated 116 individuals were diagnosed with CO poisoning (68 CO cases per million ED visits; 26.2 CO cases per million population). Emergency Department visits for CO poisoning occurred most frequently in the winter months. Caddo, Jefferson, and Orleans parishes had the highest numbers of CO poisonings in 2010. The most common symptoms included headache, hypertension, nausea, and dizziness. The ED database presented more cases of the most common CO poisoning cases (non-fatal) than previously used surveillance databases. This study demonstrated the utility and importance of ED data as a surveillance tool.

The Women and Their Children's Health (WaTCH) study: methods and design of a prospective cohort study in Louisiana to examine the health effects from the BP oil spill.

PURPOSE: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is the largest marine oil spill in US history. Few studies have evaluated the potential health effects of this spill on the Gulf Coast community. The Women and Their Children's Health (WaTCH) study is a prospective cohort designed to investigate the midterm to long-term physical, mental and behavioural health effects of exposure to the oil spill. PARTICIPANTS: Women were recruited by telephone from pre-existing lists of individuals and households using an address-based sampling frame between 2012 and 2014. Baseline interviews obtained information on oil spill exposure, demographics, physical and mental health, and health behaviours. Women were also asked to provide a household roster, from which a child between 10 and 17 years was randomly selected and recruited into a child substudy. Telephone respondents were invited to participate in a home visit in which blood samples, anthropometrics and neighbourhood characteristics were measured. A follow-up interview was completed between 2014 and 2016. FINDINGS TO DATE: 2852 women completed the baseline interview, 1231 of whom participated in the home visit, and 628 children participated in the child's health substudy. The follow-up interview successfully reinterviewed 2030 women and 454 children. FUTURE PLANS: WaTCH continues to conduct follow-up surveys, with a third wave of interviews planned in 2017. Also, we are looking to enhance the collection of spatially related environmental data to facilitate assessment of health risks in the study population. In addition, opportunities to participate in behavioural interventions for subsets of the cohort have been initiated. There are ongoing studies that examine the relationship between genetic and immunological markers with mental health.