The Impact of a Place-Tailored Digital Health App Promoting Exercise Classes on African American Women's Physical Activity and Obesity: Simulation Study.

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of smartphone apps to help people find different services raises the question of whether apps to help people find physical activity (PA) locations would help better prevent and control having overweight or obesity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to determine and quantify the potential impact of a digital health intervention for African American women prior to allocating financial resources toward implementation. METHODS: We developed our Virtual Population Obesity Prevention, agent-based model of Washington, DC, to simulate the impact of a place-tailored digital health app that provides information about free recreation center classes on PA, BMI, and overweight and obesity prevalence among African American women. RESULTS: When the app is introduced at the beginning of the simulation, with app engagement at 25% (eg, 25% [41,839/167,356] of women aware of the app; 25% [10,460/41,839] of those aware downloading the app; and 25% [2615/10,460] of those who download it receiving regular push notifications), and a 25% (25/100) baseline probability to exercise (eg, without the app), there are no statistically significant increases in PA levels or decreases in BMI or obesity prevalence over 5 years across the population. When 50% (83,678/167,356) of women are aware of the app; 58.23% (48,725/83,678) of those who are aware download it; and 55% (26,799/48,725) of those who download it receive regular push notifications, in line with existing studies on app usage, introducing the app on average increases PA and decreases weight or obesity prevalence, though the changes are not statistically significant. When app engagement increased to 75% (125,517/167,356) of women who were aware, 75% (94,138/125,517) of those who were aware downloading it, and 75% (70,603/94,138) of those who downloaded it opting into the app's push notifications, there were statistically significant changes in PA participation, minutes of PA and obesity prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that a digital health app that helps identify recreation center classes does not result in substantive population-wide health effects at lower levels of app engagement. For the app to result in statistically significant increases in PA and reductions in obesity prevalence over 5 years, there needs to be at least 75% (125,517/167,356) of women aware of the app, 75% (94,138/125,517) of those aware of the app download it, and 75% (70,603/94,138) of those who download it opt into push notifications. Nevertheless, the app cannot fully overcome lack of access to recreation centers; therefore, public health administrators as well as parks and recreation agencies might consider incorporating this type of technology into multilevel interventions that also target the built environment and other social determinants of health.

Efficacy of Internet-Based Therapies for Tinnitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND: Tinnitus presents a major public health challenge, impacting quality of life. With conventional therapies being often time-consuming and costly, interest in Internet-based treatments, such as auditory treatments and Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, has grown due to their improved patient adherence. This meta-analysis aims to review existing scientific literature to assess the effectiveness of Internet-based therapies (IBTs) in treating tinnitus. METHODS: Studies up to February 2024 using the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), or Tinnitus Reactions Questionnaire (TRQ) to monitor tinnitus before and after IBTs were searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Variation of the score with time was analyzed and a comparison was made with non-IBT studies. Treatment effects were analyzed using Cohen's d model. RESULTS: A total of 14 articles were considered, with a total of 1574 patients. Significant improvements in questionnaire scores were noted post-treatment. In the IBT group, THI and TFI decreased by 17.97 and 24.56 points, respectively (Cohen's d THI: 0.85; TFI: 0.80). In the control group, THI and TFI decreased by 13.7 and 4.25 points, respectively (Cohen's d THI: 0.55; TFI: 0.10). CONCLUSIONS: Internet-based therapies showed reliable effectiveness, possibly due to improved patient compliance, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and customization.

Sexual Orientation and Racial Bias in Relation to Medical Specialty.

Physician explicit and implicit biases involving race and sexual orientation (SO) affect patient and provider experiences in healthcare settings. An anonymous survey was disseminated nationally to graduating medical students, residents, and practicing physicians to evaluate SO and racial biases across medical specialties. SO explicit and implicit bias were measured with the Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, short form (ATLG-S) and Gay-Straight Implicit Association Test (IAT). Racial explicit and implicit bias were measured with the Quick Discrimination Index (QDI) and the Black-White IAT. Medical specialty was associated with racial explicit bias and specialty prestige with Black-White IAT score. Medical specialty and specialty prestige were not associated with SO bias. Female sex, sexual and gender minority (SGM) identity, and decreased religiosity were associated with reduced SO and racial bias. Provider race was associated with racial implicit and explicit bias.

Associations between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and severity of depression: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2014.

Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage may contribute to depression. This study examined associations between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, measured as deprivation, and depression severity within a broadly representative sample of the U.S. adult population. The sample (n = 6308 U.S. adults) was from the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Neighborhood deprivation was calculated using the 2010 U.S. Census and shown in tertile form. Depression severity was calculated from responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) as a continuous depression severity score and binary Clinically Relevant Depression (CRD). Multilevel modeling estimated the relationship between deprivation and depression (reference = low deprivation). Models were additionally stratified by gender and race/ethnicity. U.S. adults living in high deprivation neighborhoods were more likely to have a higher PHQ-9 score (p < 0.0001). In unadjusted models, living in high deprivation neighborhoods associated with higher PHQ-9 (ß = 0.89, SE = 0.15, p < 0.0001) and higher odds of CRD (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.20-1.51). Living in medium deprivation neighborhoods associated with higher PHQ-9 (ß = 0.49, SE = 0.16, p = 0.0019). Associations between deprivation and depression severity lost significance after adjusting for individual-level SES. The results suggest that, for U.S. adults, the relationship between neighborhood-level disadvantage and depression may be attenuated by individual-level SES.

Geospatial Analysis of Neighborhood Environmental Stress in Relation to Biological Markers of Cardiovascular Health and Health Behaviors in Women: Protocol for a Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Innovative analyses of cardiovascular (CV) risk markers and health behaviors linked to neighborhood stressors are essential to further elucidate the mechanisms by which adverse neighborhood social conditions lead to poor CV outcomes. We propose to objectively measure physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and neighborhood stress using accelerometers, GPS, and real-time perceived ecological momentary assessment via smartphone apps and to link these to biological measures in a sample of White and African American women in Washington, DC, neighborhoods. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that living in adverse neighborhood social conditions is associated with higher stress-related neural activity among 60 healthy women living in high or low socioeconomic status neighborhoods in Washington, DC. Sub-aim 1 of this study is to test the hypothesis that the association is moderated by objectively measured PA using an accelerometer. A secondary objective is to test the hypothesis that residing in adverse neighborhood social environment conditions is related to differences in vascular function. Sub-aim 2 of this study is to test the hypothesis that the association is moderated by objectively measured PA. The third aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that adverse neighborhood social environment conditions are related to differences in immune system activation. METHODS: The proposed study will be cross-sectional, with a sample of at least 60 women (30 healthy White women and 30 healthy Black women) from Wards 3 and 5 in Washington, DC. A sample of the women (n=30) will be recruited from high-income areas in Ward 3 from census tracts within a 15% of Ward 3's range for median household income. The other participants (n=30) will be recruited from low-income areas in Wards 5 from census tracts within a 15% of Ward 5's range for median household income. Finally, participants from Wards 3 and 5 will be matched based on age, race, and BMI. Participants will wear a GPS unit and accelerometer and report their stress and mood in real time using a smartphone. We will then examine the associations between GPS-derived neighborhood variables, stress-related neural activity measures, and adverse biological markers. RESULTS: The National Institutes of Health Institutional Review Board has approved this study. Recruitment will begin in the summer of 2021. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this research could inform the development of multilevel behavioral interventions and policies to better manage environmental factors that promote immune system activation or psychosocial stress while concurrently working to increase PA, thereby influencing CV health. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/29191.

Multilevel mobile health approach to improve cardiovascular health in resource-limited communities with Step It Up: a randomised controlled trial protocol targeting physical activity.

INTRODUCTION: Although physical activity (PA) reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, physical inactivity remains a pressing public health concern, especially among African American (AA) women in the USA. PA interventions focused on AA women living in resource-limited communities with scarce PA infrastructure are needed. Mobile health (mHealth) technology can increase access to PA interventions. We describe the development of a clinical protocol for a multilevel, community-based, mHealth PA intervention for AA women. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: An mHealth intervention targeting AA women living in resource-limited Washington, DC communities was developed based on the socioecological framework for PA. Over 6 months, we will use a Sequential Multi-Assignment, Randomized Trial approach to compare the effects on PA of location-based remote messaging (named 'tailored-to-place') to standard remote messaging in an mHealth intervention. Participants will be randomised to a remote messaging intervention for 3 months, at which point the intervention strategy will adapt based on individuals' PA levels. Those who do not meet the PA goal will be rerandomised to more intensive treatment. Participants will be followed for another 3 months to determine the contribution of each mHealth intervention to PA level. This protocol will use novel statistical approaches to account for the adaptive strategy. Finally, effects of PA changes on CVD risk biomarkers will be characterised. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol has been developed in partnership with a Washington, DC-area community advisory board to ensure feasibility and acceptability to community members. The National Institutes of Health Intramural IRB approved this research and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provided funding. Once published, results of this work will be disseminated to community members through presentations at community advisory board meetings and our quarterly newsletter. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03288207.

The Influence of Sex and Gender on Health: How Much Is Being Taught in Medical School Curricula?

Background: Sex is a biological variable linked to our chromosomal complement, while gender refers to one's personal identification as influenced by social, cultural, and personal experience. Both sex and gender and their interactions influence health outcomes. Although this is increasingly clear, we have not yet ensured that the next generation of physicians and physician-scientists is being taught the empirical findings necessary to understand these relationships. We assert that medical schools must incorporate these data into didactics throughout an integrated curriculum. Materials and Methods: This study evaluates a medical curriculum for sex- and gender-based content and provides recommendations for establishing and integrating pertinent sex and gender medicine didactics. Trained first-and second-year medical students audited 548 lectures and workshops to determine sex- and gender-based content. Results: Less than 25% of all sessions raised the topic of sex or gender influences on physiology and pathophysiology or the experience of the patient in the health care environment. Only 8.1% of all sessions included an in-depth discussion of sex or gender differences, and these discussions predominantly focused on basic physiology and prevalence and/or incidence of disease, and not on available data on sex- and gender-specific influences on diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and drug effects. The didactics that included data on sex or gender influences were largely in lectures rather than small group sessions, which are important for the development of critical clinical reasoning skills. Conclusions: A survey-based audit of medical school curricula can inform recommendations for improving the inclusion of data on sex- and gender-based content.