Partnering on the Social Determinants of Health With the Community Health Improvement Matrix.

The research goal was to describe local health department community health improvement plans and hospital implementation strategies, assessing the extent to which they address the social determinants of health. In 2014, we used a grounded theory approach to conceptualize the extent of social determinant efforts in a purposive sample of improvement plans and implementation strategies (N = 12) taken from the community health assessment database pilot project (N = 502). We developed the Community Health Improvement Matrix (CHIM), categorizing public health activities according to target and prevention levels. In 2016, we surveyed NACCHO's Performance Improvement Workgroup (N = 9) using CHIM categories. In 2017, we tested the interrater reliability of the CHIM through an analysis of stories in 30 states (N = 101). We shared the CHIM in conferences, trainings, and focused conversations. The CHIM provides a framework for local public health partners to work together to address social determinants.

Second primary melanomas: Increased risk and decreased time to presentation in patients exposed to tanning beds.

BACKGROUND: Melanoma incidence has increased; the primary modifiable risk factor is ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun or artificial UVR (arUVR) from tanning beds. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients who developed melanoma after arUVR exposure from tanning beds have unique characteristics. METHODS: A retrospective study of 434 melanoma patients was performed. Patients who consented at the initial appointment completed a questionnaire regarding phenotypic traits, medical history, and UVR exposure. RESULTS: Compared with patients aged ≥40 years, younger patients, especially women, had greater lifetime exposure to arUVR. At any age, patients with multiple primary melanomas had a higher probability of exposure to arUVR. For all patients with additional primary melanomas, those exposed to arUVR acquired their second primary melanoma significantly earlier; 67% of patients exposed to arUVR through tanning beds had their second primary diagnosed at the time of or within 1 year of their original diagnosis compared with 28% of nontanners (P = .011). Median time to diagnosis of second primary melanoma in patients exposed to arUVR versus those not exposed was 225 days versus 3.5 years, respectively (P = .027). LIMITATIONS: The study was conducted in 1 geographic area with a relatively small sample size. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide evidence for heightened surveillance in melanoma patients exposed to arUVR.

Polymorphisms in the VEGFA and VEGFR-2 genes and neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: Genetic factors influence an individual's risk for developing neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of irreversible blindness. Previous studies on the potential genetic link between AMD and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key regulator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability, have yielded conflicting results. In the present case-control association study, we aimed to determine whether VEGF or its main receptor tyrosine kinase VEGFR-2 is genetically associated with neovascular AMD. METHODS: A total of 515 Caucasian patients with neovascular AMD and 253 ethically-matched controls were genotyped for polymorphisms in the VEGFA and VEGFR-2 genes. A tagging single nucleotide polymorphism (tSNP) approach was employed to cover each gene plus two kilobases on each side, spanning the promoter and 3' untranslated regions. SNPs with a minimum allele frequency of 10% were covered by seven tSNPs in VEGFA and 20 tSNPs in VEGFR-2. Two VEGFA SNPs previously linked with AMD, rs1413711 and rs3025039, were also analyzed. RESULTS: The 29 VEGFA and VEGFR-2 SNPs analyzed in our cohort demonstrated no significant association with neovascular AMD. A single rare haplotype in the VEGFR-2 gene was associated with the presence of neovascular AMD (p=0.034). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to investigate the association of VEGFR-2 polymorphisms with AMD and evaluates VEGFA genetic variants in the largest neovascular AMD cohort to date. Despite the angiogenic and permeability-enhancing effects of VEGF/VEGFR-2 signaling, we found minimal evidence of a significant link between polymorphisms in the VEGFA and VEGFR-2 genes and neovascular AMD.

Students' Report of Preceptor Weight Management Counseling at Eight U.S. Medical Schools.

INTRODUCTION: Primary care providers, using brief counseling, can help patients increase motivation to initiate or maintain weight loss, improve diet, and increase physical activity. However, no prior studies have examined the degree to which primary care preceptors, who are responsible for mentoring medical students during their core clerkships, provide clinical teaching regarding weight management counseling. METHODS: Medical students enrolled in eight U.S. medical schools who had finished their preclinical coursework completed surveys in the spring of 2016 to assess preceptor communication, modeling, feedback, and instruction in weight management counseling, as well as educational cues for patients and chart reminders for physicians. Analysis was completed in 2017 and 2018. RESULTS: Of 738 students completing the survey, the most recent completed clerkships were obstetrics and gynecology (38.1%), family medicine (32.1%), and internal medicine (29.8%). Students in family medicine clerkships reported higher levels of weight management counseling clinical teaching than students completing an internal medicine or obstetrics and gynecology clerkship. Among the main variables of interest across all three clerkships, only 13%-24% of students agreed that preceptors provided clear objectives for learning weight management counseling, and 13%-25% of students agreed that preceptors provided feedback. CONCLUSIONS: Even with a U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for primary care physicians to provide weight management counseling and endorsement from the major academic primary care societies, students in primary care clerkships report receiving little weight management counseling clinical teaching from their preceptors. The results reinforce the need for medical educators to teach and model weight management counseling for physicians-in-training if they are to achieve Task Force goals. Further research is required to better corroborate self-reported indicators of preceptor to student communication that are described herein.

Health profile of Rhode Island healthcare workers.

[Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-12.asp].