A Public Health Learning Collaborative on Climate Change for Urban Health Departments, 2016-2018.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this project was to demonstrate and assess approaches of urban local health departments (LHDs) to simultaneously address climate change, health, and equity; incorporate climate change into program practice; and participate in their jurisdiction's climate change work. METHODS: From January 2016 through March 2018, the Center for Climate Change and Health created learning activities, networking and relationship-building opportunities, communication platforms, and information sharing for 12 urban LHDs in the United States. We used administrative data and conducted interviews with participants and key informants to assess success in meeting learning collaborative goals. RESULTS: LHDs developed diverse projects that incorporated internal capacity building, climate and health vulnerability assessments, surveillance, and community engagement. Projects fostered greater LHD engagement on climate change, broadened community partnerships, and furthered LHD integration into jurisdictions' climate planning. LHD engagement helped shift the dialogue in the community and jurisdiction about climate change to include public health. CONCLUSIONS: LHDs have skills and expertise to rapidly partner with other governmental agencies and community-based organizations and to help communities identify vulnerabilities, take action to reduce the health harms of climate change, and-through Health in All Policies approaches and community partnerships-to ensure that climate policies are optimized for positive health and equity outcomes.

Puberty Experiences of Low-Income Girls in the United States: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Literature From 2000 to 2014.

PURPOSE: Puberty is a critical period of development that lays the foundation for future sexual and reproductive health. It is essential to learn about the puberty experiences of low-income girls in the United States given their increased vulnerability to negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes. To understand the present-day puberty experiences of this population, we conducted a qualitative systematic review. METHODS: We systematically searched the peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2014 on the puberty experiences of low-income girls in the United States. Reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and the full texts of articles. Using standardized templates, reviewers assessed the methodologic quality and extracted data. Data were synthesized using thematic analysis. Confidence in each finding was assessed using Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research. RESULTS: Twenty qualitative articles were included. They described the experiences of mostly African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic girls living primarily in urban areas of Northeastern United States. Five overarching themes emerged: content of girls' puberty experiences, quality of girls' puberty experiences, messages girls receive about puberty, other factors that shape girls' puberty experiences, and relationships that shape girls' experiences of puberty. CONCLUSIONS: The limited existing evidence suggests that low-income girls in the United States are unprepared for puberty and have largely negative experiences of this transition.