Leveraging Social and Structural Determinants of Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: A Systems-Level Opportunity to Improve Public Health.

CONTEXT: Social and structural determinants of health (SDOH) have become part of the public health and health care landscape. The need to address SDOH is reinforced by morbidity and mortality trends, including a recent multiyear decrease in life expectancy and persistent health disparities. Leadership on SDOH-related efforts has come from public health, health care, private philanthropy, and nongovernmental entities. STRATEGY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been addressing SDOH through both disease- or condition-specific programs and crosscutting offices. Guidance from public health partners in the field has led the CDC to consider more strategic approaches to incorporating SDOH into public health activities. IMPLEMENTATION: The CDC's crosscutting SDOH Workgroup responded to external recommendations to develop a specific vision and plan that aims to integrate SDOH into the agency's infrastructure. The group also sponsors CDC forums for sharing research and trainings on embedding SDOH in programs. The group created a Web site to centralize CDC SDOH research, data sources, practice tools, programs, and policies. PROGRESS: The CDC has shown strong leadership in prioritizing SDOH in recent years. Individual programs and crosscutting offices have developed various models aimed at ensuring that public health research and practice address SDOH. DISCUSSION: Building sustainable SDOH infrastructures in public health institutions that reach across multiple health topics and non-health organizations could increase chances of meeting public health morbidity and mortality reduction goals, including decreasing health disparities. Although public health priorities and socioeconomic trends will change over time, experience suggests that social and structural factors will continue to influence the public's health. The CDC and state, tribal, local, and territorial public health institutions have played important leadership roles in the system of community and service organizations that interface with communities they mutually serve to address SDOH. Continued capacity-building could help grow and sustain an SDOH infrastructure that advances this work.

Telehealth and Public Health Practice in the United States-Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to provide care when the patient and the provider are not in the same room at the same time. Telehealth accounted for less than 1% of all Medicare Fee-for-Service outpatient visits in the United States in 2019 but grew to account for 46% of all visits in April 2020. Changes in reimbursement and licensure policies during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to greatly facilitate this increased use. Telehealth will continue to account for a substantial portion of care provided in the United States and globally. A better understanding of telehealth approaches and their evidence base by public health practitioners may help improve their ability to collaborate with health care organizations to improve population health. The article summarizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) approach to understanding the evidence base for telehealth in public health practice, possible applications for telehealth in public health practice, and CDC's use of telehealth to improve population health.

Sexual Orientation Disparities in Risk Factors for Adverse COVID-19-Related Outcomes, by Race/Ethnicity - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2017-2019.

Sexual minority persons experience health disparities associated with sexual stigma and discrimination and have a high prevalence of several health conditions that have been associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (1,2). Current COVID-19 surveillance systems do not capture information about sexual orientation. To begin bridging the gap in knowledge about COVID-19 risk among sexual minority adults, CDC examined disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual adults in the prevalence of underlying conditions with strong or mixed evidence of associations with severe COVID-19-related illness (3), by using data from the 2017-2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).* When age, sex, and survey year are adjusted, sexual minority persons have higher prevalences than do heterosexual persons of self-reported cancer, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease (including myocardial infarction, angina, or coronary heart disease), obesity, smoking, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and stroke. Sexual minority adults who are members of racial/ethnic minority groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic also have higher prevalences of several of these health conditions than do racial/ethnic minority adults who are heterosexual. Collecting data on sexual orientation in COVID-19 surveillance and other studies would improve knowledge about disparities in infection and adverse outcomes by sexual orientation, thereby informing more equitable responses to the pandemic.

Addressing Health Equity in Public Health Practice: Frameworks, Promising Strategies, and Measurement Considerations.

This review describes the context of health equity and options for integrating equity into public health practice. We first discuss how the conceptualization of health equity and how equity considerations in US public health practice have been shaped by multidisciplinary engagements. We then discuss specific ways to address equity in core public health functions, provide examples of relevant frameworks and promising strategies, and discuss conceptual and measurement issues relevant to assessing progress in moving toward health equity. Challenges and opportunities and their implications for future directions are identified.

Summary of Guidance for Public Health Strategies to Address High Levels of Community Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and Related Deaths, December 2020.

In the 10 months since the first confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in the United States on January 20, 2020 (1), approximately 13.8 million cases and 272,525 deaths have been reported in the United States. On October 30, the number of new cases reported in the United States in a single day exceeded 100,000 for the first time, and by December 2 had reached a daily high of 196,227.* With colder weather, more time spent indoors, the ongoing U.S. holiday season, and silent spread of disease, with approximately 50% of transmission from asymptomatic persons (2), the United States has entered a phase of high-level transmission where a multipronged approach to implementing all evidence-based public health strategies at both the individual and community levels is essential. This summary guidance highlights critical evidence-based CDC recommendations and sustainable strategies to reduce COVID-19 transmission. These strategies include 1) universal face mask use, 2) maintaining physical distance from other persons and limiting in-person contacts, 3) avoiding nonessential indoor spaces and crowded outdoor spaces, 4) increasing testing to rapidly identify and isolate infected persons, 5) promptly identifying, quarantining, and testing close contacts of persons with known COVID-19, 6) safeguarding persons most at risk for severe illness or death from infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, 7) protecting essential workers with provision of adequate personal protective equipment and safe work practices, 8) postponing travel, 9) increasing room air ventilation and enhancing hand hygiene and environmental disinfection, and 10) achieving widespread availability and high community coverage with effective COVID-19 vaccines. In combination, these strategies can reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, long-term sequelae or disability, and death, and mitigate the pandemic's economic impact. Consistent implementation of these strategies improves health equity, preserves health care capacity, maintains the function of essential businesses, and supports the availability of in-person instruction for kindergarten through grade 12 schools and preschool. Individual persons, households, and communities should take these actions now to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission from its current high level. These actions will provide a bridge to a future with wide availability and high community coverage of effective vaccines, when safe return to more everyday activities in a range of settings will be possible.

Characteristics of School-Associated Youth Homicides - United States, 1994-2018.

To understand trends and characteristics in school-associated homicides involving youths, data from CDC's School-Associated Violent Death Surveillance System were analyzed for 393 single-victim incidents that occurred during July 1994-June 2016 and 38 multiple-victim incidents (resulting in 121 youth homicides) during July 1994-June 2018. School-associated homicides consistently represent <2% of all youth homicides in the United States (1,2). The overall 22-year trend for single-victim homicide rates did not change significantly. However, multiple-victim incidence rates increased significantly from July 2009 to June 2018. Many school-associated homicides, particularly single-victim incidents, are similar to youth homicides unrelated to schools, often involving male, racial/ethnic minority youth victims, and occurring in urban settings. The majority of both single-victim (62.8%) and multiple-victim (95.0%) homicides were from a firearm-related injury. A comprehensive approach to violence prevention is needed to reduce risk for violence on and off school grounds.

Gender Role Attitudes and Male Adolescent Dating Violence Perpetration: Normative Beliefs as Moderators.

Commonly used dating violence prevention programs assume that promotion of more egalitarian gender role attitudes will prevent dating violence perpetration. Empirical research examining this assumption, however, is limited and inconsistent. The current study examined the longitudinal association between gender role attitudes and physical dating violence perpetration among adolescent boys (n = 577; 14 % Black, 5 % other race/ethnicity) and examined whether injunctive (i.e., acceptance of dating violence) and descriptive (i.e., beliefs about dating violence prevalence) normative beliefs moderated the association. As expected, the findings suggest that traditional gender role attitudes at T1 were associated with increased risk for dating violence perpetration 18 months later (T2) among boys who reported high, but not low, acceptance of dating violence (injunctive normative beliefs) at T1. Descriptive norms did not moderate the effect of gender role attitudes on dating violence perpetration. The results suggest that injunctive norms and gender role attitudes work synergistically to increase risk for dating violence perpetration among boys; as such, simultaneously targeting both of these constructs may be an effective prevention approach.

Preventing Suicidal Behavior Among American Indian and Alaska Native Adolescents and Young Adults.

From 2009 to 2018, overall suicide rates in the United States increased by 20.3% and increased by 43.5% among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Combining years 2009 through 2018, suicide rates per 100 000 population among non-Hispanic AI/AN adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 34 years were 2 to 4 times higher than those of adolescents and young adults of other races and ethnicities. An estimated 14% to 27% of non-Hispanic AI/AN adolescents attempted suicide during that time. The elevated rates of suicidal behavior among non-Hispanic AI/AN adolescents and young adults reflect inequities in the conditions that create health. In this topical review, we describe school-based educational efforts that are driven by local AI/AN communities, such as the American Indian Life Skills curriculum, that teach stress and coping skills and show promise in reducing suicidal ideation attempts and fatalities among AI/AN adolescents. Using a social-determinants-of-health lens, we review the availability and quality of employment as an important influencer of suicidal behavior, as well as the role of the workplace as an environment for suicide prevention in AI/AN communities. Working with tribal, state, local, and federal colleagues, the public health community can implement programs known to be effective and create additional comprehensive strategies to reduce inequities and ultimately reduce suicide rates.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Mortality: Contributions and Variations by Rurality in the United States, 2012⁻2015.

The value of disaggregating non-metropolitan and metropolitan area deaths in illustrating place-based health effects is evident. However, how place interacts with characteristics such as race/ethnicity has been less firmly established. This study compared socioeconomic characteristics and age-adjusted mortality rates by race/ethnicity in six rurality designations and assessed the contributions of mortality rate disparities between non-Hispanic blacks (NHBs) and non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) in each designation to national disparities. Compared to NHWs, age-adjusted mortality rates for: (1) NHBs were higher for all causes (combined), heart disease, malignant neoplasms, and cerebrovascular disease; (2) American Indian and Alaska Natives were significantly higher for all causes in rural areas; (3) Asian Pacific islanders and Hispanics were either lower or not significantly different in all areas for all causes combined and all leading causes of death examined. The largest contribution to the U.S. disparity in mortality rates between NHBs and NHWs originated from large central metropolitan areas. Place-based variations in mortality rates and disparities may reflect resource, and access inequities that are often greater and have greater health consequences for some racial/ethnic populations than others. Tailored, systems level actions may help eliminate mortality disparities existing at intersections between race/ethnicity and place.

Circumstances Preceding Homicide-Suicides Involving Child Victims: A Qualitative Analysis.

Homicide-suicide incidents involving child victims can have a detrimental impact on survivors of the violence, family members and friends of the decedents, and other community members, but the rare occurrence of these acts makes using quantitative data to examine their associated antecedents challenging. Therefore, using qualitative data from the 2003-2011 National Violent Death Reporting System, we examined 175 cases of homicide-suicide involving child victims in an effort to better understand the complex situational factors of these events. Our findings indicate that 98% of homicide-suicides with child victims are perpetrated by adults (mostly parents) and propelled by the perpetrators' intimate partner problems, mental health problems, and criminal/legal problems. These events are often premeditated, and plans for the violence are sometimes disclosed prior to its occurrence. Findings provide support for several theoretical perspectives, and implications for prevention are discussed.

Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities Among Rural Adults-United States, 2012-2015: MMWR Surveillance Summaries / November 17, 2017 / 66(23);1-9.

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Rural communities often have worse health outcomes, have less access to care, and are less diverse than urban communities. Much of the research on rural health disparities examines disparities between rural and urban communities, with fewer studies on disparities within rural communities. This report provides an overview of racial/ethnic health disparities for selected indicators in rural areas of the United States. REPORTING PERIOD: 2012-2015. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM: Self-reported data from the 2012-2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were pooled to evaluate racial/ethnic disparities in health, access to care, and health-related behaviors among rural residents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Using the National Center for Health Statistics 2013 Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties to assess rurality, this analysis focused on adults living in noncore (rural) counties. RESULTS: Racial/ethnic minorities who lived in rural areas were younger (more often in the youngest age group) than non-Hispanic whites. Except for Asians and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (combined in the analysis), more racial/ethnic minorities (compared with non-Hispanic whites) reported their health as fair or poor, that they had obesity, and that they were unable to see a physician in the past 12 months because of cost. All racial/ethnic minority populations were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to report having a personal health care provider. Non-Hispanic whites had the highest estimated prevalence of binge drinking in the past 30 days. INTERPRETATION: Although persons in rural communities often have worse health outcomes and less access to health care than those in urban communities, rural racial/ethnic minority populations have substantial health, access to care, and lifestyle challenges that can be overlooked when considering aggregated population data. This study revealed difficulties among non-Hispanic whites as well, primarily related to health-related risk behaviors. Across each population, the challenges vary. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION: Stratifying data by different demographics, using community health needs assessments, and adopting and implementing the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Standards can help rural communities identify disparities and develop effective initiatives to eliminate them, which aligns with a Healthy People 2020 overarching goal: achieving health equity.

Heterodyne apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy on periodic gold nanowells.

Heterodyne detection for apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy was used to study periodic gold nanowell arrays. Optical near-field amplitude and phase signals were obtained simultaneously with the topography of the gold nanowells and with different polarizations. Theoretical calculations of the near-fields were consistent with the experiments; in particular, the calculated amplitudes were in especially good agreement. The heterodyne method is shown to be particularly effective for these types of periodic photonic structures and other highly scattering media, which can overwhelm the near-field scattered signal when conventional apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy is used.

Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities Among Rural Adults - United States, 2012-2015.

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Rural communities often have worse health outcomes, have less access to care, and are less diverse than urban communities. Much of the research on rural health disparities examines disparities between rural and urban communities, with fewer studies on disparities within rural communities. This report provides an overview of racial/ethnic health disparities for selected indicators in rural areas of the United States. REPORTING PERIOD: 2012-2015. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM: Self-reported data from the 2012-2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were pooled to evaluate racial/ethnic disparities in health, access to care, and health-related behaviors among rural residents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Using the National Center for Health Statistics 2013 Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties to assess rurality, this analysis focused on adults living in noncore (rural) counties. RESULTS: Racial/ethnic minorities who lived in rural areas were younger (more often in the youngest age group) than non-Hispanic whites. Except for Asians and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (combined in the analysis), more racial/ethnic minorities (compared with non-Hispanic whites) reported their health as fair or poor, that they had obesity, and that they were unable to see a physician in the past 12 months because of cost. All racial/ethnic minority populations were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to report having a personal health care provider. Non-Hispanic whites had the highest estimated prevalence of binge drinking in the past 30 days. INTERPRETATION: Although persons in rural communities often have worse health outcomes and less access to health care than those in urban communities, rural racial/ethnic minority populations have substantial health, access to care, and lifestyle challenges that can be overlooked when considering aggregated population data. This study revealed difficulties among non-Hispanic whites as well, primarily related to health-related risk behaviors. Across each population, the challenges vary. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION: Stratifying data by different demographics, using community health needs assessments, and adopting and implementing the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Standards can help rural communities identify disparities and develop effective initiatives to eliminate them, which aligns with a Healthy People 2020 overarching goal: achieving health equity.

Examining the Prevalence and Predictors of Injury from Adolescent Dating Violence.

Medical needs of youth who experience dating violence are not well understood because of limited past research examining the prevalence and predictors of injuries and medical help seeking. To address these gaps, the current study described the prevalence and predictors of injuries from dating violence from grades 8 through 12 in a large sample of youth. Results indicate that one third to one half of youth who experienced any physical and/or sexual dating violence also sustained an injury. Prevalence of injury was highest in the 8th grade and was significantly higher for females than for males across grades 8 through 11. Youth who experienced greater amounts of violent victimization in their relationships (physical, sexual, and psychological) were at highest risk for injury. Results also suggest that victims at highest risk for injury are girls, white youth, those experiencing multiple types of violence, and those who also engage in perpetration. Given the high prevalence of injury among youth who report dating violence, healthcare professionals may be in a unique position to screen and counsel youth about dating violence. Because the highest prevalence of injury occurred before high school, prevention programs should start early and selected prevention may be used for youth at highest risk for injury.

Geriatric assault victims treated at U.S. trauma centers: Five-year analysis of the national trauma data bank.

INTRODUCTION: While geriatric trauma patients have begun to receive increased attention, little research has investigated assault-related injuries among older adults. Our goal was to describe characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of geriatric assault victims and compare them both to geriatric victims of accidental injury and younger assault victims. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the 2008-2012 National Trauma Data Bank. We identified cases of assault-related injury admitted to trauma centers in patients aged ≥60 using the variable "intent of injury." RESULTS: 3564 victims of assault-related injury in patients aged ≥60 were identified and compared to 200,194 geriatric accident victims and 94,511 assault victims aged 18-59. Geriatric assault victims were more likely than geriatric accidental injury victims to be male (81% vs. 47%) and were younger than accidental injury victims (67±7 vs. 74±9 years). More geriatric assault victims tested positive for alcohol or drugs than geriatric accident victims (30% vs. 9%). Injuries for geriatric assault victims were more commonly on the face (30%) and head (27%) than for either comparison group. Traumatic brain injury (34%) and penetrating injury (32%) occurred commonly. The median injury severity score (ISS) for geriatric assault victims was 9, with 34% having severe trauma (ISS≥16). Median length of stay was 3 days, 39% required ICU care, and in-hospital mortality was 8%. Injury severity was greater in geriatric than younger adult assault victims, and, even when controlling for injury severity, in-hospital mortality, length of hospitalization, and need for ICU-level care were significantly higher in older adults. CONCLUSIONS: Geriatric assault victims have characteristics and injury patterns that differ significantly from geriatric accidental injury victims. These victims also have more severe injuries, higher mortality, and poorer outcomes than younger victims. Additional research is necessary to improve identification of these victims and inform treatment strategies for this unique population.

Youth violence and connectedness in adolescence: what are the implications for later sexually transmitted infections?

PURPOSE: To examine associations between (1) youth violence victimization and perpetration and later sexually transmitted infections (STI) and (2) parent-family and school connectedness and later STI, and to explore the moderating role of connectedness on the associations between youth violence victimization and perpetration and later STI. METHODS: We used data from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which provided a baseline weighted sample of 14,800 respondents. We used logistic regression to examine associations between youth violence and connectedness with self-reported ever STI diagnosis, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, genital herpes, genital warts or human papillomavirus, or human immunodeficiency virus. If participants reported having an STI at Wave I they were excluded from the analysis. RESULTS: Controlling for biological sex, race/ethnicity, age, parent's highest education level, and parent's marital status, both youth violence victimization and perpetration were associated with an increased risk of later STI (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.52; and AOR, 1.21, 95% CI, 1.04-1.41, respectively). Parent-family and school connectedness in adolescence were associated with a decreased risk for later STI (AOR, .96, 95% CI, .95-.98; and AOR, .97, 95% CI, .95-.99, respectively); however, connectedness did not moderate the associations between nonsexual violence involvement and later STI. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that youth violence victimization and perpetration may be risk factors for STI later in life. Conversely, parent-family and school connectedness in adolescence appear to protect against subsequent STI. The findings suggest that provider efforts to address youth violence and connectedness in adolescence can promote positive sexual health outcomes in adulthood.

Expanding resource theory and feminist-informed theory to explain intimate partner violence perpetration by court-ordered men.

This study tested resource and feminist-informed theories to explain physical, sexual, psychological, and stalking intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrated by court-mandated men. Data were obtained from 340 men arrested for physical assault of a partner before their court-ordered treatment. Using path analysis, findings provided partial support for each model. Ineffective arguing and substance-use problems were moderators of resources and perpetration. Dominance mediated early exposures and perpetration in the feminist-informed model. In both models, predictors of stalking were different than those for other types of perpetration. Future studies should replicate this research and determine the utility of combining models.