The Massachusetts Racial Equity Data Road Map: Data as a Tool Toward Ending Structural Racism.

BACKGROUND: In 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) adopted a Title V maternal and child health priority to "promote health and racial equity by addressing racial justice and reducing disparities." A survey assessing staff capacity to support this priority identified data collection and use as opportunities for improvement. In response, MDPH initiated a quality improvement project to improve use of data for action to promote racial equity. METHODS: MDPH conducted value stream mapping to understand existing processes for using data to inform racial equity work. Key informant interviews and a survey of program directors identified challenges to using data to promote racial equity. MDPH used a cause-and-effect diagram to identify and organize challenges to using data to inform racial equity work and better understand opportunities for improvement and potential solutions. RESULTS: Key informants highlighted the need to consider structural factors and historical and community contexts when interpreting data. Program directors noted limited staff time, lack of performance metrics, competing priorities, low data quality, and unclear expectations as challenges. To address the identified challenges, the team identified potential solutions and prioritized development and piloting of the MDPH Racial Equity Data Road Map (Road Map). CONCLUSIONS: The Road Map framework provides strategies for data collection and use that support the direction of actionable data-driven resources to racial inequities. The Road Map is a resource to support programs to authentically engage communities; frame data in the broader contexts that impact health; and design solutions that address root causes. With this starting point, public health systems can work toward creating data-driven programs and policies to improve racial equity.

Disparities in Opioid Overdose Death Trends by Race/Ethnicity, 2018-2019, From the HEALing Communities Study.

Objectives. To examine trends in opioid overdose deaths by race/ethnicity from 2018 to 2019 across 67 HEALing Communities Study (HCS) communities in Kentucky, New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Methods. We used state death certificate records to calculate opioid overdose death rates per 100 000 adult residents of the 67 HCS communities for 2018 and 2019. We used Poisson regression to calculate the ratio of 2019 to 2018 rates. We compared changes by race/ethnicity by calculating a ratio of rate ratios (RRR) for each racial/ethnic group compared with non-Hispanic White individuals. Results. Opioid overdose death rates were 38.3 and 39.5 per 100 000 for 2018 and 2019, respectively, without a significant change from 2018 to 2019 (rate ratio = 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.98, 1.08). We estimated a 40% increase in opioid overdose death rate for non-Hispanic Black individuals (RRR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.22, 1.62) relative to non-Hispanic White individuals but no change among other race/ethnicities. Conclusions. Overall opioid overdose death rates have leveled off but have increased among non-Hispanic Black individuals. Public Health Implications. An antiracist public health approach is needed to address the crisis of opioid-related harms. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(10):1851-1854. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306431).

An observational study of type, timing, and severity of childhood maltreatment and preterm birth.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment has been linked to preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation) in some studies, but these findings have been inconsistent, and it remains unclear whether type, timing or severity of maltreatment are associated with risk of preterm birth. The aim of this observational study was to explore type of maltreatment (child and adolescent physical and sexual abuse and harsh parenting) as risk factors for preterm birth. METHODS: We examined these associations in a cross-sectional analysis of the Nurses' Health Study II cohort of female nurses. Women completed a questionnaire about experiences of sexual abuse, physical abuse or harsh parenting, along with pregnancy outcomes. Logistic regression models adjusted for relevant covariates including age, race, alcohol and cigarette use during pregnancy, age at menarche, marital status, adult income, body mass index (kg/m(2)) at age 18, physical abuse in pregnancy, and childhood socioeconomic position. RESULTS: Among 51 434 first births, 4110 were preterm (8% of births). Forced sexual activity in childhood or adolescence was associated with a 22% increased odds of preterm birth (OR=1.22, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.35). Maltreatment involving sexual touch, physical abuse or harsh parenting was not associated with preterm birth in this sample. CONCLUSIONS: Women who experience forced sexual activity in childhood or adolescence may have an increased likelihood of delivering preterm in adulthood.