Using Longitudinal Surveillance of Unemployment Claims During Public Health Emergencies to Provide Timely and Granular Data on the Social Determinants of Health.

OBJECTIVE: Employment is a well-documented social determinant of physical and mental health and can be used to determine who is disproportionately affected by public health emergencies. We examined trends in unemployment overall and by gender, by race or ethnic group, and by their interaction for 2 public health emergencies (the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 California wildfires). METHODS: We obtained summary data files on the number of initial unemployment insurance (IUI) claims made in all 58 California counties from January 2018 through December 2021. We fit fixed-effects Poisson regression models to county data on weekly IUI claims cross-classified by gender and race or ethnic group. We used models to evaluate the overall effect of COVID-19, whether this effect changed over time increasing under compounding emergencies, and whether the overall and compounding effects of COVID-19 differed by gender and race or ethnic group. RESULTS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, weekly IUI claims rates increased to as much as 10 times their prepandemic level. The increase in IUI claims for COVID-19 weeks, compared with weeks from the same month in the 2 years prior, was greater for women than for men of all race or ethnic groups, except for Black women. The higher rates of IUI claims for most women during COVID-19 entailed a reversal of prepandemic gender differences in claims that persisted through 2021. CONCLUSION: Public health officials should consider using IUI claims for surveillance of social determinants of health, particularly in the context of emergencies, which we show can have a persisting effect on the social patterning of social determinants. Future research is needed to forecast these affects and inform public health and policy mitigation and prevention strategies.

Changes in Poison Center Calls for Intentional Exposure During Public Health Emergencies: COVID-19 and Winter Storm Uri in Dallas County, Texas.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to: (1) explore changes in the volume of calls to poison control centers (PCs) for intentional exposures (IEs) in Dallas County, Texas, overall and by gender and age, and (2) examine the association between 2 different public health emergencies (PHEs) and changes in IE call volume. METHODS: PCs categorize calls they receive by intentionality of the exposure, based on information from the caller. We analyzed data on PC calls categorized as intentional in Dallas County, Texas, from March 2019 - April 2021. This period includes the COVID-19 pandemic declaration (March 2020), a surge in COVID-19 cases (July 2020), and Winter Storm Uri (February 2021). Changes in IE call volume (overall and by age and gender), were explored, and interrupted time series analysis was used to examine call volume changes after PHE onset. RESULTS: The summer surge in COVID-19 cases was associated with 1.9 additional IE calls/day (95% CI 0.7 to 3.1), in the context of a baseline unadjusted mean of 6.2 calls per day (unadjusted) before November 3, 2020. Neither the pandemic declaration nor Winter Storm Uri was significantly associated with changes in call volume. Women, on average, made 1.2 more calls per day compared to men during the study period. IE calls for youth increased after the pandemic declaration, closing the longstanding gap between adults and youth by early 2021. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in IE call volume in Dallas County varied by gender and age. Calls increased during the local COVID-19 surge. Population-level behavioral health may be associated with local crisis severity.

Development and Pilot Test of the Competency Assessment for Sexual Assault Prevention Practitioners.

Sexual assault is a preventable problem that is widespread and particularly prevalent for certain populations (e.g., female college students, Native American women). Despite the gravity of this public health priority, most individuals tasked with the primary prevention of sexual assault are not adequately trained for the job (e.g., professionals often trained solely in sexual assault response). To achieve optimal outcomes, professionals responsible for implementing sexual assault prevention must possess certain core competencies, or knowledge and skills essential for job performance, which include those needed for any primary prevention effort in addition to those specific to sexual assault prevention. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the construct validity of a competency assessment tool for sexual assault prevention practitioners. An existing assessment tool, which was designed for injury and violence prevention practitioners, was tailored to reflect competencies needed by sexual assault prevention practitioners as informed by the literature. The newly tailored measure was pilot tested with 33 individuals with varying levels of expertise with sexual assault prevention. These individuals were categorized into three groups based on self-rated sexual assault prevention expertise (low, medium, or high) to assess group differences. As expected, the high expertise group rated higher knowledge in all the competencies than the medium and low expertise groups (except for the competency pertaining to developing and maintaining competency). Data collection and analyses were conducted in 2020. Implications for how the assessment tool can be used to identify gaps among individual practitioners and teams of practitioners are discussed.

Equity as a Guiding Principle for the Public Health Data System.

The growing centering of equity in health has elevated a conversation about how those interests should translate within the systems and sectors that influence health. In particular, the public health data system has been relatively limited in capturing the drivers and consequences of health inequity as well as the varying dimensions of equity. This article examines what it means to use equity as a guiding principle throughout the components and functions of a modern public health data system. As with other articles in this supplement, this article builds from a literature review, environmental scan, and deliberations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems to summarize current gaps to integrate equity throughout the system. It outlines opportunities for the technology and data science sectors specifically to engage given the access that these sectors have to information that would illuminate and frame the nuances and impacts of health inequity.

What Data Should Be Included in a Modern Public Health Data System.

The public is inundated with data, both in where data are ubiquitously collected and in how organizations are using data to drive public sector and commercial decisions. The public health data system is no exception to this flood of data, both in growing data volume and variety. However, what are collected and analyzed about the health status of the nation, how particular data and measures are prioritized for parsimony, and how those data provide a signal for where to invest to address health inequities are in dire need of a reboot. As with other articles in this supplement, this article builds from a literature review, an environmental scan, and deliberations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems. The article summarizes what data should be included and identifies where the technology and data sectors can contribute to fill current gaps to measure equity, positive health, and well-being.

The Issues of Interoperability and Data Connectedness for Public Health.

An unprecedented amount of data is being collected across a diversity of sectors, which, if harnessed, could transform public health decision-making. Yet significant challenges stand in the way of such a vision, including the need to establish standards of data sharing and interoperability, the need for innovation in both methodological approaches and workforce models, and the need for data stewardship and governance models to ensure the protection and integrity of the public health data system. As with other articles in this supplement, this article builds from a literature review, environmental scan, and deliberations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems. The article summarizes some of the challenges around data sharing and reuse and identifies where the technology and data sectors can contribute to fill current gaps to promote interoperability and data stewardship.

Technology and Data Implications for the Public Health Workforce.

Achieving a modern equity-oriented public health system requires the development of a public health workforce with the skills and competencies needed to generate findings and integrate knowledge using diverse data. Yet current workforce capabilities and infrastructure are misaligned with what is needed to harness both new and older forms of data and to translate them into information that is equity contextualized. As with other articles in this supplement, this article builds from a literature review, environmental scan, and deliberations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems. The article summarizes some of the challenges around current workforce capabilities and pipeline. The article identifies where the technology and data sectors can contribute skills, expertise, and assets in support of innovative workforce models and augment the development of public health workforce competencies.

With Small Power, Comes Great Responsibility: Lessons Learned from an Evaluation of Veteran and Military Mental Health Public Awareness Campaigns.

This study was conducted to determine the feasibility of conducting a cost-benefit evaluation of federally-funded media campaigns encouraging mental health help-seeking among United States military personnel and veterans. To calculate the necessary sample size for the evaluation, we obtained campaign costs, and determined the number of treatment seekers needed for the campaign to break even with its cost and the associated population change that an evaluation would need to detect. The sample size needed for an evaluation with 80% power was greater than the total population of U.S. military personnel and veterans. Given that the necessary sample size exceeds the population to be sampled, an appropriately powered outcome evaluation is not feasible. Other programs that would be cost effective with extremely small effect sizes should not be subject to underpowered and thus inaccurate empirical outcome evaluation.

Improving Disaster Resilience Among Older Adults: Insights from Public Health Departments and Aging-in-Place Efforts.

This study uses interview data collected from public health departments and aging-in-place efforts-specifically, from coordinators of age-friendly communities and village executive directors-to explore how current aging-in-place efforts can be harnessed to strengthen the disaster resilience of older adults and which existing programs or new collaborations among public health departments and these organizations show promise for improving disaster resilience for older populations. Interviews with stakeholders revealed that most age-friendly communities and senior villages did not place a high priority on promoting disaster preparedness. While most public health departments conducted or took the lead on disaster preparedness and resilience activities, they were not necessarily tailored to older adults. Aligning and extending public health departments' current preparedness activities to include aging-in-place efforts and greater tailoring of existing preparedness activities to the needs of older adults could significantly improve their disaster preparedness and resilience. For jurisdictions that do not have an existing aging-in-place effort, public health departments can help initiate those efforts and work to incorporate preparedness activities at the outset of newly developing aging-in-place efforts.

Mental Health Stigma and Its Effects on Treatment-Related Outcomes: A Narrative Review.

Introduction: Many service members experiencing symptoms of mental health conditions do not receive mental health care for these symptoms. The stigma associated with having a mental health condition or seeking treatment is often cited as a specific barrier to mental health care. However, study results bearing on the question of whether and how stigma may reduce treatment-seeking have been inconsistent. Methods: We searched 10 databases for sources published between 2004 and 2014 that prospectively linked stigma to treatment-related outcomes (such as treatment seeking, retention, and reports of symptoms) using longitudinal data and predictive models. The searches yielded 2,409 sources. After reviewing titles and abstracts for relevance, we retained 15 sources to undergo full-text review. Results: Overall, this review illustrates that evidence exploring the direct effect of stigma on treatment-related outcomes is still scant. We identified two studies whose outcomes conflict when it comes to stigma and treatment-initiation and utilization, and three studies found no relationship between stigma and treatment-initiation and utilization. One study suggested that the relationship between stigma and experience of symptoms is nuanced and may depend on the type of stigma and types of symptoms considered. Meager evidence was available to inform the relationship between stigma and treatment duration, attrition, and quality of life/functioning. The evidence was not sufficient to draw conclusions about the state of these relationships. No conclusions could be made about the direct impact of stigma on treatment-related outcomes among military service members given that only two studies explored this relationship among military service members. Conclusion: Current research does not provide a true understanding of the degree to which mental illness stigma affects treatment-related outcomes for service members experiencing mental health challenges. This understanding could only be developed through a longitudinal study assessing prospectively whether stigma affects treatment-utilization in the military. Should such a study show that stigma reduces treatment-utilization, the military would need to consider whether changes to their current approaches to stigma reduction are warranted.

How Community and Public Health Partnerships Contribute to Disaster Recovery and Resilience.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize ways that networks of community-based organizations (CBO), in partnership with public health departments, contribute to community recovery from disaster. METHODS: The study was conducted using an online survey administered one and 2 years after Hurricane Sandy to the partnership networks of 369 CBO and the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The survey assessed the structure and durability of networks, how they were influenced by storm damage, and whether more connected networks were associated with better recovery outcomes. RESULTS: During response and recovery, CBOs provide an array of critical public health services often outside their usual scope. New CBO partnerships were formed to support recovery, particularly in severely impacted areas. CBOs that were more connected to other CBOs and were part of a long-term recovery committee reported greater impacts on the community; however, a partnership with the local health department was not associated with recovery impacts. CONCLUSION: CBO partners are flexible in their scope of services, and CBO partnerships often emerge in areas with the greatest storm damage, and subsequently the greatest community needs. National policies will advance if they account for the dynamic and emergent nature of these partnerships and their contributions, and clarify the role of government partners. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:635-643).

Beyond Disaster Preparedness: Building a Resilience-Oriented Workforce for the Future.

Enhancing citizens' and communities' resilience is critical to adapt successfully to ongoing challenges faced by communities, as well as acute shocks resulting from disasters. While significant progress has been made in this area, several research and practice gaps remain. A crucial next step to advance resilience is the development of a resilience-oriented workforce. This narrative review examines existing literature to determine key components of a resilience-oriented workforce, with a focus on organizational structures, training and education, and leadership models. Reviewed articles spanned a variety of study types, including needs assessments of existing workforce, program evaluations, and reviews/commentaries. A resilience-oriented workforce spans many disciplines and training programs will need to reflect that. It requires a collaborative organizational model that promotes information sharing structures. Leadership models should foster a balance between workforce autonomy and operation as a collective entity. Optimal strategies to develop a resilience-oriented workforce have yet to be realized and future research will need to collect and synthesize data to promote and evaluate the growth of this field.

Towards More Nuanced Classification of NGOs and Their Services to Improve Integrated Planning across Disaster Phases.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are being integrated into U.S. strategies to expand the services that are available during health security threats like disasters. Identifying better ways to classify NGOs and their services could optimize disaster planning. We surveyed NGOs about the types of services they provided during different disaster phases. Survey responses were used to categorize NGO services as core-critical to fulfilling their organizational mission-or adaptive-services implemented during a disaster based on community need. We also classified NGOs as being core or adaptive types of organizations by calculating the percentage of each NGO's services classified as core. Service types classified as core were mainly social services, while adaptive service types were those typically relied upon during disasters (e.g., warehousing, food services, etc.). In total, 120 NGOs were classified as core organizations, meaning they mainly provided the same services across disaster phases, while 100 NGOs were adaptive organizations, meaning their services changed. Adaptive NGOs were eight times more likely to report routinely participating in disaster planning as compared to core NGOs. One reason for this association may be that adaptive NGOs are more aware of the changing needs in their communities across disaster phases because of their involvement in disaster planning.

An Agenda to Advance Integrative Resilience Research and Practice: Key Themes From a Resilience Roundtable.

People are facing an increasing variety and number of stressors, ranging from interpersonal difficulties to environmental hazards and societal forces. Resilience is the process of, capacity for, or outcome of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress. The science of resilience has advanced greatly since 2000, but there is an increasing recognition of the need for researchers and practitioners from different disciplines and sectors to work better together on this topic and for a shared agenda for promoting transdisciplinary resilience research. The study provides a path forward, primarily built on proceedings from a Resilience Roundtable, held in June 2016, and supplemented with relevant literature review. The Resilience Roundtable brought together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, across disciplines and sectors for a daylong discussion of where and how we can move to a more integrated and cohesive resilience agenda, with attention to critical factors that would motivate more collaborative work. The roundtable identified priorities for advancing a shared resilience agenda and made ten recommendations for implementing it.

Stakeholder Perspectives on a Culture of Health: Key Findings.

Since 2013, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has embarked on a pioneering effort to advance a Culture of Health. The Culture of Health action framework is founded on a vision in which "everyone in our diverse society leads healthier lives now and for generations to come." To put the Culture of Health vision into action, RWJF asked RAND Health to support the development of an action framework and measurement strategy. This article summarizes the stakeholder engagement efforts that RAND used to inform this work. It draws on a series of interviews and focus groups that RAND researchers conducted with stakeholders both within and outside the United States. It should be of interest to RWJF, as well as to those individuals and organizations interested in advancing the Culture of Health action framework. Given that RWJF is focused on using the Culture of Health action framework and measures to catalyze national dialogue about content and investments to improve population health and well-being, the study should be beneficial to a range of national, state, and local leaders across a variety of sectors that contribute to health as described by the Culture of Health action framework.

Drivers Of Health As A Shared Value: Mindset, Expectations, Sense Of Community, And Civic Engagement.

Making health a shared value is central to building a culture of health, a new action framework intended to spur faster progress toward equitable health outcomes in the United States. Unlike in other US social movements, such as the environmental and civil rights movements, the necessary understanding of shared values has not yet been achieved for health. Discussions about values regarding health have primarily focused on health care instead of health or well-being. These discussions have not progressed to a clear focus on prioritizing values on health instead of simply health care. The evidence base for understanding health as a shared value is only now emerging. Making health a shared value is the first of four Action Areas in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Action Framework. We assert that the achievement of this shared understanding of health as a cultural value will be enhanced through action in specific drivers: mindset and expectations, sense of community, and civic engagement. Building on a literature review and stakeholder engagement, this article examines the evidence base for these drivers and identifies where policy and research actions are needed to advance positive change on population health and well-being outcomes.

A Cluster-Randomized Trial of Restorative Practices: An Illustration to Spur High-Quality Research and Evaluation.

Restorative Practices in schools lack rigorous evaluation studies. As an example of rigorous school-based research, this paper describes the first randomized control trial of restorative practices to date, the Study of Restorative Practices. It is a 5-year, cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Restorative Practices Intervention (RPI) in 14 middle schools in Maine to assess whether RPI impacts both positive developmental outcomes and problem behaviors and whether the effects persist during the transition from middle to high school. The two-year RPI intervention began in the 2014-2015 school year. The study's rationale and theoretical concerns are discussed along with methodological concerns including teacher professional development. The theoretical rationale and description of the methods from this study may be useful to others conducting rigorous research and evaluation in this area.

Nongovernmental resources to support disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

OBJECTIVE: Although recent emergencies or disasters have underscored the vital role of nongovernmental (NGO) resources, they remain not well understood or leveraged. We intended to develop an assets framework that identifies relevant NGO resources for disaster preparedness and response that can be used to assess their availability at state and local levels. METHODS: We conducted a search of peer-reviewed publications to identify existing asset frameworks, and reviewed policy documents and gray literature to identify roles of NGOs in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. A standardized data abstraction form was used to organize the results by NGO sector. RESULTS: We organized NGO assets into 5 categories: competencies, money, infrastructure or equipment, services, relationships, and data for each of the 11 sectors designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the 2011 preparedness capabilities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that the capacity of each sector to capture data on each asset type needs strengthening so that data can be merged for just-in-time analysis to indicate where additional relief is needed.