A Scoping Review of Health Equity Interventions in Governmental Public Health.

CONTEXT: Despite major efforts in research, practice, and policy, racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care persist in the United States. Interventions in collaboration with governmental public health may provide ways to address these persistent racial and ethnic health and health care disparities and improve health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a comprehensive review of health equity interventions performed in collaboration with public health agencies. DESIGN: This scoping review includes intervention studies from Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Academic Search Premier, published between 2017 and 2023. The search strategy used terminology focused on 4 concepts: race/ethnicity, equity, health departments, and epidemiologic studies. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The following inclusion criteria were determined a priori: (1) intervention tailored to reduce racial/ethnic health disparities, (2) public health department involvement, (3) health outcome measures, (4) use of epidemiologic study methods, (5) written in English, (6) implemented in the United States, (7) original data (not a commentary), and (8) published between January 2017 and January 2023. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: This review focused primarily on 4 dimensions of racial health equity interventions including intervention components, intervention settings, intervention delivery agents, and intervention outcomes. RESULTS: This review indicated that health equity interventions involving public health agencies focused on the following categories: (1) access to care, (2) health behavior, (3) infectious disease testing, (4) preventing transmission, and (5) cancer screening. Critical strategies included in interventions for reaching racial/ethnic minoritized people included using community settings, mobile clinics, social media/social networks, phone-based interventions, community-based workers, health education, active public health department involvement, and structural/policy change. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review aims to provide an evidence map to inform public health agencies, researchers, and funding agencies on gaps in knowledge and priority areas for future research and to identify existing health equity interventions that could be considered for implementation by public health leaders.

Association of 340B contract pharmacy growth with county-level characteristics.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the association of 340B contract pharmacy growth between 2009 and 2019 with county-level characteristics, including availability of health care providers, health care spending, population, and socioeconomic characteristics. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. METHODS: We constructed county-level maps of 340B contract pharmacy penetration for the years 2009 and 2019 by 340B participant type (hospital or safety-net clinic). We then used a multivariable linear probability regression model to estimate the association of county-level characteristics in 2009 with the probability of gaining at least one 340B contract pharmacy within the county by 2019. We estimated separate regressions for safety-net clinics and hospitals. RESULTS: We find that growth of contracts with 340B hospitals was uncorrelated with uninsured rates, poverty rates, or areas of medical underservice. By contrast, we find that growth of contracts with 340B safety-net clinics was positively correlated with poverty rates and metropolitan statistical status. These findings suggest different patterns of access for patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results add systematic evidence of a difference in how the 2 main types of 340B participants-hospitals and safety-net clinics-use the 340B program. Policy proposals to reform 340B should consider reforms for safety-net clinics and hospitals separately.