The Impact of COVID-19 on Diverse Older Adults and Health Equity in the United States.

Older adults are most at risk of negative COVID-19 outcomes and consequences. This study applies the World Health Organization's Health Inequity Causal Model to identify different factors that may be driving the higher observed hospitalizations and deaths among older adults of color compared to non-Latinx Whites in the United States. We used multiple data sets, including the US Census American Community Survey and PULSE COVID data, along with published reports, to understand the social context of older adults, including income distributions by race and ethnicity, household composition and potential COVID-19 exposure to older adults by working family members. Our findings point to multiple social determinants of health, beyond individual health risks, which may explain why older adults of color are the most at risk of negative COVID-19 outcomes and consequences. Current health policies do not adequately address disproportionate impact; some even worsen it. This manuscript provides new data and analysis to support the call for equity-focused solutions to this pandemic and health in general in the future, focusing on meeting the needs of our most vulnerable communities.

Mentoring Experiences and Publication Productivity among Early Career Biomedical Investigators and Trainees.

Objective: To identify which mentoring domains influence publication productivity among early career researchers and trainees and whether publication productivity differs between underrepresented minority (URM) and well-represented groups (WRGs). The mentoring aspects that promote publication productivity remain unclear. Advancing health equity requires a diverse workforce, yet URM trainees are less likely to publish and URM investigators are less likely to obtain federal research grants, relative to WRG counterparts. Methods: A mentoring-focused online follow-up survey was administered to respondents of the NRMN Annual Survey who self-identified as mentees. Publications were identified from a public database and validated with participant CV data. Bivariate and multivariate analyses tested the associations of publication productivity with mentoring domains. Results: URM investigators and trainees had fewer publications (M = 7.3) than their WRG counterparts (M = 13.8). Controlling for career stage and social characteristics, those who worked on funded projects, and received grant-writing or research mentorship, had a higher probability of any publications. Controlling for URM status, gender, and career stage, mentorship on grant-writing and funding was positively associated with publication count (IRR=1.72). Holding career stage, gender, and mentoring experiences constant, WRG investigators and trainees had more publications than their URM counterparts (IRR=1.66). Conclusions: Grant-writing mentorship is particularly important for publication productivity. Future research should investigate whether grant-writing mentorship differentially impacts URM and WRG investigators and should investigate how and why grant-writing mentorship fosters increased publication productivity.

Analysis of State-Level Immigrant Policies and Preterm Births by Race/Ethnicity Among Women Born in the US and Women Born Outside the US.

Importance: Criminalizing immigrant policies, a form of structural racism, are associated with preterm birth; however, to date, few population studies have examined this association by race and nativity status or examined the association of inclusive immigrant policies with preterm birth. Objective: To assess the extent to which variation in preterm birth by race/ethnicity and nativity status is associated with state-level criminalizing vs inclusive immigrant policies. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective, cross-sectional study analyzed birth record data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2018, as well as state-level indicators of inclusive and criminalizing immigrant policies. White, Black, Asian, and Latina women who had singleton births were included in the study. Statistical analysis was performed from June 1, 2020, to February 5, 2021. Two continuous variables were created to capture the number of criminalizing vs inclusive immigrant policies in effect as of 2017 in each state. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome measure was preterm birth (<37 weeks' gestation). Results: Among the 3 455 514 live births that occurred in 2018, 10.0% were preterm, and 23.2% were to mothers born outside the US. Overall, for women born outside the US, each additional state-level inclusive policy was associated with a 2% decrease in preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.98 [95% CI, 0.96-1.00]); there were no significant associations between inclusive policies and preterm birth among women born in the US. In models examining the combined associations of criminalizing and inclusive immigrant policies with preterm birth, each additional criminalizing policy was associated with a 5% increase in preterm birth among Black women born outside the US (aOR, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.00-1.10]). Each additional inclusive immigrant policy was associated with a lower likelihood of preterm birth for Asian women born in the US (aOR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.93-0.98]) and White women born outside the US (aOR, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.95-0.99]). No significant associations were found among other groups. Conclusions and Relevance: This study suggests that criminalizing immigrant policies are associated with an increase in preterm birth specifically for Black women born outside the US. Inclusive immigrant policies are associated with a decrease in preterm birth for immigrants overall, Asian women born in the US, and White women born outside the US. No associations were found between criminalizing or inclusive immigrant policies and preterm birth among Latina women.

Duration of United States Residence and Self-Reported Health Among African-Born Immigrant Adults.

Although researchers have found an inverse relationship between length of U.S. residence and health, research on this issue among African-born immigrants is limited. Data from the 2011-2015 National Health Interview Surveys were pooled for African-born immigrants (N = 1137) and used to estimate weighted ordinary least squares regression models on self-reported health, adjusting for common immigrant health predictors. Length of U.S. residence was associated with significant health status declines only among those that had lived in the U.S. for 10 to less than 15 years (b = - 0.235, p < 0.05), net of covariates. African-born immigrants may have both different selection processes than other immigrants and not follow common integration patterns. These findings suggest that existing immigrant health frameworks may need modification to fully apply to this growing U.S. immigrant population.

States with fewer criminalizing immigrant policies have smaller health care inequities between citizens and noncitizens.

BACKGROUND: In the last thirty years, major shifts in immigrant policy at national and state levels has heightened boundaries among citizens, permanent residents, and those with other statuses. While there is mounting evidence that citizenship influences immigrant health care inequities, there has been less focus on how policies that reinforce citizenship stratification may shape the extent of these inequities. We examine the extent to which the relationship between citizenship and health care inequities is moderated by state-level criminalization policies. METHODS: Taking a comparative approach, we assess how distinct criminalization policy contexts across US states are associated with inequitable access to care by citizenship status. Utilizing a data set with state-level measures of criminalization policy and individual-level measures of having a usual source of care from the National Health Interview Survey, we use mixed-effects logistic regression models to assess the extent to which inequities in health care access between noncitizens and US born citizens vary depending on states' criminalization policies. RESULTS: Each additional criminalization policy was associated with a lower odds that noncitizens in the state had a usual source of care, compared to US born citizens. CONCLUSION: Criminalization policies shape the construction of citizenship stratification across geography, such as exacerbating inequities in health care access by citizenship.

Baseline Characteristics of the 2015-2019 First Year Student Cohorts of the NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Program.

Objective: The biomedical/behavioral sciences lag in the recruitment and advancement of students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. In 2014 the NIH created the Diversity Program Consortium (DPC), a prospective, multi-site study comprising 10 Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) institutional grantees, the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and a Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC). This article describes baseline characteristics of four incoming, first-year student cohorts at the primary BUILD institutions who completed the Higher Education Research Institute, The Freshmen Survey between 2015-2019. These freshmen are the primary student cohorts for longitudinal analyses comparing outcomes of BUILD program participants and non-participants. Design: Baseline description of first-year students entering college at BUILD institutions during 2015-2019. Setting: Ten colleges/universities that each received <$7.5mil/yr in NIH Research Project Grants and have high proportions of low-income students. Participants: First-year undergraduate students who participated in BUILD-sponsored activities and a sample of non-BUILD students at the same BUILD institutions. A total of 32,963 first-year students were enrolled in the project; 64% were female, 18% Hispanic/Latinx, 19% African American/Black, 2% American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 17% Asian, and 29% White. Twenty-seven percent were from families with an income <$30,000/yr and 25% were their family's first generation in college. Planned Outcomes: Primary student outcomes to be evaluated over time include undergraduate biomedical degree completion, entry into/completion of a graduate biomedical degree program, and evidence of excelling in biomedical research and scholarship. Conclusions: The DPC national evaluation has identified a large, longitudinal cohort of students with many from groups historically underrepresented in the biomedical sciences that will inform institutional/national policy level initiatives to help diversify the biomedical workforce.

Cardiovascular disease behavioral risk factors among Latinos by citizenship and documentation status.

BACKGROUND: Studies have observed that recent Latino immigrants tend to have a physical health advantage compared to immigrants who have been in the US for many years or Latinos who are born in the United States. An explanation of this phenomenon is that recent immigrants have positive health behaviors that protect them from chronic disease risk. This study aims to determine if trends in positive cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk behaviors extend to Latino immigrants in California according to citizenship and documentation status. METHODS: We examined CVD behavioral risk factors by citizenship/documentation statuses among Latinos and non-Latino US-born whites in the 2011-2015 waves of the California Health Interview Survey. Adjusted multivariable logistic regressions estimated the odds for CVD behavioral risk factors, and analyses were stratified by sex. RESULTS: In adjusted analyses, using US-born Latinos as the reference group, undocumented Latino immigrants had the lowest odds of current smoking, binge drinking, and frequency of fast food consumption. There were no differences across the groups for fruit/vegetable intake and walking for leisure. Among those with high blood pressure, undocumented immigrants were least likely to be on medication. Undocumented immigrant women had better patterns of CVD behavioral risk factors on some measures compared with other Latino citizenship and documentation groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study observes that the healthy Latino immigrant advantage seems to apply to undocumented female immigrants, but it does not necessarily extend to undocumented male immigrants who had similar behavioral risk profiles to US-born Latinos.

Healthcare Decision-Making Among Dual-Eligible Immigrants: Implications from a Study of an Integrated Medicare-Medicaid Demonstration Program in California.

To improve the coordination of long-term services and supports for dual-eligibles (those with both Medicare and Medicaid), California created Cal MediConnect (CMC), an Affordable Care Act-authorized managed care demonstration program. Beneficiaries were "passively enrolled" into CMC, meaning they were automatically enrolled unless they actively opted out. The aim of this study was to examine differences in factors influencing the enrollment decisions of U.S. born and immigrant dual-eligible beneficiaries. To explore differences in decision-making processes, we conducted in-depth interviews with dual-eligible consumers (39 native and 14 immigrant) in Los Angeles County. Interviews were analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Our findings illustrate a heightened sense of vulnerability and disempowerment experienced by immigrant participants. Immigrant participants also faced greater challenges in accessing healthcare and eliciting healthcare information compared to U.S.-born participants. Understanding the diverse perspectives of dual-eligible immigrant healthcare decision-making has implications for health care reform strategies aimed at ameliorating disparities for vulnerable immigrant populations.

Linking primary care and community organizations to increase colorectal cancer screening rates: the HAPPI project.

OBJECTIVE: The Healthy Aging Partnerships in Prevention Initiative (HAPPI) aims to increase the use of clinical preventive services (CPS) among underserved Latinos and African Americans in South Los Angeles who are 50+ years old. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HAPPI uses an evidencebased model, SPARC, to leverage existing resources and link community resources. HAPPI's multi-sectoral partnerships include local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community health centers (CHCs), aging and public health agencies serving the City and County of Los Angeles, and a university. Activities include CHC capacity assessment and training, and community capacity-building that included a small grants program. RESULTS: We engaged five CHCs in quality improvement activities and eight NGOs in networking and programming to increase awareness and receipt of CPS. We discuss barriers and facilitators including the success of trainings conducted with CHC providers and NGO re- presentatives. CONCLUSIONS: Multi-sectoral collaborations hold promise for increasing awareness and use of CPS in underserved communities.

OBJETIVO: HAPPI se propone aumentar el uso de servicios clínicos preventivos (SCP) en personas mayores de 50 años en Los Ángeles. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: HAPPI es una colaboración intersectorial e incluye organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG) locales, centros de salud comunitarios (CSC), centros de servicios para personas mayores, agencias de salud pública que dan servicio a la ciudad y al condado de Los Ángeles, y una universidad pública para movilizar recursos comunitarios y promover lazos entre las asociaciones. Sus actividades incluyen asesorar y aumentar la capacitación de CSC y la comunidad, además de un programa de becas. RESULTADOS: Se colaboró con cinco CSC para la mejora de calidad y con ocho ONG para abrir conciencia de los SCP. Se presentaron barreras y facilitadores incluyendo el éxito de las enseñanzas con proveedores de CSC y representantes de las ONG. CONCLUSIONES: Las colaboraciones multi-sectoriales son prometedoras para amplificar conciencia del uso de SCP en personas mayores.

Linking primary care and community organizations to increase colorectal cancer screening rates: the HAPPI project / Promover una alianza entre la atención primaria y las organizaciones comunitarias para aumentar las pruebas de detección de cáncer colorrectal: el proyecto HAPPI

Abstract: Objective: The Healthy Aging Partnerships in Preven tion Initiative (HAPPI) aims to increase the use of clinical preventive services (CPS) among underserved Latinos and African Americans in South Los Angeles who are 50+ years old. Materials and methods: HAPPI uses an evidence-based model, SPARC, to leverage existing resources and link community resources. HAPPI's multi-sectoral partnerships include local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community health centers (CHCs), aging and public health agencies serving the City and County of Los Angeles, and a university. Activities include CHC capacity assessment and training, and community capacity-building that included a small grants program. Results: We engaged five CHCs in quality improvement activities and eight NGOs in networking and programming to increase awareness and receipt of CPS. We discuss barriers and facilitators including the success of trainings conducted with CHC providers and NGO re presentatives. Conclusion: Multi-sectoral collaborations hold promise for increasing awareness and use of CPS in underserved communities.

Resumen: Objetivo: HAPPI se propone aumentar el uso de servicios clínicos preventivos (SCP) en personas mayores de 50 años en Los Ángeles. Material y métodos: HAPPI es una colaboración intersectorial e incluye organizaciones no gu bernamentales (ONG) locales, centros de salud comunitarios (CSC), centros de servicios para personas mayores, agencias de salud pública que dan servicio a la ciudad y al condado de Los Ángeles, y una universidad pública para movilizar recur sos comunitarios y promover lazos entre las asociaciones. Sus actividades incluyen asesorar y aumentar la capacitación de CSC y la comunidad, además de un programa de becas. Resultados: Se colaboró con cinco CSC para la mejora de calidad y con ocho ONG para abrir conciencia de los SCP. Se presentaron barreras y facilitadores incluyendo el éxito de las enseñanzas con proveedores de CSC y representantes de las ONG. Conclusión: Las colaboraciones multi-sectoriales son prometedoras para amplificar conciencia del uso de SCP en personas mayores.

Included, but Deportable: A New Public Health Approach to Policies That Criminalize and Integrate Immigrants.

There has been a burst of research on immigrant health in the United States and an increasing attention to the broad range of state and local policies that are social determinants of immigrant health. Many of these policies criminalize immigrants by regulating the "legality" of their day-to-day lives while others function to integrate immigrants through expanded rights and eligibility for health care, social services, and other resources.Research on the health impact of policies has primarily focused on the extremes of either criminalization or integration. Most immigrants in the United States, however, live in states that possess a combination of both criminalizing and integrating policies, resulting in distinct contexts that may influence their well-being.We present data describing the variations in criminalization and integration policies across states and provide a framework that identifies distinct but concurrent mechanisms of deportability and inclusion that can influence health. Future public health research and practice should address the ongoing dynamics created by both criminalization and integration policies as these likely exacerbate health inequities by citizenship status, race/ethnicity, and other social hierarchies.

Multisectoral Collaborations to Increase the Use of Recommended Cancer Screening and Other Clinical Preventive Services by Older Adults.

The Healthy Aging Partnerships in Prevention Initiative (HAPPI) is a multisectoral collaboration that aims to increase use of recommended cancer screening and other clinical preventive services (CPS) among underserved African American and Latino adults aged 50 and older in South Los Angeles. HAPPI uses the principles of the evidence-based model Sickness Prevention Achieved through Regional Collaboration to increase capacity for the delivery of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, as well as influenza and pneumococcal immunizations, and cholesterol screening. This article describes HAPPI's collaborative efforts to enhance local capacity by training personnel from community health centers (CHCs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), implementing a small grants program, and forming a community advisory council. HAPPI demonstrates that existing resources in the region can be successfully linked and leveraged to increase awareness and receipt of CPS. Five CHCs expanded quality improvement efforts and eight CBOs reached 2,730 older African Americans and Latinos through locally tailored educational programs that encouraged community-clinic linkages. A community council assumed leadership roles to ensure HAPPI sustainability. The lessons learned from these collective efforts hold promise for increasing awareness and fostering the use of CPS by older adults in underserved communities.

Inclusive state immigrant policies and health insurance among Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and White noncitizens in the United States.

Objectives: Policy-making related to immigrant populations is increasingly conducted at the state-level. State policy contexts may influence health insurance coverage by determining noncitizens' access to social and economic resources and shaping social environments. Using nationally representative data, we investigate the relationship between level of inclusion of state immigrant policies and health insurance coverage and its variation by citizenship and race/ethnicity. Methods: Data included a measure of level of inclusion of the state policy context from a scan of 10 policies enacted prior to 2014 and data for adults ages 18-64 from the 2014 American Community Survey. A fixed-effects logistic regression model tested the association between having health insurance and the interaction of level of inclusiveness, citizenship, and race/ethnicity, controlling for state- and individual-level characteristics. Results: Latino noncitizens experienced higher rates of being insured in states with higher levels of inclusion, while Asian/Pacific Islander noncitizens experienced lower levels. The level of inclusion was not associated with differences in insurance coverage among noncitizen Whites and Blacks. Conclusions: Contexts with more inclusive immigrant policies may have the most benefit for Latino noncitizens.

A social determinants framework identifying state-level immigrant policies and their influence on health.

BACKGROUND: Many conceptual frameworks that touch on immigration and health have been published over the past several years. Most discuss broad social trends or specific immigrant policies, but few address how the policy environment affects the context of settlement and incorporation. Research on the social determinants of health shows how policies across multiple sectors have an impact on health status and health services, but has not yet identified the policies most important for immigrants. Understanding the range and content of state-level policies that impact immigrant populations can focus health in all policies initiatives as well as contextualize future research on immigrant health. METHODS: Our framework identifies state-level policies across five different domains that impact the health of immigrants and that vary across states, especially for those without legal status. Our scan shows that immigrants are exposed to different contexts, ranging from relatively inclusive to highly exclusive; a number of states have mixed trends that are more inclusive in some areas, but exclusive in others. Finally, we examine how the relative inclusiveness of state policies are associated with state-level demographic and political characteristics. RESULTS: Contrary to the image that exclusive policies are a reaction to large immigrant populations that may compete for jobs and cultural space, we find that the higher the proportion of foreign born and Hispanics in the state, the more inclusive the set of policies; while the higher the proportion of Republican voters, the less inclusive. CONCLUSIONS: Variation across immigrant policies is much larger than the variation in state demographic and political characteristics, suggesting that state-level policies need to be included as a possible independent, contextual effect, when assessing immigrant health outcomes. This policy framework can be particularly useful in bridging our understanding of how large macro processes are connected to the daily lives and health of immigrants.

Health Care Access and Physical and Behavioral Health Among Undocumented Latinos in California.

BACKGROUND: This paper provides statewide estimates on health care access and utilization patterns and physical and behavioral health by citizenship and documentation status among Latinos in California. METHODS: This study used data from the 2011-2015 California Health Interview Survey to examine health care access and utilization and physical and behavioral health among a representative sample of all nonelderly Latino and US-born non-Latino white adults (N=51,386). Multivariable regressions estimated the associations between the dependent measures and citizenship/documentation status among Latinos (US-born, naturalized citizen, green card holder, and undocumented). RESULTS: Adjusted results from multivariable analyses observed worse access and utilization patterns among immigrant Latinos compared with US-born Latinos, with undocumented immigrants using significantly less health care. Undocumented Latinos had lower odds of self-reporting excellent/very good health status compared with US-born Latinos, despite them having lower odds of having several physical and behavioral health outcomes (overweight/obesity, physician-diagnosed hypertension, asthma, self-reported psychological distress, and need for behavioral health services). Among those reporting a need for behavioral health services, access was also worse for undocumented Latinos when compared with US-born Latinos. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of poor health care access and utilization and better physical and behavioral health are observed across the continuum of documentation status, with undocumented immigrants having the worst access and utilization patterns and less disease. Despite fewer reported diagnoses and better mental health, undocumented Latinos reported poorer health status than their US-born counterparts.

There and Back Again: How the Repeal of ACA Can Impact Community Health Centers and the Populations They Serve.

We examined the impact of Medicaid expansion on rates of the remaining uninsured at the federally qualified health center level by race/ethnicity, limited English proficiency, and poverty status of their patients. Results indicated a systematic disadvantage in nonexpansion states for federally qualified health centers with high concentrations of these populations and an advantage in expansion states for federally qualified health centers with fewer limited English proficiency patients. Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining the Affordable Care Act in reducing disparities in coverage and the importance of federal funding to continue services for the remaining uninsured and vulnerable populations in both expansion and nonexpansion states.

Helpfulness, Trust, and Safety of Neighborhoods: Social Capital, Household Income, and Self-Reported Health of Older Adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Growing literature documents that where you live has an impact on your health, due in part to social capital. Building on social capital literature, we assess how subjective appraisals of neighborhood quality are associated with self-reported health (SRH) for older adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of the 2014 California Health Interview Survey, a representative survey of diverse, noninstitutionalized California residents. We use three measures of neighborhood quality: trustworthy neighbors, helpful neighbors, and feeling safe. Using weighted ordinary least squares regression, we assess the associations of trust, helpfulness, and safety to SRH, controlling for neighborhood, demographic, and health care variables. We then examine how these associations vary by household income. RESULTS: We find that characterizing neighbors as helpful and feeling safe are associated with better SRH, even controlling for community, demographic, and health care variables. However, the importance of these dimensions varies across household income: helpfulness is positively associated, whereas trust is negatively associated with SRH for lower income residents; safety is positively associated with SRH in all but the lowest income residents. These findings show that social capital dimensions work differently from one another, and differentially affect the health of older adults. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Scholarly analyses of neighborhood effects should include a range of social capital measures and stratify by household income. Our findings may also inform priority setting for social capital programs, especially for older adults with limited economic resources. Policies and programs should consider actions that raise perceptions of helpfulness and safety.