Acceptability of Telelactation Services for Breastfeeding Support Among Black Parents: Semistructured Interview Study.

BACKGROUND: While breastfeeding rates have increased in the United States in recent years, racial and ethnic disparities persist. Telelactation may help reduce disparities by increasing access to lactation consultants, but there is limited research on acceptability among minoritized individuals. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore experiences with telelactation among Black parents and identify strategies to make services more culturally appropriate. METHODS: We selected 20 Black parents who were given access to telelactation services from an ongoing National Institutes of Health-funded randomized controlled trial (the Tele-MILC trial) to participate in semistructured interviews. Interviews addressed birth experiences, use and opinions about telelactation, comparison of telelactation to in-person lactation support, and recommendations to improve telelactation services. The thematic analysis was informed by a previously reported theoretical framework of acceptability and RAND Corporation's equity-centered model. RESULTS: Users appreciated the convenience of telelactation and reported that lactation consultants were knowledgeable and helpful. Participants wanted more options to engage with lactation consultants outside of video visits (eg, SMS text messaging and asynchronous resources). Users who had a lactation consultant of color mentioned that racial concordance improved the experience; however, few felt that racial concordance was needed for high-quality telelactation support. CONCLUSIONS: While Black parents in our sample found telelactation services to be acceptable, telelactation could not, in isolation, address the myriad barriers to long-duration breastfeeding. Several changes could be made to telelactation services to increase their use by minoritized populations.

The U.S. Equity-First Vaccination Initiative: Impacts and Lessons Learned.

The one-year U.S. Equity-First Vaccination Initiative (EVI), launched in April 2021, aimed to reduce racial inequities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination across five demonstration cities (Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Oakland) and over the longer term strengthen the United States' public health system to achieve more-equitable outcomes. This initiative comprised nearly 100 community-based organizations (CBOs), who led hyper-local work to increase vaccination access and confidence in communities of individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In this study, the second of two on the initiative, the authors examine the results of the EVI. They look at the initiative's activities, effects, and challenges, and provide recommendations for how to support and sustain this hyper-local community-led approach and strengthen the public health system in the United States.

Medical Marijuana Policy Reform Reaches Florida: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Florida became the first state in the U.S. South to legalize the use of medical marijuana to treat a variety of health conditions including chronic pain, epilepsy, and spasticity symptoms from multiple sclerosis. While there are over 200,000 medical marijuana patients in Florida, there remain financial, psychological, and insurance coverage barriers which reduce access for many patients. PURPOSE: This scoping review, with a focus on state health policy, first describes some clinical studies examining the therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana. Next, there is a discussion of the Florida regulatory environment and major legislation. Also, the review describes how the current Florida policy landscape presents challenges for physicians and patients. METHODS: A scoping review of the literature was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar using the search terms, "medical marijuana" and "medical cannabis" to identify research articles, newspaper reports, and government documents. The purpose of the review was to identify research investigating the therapeutic efficacy of medical marijuana and state policies affecting physician practice. RESULTS: The review concluded there was general scientific consensus of therapeutic benefits for patients, especially for chronic pain, from the use of medical marijuana. The review also identified several barriers for physicians and patients around cost, stigma, and lack of insurance coverage which constrains use and access. DISCUSSION: The review discusses several directions for future medical marijuana policy and research with the aim to improve therapeutic benefits for Florida patients.

Contributions of KATP and KCa channels to cerebral arteriolar dilation to hypercapnia in neonatal brain.

Mechanisms by which Pco2 controls cerebral vascular tone remain uncertain. We hypothesize that potassium channel activation contributes to the neonatal cerebrovascular dilation in response to increases in Paco2. To test this hypothesis, experiments were performed on newborn pigs with surgically implanted, closed cranial windows. Hypercapnia was induced by ventilation with elevated Pco2 gas in the absence and presence of the KATP channel inhibitor, glibenclamide and/or the KCa channel inhibitor, paxillin. Dilations to pinacidil, a selective KATP channel activator, without and with glibenclamide, were used to evaluate the efficacy of KATP channel inhibition. Dilations to NS1619, a selective KCa channel activator, without and with paxillin, were used to evaluate the efficacy of KCa channel inhibition. Cerebrovascular responses to the KATP and KCa channel activators, pinacidil and NS1619, respectively, cAMP-dependent dilator, isoproterenol, and cGMP-dependent dilator, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), were used to evaluate the selectivity of glibenclamide and paxillin. Glibenclamide blocked dilation to pinacidil, but did not inhibit dilations to NS1619, isoproterenol, or SNP. Glibenclamide prior to hypercapnia decreased mean pial arteriole dilation ~60%. Glibenclamide treatment during hypercapnia constricted arterioles ~35%. The level of hypercapnia, Paco2 between 50 and 75 mmHg, did not appear to be involved in efficacy of glibenclamide in blocking dilation to Paco2. Similarly to glibenclamide and KATP channel inhibition, paxillin blocked dilation to the KCa channel agonist, NS1619, and attenuated, but did not block, arteriolar dilation to hypercapnia. Treatment with both glibenclamide and paxillin abolished dilation to hypercapnia. Therefore, either glibenclamide or paxillin that block dilation to their channel agonists, pinacidil or NS1619, respectively, only partially inhibit dilation to hypercapnia. Block of both KATP and KCa channels completely prevent dilation hypercapnia. These data suggest hypercapnia activates both KATP and KCa channels leading to cerebral arteriolar dilation in newborn pigs.