Fifth Annual Summer Research Summit on Health Equity Organized by the Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA on May 17, 2022

: Academic-Community Partnerships: Change Agents for Advancing Health Equity The fifth annual summer research summit organized by the Center of Excellence (COE) in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), was held on May 17, 2022. The theme of this year’s summit was ‘Academic-Community Partnerships: Change Agents for Advancing Health Equity.’ Given the ongoing pandemic, the summit was conducted virtually through digital platforms. This program was intended for both BCM and external audiences interested in advancing health equity, diversity, and inclusion in healthcare among healthcare providers and trainees, biomedical scientists, social workers, nurses, and individuals involved in talent acquisition and development, such as hiring managers (HR professionals), supervisors, college and hospital affiliate leadership and administrators, as well as diversity and inclusion excellence practitioners. We had attendees from all regions of the United States as well as from Saudi Arabia. The content in this Book of s encapsulates a summary of the research efforts by the BCM COE scholars (which includes post-baccalaureate students, medical students, clinical fellows, and junior faculty from BCM) as well as the external summit participants. The range of topics in this year’s summit was quite diverse, encompassing disparities in relation to maternal and child health (MCH), immigrant health, cancers, vaccination uptakes, and COVID-19 infections. Various solutions were ardently presented to address these disparities, including community engagement and partnerships, improvement in health literacy, and the development of novel technologies and therapeutics. With this summit, BCM continues to build on its long history of educational outreach initiatives to promote diversity in medicine by focusing on programs aimed at increasing the number of diverse and highly qualified medical professionals ready to introduce effective and innovative approaches to reduce or eliminate health disparities. These programs will improve information resources, clinical education, curricula, research, and cultural competence as they relate to minority health issues and social determinants of health. The year’s summit was a great success! Copyright © 2022 Dongarwar et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.

Fourth Annual Summer Research Summit on Health Equity Organized by the Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA on May 20, 2021

: Strengthening Our Commitment to Racial and Social Justice to Improve Public Health The fourth annual summer research summit organized by the Center of Excellence (COE) in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) was held on May 20, 2021. The theme of this year’s summit was ‘Strengthening Our Commitment to Racial and Social Justice to Improve Public Health.’ Given the ongoing pandemic, the summit was conducted virtually through digital platforms. This program was intended for both BCM and external audiences interested in advancing health equity, diversity and inclusion in healthcare among healthcare providers and trainees, biomedical scientists, social workers, nurses, individuals involved in talent acquisition and development such as hiring managers (HR professionals), supervisors, college and hospital affiliate leadership and administrators, as well as diversity and inclusion excellence practitioners. We had attendees from all regions of the United States, India, Pakistan and the Demographic Republic of the Congo. The content in this Book of s encapsulates a summary of the research efforts by the BCM COE scholars (which includes post-baccalaureate students, medical students, clinical fellows and junior faculty from BCM) as well as the external summit participants. The range of topics in this year’s summit was quite diverse encompassing disparities in relation to maternal and child health (MCH), immigrant heath, cancers, vaccination uptakes and COVID-19 infections. Various solutions were ardently presented to address these disparities including community engagement and partnerships, improvement in health literacy and development of novel technologies and therapeutics. With this summit, BCM continues to build on its long history of educational outreach initiatives to promote diversity in medicine by focusing on programs aimed at increasing the number of diverse and highly qualified medical professionals ready to introduce effective and innovative approaches to reduce or eliminate health disparities. These programs will improve information resources, clinical education, curricula, research and cultural competence as they relate to minority health issues and social determinants of health. The summit received very positive response in terms of zealous participation and outstanding evaluations;and overall, it was a great success. Copyright © 2021 Dongarwar et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.

Predictors of failure of high flow nasal cannula failure in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19.

Hypoxemic respiratory failure is a common manifestation of COVID-19 pneumonia. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure were, at times, being intubated earlier than normal; in part because the options of heated humidified high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) were considered potentially inadequate and to increase risk of virus aerosolization. To understand the benefits and factors that predict success and failure of HFNC in this population, we evaluated data from the first 30 sequential patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia to our center who were managed with HFNC. We conducted Cox Proportional Hazards regression models to evaluate the factors associated with high flow nasal cannula failure (outcome variable), using time to intubation (censoring variable), while adjusting for comorbidities and immunosuppression. In the majority of our patients (76.7%), the use of HFNC failed and the patients were ultimately placed on mechanical ventilation. Those at increased risk of failure had a higher sequential organ failure assessment score, and at least one comorbidity or history of immunosuppression. Our data suggest that high flow nasal cannula may have a role in some patients with COVID-19 presenting with hypoxemic respiratory failure, but careful patient selection is the likely key to its success.

A Framework for Protecting Pregnant Women in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, highlighted and compounded problems while posing new challenges for the pregnant population. Although individual organizations have provided disparate information, guidance, and updates on managing the pregnant population during the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to develop a collective model that highlights all the best practices needed to protect the pregnant population during the pandemic. To establish a standard for ensuring safety during the pandemic, we present a framework that describes best practices for the management of the pregnant population during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Third Annual Summer Research Summit on Health Equity Organized by the Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA on June 9, 2020.

This year's summit was unique given the COVID-19 pandemic: a major global outbreak that has imposed severe restrictions in all aspects of our life. At the outset, we were faced with three mutually exclusive options. First option was to cancel the summit in its entirety: this was the easiest and most obvious choice once the COVID-19 pandemic forced a near total lockdown all over the country with unprecedented disruptions of normal daily activities as the disease announced its thunderous touchdown on United States (US) soil. It was also the most-logical response faced with uncertainty regarding summit logistics and expected poor attendance due to the raging pandemic. Second option was to conduct a digital summit restricted to local audiences at Baylor College of Medicine: this option entailed implementing a virtual summit with attendance restricted to participants from our institution only. It sounded like a reasonable choice but that would impede the presence of diversity of topics, perspectives, insights and experiential learning opportunities, which are what render the summit exciting and worth attending. And finally, the last option was to conduct a digital unrestricted summit open to all interested audiences throughout the US. The conduct of a virtual summit open to all participants from around the country was initially considered daunting given the likelihood of amplified technical problems associated with an array of internet access differentials around the country, which would require a strong Information Technology (IT) presence throughout the sessions. Nonetheless, the attractiveness of going national with a virtual summit, despite the pandemic and logistical challenges, slowly gained converts and became the dominant choice. The response and level of participation in this first virtual summit showed an unanticipated surge despite the increase in registration fees to cover IT costs. This year, we had attendees from all regions of the US as well as from the United Kingdom. The range of topics was quite diverse encompassing health disparities in relation to cancers, nutrition, musculo-skeletal disorders, amputation rates, vaccination uptakes and COVID-19 infections. Various solutions were passionately presented to address these disparities including novel health technologies, community engagement and partnerships, improvement in health literacy and alternative therapeutics. There were no hitches despite the complex breakout sessions, and above all, attendees were satisfied and offered outstanding evaluation scores. This was definitely a summit that metamorphosed from pessimism to a triumphant success! Copyright © 2020 Salihu et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.

Using Nominal Group Technique to Elucidate a COVID-19 Research Agenda for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Populations.

As the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, robust data describing its effect on maternal and child health (MCH) remains limited. The aim of this study was to elucidate an agenda for COVID-19 research with particular focus on its impact within MCH populations. This was achieved using the Nominal Group Technique through which researchers identified and ranked 12 research topics across various disciplines relating to MCH in the setting of COVID-19. Proposed research topics included vaccine development, genomics, and artificial intelligence among others. The proposed research priorities could serve as a template for a vigorous COVID-19 research agenda by the NIH and other national funding agencies in the US.

COVID-19 Devastation of African American Families: Impact on Mental Health and the Consequence of Systemic Racism.

African Americans are bearing a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 pandemic. To our knowledge, no previous study has delineated inequities potentially incentivized by systemic racism, and whether synergistic effects impose an abnormally high burden of social determinants of mental health on African American families in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. We applied the social ecological model (SEM) to portray inequities induced by systemic racism that impact the mental health of African American families. In our model, we identified systemic racism to be the primary operator of mental health disparity, which disproportionately affects African American families at all levels of the SEM. Programs tailored towards reducing the disproportionate detrimental effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of African Americans need to be culturally appropriate and consider the nuances of systemic racism, discrimination, and other institutionalized biases.

Expected Surge in Maternal Mortality and Severe Morbidity among African-Americans in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, African-American mothers were three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to white mothers. The impact of the pandemic among African-Americans could further worsen the racial disparities in maternal mortality (MM) and severe maternal morbidity (SMM). This study aimed to create a theoretical framework delineating the contributors to an expected rise in maternal mortality (MM) and severe maternal morbidity (SMM) among African-Americans in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic due to preliminary studies suggesting heightened vulnerability of African-Americans to the virus as well as its adverse health effects. Rapid searches were conducted in PubMed and Google to identify published articles on the health determinants of MM and SMM that have been or likely to be disproportionately affected by the pandemic in African-Americans. We identified socioeconomic and health trends determinants that may contribute to future adverse maternal health outcomes. There is a need to intensify advocacy, implement culturally acceptable programs, and formulate policies to address social determinants of health.

Covid-19 and Neuro-Behavioral Economics: A Conceptual Framework to Improve Physical and Mental Health among Remote Workers.

Long-term home confinement during the ongoing COVID-19 can have negative mental and physical health consequences, which in turn can reduce productivity among those working remotely. We sought to delineate factors related to neuro-behavioral economics that employers should consider for their employees who are teleworking during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Physical and mental well-being are intertwined and are strongly correlated to high productivity at workplace. By integrating the factors of neuro-behavioral economics into the work culture, companies will alleviate work-related stress leading to improved mental and physical functioning; thus leading to increased productivity.

A Surveillance System for the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and its ensuing mitigation measures have negatively affected the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) population. There is currently no surveillance system established to enhance our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to guide policy decision making to protect the MCH population in this pandemic. Based on reports of community and household spread of this novel infection, we present an approach to a robust family-centered surveillance system for the MCH population. The surveillance system encapsulates data at the individual and community levels to inform stakeholders, policy makers, health officials and the general public about SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics within the MCH population.

Role of Social Determinants of Health in Widening Maternal and Child Health Disparities in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic.

We present a conceptual model that describes the social determinants of health (SDOH) pathways contributing to worse outcomes in minority maternal and child health (MCH) populations due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. We used International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10) codes in the categories Z55-Z65 to identify SDOH that potentially modulate MCH disparities. These SDOH pathways, coupled with pre-existing comorbidities, exert higher-than-expected burden of maternal-fetal morbidity and mortality in minority communities. There is an urgent need for an increased infusion of resources to mitigate the effects of these SDOH and avert permanent truncation in quality and quantity of life among minorities following the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Marked Global Disparities in Fatalities According to Geographic Location and Universal Health Care.

Since its outbreak, COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest global concern with exponentially increasing number of cases and associated deaths across all habitable continents. Various countries around the world with their diverse health care systems, have responded to the pandemic in very distinctive ways. In this paper, we: compared COVID-19 mortality rates across global geographic regions; and assessed differences in COVID-19-related case fatality rate (CFR) based on presence or absence of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). We found that as of May 6, 2020, Europe had experienced the highest CFR globally of 9.6%, followed by 5.9% in North America. Although the pandemic originated in Asia, the continent ranked second to the last in terms of CFR (3.5%). Countries with UHC had lower number of cases of 37.6%, but the CFR of countries with UHC was twice that of countries without UHC (10.5% versus 4.9%). In conclusion, UHC does not appear to protect against mortality in a pandemic environment such as with COVID-19.