Implementation of Session Zero as a Recruitment Strategy in the National Diabetes Prevention Program's Lifestyle Change Program.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to understand the extent to which organizations offering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program implement session zero (a pre-enrollment session designed to recruit, engage, and enroll participants in programs), the stated purpose(s) for offering session zero, the content of session zero, and best practices for using session zero for recruitment. METHODS: Researchers conducted a survey of all organizations offering the National DPP lifestyle change program that were registered with the CDC's Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program and their affiliated delivery locations. RESULTS: Most (79.5%) delivery locations reported implementing session zero; of these, most used session zero as a recruitment strategy (81.1%) and orientation session (72.8%), whereas few (17.7%) used session zero solely to complete participant enrollment paperwork. Most (60.7%) delivery locations that implement session zero offer all their sessions at the same location, offer one session per upcoming participant cohort (66.7%), and use a consistent agenda (83.0%). Out of a list of activities informed by behavior change theory, the most common was offering an opportunity to enroll in the year-long lifestyle change program at the end of session zero (71.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Most National DPP delivery locations implement session zero as a recruitment and orientation session. Most delivery locations reported including some activities informed by behavior change theory, but delivery locations could offer more theoretically informed activities during their session zero. The findings provide practice-based considerations for implementing session zero for recruitment into lifestyle change programs.

The Differential Impact of Reopening States With and Without COVID-19 Face Mask Mandates on County-Level Consumer Spending.

OBJECTIVES: By the end of 2020, 38 states and the District of Columbia had issued requirements that people wear face masks when in public settings to counter SARS-CoV-2 transmission. To examine the role face mask mandates played in economic recovery, we analyzed the interactive effect of having a state face mask mandate in place on county-level consumer spending after state reopening, adjusting for county rates of new COVID-19 cases and deaths, time trends, and county-specific effects. METHODS: We collected county-specific data from state executive orders, consumer spending data from the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, and COVID-19 case and death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 tracker. Using an event study approach, we compared county-level changes in consumer spending before and after state-issued closure orders were lifted and assessed the interactive effect of state-issued face mask mandates. RESULTS: The lifting of state-issued closures was associated with an average increase in consumer spending across all counties studied within 1 month. However, the increase was 1.2-1.7 percentage points higher in counties with a state face mask mandate in place than in counties without a state face mask mandate. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to their public health benefits, face mask mandates may have assisted economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting they are a strong public health strategy for policy makers to consider now and for potential future pandemics arising from airborne viruses.

Use and Impact of Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Interventions.

INTRODUCTION: RCTs have found that type 2 diabetes can be prevented among high-risk individuals by metformin medication and evidence-based lifestyle change programs. The purpose of this study is to estimate the use of interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes in real-world clinical practice settings and determine the impact on diabetes-related clinical outcomes. METHODS: The analysis performed in 2020 used 2010‒2018 electronic health record data from 69,434 patients aged ≥18 years at high risk for type 2 diabetes in 2 health systems. The use and impact of prescribed metformin, lifestyle change program, bariatric surgery, and combinations of the 3 were examined. A subanalysis was performed to examine uptake and retention among patients referred to the National Diabetes Prevention Program. RESULTS: Mean HbA1c values declined from before to after intervention for patients who were prescribed metformin (-0.067%; p<0.001) or had bariatric surgery (-0.318%; p<0.001). Among patients referred to the National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program, the type 2 diabetes postintervention incidence proportion was 14.0% for nonattendees, 12.8% for some attendance, and 7.5% for those who attended ≥4 sessions (p<0.001). Among referred patients to the National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program, uptake was low (13% for 1‒3 sessions, 15% for ≥4 sessions), especially among males and Hispanic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that metformin and bariatric surgery may improve HbA1c levels and that participation in the National Diabetes Prevention Program may reduce type 2 diabetes incidence. Efforts to increase the use of these interventions may have positive impacts on diabetes-related health outcomes.

COVID-19 Trends Among Persons Aged 0-24 Years - United States, March 1-December 12, 2020.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case and electronic laboratory data reported to CDC were analyzed to describe demographic characteristics, underlying health conditions, and clinical outcomes, as well as trends in laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 incidence and testing volume among U.S. children, adolescents, and young adults (persons aged 0-24 years). This analysis provides a critical update and expansion of previously published data, to include trends after fall school reopenings, and adds preschool-aged children (0-4 years) and college-aged young adults (18-24 years) (1). Among children, adolescents, and young adults, weekly incidence (cases per 100,000 persons) increased with age and was highest during the final week of the review period (the week of December 6) among all age groups. Time trends in weekly reported incidence for children and adolescents aged 0-17 years tracked consistently with trends observed among adults since June, with both incidence and positive test results tending to increase since September after summer declines. Reported incidence and positive test results among children aged 0-10 years were consistently lower than those in older age groups. To reduce community transmission, which will support schools in operating more safely for in-person learning, communities and schools should fully implement and strictly adhere to recommended mitigation strategies, especially universal and proper masking, to reduce COVID-19 incidence.

Implementing Mitigation Strategies in Early Care and Education Settings for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission - Eight States, September-October 2020.

The Head Start program, including Head Start for children aged 3-5 years and Early Head Start for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, promotes early learning and healthy development among children aged 0-5 years whose families meet the annually adjusted Federal Poverty Guidelines* throughout the United States.† These programs are funded by grants administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF). In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,§ which appropriated $750 million for Head Start, equating to approximately $875 in CARES Act funds per enrolled child. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, most states required all schools (K-12) to close or transition to virtual learning. The Office of Head Start gave its local programs that remained open the flexibility to use CARES Act funds to implement CDC-recommended guidance (1) and other ancillary measures to provide in-person services in the early phases of community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in April and May 2020, when many similar programs remained closed. Guidance included information on masks, other personal protective equipment, physical setup, supplies necessary for maintaining healthy environments and operations, and the need for additional staff members to ensure small class sizes. Head Start programs successfully implemented CDC-recommended mitigation strategies and supported other practices that helped to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission among children and staff members. CDC conducted a mixed-methods analysis to document these approaches and inform implementation of mitigation strategies in other child care settings. Implementing and monitoring adherence to recommended mitigation strategies reduces risk for COVID-19 transmission in child care settings. These approaches could be applied to other early care and education settings that remain open for in-person learning and potentially reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

The Longitudinal Epidemiologic Assessment of Diabetes Risk (LEADR): Unique 1.4 M patient Electronic Health Record cohort.

BACKGROUND: The Longitudinal Epidemiologic Assessment of Diabetes Risk (LEADR) study uses a novel Electronic Health Record (EHR) data approach as a tool to assess the epidemiology of known and new risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and study how prevention interventions affect progression to and onset of T2DM. We created an electronic cohort of 1.4 million patients having had at least 4 encounters with a healthcare organization for at least 24-months; were aged ≥18 years in 2010; and had no diabetes (i.e., T1DM or T2DM) at cohort entry or in the 12 months following entry. EHR data came from patients at nine healthcare organizations across the U.S. between January 1, 2010-December 31, 2016. RESULTS: Approximately 5.9% of the LEADR cohort (82,922 patients) developed T2DM, providing opportunities to explore longitudinal clinical care, medication use, risk factor trajectories, and diagnoses for these patients, compared with patients similarly matched prior to disease onset. CONCLUSIONS: LEADR represents one of the largest EHR databases to have repurposed EHR data to examine patients' T2DM risk. This paper is first in a series demonstrating this novel approach to studying T2DM. IMPLICATIONS: Chronic conditions that often take years to develop can be studied efficiently using EHR data in a retrospective design. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: While much is already known about T2DM risk, this EHR's cohort's 160 M data points for 1.4 M people over six years, provides opportunities to investigate new unique risk factors and evaluate research hypotheses where results could modify public health practice for preventing T2DM.

Cost-effectiveness of Diabetes Prevention Interventions Targeting High-risk Individuals and Whole Populations: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic review of studies evaluating the cost-effectiveness (CE) of interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes (T2D) among high-risk individuals and whole populations. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Interventions targeting high-risk individuals are those that identify people at high risk of developing T2D and then treat them with either lifestyle or metformin interventions. Population-based prevention strategies are those that focus on the whole population regardless of the level of risk, creating public health impact through policy implementation, campaigns, and other environmental strategies. We systematically searched seven electronic databases for studies published in English between 2008 and 2017. We grouped lifestyle interventions targeting high-risk individuals by delivery method and personnel type. We used the median incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), measured in cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) or cost saved to measure the CE of interventions. We used the $50,000/QALY threshold to determine whether an intervention was cost-effective or not. ICERs are reported in 2017 U.S. dollars. RESULTS: Our review included 39 studies: 28 on interventions targeting high-risk individuals and 11 targeting whole populations. Both lifestyle and metformin interventions in high-risk individuals were cost-effective from a health care system or a societal perspective, with median ICERs of $12,510/QALY and $17,089/QALY, respectively, compared with no intervention. Among lifestyle interventions, those that followed a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) curriculum had a median ICER of $6,212/QALY, while those that did not follow a DPP curriculum had a median ICER of $13,228/QALY. Compared with lifestyle interventions delivered one-on-one or by a health professional, those offered in a group setting or provided by a combination of health professionals and lay health workers had lower ICERs. Among population-based interventions, taxing sugar-sweetened beverages was cost-saving from both the health care system and governmental perspectives. Evaluations of other population-based interventions-including fruit and vegetable subsidies, community-based education programs, and modifications to the built environment-showed inconsistent results. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the T2D prevention interventions included in our review were found to be either cost-effective or cost-saving. Our findings may help decision makers set priorities and allocate resources for T2D prevention in real-world settings.

Cost-effectiveness of Interventions to Manage Diabetes: Has the Evidence Changed Since 2008?

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize updated evidence on the cost-effectiveness (CE) of interventions to manage diabetes, its complications, and comorbidities. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review of studies from high-income countries evaluating the CE of diabetes management interventions recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and published in English between June 2008 and July 2017. We also incorporated studies from a previous CE review from the period 1985-2008. We classified the interventions based on their strength of evidence (strong, supportive, or uncertain) and levels of CE: cost-saving (more health benefit at a lower cost), very cost-effective (≤$25,000 per life year gained [LYG] or quality-adjusted life year [QALY]), cost-effective ($25,001-$50,000 per LYG or QALY), marginally cost-effective ($50,001-$100,000 per LYG or QALY), or not cost-effective (>$100,000 per LYG or QALY). Costs were measured in 2017 U.S. dollars. RESULTS: Seventy-three new studies met our inclusion criteria. These were combined with 49 studies from the previous review to yield 122 studies over the period 1985-2017. A large majority of the ADA-recommended interventions remain cost-effective. Specifically, we found strong evidence that the following ADA-recommended interventions are cost-saving or very cost-effective: In the cost-saving category are 1) ACE inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) therapy for intensive hypertension management compared with standard hypertension management, 2) ACEI/ARB therapy to prevent chronic kidney disease and/or end-stage renal disease in people with albuminuria compared with no ACEI/ARB therapy, 3) comprehensive foot care and patient education to prevent and treat foot ulcers among those at moderate/high risk of developing foot ulcers, 4) telemedicine for diabetic retinopathy screening compared with office screening, and 5) bariatric surgery compared with no surgery for individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). In the very cost-effective category are 1) intensive glycemic management (targeting A1C <7%) compared with conventional glycemic management (targeting an A1C level of 8-10%) for individuals with newly diagnosed T2D, 2) multicomponent interventions (involving behavior change/education and pharmacological therapy targeting hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, microalbuminuria, nephropathy/retinopathy, secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease with aspirin) compared with usual care, 3) statin therapy compared with no statin therapy for individuals with T2D and history of cardiovascular disease, 4) diabetes self-management education and support compared with usual care, 5) T2D screening every 3 years starting at age 45 years compared with no screening, 6) integrated, patient-centered care compared with usual care, 7) smoking cessation compared with no smoking cessation, 8) daily aspirin use as primary prevention for cardiovascular complications compared with usual care, 9) self-monitoring of blood glucose three times per day compared with once per day among those using insulin, 10) intensive glycemic management compared with conventional insulin therapy for T2D among adults aged ≥50 years, and 11) collaborative care for depression compared with usual care. CONCLUSIONS: Complementing professional treatment recommendations, our systematic review provides an updated understanding of the potential value of interventions to manage diabetes and its complications and can assist clinicians and payers in prioritizing interventions and health care resources.

Economics of Community Health Workers for Chronic Disease: Findings From Community Guide Systematic Reviews.

CONTEXT: Cardiovascular disease in the U.S. accounted for healthcare cost and productivity losses of $330 billion in 2013-2014 and diabetes accounted for $327 billion in 2017. The impact is disproportionate on minority and low-SES populations. This paper examines the available evidence on cost, economic benefit, and cost effectiveness of interventions that engage community health workers to prevent cardiovascular disease, prevent type 2 diabetes, and manage type 2 diabetes. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Literature from the inception of databases through July 2016 was searched for studies with economic information, yielding nine studies in cardiovascular disease prevention, seven studies in type 2 diabetes prevention, and 13 studies in type 2 diabetes management. Analyses were done in 2017. Monetary values are reported in 2016 U.S. dollars. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The median intervention cost per patient per year was $329 for cardiovascular disease prevention, $600 for type 2 diabetes prevention, and $571 for type 2 diabetes management. The median change in healthcare cost per patient per year was -$82 for cardiovascular disease prevention and -$72 for type 2 diabetes management. For type 2 diabetes prevention, one study saw no change and another reported -$1,242 for healthcare cost. One study reported a favorable 1.8 return on investment from engaging community health workers for cardiovascular disease prevention. Median cost per quality-adjusted life year gained was $17,670 for cardiovascular disease prevention, $17,138 (mean) for type 2 diabetes prevention, and $35,837 for type 2 diabetes management. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions engaging community health workers are cost effective for cardiovascular disease prevention and type 2 diabetes management, based on a conservative $50,000 benchmark for cost per quality-adjusted life year gained. Two cost per quality-adjusted life year estimates for type 2 diabetes prevention were far below the $50,000 benchmark.

Nudging to Change: Using Behavioral Economics Theory to Move People and Their Health Care Partners Toward Effective Type 2 Diabetes Prevention.

IN BRIEF In 2017, 30 million Americans had diabetes, and 84 million had prediabetes. In this article, the authors focus on the journey people at risk for type 2 diabetes take when they become fully engaged in an evidence-based type 2 diabetes prevention program. They highlight potential drop-off points along the journey, using behavioral economics theory to provide possible reasons for most of the drop-off points, and propose solutions to move people toward making healthy decisions.

Economics of Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring: A Community Guide Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: The health and economic burden of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is substantial. This systematic review evaluated the economic evidence of self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring interventions to control hypertension. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: The literature search from database inception to March 2015 identified 22 studies for inclusion with three types of interventions: SMBP used alone, SMBP with additional support, and SMBP within team-based care (TBC). Two formulae were used to convert reductions in systolic BP (SBP) to quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) to produce cost per QALY saved. All analyses were conducted in 2015, with estimates adjusted to 2014 U.S. dollars. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Median costs of intervention were $60 and $174 per person for SMBP alone and SMBP with additional support, respectively, and $732 per person per year for SMBP within TBC. SMBP alone and SMBP with additional support reduced healthcare cost per person per year from outpatient visits and medication (medians $148 and $3, respectively; median follow-up, 12-13 months). SMBP within TBC exhibited an increase in healthcare cost (median, $369 per person per year; median follow-up, 18 months). SMBP alone varied from cost saving to a maximum cost of $144,000 per QALY saved, with two studies reporting an increase in SBP. The two translated median costs per QALY saved were $2,800 and $4,000 for SMBP with additional support and $7,500 and $10,800 for SMBP within TBC. CONCLUSIONS: SMBP monitoring interventions with additional support or within TBC are cost effective. Cost effectiveness of SMBP used alone could not be determined.

Cost and economic benefit of clinical decision support systems for cardiovascular disease prevention: a community guide systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: This review evaluates costs and benefits associated with acquiring, implementing, and operating clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Methods developed for the Community Guide were used to review CDSS literature covering the period from January 1976 to October 2015. Twenty-one studies were identified for inclusion. RESULTS: It was difficult to draw a meaningful estimate for the cost of acquiring and operating CDSSs to prevent CVD from the available studies ( n = 12) due to considerable heterogeneity. Several studies ( n = 11) indicated that health care costs were averted by using CDSSs but many were partial assessments that did not consider all components of health care. Four cost-benefit studies reached conflicting conclusions about the net benefit of CDSSs based on incomplete assessments of costs and benefits. Three cost-utility studies indicated inconsistent conclusions regarding cost-effectiveness based on a conservative $50,000 threshold. DISCUSSION: Intervention costs were not negligible, but specific estimates were not derived because of the heterogeneity of implementation and reporting metrics. Expected economic benefits from averted health care cost could not be determined with confidence because many studies did not fully account for all components of health care. CONCLUSION: We were unable to conclude whether CDSSs for CVD prevention is either cost-beneficial or cost-effective. Several evidence gaps are identified, most prominently a lack of information about major drivers of cost and benefit, a lack of standard metrics for the cost of CDSSs, and not allowing for useful life of a CDSS that generally extends beyond one accounting period.

Practice-Based Evidence in Community Guide Systematic Reviews.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relative contributions and quality of practice-based evidence (PBE) and research-based evidence (RBE) in The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide). METHODS: We developed operational definitions for PBE and RBE in which the main distinguishing feature was whether allocation of participants to intervention and comparison conditions was under the control of researchers (RBE) or not (PBE). We conceptualized a continuum between RBE and PBE. We then categorized 3656 studies in 202 reviews completed since The Community Guide began in 1996. RESULTS: Fifty-four percent of studies were PBE and 46% RBE. Community-based and policy reviews had more PBE. Health care system and programmatic reviews had more RBE. The majority of both PBE and RBE studies were of high quality according to Community Guide scoring methods. CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of substantial PBE in Community Guide reviews suggests that evidence of adequate rigor to inform practice is being produced. This should increase stakeholders' confidence that The Community Guide provides recommendations with real-world relevance. Limitations in some PBE studies suggest a need for strengthening practice-relevant designs and external validity reporting standards.

Reducing Medication Costs to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: A Community Guide Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension and hyperlipidemia are major cardiovascular disease risk factors. To modify them, patients often need to adopt healthier lifestyles and adhere to prescribed medications. However, patients' adherence to recommended treatments has been suboptimal. Reducing out-of-pocket costs (ROPC) to patients may improve medication adherence and consequently improve health outcomes. This Community Guide systematic review examined the effectiveness of ROPC for medications prescribed for patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia. METHODS: We assessed effectiveness and economics of ROPC for medications to treat hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or both. Per Community Guide review methods, reviewers identified, evaluated, and summarized available evidence published from January 1980 through July 2015. RESULTS: Eighteen studies were included in the analysis. ROPC interventions resulted in increased medication adherence for patients taking blood pressure and cholesterol medications by a median of 3.0 percentage points; proportion achieving 80% adherence to medication increased by 5.1 percentage points. Blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes also improved. Nine studies were included in the economic review, with a median intervention cost of $172 per person per year and a median change in health care cost of -$127 per person per year. CONCLUSION: ROPC for medications to treat hypertension and hyperlipidemia is effective in increasing medication adherence, and, thus, improving blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes. Most ROPC interventions are implemented in combination with evidence-based health care interventions such as team-based care with medication counseling. An overall conclusion about the economics of the intervention could not be reached with the small body of inconsistent cost-benefit evidence.

Economics of Team-based Care in Controlling Blood Pressure: A Community Guide Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: High blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, the leading cause of death in the U.S., and a substantial national burden through lost productivity and medical care. A recent Community Guide systematic review found strong evidence of effectiveness of team-based care in improving blood pressure control. The objective of the present review is to determine from the economic literature whether team-based care for blood pressure control is cost beneficial or cost effective. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Electronic databases of papers published January 1980-May 2012 were searched to find economic evaluations of team-based care interventions to improve blood pressure outcomes, yielding 31 studies for inclusion. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: In analyses conducted in 2012, intervention cost, healthcare cost averted, benefit-to-cost ratios, and cost effectiveness were abstracted from the studies. The quality of estimates for intervention and healthcare cost from each study were assessed using three elements: intervention focus on blood pressure control, incremental estimates in the intervention group relative to a control group, and inclusion of major cost-driving elements in estimates. Intervention cost per unit reduction in systolic blood pressure was converted to lifetime intervention cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) saved using algorithms from published trials. CONCLUSIONS: Team-based care to improve blood pressure control is cost effective based on evidence that 26 of 28 estimates of $/QALY gained from ten studies were below a conservative threshold of $50,000. This finding is salient to recent U.S. healthcare reforms and coordinated patient-centered care through formation of Accountable Care Organizations.

Clinical Decision Support Systems and Prevention: A Community Guide Cardiovascular Disease Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) can help clinicians assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and manage CVD risk factors by providing tailored assessments and treatment recommendations based on individual patient data. The goal of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of CDSSs in improving screening for CVD risk factors, practices for CVD-related preventive care services such as clinical tests and prescribed treatments, and management of CVD risk factors. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: An existing systematic review (search period, January 1975-January 2011) of CDSSs for any condition was initially identified. Studies of CDSSs that focused on CVD prevention in that review were combined with studies identified through an updated search (January 2011-October 2012). Data analysis was conducted in 2013. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 45 studies qualified for inclusion in the review. Improvements were seen for recommended screening and other preventive care services completed by clinicians, recommended clinical tests completed by clinicians, and recommended treatments prescribed by clinicians (median increases of 3.8, 4.0, and 2.0 percentage points, respectively). Results were inconsistent for changes in CVD risk factors such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1C levels. CONCLUSIONS: CDSSs are effective in improving clinician practices related to screening and other preventive care services, clinical tests, and treatments. However, more evidence is needed from implementation of CDSSs within the broad context of comprehensive service delivery aimed at reducing CVD risk and CVD-related morbidity and mortality.

Out-of-School-Time Academic Programs to Improve School Achievement: A Community Guide Health Equity Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: Low-income and minority status in the United States are associated with poor educational outcomes, which, in turn, reduce the long-term health benefits of education. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review assessed the extent to which out-of-school-time academic (OSTA) programs for at-risk students, most of whom are from low-income and racial/ethnic minority families, can improve academic achievement. Because most OSTA programs serve low-income and ethnic/racial minority students, programs may improve health equity. DESIGN: Methods of the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used. An existing systematic review assessing the effects of OSTA programs on academic outcomes (Lauer et al 2006; search period 1985-2003) was supplemented with a Community Guide update (search period 2003-2011). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Standardized mean difference. RESULTS: Thirty-two studies from the existing review and 25 studies from the update were combined and stratified by program focus (ie, reading-focused, math-focused, general academic programs, and programs with minimal academic focus). Focused programs were more effective than general or minimal academic programs. Reading-focused programs were effective only for students in grades K-3. There was insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness on behavioral outcomes and longer-term academic outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: OSTA programs, particularly focused programs, are effective in increasing academic achievement for at-risk students. Ongoing school and social environments that support learning and development may be essential to ensure the longer-term benefits of OSTA programs.

Team-based care and improved blood pressure control: a community guide systematic review.

CONTEXT: Uncontrolled hypertension remains a widely prevalent cardiovascular risk factor in the U.S. team-based care, established by adding new staff or changing the roles of existing staff such as nurses and pharmacists to work with a primary care provider and the patient. Team-based care has the potential to improve the quality of hypertension management. The goal of this Community Guide systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of team-based care in improving blood pressure (BP) outcomes. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: An existing systematic review (search period, January 1980-July 2003) assessing team-based care for BP control was supplemented with a Community Guide update (January 2003-May 2012). For the Community Guide update, two reviewers independently abstracted data and assessed quality of eligible studies. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Twenty-eight studies in the prior review (1980-2003) and an additional 52 studies from the Community Guide update (2003-2012) qualified for inclusion. Results from both bodies of evidence suggest that team-based care is effective in improving BP outcomes. From the update, the proportion of patients with controlled BP improved (median increase=12 percentage points); systolic BP decreased (median reduction=5.4 mmHg); and diastolic BP also decreased (median reduction=1.8 mmHg). CONCLUSIONS: Team-based care increased the proportion of people with controlled BP and reduced both systolic and diastolic BP, especially when pharmacists and nurses were part of the team. Findings are applicable to a range of U.S. settings and population groups. Implementation of this multidisciplinary approach will require health system-level organizational changes and could be an important element of the medical home.