Equity Matters: Introduction to a New Column.

"Equity Matters" is a new column for Neonatal Network designed to further explore and apply the concept of health equity as it relates to supporting neonatal health and family well-being. In this initial column, an overview of health equity and determinants of health is provided. Two frameworks-the Healthy People 2030 strategy (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) and the American Hospital Association equity roadmap and health equity transformation model-are introduced. Five domains of determinants will be explored in future columns: economic stability, education, social and community context, health and health care, and neighborhood and built environment. The domains of each determinant will be described to provide theoretical and practical approaches to support integration into nursing practice. Neonatal nurses are positioned to recognize health inequities for new families, critically analyze their relationship with the determinants of health, and advocate for strategies to promote health and well-being.

Benefits of Meeting the Healthy People 2030 Youth Sports Participation Target.

INTRODUCTION: Healthy People 2030, a U.S. government health initiative, has indicated that increasing youth sports participation to 63.3% is a priority in the U.S. This study quantified the health and economic value of achieving this target. METHODS: An agent-based model developed in 2023 represents each person aged 6-17 years in the U.S. On each simulated day, agents can participate in sports that affect their metabolic and mental health in the model. Each agent can develop different physical and mental health outcomes, associated with direct and indirect costs. RESULTS: Increasing the proportion of youth participating in sports from the most recent participation levels (50.7%) to the Healthy People 2030 target (63.3%) could reduce overweight/obesity prevalence by 3.37% (95% CI=3.35%, 3.39%), resulting in 1.71 million fewer cases of overweight/obesity (95% CI=1.64, 1.77 million). This could avert 352,000 (95% CI=336,200, 367,500) cases of weight-related diseases and gain 1.86 million (95% CI=1.86, 1.87 million) quality-adjusted life years, saving $22.55 billion (95% CI=$22.46, $22.63 billion) in direct medical costs and $25.43 billion (95% CI= $25.25, $25.61 billion) in productivity losses. This would also reduce depression/anxiety symptoms, saving $3.61 billion (95% CI=$3.58, $3.63 billion) in direct medical costs and $28.38 billion (95% CI=$28.20, $28.56 billion) in productivity losses. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that achieving the Healthy People 2030 objective could save third-party payers, businesses, and society billions of dollars for each cohort of persons aged 6-17 years, savings that would continue to repeat with each new cohort. This suggests that even if a substantial amount is invested toward this objective, such investments could pay for themselves.

Long-term Effects of the Raising Healthy Children Intervention on Family Functioning in Adulthood: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.

Some universal prevention programs, such as Raising Healthy Children (RHC), have shown persisting and wide-ranging benefits in adulthood, long after the intervention has ended. Recent studies suggest that benefits may continue into the next generation as well. This study examines whether the RHC intervention, delivered in childhood, may promote healthy family functioning among participants who now have families of their own. Participants were drawn from the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP), a nonrandomized controlled trial of the RHC intervention prospectively following youths from 18 elementary schools in Seattle, Washington from 1985 to 2014. Participants who became parents were enrolled in an intergenerational study, along with their oldest biological child and an additional caregiver who shared responsibility for raising the child. Ten waves of data were collected between 2002 and 2018. The present analysis includes 298 SSDP parents, 258 caregivers who identified as a parent or partner of SSDP parent ("co-parent"), and 231 offspring. The SSDP parent sample was composed of 41.6% male, 21.1% Asian or Pacific Islander, 24.2% Black or African American, 6.4% Native American, and 48.3% white individuals. No significant intervention effects were found on adult romantic relationship quality; offspring bonding to co-parent; or co-parent past-month use of cannabis, cigarettes, or binge drinking. Findings highlight the continued need to understand how the benefits of theory-guided universal preventive interventions are sustained across the life course and how they may or may not shape family functioning for those who go on to have families and children of their own.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04075019.

Conclusions de la quinzième Réunion des ministres de la Santé du Pacifique, Nuku’alofa (Tonga), 20-22 septembre 2023

La quinzième Réunion des ministres de la Santé du Pacifique a rassemblé, du 20 au 22 septembre 2023, les responsables de la santé de l’ensemble du Pacifique sous les auspices du gouvernement du Royaume des Tonga et avec le concours de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) et de la Communauté du Pacifique (CPS).

Les débats se sont concentrés sur quatre principaux points de l’ordre du jour : 1) repenser les ressources humaines pour la santé ; 2) s’attaquer aux facteurs d’obésité, en particulier chez les enfants et les jeunes ; 3) faire progresser l’information sanitaire et la transformation numérique dans le secteur de la santé ; et 4) renforcer la résilience des systèmes de santé.

Le présent document expose les engagements pris par les ministres ayant participé à la réunion.

Outcome of the Fifteenth Pacific Health Ministers Meeting, Nuku’alofa, Tonga, 20-22 September 2023

The Fifteenth Pacific Health Ministers Meeting brought together health leaders from across the Pacific, hosted by the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pacific Community (SPC) from 20-22 September 2023.

The event focused on four main agenda items: (1) rethinking human resources for health; (2)tackling the drivers of obesity, particularly for children and young people; (3) advancing health information and digital transformation in the health sector; and, (4) strengthening health system resilience.

This document outlines the commitments made by the ministers who attended the event.

'Health Connections': study protocol for the development of a coproduced, community-based diet, physical activity, and healthy weight intervention for UK black and Asian adults.

INTRODUCTION: A limited number of diet, physical activity and weight management programmes suitable for UK black and Asian populations have been evaluated. We aim to coproduce 'Health Connections'-an ambitious new intervention to support dietary and physical activity choices, and maintaining a healthier weight, tailored to the needs of black Caribbean, black African and South Asian adults. Our existing research and public engagement work suggests that the intervention should be designed to be embedded in communities and delivered by peer educators supported by health professionals. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The project is underpinned by a systems perspective that posits collective efficacy within communities, behaviour change theory and coproduction. Project activities will be conducted in three stages. Stage 1: semistructured interviews will be conducted with adults from diverse South Asian ethnic groups to understand their experiences, perspectives and intervention needs, adding to our existing data from black ethnic groups. We will synthesise the data, literature, available intervention resources and local practice, and develop the theoretical framework to codevelop intervention goals, programme theory and a draft logic model of change. Stage 2: a theorised list of potential intervention components, session content and mode/s of delivery will be explored in a modified Delphi exercise and workshop to achieve consensus on the intervention format. We will also develop prototype materials and a formal implementation plan. Stage 3: a description of the intervention will be documented. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has received ethical approval from the School of Health Research Ethics Committee, Leeds Beckett University. Information on the project aims and voluntary participation is provided in the study participation information sheet. Consent will be certified by the completion and signing of a consent form prior to data collection. Dissemination for a range of stakeholders and audiences will include publications, presentations, short films and an infographic.

Meeting the Healthy People 2030 Added Sugars Target.

INTRODUCTION: Many Americans exceed the dietary recommendations for added sugars. Healthy People 2030 set a population target mean of 11.5% calories from added sugars for persons aged ≥2 years. This paper describes the reductions needed in population groups with varying added sugars intake to meet this target using four different public health approaches. METHODS: Data from the 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n=15,038) and the National Cancer Institute method were used to estimate the usual percentage calories from added sugars. Four approaches investigated lowering intake among (1) the general U.S. population, (2) people exceeding the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation for added sugars (≥10% calories/day), (3) high consumers of added sugars (≥15% calories/day), or (4) people exceeding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation for added sugars with two different reductions on the basis of added sugars intake. Added sugars intake was examined before and after reduction by sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: To meet the Healthy People 2030 target using the 4 approaches, added sugars intake needs to decrease by an average of (1) 13.7 calories/day for the general population; (2) 22.0 calories/day for people exceeding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation; (3) 56.6 calories/day for high consumers; or (4) 13.9 and 32.3 calories/day for people consuming 10 to <15% and ≥15% calories from added sugars, respectively. Differences in added sugars intake were observed before and after reduction by race/ethnicity, age, and income. CONCLUSIONS: The Healthy People 2030 added sugars target is achievable with modest reductions in added sugars intake, ranging from 14 to 57 calories/day depending on the approach.

Achieving healthy people 2030 breastfeeding targets in the United States: challenges and opportunities.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the national and states-specific gaps in breastfeeding rates in the United States for achieving the Healthy People 2030 (HP2030) targets, which are: 42.4% of infants to exclusively breastfeed through 6th months, and 54.1% of infants to breastfeed through 12th month of age. STUDY DESIGN: The differences between the HP2030 breastfeeding targets and the respective state-specific baseline rates in the 2022 National Immunization Survey report for infants born in 2019 were computed. RESULTS: The gaps in breastfeeding rates for achieving either of the two HP2030 targets varied greatly. Relative to their 2019 baseline estimates, 7 U.S. states need to increase breastfeeding rates between 100% and 207%, 27 states between 50% and 99%, 9 states and 2 territories between 20% and 49% and the remaining 7, between 0% and 19%. CONCLUSIONS: Thirty-four of 50 (68%) states face huge gaps in achieving the HP2030 breastfeeding targets.

Fifteenth Pacific Health Ministers Meeting, Nuku’alofa, Tonga, 20-22 September 2023: meeting report

The Fifteenth Pacific Health Ministers Meeting brought together health leaders from across the Pacific, hosted by the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pacific Community (SPC) from 20-22 September 2023.

The event focused on four main agenda items: (1) Rethinking human resources for health; (2) Tackling the drivers of obesity, particularly for children and young people; (3) Advancing health information and digital transformation in the health sector; and, (4) Strengthening health system resilience.