Advancing Health Equity: An Innovative Program for Building Community Engagement in Research.

BACKGROUND: The Community Research Fellows (CRF) program seeks to mobilize New Haven residents with lower incomes or from communities of color who are educated and equipped to engage as equal partners in health research at Yale University. The training program combines curriculum-based information with 'on-the-ground' experience with Yale research projects, while building relationships between CRFs and researchers. The Community Alliance for Research and Engagement launched two consecutive cohorts of the program in 2018-2020. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of the CRF program on participants' knowledge of the research process and confidence to engage in research and participants' satisfaction and perspectives on the program. METHODS: The evaluation of the CRF program included four components: 1) Pre- and Post- Program Surveys to assess change in confidence and self-reported knowledge. 2) Curriculum Feedback Satisfaction Survey to gauge satisfaction and make program improvements after each training session. 3) Post-Program CRF Interviews to explore their CRF experiences. 4) Research Team Surveys to assess program satisfaction and areas for improvement. RESULTS: CRFs reported increased confidence and knowledge, personal and professional growth, and interest in community-engaged research. Overall, participants were very satisfied with each training module. CONCLUSIONS: The CRF program demonstrated that community members are well-suited, well-positioned, and eager to engage in and inform public health research. CRFs bring capacity and valuable perspective to research teams. The CRF training program offers an innovative approach to address power imbalances in research and to move towards more equitable community-university partnerships for improved health outcomes.

The Implementation of a Nutrition Intervention in Food Pantries: The Spirit of SWAP.

Background. Food insecurity, affecting approximately 10% of the U.S. population, with up to 40% or higher in some communities, is associated with higher rates of chronic conditions and inversely associated with diet quality. Nutrition interventions implemented at food pantries are an effective strategy to increase healthy food choices and improve health outcomes for people experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP), a stoplight nutrition ranking system, can facilitate healthy food procurement and distribution at pantries. Purpose. Guided by the RE-AIM Framework, this study assesses the implementation and outcomes of SWAP as nutritional guidance and institutional policy intervention, to increase procurement and distribution of healthy foods in pantries. Method. Mixed-methods evaluation included observations, process forms, and in-depth interviews. Food inventory assessments were conducted at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results. Two large pantries in New Haven, Connecticut, collectively reaching more than 12,200 individuals yearly, implemented SWAP in 2019. Implementation was consistent prepandemic at both pantries. Due to COVID-mandated distribution changes, pantries adapted SWAP implementation during the pandemic while still maintaining the "spirit of SWAP." One pantry increased the percentage of Green foods offered. Challenges to healthy food distribution are considered. Discussion. This study has implications for policy, systems, and environmental changes. It shows the potential for SWAP adoption at pantries, which can serve as a guide for continued healthy food procurement and advocacy. Maintaining the "spirit of SWAP" shows promising results for food pantries looking to implement nutrition interventions when standard practice may not be possible.

Coalition Building and Food Insecurity: How an Equity and Justice Framework Guided a Viable Food Assistance Network.

Food insecurity is widespread in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the need for food assistance and created opportunities for collaboration among historically-siloed organizations. Research has demonstrated the importance of coalition building and community organizing in Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) change and its potential to address equitable access to food, ultimately improving population health outcomes. In New Haven, community partners formed a coalition to address systems-level issues in the local food assistance system through the Greater New Haven Coordinated Food Assistance Network (CFAN). Organizing the development of CFAN within the framework of Collaborating for Equity and Justice (CEJ) reveals a new way of collaborating with communities for social change with an explicit focus on equity and justice. A document review exploring the initiation and growth of the network found that 165 individuals, representing 63 organizations, participated in CFAN since its inception and collaborated on 50 actions that promote food access and overall health. Eighty-one percent of these actions advanced equitable resource distribution across the food system, with forty-five percent focused on coordinating food programs to meet the needs of underserved communities. With the goal of improving access to food while addressing overall equity within the system, the authors describe CFAN as a potential community organizing model in food assistance systems.

Hipertensión arterial en paciente de raza negra: a propósito de un caso / Hypertension in a black patient: a purpose of a case

Hypertension in black patients is usually more frequent and associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Due to demographic changes in the Chilean population, dealing with this group of patients has become more frequent. The case of a young Haitian patient with severe hypertension and target organ damage is presented.

Screening for Social Determinants of Health Among Children: Patients' Preferences for Receiving Information to Meet Social Needs and a Comparison of Screening Instruments.

To characterize optimal strategies for screening for social determinants of health (SDOH) among children, the authors performed a cross-sectional study of parents and adolescents ages ≥13 years in a community health center. Participants were queried about how they prefer to receive information about social needs resources and 2 screening instruments were compared: Well Child Care, Evaluation, Community Resources, Advocacy, Referral, Education (WE CARE) and Accountable Health Communities (AHC). In July 2019, 154 parents and 21 adolescents were surveyed. Surveys were administered via tablet and required 5.6 minutes (standard deviation [SD] 3.9 minutes) for parents and 3.9 minutes (SD 1.4 minutes) for adolescents to complete. Parents identified technology (text message, email) and informational printouts as preferred mechanisms for information receipt (58% and 32% of participants, respectively); adolescents preferred text message (57%) and printouts (19%). Few (<10% overall) preferred in-person consultation with a care coordinator. Adolescent/parent pairs (n = 19 pairs) agreed, on average across SDOH, 82% of the time for WE CARE and 85% for AHC. AHC elicited more positive screens than WE CARE for housing insecurity (12% of parents versus 7%) and food insecurity (47% versus 16%) but fewer positive screens than WE CARE for difficulties paying for utilities (27% versus 39%). Routine screening for SDOH in children requires 2-3 minutes per screening instrument. Screening can target parents of young children and either adolescents themselves or their parents. Families prefer to receive information about meeting social needs via technologically-based methods as opposed to in-person consultation with enabling services providers.

Percepción y uso de medicamentos genéricos en médicos en formación de una universidad mexicana / Perception and use of generic drugs in medical students at a Mexican university

INTRODUCCIÓN: la formación que reciben los médicos es fundamental para su futuro como profesionales; ideas erróneas sobre los medicamentos genéricos pueden influir negativamente en su prescripción. OBJETIVO: identificar la percepción y el uso de medicamentos genéricos de médicos en formación. MÉTODOS: estudio cuantitativo, descriptivo y transversal, realizado en estudiantes de medicina de una Universidad Pública del Sureste de México. La población de estudio se conformó por una muestra depurada de 522 estudiantes matriculados durante el periodo escolar febrero-junio de 2020, quienes mediante convocatoria abierta llenaron un formulario (Google Forms) tipo escala de Likert. RESULTADOS: la apreciación de los estudiantes hacia un medicamento de patente es superior, tendiendo a una mayor fiabilidad en casos de gravedad. Los medicamentos genéricos son vistos como de mala calidad y se tiene la creencia de que los existentes en el mercado son piratas o copias ilegales. CONCLUSIÓN: los resultados sugieren que los médicos en formación tienen una percepción negativa hacia las Especialidades Farmacéuticas Genéricas, las consideran menos eficaces y de calidad dudosa. Pese a esta consideración, los genéricos suelen ser usados en padecimientos leves y refieren obtener buenos resultados.

INTRODUCTION: the medical education receive is critical to their professional future. Misconceptions about generic drugs can negatively influence your prescription. OBJECTIVE: identify the perception and use of generic drugs in trained physicians. METHODS: quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study carry out in medical students at a public university in southeastern Mexico. The study population consisted of a purified sample of 522 students enrolled during the February-June 2020 school year, who by open call filled out a Likert scale form (Google Forms). Results: Students' appreciation of a patent drug is superior, taking into account greater reliability in cases of seriousness. Generic drugs are seen as of poor quality and it is believed that those on the market are pirates or illegal copies. CONCLUSIONS: the results suggest that trained physicians have a negative perception of Generic Pharmaceutical Specialties, considering them less effective and of dubious quality. Despite this consideration, generics are often used in mild conditions and refer good results.

Detection of Bartonella henselae DNA in two dogs with pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis.

CASE DESCRIPTION: 1 dog evaluated because of inappetence and lameness of the left hind limb of 1 day's duration and 1 dog evaluated because of inappetence, fever, and lymphadenopathy of 2 weeks' duration. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Histologic examination of excisional biopsy specimens from lymph nodes revealed pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis in both dogs. Quantitative real-time PCR assays detected Bartonella henselae DNA in blood samples and affected lymph node specimens from both dogs. Antibodies against B. henselae were not detected via immunofluorescent antibody testing during active disease in either dog. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: 1 dog recovered after 6 weeks of treatment with doxycycline (5 mg/kg [2.3 mg/lb], p.o., q 12 h), whereas the other dog recovered after receiving a combination of azithromycin (14.5 mg/kg [6.6 mg/lb], p.o., q 24 h for 21 days), doxycycline (17.3 mg/kg [7.9 mg/lb], p.o., q 24 h for 4 weeks), and immunosuppressive corticosteroid (prednisone [3 mg/kg {1.4 mg/lb}, p.o., q 24 h], tapered by decreasing the daily dose by 25% every 2 weeks) treatment. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: B. henselae is implicated as a possible cause or a cofactor in the development of pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis in dogs. In dogs with pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis, immunofluorescent assays may not detect antibodies against B. henselae. Molecular testing, including PCR assay of affected tissues, may provide an alternative diagnostic method for detection of B. henselae DNA in pyogranulomatous lymph nodes.