In this article, we describe and present evaluation data for an innovative initiative and approach that integrate a wellness program into a summer pathway program for underrepresented undergraduate students in public health to address the students' mental health needs. This collaborative partnership and integrated wellness approach provide opportunities for summer programs at academic institutions

We explored the challenges facing abortion providers after Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization was decided in 2022. We conducted six focus groups with 26 abortion providers between October 2023 and April 2024. Two themes emerged: (1) there was a lack of comprehensive patient care, and (2) we must forge a collective future for reproductive health. Our findings demonstrate that abortion bans

Objectives. To understand the landscape of the nonfederal governmental public health workforce and to identify replicable methods for future enumerations. Methods. This enumeration of the state and local public health workforce was conducted from 2023 to 2024 and triangulated the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Profile 2022 and the Association of State and Territorial

Increasing numbers of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness and substance use disorder are living in tent encampments in cities across the United States. In response, the City of Boston, Massachusetts employed a public health approach comprising four implementation components: centralized leadership with cross-agency collaboration, creation of low-threshold spaces, person-centered engagement

The influence of the far right is growing globally. This calls for a critical examination of its potential public health implications. Characterized by authoritarianism, injustice, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, divisive rhetoric, and a propensity for violence, the far right often employs denialist arguments against scientific evidence, including opposition to environmental protection policies

Cities are important laboratories for cross-sectoral collaboration and advancing equity. CityHealth, a project of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, used legal epidemiology to identify, score, and promote nine city-level policies important to population health in the 40 largest US cities from 2017 to 2021. The project supported 86 policy changes over five years. These results demonstrate

Objectives. To assess whether Latino patients receiving care in community-based health centers (CHCs) in US states that expanded Medicaid eligibility regardless of immigration status to adults 50 years and older had greater insurance coverage after the eligibility amendment compared with states that did not expand eligibility. Methods. We performed a retrospective cohort study, using electronic health

Objectives. To examine the association of state Medicaid expansion status with mortality changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Methods. Deaths among individuals 20 to 64 years of age in 3142 counties were identified from 2018 to 2022 mortality surveillance data. Age-adjusted mortality rates were calculated for each county and by cause of death. Changes in mortality rates before

In this essay, we provide an overview of how power has been conceptualized in public health and allied fields and describe recent advances connecting power to the topic of health inequities. To aid researchers in capitalizing on these historical and contemporary insights, we offer 6 concrete suggestions for empirical work. Systematic analyses involving these recommendations can help return public health

Objectives. To characterize differences in outcomes of 733 Black women aged 50 years and older compared with younger women with HIV engaged in bundled interventions across 12 US sites from 2021 to 2023. Methods. We examined age differences in physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) for health-related quality of life, stigma, and viral suppression over 12 months. We examined

Prime Time Sister Circles (PTSC), an intervention developed for Black women, was adapted for Black women with HIV. A subset of enrollees in two bundled interventions for Black women with HIV participated in PTSC. Health indicators were collected at baseline, six months, and 12 months. Blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, viral suppression, CD4 counts, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol improved for

As part of the Health Resources and Services Administration's Black Women First Initiative, the University of California, San Francisco, Women's HIV Program implemented the Health, Empowerment, and Recovery Services Plus (HERS+) intensive outpatient program (IOP)-an adapted version of the Matrix Model of IOP-to address substance use among Black women with HIV in a trauma-informed primary care setting

Objectives. To explore intersectional stigma and sociodemographic characteristics, with consideration of US regional differences, among Black women with HIV enrolled in the Black Women First (BWF) initiative. Methods. In this prospective, nonrandomized study, participants' stigma scale responses and sociodemographic data were collected between May 2021 and August 2023. Participants participated in

The 2020 initiative Improving Care and Treatment Coordination: Focusing on Black Women With HIV funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health's Minority HIV/AIDS Fund and Health Resources and Services Administration's HIV/AIDS Bureau Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program aimed to enhance health and well-being for cisgender and transgender Black women with

Objectives. To evaluate the sustainability of bundled interventions aimed at expanding the delivery and utilization of HIV care and treatment services, tackling socio cultural health determinants, and improving health outcomes for Black women with HIV. Methods. We used quantitative data from the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool (PSAT) to examine sustainability capacity across sites in the United

Objectives. To examine the effects of replicating a bundled package of evidence-informed interventions on social determinants, HIV health outcomes, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for 697 Black cisgender and transgender women with HIV across 12 US sites from 2021 to 2023. Methods. Women participated in a minimum of 2 interventions. We collected self-reported HRQoL and social determinants

Black women have higher rates of HIV than do White and Latina women. Additionally, numerous Black women face intersecting issues, such as intimate partner violence, trauma, homelessness, and mental health disorders. Gaps still exist in implementing culturally relevant or tailored interventions for Black women with HIV. Culturally relevant bundled intervention approaches are needed that address social

In the more-than-40-year HIV epidemic, the health care needs of Black women have been overlooked, with few interventions for their care. The B.WOW intervention in Atlanta, Georgia, used a bundled intervention of mobile health technology and peer‒patient navigation to improve antiretroviral adherence, care retention and address socioeconomic determinants. In 12 months, viral suppression improved from

Objectives. To evaluate a community health worker (CHW) intervention to decrease COVID-19 vaccine uptake disparities in historically disinvested communities of color. Methods. The New York City Health Department partnered with community-based organizations that served 75 zip code‒defined communities targeted for rapid response intervention. Analyses used community demographic and COVID-19 vaccine uptake

Objectives. To explore the association between the March 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Medicaid disenrollment freeze during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and children's insurance coverage by family income, race/ethnicity, and language. Methods. We used 2015 to 2021 US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, comparing monthly coverage for publicly insured children

Routine youth physical activity (PA) fosters healthy habits and lasting cardiometabolic benefits into adulthood; however, significant disparities in PA persist by race, ethnicity, and income. Active transportation is an optimal intervention target to promote youth PA equity by building transportation self-efficacy skills. Going Places, a multilevel transportation self-efficacy intervention, aims to

Objectives. To expand on previous enumerations by assessing the size and composition of the governmental public health workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying workforce trends, occupational distributions, and potential gaps in staffing. Methods. From 2023 to 2024, using 2022 data in the United States, we conducted 3 distinct analyses: (1) estimating the total workforce size, (2)

Objectives. To characterize present-day polysubstance use patterns in the general adult population. Methods. From a 2022 nationally representative survey in the United States, we defined polysubstance use as last 12-month use of 2 or more drugs (n = 15 800). Latent class analyses included medical (as indicated) and nonmedical (not as directed) use of prescription opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines

Objectives. To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV mortality rates with a focus on demographic predictors and Medicaid access. Methods. Using Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research, we conducted a descriptive study comparing HIV mortality in the United States 2 years before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2019) and the initial 2 years of the pandemic (2020-2021), and identifying

Objectives. To test the association between directly observed school masking behaviors and the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in school wastewater. Methods. We randomly sampled a subset of schools participating in a translational study on the effectiveness of passive wastewater surveillance in nonresidential K‒12 settings in San Diego County. Trained observers

Dual-harm, the co-occurrence of self- and other-harm, recognizes the overlap between these outcomes of aggressive behavior and their potential shared causes. Little progress has been made in preventing and responding to dual-harm in the broader population, and it remains understudied in public health research. We posit that the scientific investigation of dual-harm would greatly benefit from the application

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Partnering for Vaccine Equity program was developed during the COVID-19 public health emergency to fund more than 500 community-based organizations working to improve vaccine equity. Organizations were supported by a virtual learning community where members received tailored learning content, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and resources that facilitated

YouthLine developed Safe Social Spaces (SSS), a program that trains young adult crisis specialists to identify and assist youths expressing suicidal thoughts and behaviors on social media platforms. Crisis specialists contacted 3868 youths in crisis from across the United States through social media private messaging from 2019 to 2024. Fifty-six percent of youths responded to outreach by SSS. SSS is

Directing depolarization efforts toward those with authority over public health funding and population health policies has great potential to improve health outcomes. Two nonpartisan legislative and executive branch state leadership programs demonstrated personal growth and mutual respect among participants necessary for depolarization that was evidenced by cross-state and cross-party policy implementation

Objectives. To identify drug prevalence through the analysis of drug material and paraphernalia (DMP) collected from scenes of fentanyl-involved fatal accidental drug overdoses in San Francisco, California, throughout 2022. Methods. We conducted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry testing on 409 items of DMP (e.g., glass pipes, syringes, aluminum foil, powders) from 137 cases, and we further tested