American journal of preventive medicine
-
Poverty broadly and financial stress owing to housing insecurity specifically are associated with an increased risk of child maltreatment. Therefore, it is possible that a program designed to increase access to affordable housing such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program could reduce child maltreatment. The purpose of this study is to examine the association of the availability of housing units through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program with the rates of child maltreatment reports, including reports for physical abuse and neglect, at the state and county levels. ⋯ Increasing access to affordable housing may be an effective strategy to reduce child maltreatment at both the state and county levels.
-
Cardiovascular disease preventive services (aspirin use, blood pressure control, and smoking-cessation support) are crucial to controlling cardiovascular diseases. This study draws from 1,248 small-to-medium-sized primary care practices participating in the EvidenceNOW Initiative from 2015-2016 across 12 states to provide practice-level aspirin use, blood pressure control, and smoking-cessation support estimates; report the percentage of practices that meet Million Hearts targets; and identify the practice characteristics associated with better performance. ⋯ Achieving the Million Hearts targets may be assisted by collecting and reporting practice-level performance, which can promote change at the practice level and identify areas where additional support is needed to achieve initiative goals.
-
Paid sick leave is associated with lower mortality risks and increased use of health services. Yet, the U.S. lacks a national law, and not all employers offer paid leave, especially to low-wage workers. States have enacted paid sick-leave laws or preemption laws that prohibit local governments from enacting paid sick-leave requirements. ⋯ Variation in state paid sick-leave laws, preemption, and lack of employer provision of paid sick leave to low-wage workers creates substantial inequities nationally. The federal government should enact a national paid sick-leave law.
-
The aim of this study is to evaluate the temporal trends in systolic blood pressure control over 18 months after blood pressure‒lowering drug initiation in the U.S. ⋯ In the U.S., only 30%-50% of the population are achieving sustainable blood pressure control over 18 months after blood pressure‒lowering drug initiation, with no indication of improvement in control over the last decade.
-
The rates of syphilis among pregnant women and infants have increased in recent years, particularly in the U.S. South. Although state policies require prenatal syphilis testing, recent screening rates comparable across Southern states are not known. The purpose of this study is to measure syphilis screening among Medicaid enrollees with delivery in states in the U.S. South. ⋯ Despite state laws requiring syphilis screening during pregnancy, screening was much lower than 100%, and states varied in syphilis screening rates among Medicaid enrollees. Findings indicate that access to Medicaid in the first trimester is associated with higher rates of syphilis screening and that efforts to improve access to screening in practice settings are needed.