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This study passage highlights the intricate, multifaceted nature of health outcomes and focuses specifically on the complex relationships between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, chronic diseases, and COVID-19 deaths and serious illness. The authors of this study refer to this relationship as a “”syndemic.”” This study analyzes CDC surveillance data and U.S. maps to illustrate the overlapping prevalence of COVID-19 deaths, unhealthy behaviors, and chronic diseases, notably in the southeastern region of the country. The study highlights the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underserved communities, attributing it to social injustices. It underscores disparities in education, poverty, nutrition assistance, health insurance coverage, income inequality, and racial demographics, particularly affecting Black populations in the southeastern U.S.

This study assessed the efficacy of a text and phone based screening and referral program for perinatal mental health disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs). Research found that participants who had been assigned to the phone-based screening program were 3 times more likely to screen positive, 4 times more likely to be referred to treatment, and nearly 6 times more likely to attend treatment appointments compared to participants assigned to the control group.

This study examines racial and ethnic inequalities in postpartum depression and perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD) diagnoses and care. Past studies have revealed large differences in the rates at which people express symptoms of PPD and PMAD and the rates at which they receive diagnoses and mental health care. The authors of this study aimed to determine the role that race and ethnicity plays in these disparities. To do so they followed the perinatal journeys of several thousand women and discovered that while there were no significant differences in diagnosis by race / ethnicity, women of color were significantly less likely to receive mental health care than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. This data reflects the importance of destigmatizing perinatal mental health challenges and promoting equitable health care. Some of the authors recommendations include the creation of policies requiring PPD and PMAD screenings and reimbursement and trainings around culturally responsive care.

This article discusses COVID-19’s impact on rates of breast cancer screening in the United States and the inequalities that revealed themselves regarding screening mammography access across the country. In the spring of 2020, breast cancer screenings, which are a key tool used to detect and mitigate the effects of breast cancer, came to a halt. In the years since, troubling patterns have emerged regarding which communities have access to these screenings and which do not. The authors of this paper cite several studies including one showing a greater decreases in screening volumes during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Black, Latina, and Asian women compared to White women and another revealing slower returns to baseline rates of mammography for Native American, Asian, and Latina women compared to White women. The authors of this paper argue that these disparities are consequential and serve as further evidence of persisting health inequalities and unequal access to medical care. They go on to suggest a potential framework for solutions that involves a multifaceted approach that addresses disparities at the individual, health system, and policy levels. They emphasize that quality measures are the critical first step towards identifying and hopefully remedying deficits like the one seen in breast cancer screening rates.

This research study explored whether residents living in historically redlined neighborhoods in New York City were at a higher risk for COVID-19 infection. Data revealed that zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) with higher proportions of black and Hispanic residents are associated with higher rates of COVID-19 infection. They also found that historically redlined ZCTAs had higher risks for COVID-19 infections, regardless of modern day economic privilege in the area. This study reminds readers that modern day health crises like the COVID pandemic cannot be regarded in isolation from SDoH and the history of racism.

This research study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air quality disparities in New York. Researchers found that during the lockdown in 2020, the disparity in air quality between census tracts with high and low shares of BIPOC in rural New York narrowed. This trend was not observed in urban areas of New York where the disparities in air quality persisted despite lockdown.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation formed the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems in response to the health inequalities and insufficient cross-sector data-sharing capabilities that characterize the American health care system. The 16-member Commission, comprised of experts from the healthcare, community advocacy, business, government, and public health spaces, was tasked with examining the data and data-sharing systems needed to ensure a public health system that is representative of the situations and needs of all Americans. In a report published in 2021, the Commissions put forth a series of recommendations focused on the need to remedy the current disconnect between data on health inequalities and the history and social conditions that shape poor health outcomes to begin with.

This study seeks to understand the unique experiences of gay and bisexual men who live in culturally conservative, rural communities and the implications of these experiences for the provision of health care. Researchers administered qualitative interviews to 44 individuals to determine the ways that their environments impacted their health and social behaviors. Results of this study revealed the powerful role that stigma plays in inhibiting access to health care and social support networks. The authors emphasize the need for greater discussion and awareness campaigns around stigma as an etiologic factor that impacts the health and well-being of rural gay and bisexual men. This is especially important in light of the fact that the incidence of HIV in America is particularly prevalent in rural communities where there are dispersed populations, fewer health care resources, and a lack of culturally responsive providers that understand the needs of stigmatized populations.

This model program, called Project ECHO, leverages technology to share knowledge across a wide network of disease-specific consultants and rural healthcare teams. In regular virtual meetings program participants learn from and alongside each other while also providing direct patient care, with the ultimate goal of  gaining crucial knowledge on how to assess and treat common medical conditions with complex treatment plans. The pilot program, run by Dr. Sanjeev Arora in his liver clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, saw the hepatitis C clinic wait list decrease from 8 months to 2 weeks, proving the efficacy of this innovative “telementoring” approach to tackling medical management knowledge gaps in rural and underserved areas. In 2016 Congress passed the “ECHO Act,” enriching Project ECHO as a national model for Health care collaboration in rural and underserved areas.

According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of individuals reporting Long COVID symptoms has decreased from 19% in June 2022 to 11% in January 2023 among those who have had COVID-19. While this decline is notable, 15% of all US adults have reported experiencing Long COVID symptoms at some point, with 6% currently affected. Long COVID continues to pose challenges, including limitations in daily activities for 79% of those affected and potential long-term disabilities. Efforts to address Long COVID include research initiatives and public health actions, but its full impact and the reasons behind the decline in reported cases remain subjects of ongoing study and concern.