Peer Education to Promote HPV Vaccine Uptake in Philly Teens

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Almost half of HPV infections occur in teens and young adults and can lead to various types of cancers. As a result, the HPV vaccine was developed to target these HPV-related cancers. Even though the vaccine is capable in preventing most HPV-related cancers, the vaccination rate among teens and young adults has been low and disparities exist. Peer education, particularly using social media to disseminate messages, may be one way to improve HPV vaccination rates among young adults. The purpose of this project is to investigate the feasibility and desirability of a social media-based peer education campaign for young adults to increase HPV vaccination rates. One focus group consisting of nine high school students were used to gain insight on their knowledge of the HPV vaccine, their thoughts on being peer educators, and what an intervention will consist of using social media. The focus group discussion was audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed by a team member to find the important themes. Seven key themes emerged from the focus group. The participants showed limited knowledge of the HPV vaccine and had mixed responses on peer education and social media, which questions how effective peer education and social media would be in promoting the vaccine uptake. These results will be used to inform a future research grant proposal on this topic, with the goal of developing a peer education program about the HPV vaccine on social media

Housing First for People with Opioid Use disorder (OUD) and engagement with Medication-assisted Treatment (MAT) and Harm Reduction Services

Intro: Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)is one of the most prevalent and deadly SUD’s in the country and many barriers exist for individuals living with homelessness and concurrent psychiatric illnesses when hoping to engage in Medication-Assisted-Recovery/Treatment (MAR/MAT). The current study evaluates the Pathways to Housing PA’s (PTHPA) Housing First(HF) model which provides scatter-site housing with social and maintenance services to individuals with a history of chronic homelessness and a diagnosis of OUD. Methods: A retrospective chart analysis was completed for to assess factors relating to MAT engagement using PTHPA’s Credible BH recording system. MAT engagement prior to HF, psychiatric, homelessness, and medical history were all collected from a Psychiatric Assessment performed upon admission into the HF program. MAT retention and engagement during HF was obtained from self-reported information provided in case notes from PTHPA team members. Results: 76.7% of people engaged in MAT with methadone or buprenorphine treatment after being housed for at least 2 months (n=133). Re-engagement in MAT was higher in individuals who had prior MAT participation prior to the housing first intervention. Years homeless, age and race did not have a significant association with MAT participation following the HF intervention, although gender was associated with different levels of MAT participation between males and females. 23.33% of individuals were able to retain/stay on MAT prior to engaging in HF. 81.375% of individuals who engaged in MAT during the HF intervention were able to retain/stay on MAR by the end of the recording period. Conclusion: There was a significant association of increased MAT engagement in individuals with prior MAR participation. The study at hand suggests that a scatter-site HF model with adequate social service and MAR support can be associated with greater rates of retention in MAR while supporting higher rates of MAR participation in individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and primary OUD than the general population

Prescriptions for Produce: An intervention with nutrition education, cooking instruction and produce vouchers to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.

In this pilot study, we evaluated the feasibility of nutrition education, cooking instruction and produce vouchers for pregnant low income mothers to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants were first trimester pregnant mothers receiving prenatal care at a local Federally Qualified Health Clinic (FQHC) in San Antonio. They attended a grocery shopping tour and cooking class conducted by a registered dietitian, focusing incorporating fruit and vegetables into meals, and a monthly $40 voucher, redeemable for fruit and vegetables. Mothers with high menu planning and grocery shopping skills and more fruit at home reported higher fruit intakes. Mothers with high grocery shopping skills reported higher vegetable intakes. Compared to baseline, the reported home availability of fruit, and fruit and vegetable intakes were significantly improved at post 1; fruit and vegetable home availability, menu planning and grocery shopping skills, and fruit and vegetable intakes were significantly higher at post 2

Speaking the Language of the Decision-Makers

In a system experiencing dwindling resources, public health practitioners must be able to explain their goals, services, and impact via terms and concepts understood by policymakers, governmental representatives, and community members. The use of concepts such as private sector partnership development, quality improvement, expense management, and cost analysis can provide public health practitioners means for growth and improvement, as well as the ability to communicate value to decision makers

Local Health Department activities to address health disparities: What do public health practitioners view as impactful?

Objective: Local health departments (LHDs) serve as the primary implementer of efforts to prevent, reduce, and eliminate health disparities. Previous research examined the factors that influence the strategies and disease outcomes of health disparity work by LHDs, but little is known about the perception of impact of these strategies. The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to identify activities from a pre-identified list of nine that current chronic disease personnel perceive as most impactful and 2) identify leader, organization, or external factors that contribute to a local health department\u27s utilizing the activities perceived as most impactful. Methods: LHDs identified by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) were asked to respond to an online cross-sectional questionnaire. Preferred respondents were those who worked in chronic disease prevention. Respondents were asked to select activities viewed as most impactful in addressing health disparities from those that appeared in the 2016 NACCHO Profile of Local Health Departments (Profile). The selection of activities was summed and the top three informed the creation of a variable to conduct regression analysis on a total of 16 leader, organization, and external variables found in the 2016 Profile. Study Population: 482 LHDs selected by NACCHO to complete a bonus module in the 2016 Profile which inquired about activities to address health disparities. Measure: The completion of all three of the activities viewed most impactful activities to address health disparities. Results: 133 individuals from 105 LHD selected the following activities as most impactful: supporting community efforts to change the causes of health disparities; prioritizing resources and programs specifically for the reduction in health disparities; and describing health disparities in your jurisdiction using data. Activities completed as reflected in the Profile indicate that LHDs consistently utilized the first and third activity. Less than half of the time (44%), LHDs indicated that they prioritized resources and programs for the reduction in health disparities. There was no leader characteristic associated with the completion of the three activities. Organization and external characteristics associated with completing these three activities was participation in alcohol and other drug policy advocacy (

Protein Expression of Steroid Receptors in Macaca mulatta endometriotic Lesions

Endometriosis is pathologically defined as the presence of endometrial tissue in ectopic locations. Currently, there are no specific, non-invasive biomarkers and no cure for endometriosis. Non-human primates (NHP), including Macaca mulatta (rhesus macaques), have been highlighted as appropriate models to study endometriosis due to genetic, physiological, and anatomical similarities to humans. Research shows endometriosis might be associated with molecular deviations in human peritoneal endometriosis, such as increased levels of estrogen receptors and decreased levels of progesterone receptors. The aim of this study is to determine protein expression of steroid receptors in five endometriotic lesions of rhesus macaques. We propose that lesions of rhesus macaques will express elevated estrogen receptors and diminished progesterone receptors, similar to human endometriotic lesions. Endometriotic lesions of rhesus macaques were obtained at time of surgery from different locations, and steroid receptor expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. This study was able to determine the expression of steroid receptors in endometriotic lesions of rhesus macaques; however the results were not able to support our hypothesis. Results did not observe significant differences between estrogen and progesterone receptor protein expressions in glandular and stromal compartments of the endometriotic lesions. Still, this animal model represents a valuable tool to study endometriosis since they do develop spontaneous endometriosis. Future studies should match the location of lesions and classify the severity of endometriosis in the rhesus macaques