Why Not the Best? Results From the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2011

Assesses the U.S. healthcare system's average performance in 2007-09 as measured by forty-two indicators of health outcomes, quality, access, efficiency, and equity compared with the 2006 and 2008 scorecards and with domestic and international benchmarks

Home Food Production Before, During and Since Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern New England

This brief details the results from three separate surveys of Northern New Englanders in Maine and Vermont in summer 2020, spring 2021, and spring 2022. A survey was conducted in summer of 2020 to understand the initial and continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security, diet, and health outcomes. Two additional surveys were conducted using the same methods in spring 2021 and 2022 to continue to assess changes during the pandemic. All surveys were representative of the state populations on race and ethnicity and the data presented in this brief were weighted to be representative of income in both states. Collectively, the surveys represent more than 3,000 individuals. Key results include:1. Home Food Production (HFP) is common and has continued to increase among respondents since the beginning of the pandemic. Among respondents, 32% participated in HFP in 2020, 59% in 2021, and 65% in 2022. 2. The most common HFP activities in 2022 were gardening (48%) and food preservation (34%). 3. Food insecurity has been variable across years: 40% of households were food insecure in 2020, 31% of households were food insecure in 2021, and 39% of respondents were food insecure in 2022. 4. Food insecure households were more likely to participate in HFP (especially fishing, foraging, hunting, and raising animals for meat, dairy or eggs) compared to food secure households across all three surveys. 5. Pests (63%), weather (60%), and money for equipment or supplies (58%) were the biggest barriers for people participating in any HFP

Food Security Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Following a Group of Vermonters During the First Year

We surveyed a cohort of Vermonters three times during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the impacts of the pandemic on food security and food access. The surveys were conducted in March/April 2020, June 2020, and March/April 2021. A total of 441 Vermonters responded to all three surveys. This brief shares changes in their experiences between March 2020 and March 2021. Key findings include: 1. Food insecurity rates increased during the pandemic and remained above pre-pandemic levels a year after the start of the pandemic. 2. 31.6% of respondents experienced food insecurity at some point in the first year of the pandemic. Of those, 46.9% were food insecure before the pandemic, but over half (53.1%) were newly food insecure. Of the respondents who experienced food insecurity at any point during the pandemic, 61.9% were still food insecure in March 2021. 3. People without a college degree, those with a job disruption, households with children, women, and younger people had greater odds of experiencing food insecurity in March 2021. 4. Fewer respondents were using federal food assistance programs and food pantries in March 2021 compared to earlier in the pandemic. 5. More than half of respondents (54.2%) reported suffering a job disruption (i.e. job loss, reduction in work hours or income, furlough) since March 2020 and 18.4% were still experiencing a job disruption in March 2021. 6. Vermonters today are less concerned about food becoming more expensive and possible loss of food assistance programs compared to earlier in the pandemic

Food Security and Assistance Programs in Vermont Before and During COVID-19

Here we surveyed a cohort of Vermonters at three time points over the first year of the pandemic. The surveys were conducted in March/ April 2020, June 2020, and March/April 2021. The demographics of the 441 Vermonters who responded to all three surveys are comparable to average Vermont demographics on income, but the respondents were more likely to have a college degree and to identify as female. This brief explores how the use of food assistance programs varied within this population and changed over the course of the pandemic. Key findings include: 1. The number of Vermonters using food assistance programs grew by 86.7% between March 2020 and March 2021 from 24.8% to 46.4%. 2. Vermonters using food assistance programs were more likely to have lower incomes and education levels, to have children, or to have experienced job disruption during the pandemic than those that did not use food assistance programs. 3. BIPOC/Hispanic Vermonters were more likely to use community-based food assistance programs (compared with federal food assistance programs) than non-Hispanic white Vermonters. 4. Worries about the qualifications, logistics, and stigma involved in using food programs grew between May/June 2020 and March 2021. 5. Experiences and perceptions of food assistance program use vary significantly between individuals using federal programs, community programs, or a combination of the two. 6. There are significant demographic differences between groups of people using federal programs, community programs, or a combination of the two

Rising to the Challenge: Results From a Scorecard on Local Health Performance, 2012

Provides comparative data with respect to healthcare access, prevention and treatment, costs and avoidable hospital use, and outcomes in three hundred-plus localities. Examines disparities in access and quality by geography, income, and poverty rate

Increasing Invasive Plant Pest Early Detection Through Interagency First Detector Education

The Collaborative and Enhanced First Detector Training program has expanded invasive species detection efforts by teaching participants to scout for, identify, and submit suspect exotic species samples. Workshops were delivered to agriculture professionals, master gardeners, and other Extension audiences. Topics included introduction pathways, regulatory agency procedures, identification of invasive pests or pathogens, monitoring procedures, and sample submission. Survey data indicated the intent of participants to augment detection efforts and the efficacy of Extension workshops in improving participants\u27 perceptions of government agencies. Respondents perceived increases in knowledge related to particular invasive species, identification of potential future invaders, and sample submission. Other implications related to Extension programming on invasive species education are discussed

Change in Food Security and Health Outcomes Since the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern New England

We conducted a Northern New England survey in March-June of 2021 to understand the initial and continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security, health behaviors, and health outcomes. A total of 988 adults (562 in Maine and 426 in Vermont) responded regarding food access and availability, health behaviors such as diet composition and exercise, and use of habit-forming substances (e.g. alcohol, tobacco, etc.) before and in the year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key findings include: 1. 39.1% of Maine and 43.2% of Vermont respondents indicated weight gain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. Individuals with food insecurity were significantly less likely to consume fruits and vegetables and engage in physical activity than those who report being food secure. 3. Nearly half of respondents indicated anxiety or depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. 4. Those with persistent food insecurity (i.e. food insecure before and during the COVID-19 pandemic) were 8.8 times more likely to experience higher levels of stress, 2.6 times more likely to experience anxiety and be diagnosed with diabetes type 2 and hypertension during the COVID-19 pandemic. 5. Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ were more likely to be food insecure, 4 times more likely to report anxiety or depression, and also experienced higher levels of stress than individuals who did not identify as LGBTQ+ during the COVID-19 pandemic. 6. Individuals with food insecurity were up to 7 times more likely to skip or stop their medication for anxiety, depression, and/or hypertension, as compared to food secure respondents. 7. Individuals reporting the use of substances prior to the onset of the pandemic (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, and drugs) were more likely to have increased their use of additional habit-forming substances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Substance use was also associated with a higher prevalence of stress

A 2022 Assessment of Food Security and Health Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

We conducted a Northern New England survey to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security, food access, home food production, health behaviors, and health outcomes. The surveys were conducted in the spring of 2022 (April-May) with a total of 1,013 adults (598 in Maine and 415 in Vermont) responding to the survey. Key findings include:1. The prevalence of food insecurity remains similarly high to early points in the pandemic, likely driven by inflation and food prices, and long-term impacts from the pandemic. 2. The majority (62%) indicated the recent rise in food prices affected their food purchasing, this was significantly higher (90%) for food insecure respondents. 3. 1/3 of respondents utilized food assistance programs in the last 12 months. They reported difficulty traveling to food program offices to apply or recertify as a key challenge. 4. 2/3 of respondents engaged in some kind of home food production (HFP) and half of those did HFP activities for the first time or did existing HFP activities more in the last 12 months. 5. Nearly 1/3 reported weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food insecure respondents were significantly more likely to report weight gain. 6. Nearly 40% of food insecure respondents ate fewer fruits and vegetables and certain animal products in the last 12 months. These changes are significantly higher than for food secure respondents. 7. Half of the respondents faced a health care challenge in the last 12 months, with canceled appointments and trouble finding a timely appointment being the most commonly reported challenges. 8. More than 50% of respondents indicated anxiety and/or depression, with 17% of those with a diagnosis newly diagnosed in the last 12 months. 9. Compared to food secure respondents, food insecure respondents were significantly more likely to face a variety of health challenges in the last 12 months, including difficulty accessing healthcare, being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, stopping and skipping medications due to cost, and using habit-forming substances

The Trouble With Fathers: The Impact of Time and Gendered-Thinking on Working Relationships Between Fathers and Social Workers in Child Protection Practice in England

The lives of families entering the child protection arena may be shaped by a range of troubles, including material deprivation, physical and mental health problems, and substance misuse or domestic abuse. Despite the interest in whole family approaches, the issue of how professionals fail to work effectively with fathers is long-standing and resistant to change. This article illustrates challenges in building working relationships with men, including the challenge of avoiding binary thinking in the assessment of fathers as “risk” or “resource.” Drawing on our qualitative longitudinal study of men’s experiences of child protection in England, we highlight how both organizational (clashing time perspectives) and cultural (gendered-thinking) factors can trouble the potential relationship between social workers and fathers. We argue for a more gender sensitive approach to social work practice, which can respond more fully and effectively to the experiences of fathers and mothers

Similarity, precedent and argument from analogy

In this paper, it is shown (1) that there are two schemes for argument from analogy that seem to be competitors but are not, (2) how one of them is based on a distinctive type of similarity premise, (3) how to analyze the notion of similarity using story schemes illustrated by some cases, (4) how arguments from precedent are based on arguments from analogy, and in many instances arguments from classification, and (5) that when similarity is defined by means of episode schemes, we can get a clearer idea of how it integrates with the use of argument from classification and argument from precedent in case-based reasoning by using a dialogue structure