MPH

March 13, 2024

Cervical Cancer Screening Rates in Females Living with HIV at Three Healthcare Settings in the United States, 2010-2019

Females living with HIV (FLWHIV) are at greater risk of developing cervical cancer compared to females without HIV. National cervical cancer screening guidelines recommend more frequent screening for FLWHIV to address their increased risk. We sought to examine screening rates among FLWHIV during the most recent decade. This retrospective cohort study was conducted at Kaiser…

December 26, 2023

The Impact of a Walk-In HIV Care Model for People who are Incompletely Engaged in Care: the Moderate Needs (MOD) Clinic

The MOD Clinic in Seattle, Washington provides walk-in primary care for people with HIV who are incompletely engaged in standard care.Methods: We evaluated HIV outcomes among patients enrolled in the MOD Clinic (within group analysis) and, separately, among MOD patients vs. patients who were MOD-eligible but did not enroll (comparison group analysis) during 1/1/2018-9/30/2021. The…

Difficulty Walking and Contraceptive Use among Reproductive Aged Women: The 2019 CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

A disproportionate number of physically disabled women face barriers to timely and appropriate reproductive healthcare. Yet, little is known about the relationships between functional limitations and contraceptive use. Further, racial minorities (e.g., Black and Hispanic disabled women) in the United States frequently experience racial inequality related compounding factors that exacerbate lack of access to quality…

Polygenic risk scores and current exogenous estrogen use on the risk of venous thromboembolism in the Heart and Vascular Health Study: a case-only approach

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious condition characterized by blood clot formation in veins. Exogenous hormone use is known to increase VTE risk, and understanding the interplay between genetic variants and hormone use can enhance our understanding of VTE development. Gene-environment interactions (GxE) can reveal how genetic factors modify the effect of environmental exposures, such…

Cofactors of Longitudinal Linear Growth Among Infants with and Without In-utero HIV/Antiretroviral Exposure in Kenya

Effective treatments have decreased vertical transmission of HIV and most infants born to women living with HIV (WLH) are HIV-exposed but uninfected (HEU). There is evidence that HEU infants have poorer growth than HIV-unexposed uninfected children (HUU). The biological and social mechanisms for growth deficits in HEU are unclear. There are few large studies comparing…

Long-term risk of recurrence of pre-cancerous cervical lesions among women living with HIV in Kenya

Women living with HIV (WLHIV) have a six-fold increased risk of developing cervical cancer compared to HIV-uninfected women. Despite this, limited data exists on the recurrence of precancerous cervical lesions among WLHIV following treatment with loop electrical excision procedure (LEEP) or cryotherapy. We sought to determine the long-term risk of recurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia…

Gender minority stress and depressive symptoms among transfeminine and gender non-conforming individuals in China: mediating and moderating roles of coping

Transgender and gender non-conforming populations in China experience disproportionately higher burdens of mental health issues such as depression compared to their cisgender counterparts. The gender minority stress and resilience model further elaborates on the original minority stress theory in an effort to understand how various experiences such as gender-based violence, discrimination and rejection impact the…

Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms Among Children Exposed to Parental Incarceration in the 2019 and 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

Depression is a prevalent mental health disorder among 2.7 million (4.4%) children aged 3-17 in the United States (US), with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) being a contributing factor. Parental incarceration is an ACE associated with various negative social and health outcomes for this demographic. Such outcomes include inequitable healthcare access, increased risk of housing instability,…

PrEP Persistence Among Key Populations in Ukraine: Analysis of Scaled PrEP Program Data from October 2020 through February 2022

While global HIV incidence has rapidly decreased during the last decade, Central and Eastern Europe have experienced a significant rise in new cases annually. Ukraine, located in Eastern Europe, has been one of the most ambitious in the region in implementing programs to combat HIV since 2017, including expanding access to PrEP among key populations…

December 22, 2023

Associations of Prescription Opioid Use during Pregnancy with Low Birth Weight and Length of Hospital Stay: Analysis of PRAMS Data

Prescription opioid use among US pregnant women, primarily used for its analgesic properties, has increased substantially over the last decades. Findings from several studies investigating associations of prescription opioid use with adverse neonatal outcomes (including preterm birth, poor fetal growth, longer hospital stays, neonatal abstinence syndrome, and birth defects) were not consistent. We examined overall…