American journal of preventive medicine
-
Incarcerated individuals with mental health disorders are disproportionally sent to restrictive housing (i.e., solitary confinement), which is known to have deleterious impacts on mental health. In response, North Carolina's prison system developed Therapeutic Diversion Units, treatment-oriented units for incarcerated individuals with high mental health needs who cycle in and out of restrictive housing. This analysis compares the impact of restrictive housing and Therapeutic Diversion Units on infractions, mental health, and self-harm among incarcerated individuals. ⋯ Therapeutic Diversion Unit use had strong impacts on infractions, mental health, and self-harm. Therapeutic Diversion Units provide a promising alternative to restrictive housing for individuals with mental health disorders.
-
The Treat pillar of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U. S. plan calls for comprehensive strategies to enhance linkage to, and engagement in, HIV medical care to improve viral suppression among people with HIV and achieve the goal of 95% viral suppression by 2025. The U. ⋯ The interventions presented in this paper provide additional approaches that state and local jurisdictions can use to reach their local HIV elimination plans' goals and the ambitious Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U. S. Treat pillar targets by 2030.
-
Although risk factors often co-occur, previous studies examining lifestyle or psychosocial factors often treat these factors as individual predictors of health. This study aims to identify the underlying subgroups of women characterized by distinct lifestyle and psychosocial risk patterns and to investigate the prospective associations between risk patterns and mortality among postmenopausal women. ⋯ The class with concurrent risky lifestyle and psychosocial factors conveyed the greatest risk of all types of mortality than a low-risk ref group. Health promotion should address both behavioral and psychosocial risks concurrently.
-
The Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative considers cluster and outbreak response essential. This article describes the design, implementation, and early findings of a Philadelphia-based project to systematically assess sentinel cases among priority populations for improving public health infrastructure and preventing future outbreaks. ⋯ HIV sentinel case review is a model for health departments to rapidly respond to recent transmission, identify missed HIV prevention opportunities, strengthen community partnerships, and implement programmatic and policy changes. Such efforts may prevent outbreaks and inform longer-term strategies.
-
In the second half of 2019, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana was selected as 1 of the 3 jump-start pilot jurisdictions for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. Initiative. An innovative community health worker program was among the strategies developed to reduce the number of new HIV infections. In addition to testing for HIV/sexually transmitted infections in nontraditional settings, community health workers provided integrated services, including linkage for people with HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis navigation, sterile injection supplies and referrals to syringe services programs, and other social services. ⋯ The community health worker team successfully facilitated access to HIV prevention and treatment for priority populations in East Baton Rouge Parish.