Evaluation of a city-wide school-located influenza vaccination program in Oakland, California with respect to race and ethnicity: a matched cohort study

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of city-wide school-located influenza vaccination by race/ethnicity from 2014-2018. Methods: We used multivariate matching to pair schools in the intervention district in Oakland, CA with schools in West Contra Costa County, CA, a comparison district. We estimated difference-in-differences (DIDs) in caregiver-reported influenza vaccination coverage and laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalization incidence. Results: Differences in influenza vaccination coverage in the intervention vs. comparison site were larger among White and Latino students than Asian/Pacific Islander (API), Black, and multiracial students. Concerns about vaccine effectiveness or safety were more common among Black and multiracial caregivers; logistical barriers to vaccination were more common among White, API, and Latinos. In both sites, hospitalization in 2017-18 was higher in Blacks vs. other races/ethnicities. All-age influenza hospitalization incidence was lower in the intervention site vs. comparison site among White/API individuals in 2016-17 and 2017-18 and Black older adults in 2017-18, but not in other groups. Conclusions: SLIV was associated with higher vaccination coverage and lower influenza hospitalization, but associations varied by race/ethnicity. SLIV alone may be insufficient to ensure equitable health outcomes for influenza.

Marine Mammals and Respiration: Evidence of Poor Pulmonary Health in Bottlenose Dolphins Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

ABSTRACT The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster resulted in large-scale contamination of bays, sounds, and estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM), home to multiple stocks of bottlenose dolphins. Inhalation, direct aspiration, ingestion with subsequent aspiration, and dermal absorption of oil and its toxic components were all considered possible routes of exposure for dolphins living within the oil spill footprint. To determine if dolphins were adversely impacted, capture-release health assessments were performed in heavily-oiled Barataria Bay (BB), Louisiana, and in Sarasota Bay (SB), Florida, a comparison site with no DWH oil contamination. Initial studies were conducted as part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (2011–2014), with follow-on studies supported by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (2016–2018). To specifically evaluate pulmonary health, transthoracic ultrasound techniques previously developed for managed dolphins were applied to wild dolphins. Results showed that BB dolphins were ~5 times more likely to have moderate to severe lung disease than SB dolphins in 2011, the year following the spill. Concurrent pathology investigations of dead dolphins in the northern GoM reported similar pulmonary findings. In 2013 and 2014, moderate to severe lung disease persisted among BB dolphins, and remained elevated relative to the prevalence at the SB comparison site. More recent live animal health assessments (2016–2018) showed long-term persistence and potential worsening of moderate to severe lung disease in BB dolphins, specifically in animals alive during the oil spill (prevalence of 0.20, 0.35, and 0.55 in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively). Long-term monitoring of dolphin populations is critical to fully understand the potential for and timeline of individual and population recovery from the impacts of a large-scale oil spill event, as well as the cost-benefit trade-offs for restoration activities. In particular, BB dolphins provide valuable insight into the long-lasting effects of oil and oil-related contaminants on animal, human, and ecosystem health.

Variability in Isolated Convective Activity between Louisville, Kentucky, and Nearby Rural Locations

This study analyzes the frequency of strong, isolated convective cells in the vicinity of Louisville, Kentucky. Data from the Severe Weather Data Inventory are used to compare the frequency of convective activity over Louisville with the observed frequency at nearby rural locations from 2003 to 2019. The results show that Louisville experiences significantly more isolated convective activity than do the rural locations. The difference in convective activity between Louisville and the rural locations is strongest during summer, with peak differences occurring between May and August. Relative to the rural locations, Louisville experiences more isolated convective activity in the afternoon and early evening but less activity after midnight and into the early morning. Isolated convective events over Louisville are most likely during quiescent synoptic conditions, whereas rural events are more likely during active synoptic patterns. To determine whether these differences can be attributed primarily to urban effects, two additional cities are shown for comparison—Nashville, Tennessee, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Both Nashville and Cincinnati experience more isolated convective activity than all five of their nearby rural comparison areas, but the results for both are statistically significant at four of the five rural locations. In addition, the analysis of Cincinnati includes a sixth comparison site that overlaps the urbanized area of Columbus, Ohio. For that location, differences in convective activity are not statistically significant.

Improving Knowledge that Alcohol Can Cause Cancer is Associated with Consumer Support for Alcohol Policies: Findings from a Real-World Alcohol Labelling Study

Knowledge that alcohol can cause cancer is low in Canada. Alcohol labels are one strategy for communicating alcohol-related harms, including cancer. Extending existing research observing an association between knowledge of the alcohol–cancer link and support for alcohol policies, this study examined whether increases in individual-level knowledge that alcohol is a carcinogen following an alcohol labelling intervention are associated with support for alcohol polices. Cancer warning labels were applied to alcohol containers at the intervention site, and the comparison site did not apply cancer labels. Pre-post surveys were conducted among liquor store patrons at both sites before and two-and six-months after the intervention was stopped due to alcohol industry interference. Limiting the data to participants that completed surveys both before and two-months after the cancer label stopped, logistic regression was used to examine the association between increases in knowledge and support for policies. Support for pricing and availability policies was low overall; however, increases in individual-level knowledge of the alcohol-cancer link was associated with higher levels of support for pricing policies, specifically, setting a minimum unit price per standard drink of alcohol (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.11–3.12). Improving knowledge that alcohol can cause cancer using labels may increase support for alcohol policies. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/16320

Increasing Influenza Immunization Rates Among Retail Employees: An Evidence-Based Approach

Influenza has a significant impact on the health of Americans and the U.S. economy. Annual influenza immunization can decrease the burden of influenza-related illnesses for both employees and employers. This project evaluated a nurse practitioner–led intervention to increase influenza immunization rates among retail employees from August through December of the 2015-2016 influenza season. The sample included employees from retail locations with on-site convenience care clinics staffed by nurse practitioners. This quality improvement project used a pre–post implementation evaluation design and compared influenza immunization rates of employees, before and after an intervention, at one worksite, and influenza immunization rates of employees, who did not receive the same intervention, at a comparison site. The intervention site employees were immunized at a higher rate than employees at the comparison site. Interventions, including health care professional–led education, program promotion, on-site access to and no-cost immunizations, choice of immunization delivery, and incentives, should be considered to increase immunization rates among employees.

Community ambulance response trolleys (CART): preparing students for the paramedic workplace

Introduction The curriculum of undergraduate paramedicine programs invariably includes clinical placement experiences. Engagement in learning in the workplace is however constrained by lack of familiarity with workplace cultural expectations. Strategies assisting students to understand workplace expectations have the potential to enhance engagement on placements and with workplace transition. This study examines whether one classroom practice initiative heightens students’ understanding of specific paramedic workplace expectations. Methods CART (a system developed to mimic equipment management strategies of the paramedic workplace) was introduced on one campus of an Australian university. Another university campus was selected as a comparison site and did not operate CART. CART campus students were assigned to a team and made responsible for maintaining and restocking all equipment utilised in practical classes, simulating strategies used within the paramedic workplace where a paramedic team shares responsibility for stocking and upkeep of equipment. Both cohorts completed a questionnaire exploring their experiences in the classroom and preparation for clinical placements. Results The CART system had a positive influence on the ability of students to collaborate within the classroom and become familiar with industry expectations around equipment management. This increased confidence with transition to learning within the workplace environment.Conclusion The CART strategy was effective in mimicking workplace practices and expectation and evidence indicated that CART can assist students with their ability to transition into a vocational environment.

Carbon dioxide exchange of a perennial bioenergy crop cultivation on a mineral soil

One of the strategies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the energy sector is to increase the use of renewable energy sources such as bioenergy crops. Bioenergy is not necessarily carbon neutral because of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during biomass production, field management and transportation. The present study focuses on the cultivation of reed canary grass (RCG, Phalaris arundinacea L.), a perennial bioenergy crop, on a mineral soil. To quantify the CO2 exchange of this RCG cultivation system, and to understand the key factors controlling its CO2 exchange, the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) was measured from July 2009 until the end of 2011 using the eddy covariance (EC) method. The RCG cultivation thrived well producing yields of 6200 and 6700 kg DW ha−1 in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Gross photosynthesis (GPP) was controlled mainly by radiation from June to September. Vapour pressure deficit (VPD), air temperature or soil moisture did not limit photosynthesis during the growing season. Total ecosystem respiration (TER) increased with soil temperature, green area index and GPP. Annual NEE was −262 and −256 g C m−2 in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Throughout the study period from July 2009 until the end of 2011, cumulative NEE was −575 g C m−2. Carbon balance and its regulatory factors were compared to the published results of a comparison site on drained organic soil cultivated with RCG in the same climate. On this mineral soil site, the RCG had higher capacity to take up CO2 from the atmosphere than on the comparison site.