Suicide SGP Covid-19 Knowledge Gaps Covid-19 Disparities Roots Public Health Funding Paradox Covid-19 Poison Center Calls Mental Health Providers & Covid-19 Contact Tracing
Dear Public Health Service Officers,
The Office of the Surgeon General invites you to view the current issue of Public Health Reports, the official journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Below is the table of contents for this issue. We have also attached a few articles that may be of interest to you.
Sincerely,
Kate Migliaccio Grabill, MPH
CDR, USPHS
Papers of Interest to USPHS:
In this Surgeon General’s Perspective, Dr. Adams and Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, executive director of The President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide, discuss the problem of suicide in US, including its prevalence among the vets, exacerbation by COVID-19, and available federal resources and next steps toward the solution.
This commentary, co-authored by Dr. Sandro Galea, chair of the board of directors of ASPPH, discusses the paradox, brought into focus by COVID-19 and recent racial injustice protests, where government subsidizes both policies that cause health inequities and the work by public health agencies to address them. Authors suggest redirecting public health resources toward addressing fundamental causes that create barriers to equitable health, such as social inequities.
This survey of mental health providers finds that 82% of respondents were negatively affected by COVID-19. Authors note that mental health providers are an essential part of the US public health workforce and offer strategies to better support them during the pandemic.
This commentary argues that the unequal health toll of COVID-19 reflects racial disparities that have existed long before the pandemic. Authors suggest that a widespread societal change is needed to eliminate disparities associated with present and future pandemics.
As disinfectant use increased as result of CDC’s recommendation for “frequent disinfection of surfaces and objects touched by multiple people,” this study analyzed the number of calls to Michigan Poison Center about exposure to cleaners and disinfectants during the early months of pandemic, finding an increase in disinfectant-related calls from 2019 to 2020. Authors suggest that CDC guidance should be amended to include proper use and safety instructions.
CDC identifies contact tracing as an essential component of the public health response to COVID-19, yet few practical guides exist. This commentary from ASTHO’s CEO Dr. Michael Fraser provides replicable lessons learned from the early contract tracing efforts in MD’s Anne Arundel county.
Survey of US households finds that early during the pandemic, knowledge about COVID-19 was low among several groups of respondents, including such at-risk/disadvantaged populations as those with low education/income, unemployed, Hispanics, and African Americans. Authors call for widespread, ongoing public health education about the virus.
Table of Contents:
Public Health Reports- Volume: 136, Number: 1 (January/February 2021)
Surgeon General’s Perspective
Preventing Suicide in the United States
Jerome M. Adams and Barbara van Dahlen
Commentary
A Public Health Approach to Tackling the Role of Culture in Shaping the Gun Violence Epidemic in the United States
Salma M. Abdalla, Katherine M. Keyes, and Sandro Galea
The Public Health Funding Paradox: How Funding the Problem and Solution Impedes Public Health Progress
Paul J. Fleming, Maren M. Spolum, William D. Lopez, and Sandro Galea
Mental Health Providers During COVID-19: Essential to the US Public Health Workforce and in Need of Support
Jessica N. Fish and Mona Mittal
Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities: COVID-19 Exposures and Mortality Among African American People in the United States
Sarah B. Maness, Laura Merrell, Erika L. Thompson, Stacey B. Griner, Nolan Kline, and Christopher Wheldon
The COVID-19 Pandemic: An Opportunity to Transform Higher Education in Public Health
Beth A. Resnick, Paulani C. Mui, Janice Bowie, Sukon Kanchanaraksa, Elizabeth Golub, and Joshua M. Sharfstein
Brief Report
Calls to a State Poison Center Concerning Cleaners and Disinfectants From the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic Through April 2020
Kenneth D. Rosenman, Mary Jo Reilly, and Ling Wang
Case Study/Practice
Containing COVID-19 Through Contact Tracing: A Local Health Agency Approach
Nilesh Kalyanaraman and Michael R. Fraser
Innovative COVID-19 Programs to Rapidly Serve New Mexico: Project ECHO
Joanna G. Katzman, Laura E. Tomedi, Karla Thornton, Paige Menking, Michael Stanton, Nestor Sosa, Michelle Harkins, Neil Katzman, Jinyang Liu, Gaelyn R.D. Archer, and Sanjeev Arora
Public Health Evaluation
Using Urine Drug Testing to Estimate the Prevalence of Drug Use: Lessons Learned From the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2014
Benjamin H. Han, Elizabeth Mello, Ellenie Tuazon, and Denise Paone
A Multisite Quality Improvement Initiative to Enhance the Adoption of Screening Practices for Intimate Partner Violence Into Routine Primary Care for Women Veterans
Galina A. Portnoy, Katherine M. Iverson, Sally G. Haskell, Maggie Czarnogorski, and Megan R. Gerber
Public Health Methodology
Using Surveillance Data to Respond to an Outbreak of Congenital Syphilis in Arizona Through Third-Trimester Screening Policies, 2017-2018
Kaitlyn J. Sykes, Rebecca A. Scranton, Lisa Villarroel, Bree V. Anderson, Sara Salek, and Jonathan Stall
Research
The Affordable Care Act and Changes in Women’s Health Insurance Coverage Before, During, and After Pregnancy in California
Kristen S. Marchi, Melanie S. Dove, Katherine E. Heck, and Chuncui Fan
Alignment of State Regulations With Breastfeeding and Beverage Best Practices for Childcare Centers and Family Childcare Homes, United States
Danielle L. Lee, Raquel Traseira, Sophia Navarro, Natasha Frost, Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon, Angie L. Cradock, Ken Hecht, and Lorrene D. Ritchie
Lack of Serologic Evidence of Infection Among Health Care Personnel and Other Contacts of First 2 Confirmed Patients With COVID-19 in Illinois, 2020
Tristan D. McPherson, Isaac Ghinai, Alison M. Binder, Brandi D. Freeman, Chantel Hoskin Snelling, Jennifer C. Hunter, Kristin M. Anderson, Polly Davenport, Deborah L. Rudd, Mujeeb Zafer, Demian Christiansen, Kiran Joshi, Rachel Rubin, Stephanie R. Black, Marielle J. Fricchione, Massimo Pacilli, Kelly A. Walblay, Jacqueline Korpics, Darcie Moeller, Pearl Quartey-Kumapley, Chen Wang, E. Matt Charles, Judy Kauerauf, Megan T. Patel, Vishal S. Disari, Marc Fischer, Max W. Jacobs, Sandra N. Lester, Claire M. Midgley, Mohammed Ata Ur Rasheed, Heather E. Reese, Jennifer R. Verani, Megan Wallace, John T. Watson, Natalie J. Thornburg, Jennifer E. Layden, and Hannah L. Kirking
Correlates of Mental Health Symptoms Among US Adults During COVID-19, March–April 2020
Meghan Reading Turchioe, Lisa V. Grossman, Annie C. Myers, Jyotishman Pathak, and Ruth Masterson Creber
Gaps in Knowledge About COVID-19 Among US Residents Early in the Outbreak
Lauren A. McCormack, Linda Squiers, Alicia M. Frasier, Molly Lynch, Carla M. Bann, and Pia D.M. MacDonald
COVID-19 and Immigrant Essential Workers: Bhutanese and Burmese Refugees in the United States
Mengxi Zhang, Ashok Gurung, Philip Anglewicz, and Katherine Yun