Andrea Cioffi, Stefania De Simone, Francesco Orsini, Luigi Cipolloni, Camilla Cecannecchia
{"title":"Digital Health Inequity in Italy: Unequal Access to the Electronic Health Record and Its Public Health and Medico-Legal Impacts.","authors":"Andrea Cioffi, Stefania De Simone, Francesco Orsini, Luigi Cipolloni, Camilla Cecannecchia","doi":"10.1177/19427891251404032","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251404032","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"65-69"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145725491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cognitive Change as an Early Warning for Late-Life Depression: Implications for Population Health Screening Strategies.","authors":"Xin Ji, Shasha Deng","doi":"10.1177/19427891251395738","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251395738","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cognitive decline and late-life depression are intertwined public health challenges for aging populations globally. To inform effective prevention, the current study investigated the dynamic temporal associations between multidimensional cognitive functions and depressive symptoms. Using four waves of longitudinal data (2013-2020) from a large panel study of older adults, the current study employed an integrated framework combining optimized dynamic time warping, cross-lagged panel models, and network analysis to model complex, lagged relationships. Results provided strong empirical support for the \"cognition-first\" hypothesis, with declines in several cognitive domains-notably temporal orientation, calculation, and immediate recall-acting as significant upstream predictors of subsequent depressive symptoms. A modest but significant protective feedback effect from positive affect to cognitive maintenance was also identified, while negative affect showed no significant predictive role sample of older adults who were cognitively and emotionally healthy at baseline. These findings offer preliminary empirical support for a strategic shift in population health management from reactive treatment toward proactive prevention. Based on these results, the current study discusses a conceptual framework for integrating cognitive screening into primary care to identify at-risk older adults, an approach that warrants further investigation and validation. This proactive approach could enable timely, low-cost interventions aimed at promoting positive affect and cognitive resilience, offering a potentially cost-effective strategy to mitigate the long-term burden of mental illness and advance the goals of healthy aging.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"27-37"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145549959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah C Hull, Allison Law, David M Dudzinski, J Brendan Mullen, Danish Zaidi, Letitia Anderson, Robert Kornberg, James N Kirkpatrick
{"title":"Progression to the Mean: Reconciling Traditional and Modern Professional Values in Medicine.","authors":"Sarah C Hull, Allison Law, David M Dudzinski, J Brendan Mullen, Danish Zaidi, Letitia Anderson, Robert Kornberg, James N Kirkpatrick","doi":"10.1177/19427891251408078","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251408078","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Medicine has historically been conceptualized as not simply an occupation but rather as a profession, one that entails both substantial privileges as well as significant responsibilities. In this article, the majority of whose authors are cardiologists serving on the American College of Cardiology Ethics Committee, we observe the evolution of professional values in Western medicine along a continuum shaped by both intrinsic and extrinsic forces with respect to the physician and the medical profession. Though a historically reactive process, we argue for a more proactive and anticipatory approach moving forward that reframes professionalism and what it means to be part of a profession, aiming to reconcile cross-generational professional values in the interest of advancing health and human flourishing. Rather than rejecting the power and privilege of our profession, thus leaving a vacuum to be filled by administrators and politicians, we should reclaim and repurpose it to provide better care and promote better outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"56-64"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145850716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sophia Ahmed, Syed Sarmad Javaid, Aamna Nasir, Ishba Manal, Komal Saleem, Naeem Iqbal, Ayman Irshad, Shahzaib Hassan, Marian Abedua Harrison, Saba Fatima, Zain Ul Abideen, Faizan Abbas, Anosha Arshad
{"title":"Mortality Due to Opioid Overdose in the United States: Trends from a CDC WONDER Analysis (1999-2024).","authors":"Sophia Ahmed, Syed Sarmad Javaid, Aamna Nasir, Ishba Manal, Komal Saleem, Naeem Iqbal, Ayman Irshad, Shahzaib Hassan, Marian Abedua Harrison, Saba Fatima, Zain Ul Abideen, Faizan Abbas, Anosha Arshad","doi":"10.1177/19427891251401921","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251401921","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The opioid epidemic in the United States has led to a sharp rise in overdose deaths over the past two decades. Although some progress was observed prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, opioid-related mortality has increased again in recent years, underscoring the need to re-examine national trends. A retrospective analysis of opioid overdose mortality among US adults aged 25 years and older from 1999 to 2024 was performed using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiological Research (CDC WONDER) Multiple Cause-of-Death database. Opioid-related deaths were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes T40.0-T40.4 and T40.6. Mortality rates were calculated by year, sex, age, race/ethnicity, and US census region. Temporal trends were evaluated using Joinpoint regression to estimate annual percent changes. A total of 806,765 opioid overdose deaths occurred during the study period. The age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) increased from 4.41 to 22.84 per 100,000. Men consistently had higher AAMRs than women (men: 20.64; women: 9.52). Racial disparities were evident, with the highest rates observed among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (21.79), non-Hispanic White (18.07), and non-Hispanic Black (15.97) populations. Adults aged 35-44 years had the highest crude mortality rates (20.52). Among US regions, the Northeast had the highest AAMR (18.09), followed by the Midwest (15.69), South (14.74), and West (13.09). These findings confirm that opioid overdose remains a major public health issue, with persistent demographic and regional disparities necessitating targeted strategies to reduce mortality.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145724197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ming-Hui Xia, Jia-Xin Wu, Ben Niu, Lin Bo, Hai-Ying Wu, Fei-Yan Deng, Shu-Feng Lei
{"title":"Identification and Validation of a Machine Learning Predictive Model for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Based on Inflammation-Related Indicators.","authors":"Ming-Hui Xia, Jia-Xin Wu, Ben Niu, Lin Bo, Hai-Ying Wu, Fei-Yan Deng, Shu-Feng Lei","doi":"10.1177/19427891251401221","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251401221","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a prevalent metabolic disorder with significant health and economic burdens worldwide. The relationship between inflammation-related indicators and the risk of developing new-onset T2D remains underexplored. This study aims to identify and validate an interpretable predictive model for incident T2D using inflammation-related indicators. We analyzed data from 220,937 participants free of diabetes at baseline in the UK Biobank. Six machine learning algorithms were employed to construct predictive models. Feature selection was performed using Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regression. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were used to interpret the best-performing model. A genetic risk score (GRS, an aggregate measure of genetic susceptibility to T2D) was constructed, and multivariate Cox regression assessed the combined effects of genetic and inflammatory factors on T2D incidence. The Extreme Gradient Boosting model demonstrated the best performance (training set AUC = 0.863, testing set AUC = 0.838). Key predictors included body mass index, cholesterol, age, alanine aminotransferase, high-density lipoprotein, and Prognostic Nutritional Index (a marker predictive of inflammation and nutritional outcomes). SHAP analysis revealed significant contributions from these features. C-reactive protein and white blood cell count showed strong associations with future T2D risk. Integrating the GRS significantly improved the model's predictive performance (ΔAUC = +0.025, <i>P</i> < 0.05 via DeLong's test). This study presents an interpretable machine learning model for new-onset T2D risk prediction, emphasizing the role of inflammation and genetic factors. The findings provide a valuable tool for early T2D prevention and intervention, offering insights into the complex interplay between inflammation and diabetes development.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"38-49"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145725400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matthew C Rock, Riha Vaidya, Cathee Till, Joseph M Unger, Dawn Hershman, Scott Ramsey, Ariel Nehemiah, Daniel Maeng, Robert Krouse
{"title":"Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Preference-Weighted Quality of Life: Findings from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial.","authors":"Matthew C Rock, Riha Vaidya, Cathee Till, Joseph M Unger, Dawn Hershman, Scott Ramsey, Ariel Nehemiah, Daniel Maeng, Robert Krouse","doi":"10.1089/pop.2022.0143","DOIUrl":"10.1089/pop.2022.0143","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Differences in preference-weighted health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores by race/ethnicity may be due to social factors. Here, Short-Form Six-Dimension (SF-6D) scores are analyzed among men in a prostate cancer prevention trial to explore such differences. Selenium and vitamin E cancer prevention trial participants who completed the SF-6D at baseline, and in at least 1 of follow-up years 1, 3, and 5 were included. This study compared mean SF-6D scores across race/ethnicity at each point using a linear mixed model controlling for demographic and clinical characteristics. At baseline, 9691 men were eligible for analysis, of whom 7556 (78%) were non-Hispanic White, 1592 (16.4%) were non-Hispanic Black, and 543 (5.6%) were Hispanic. Hispanic and White participants had higher unadjusted mean SF-6D scores than Black participants at every time point (<i>P</i> < 0.05), while white participants had lower mean scores than Hispanic participants at every time point after baseline (<i>P</i> < 0.05). After adjusting for covariates, statistically significant differences in HRQOL among the 3 groups persisted. Hispanic participants had higher preference scores than White participants by 0.073 (<i>P</i> < 0.001), 0.075 (<i>P</i> < 0.001), and 0.040 (<i>P</i> < 0.001) in follow-up years 1, 3, and 5, respectively. Black participants had lower scores than White participants by 0.009 (<i>P</i> = 0.004) and 0.008 (<i>P</i> = 0.02) in follow-up years 1 and 3, respectively. The results suggest there is a preference-weighted HRQOL difference by race/ethnicity that cannot be explained by social and clinical variables alone. Understanding how individuals belonging to different racial/ethnic categories view their own HRQOL is necessary for culturally competent care and cost-effectiveness analyses.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"313-321"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13014128/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9247821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David Singer, Nikita Stempniewicz, Lydia Lee, Kathryn Evans, Samuel Huse, Ariel Berger
{"title":"Disparities in Recombinant Zoster Vaccine Coverage in the United States.","authors":"David Singer, Nikita Stempniewicz, Lydia Lee, Kathryn Evans, Samuel Huse, Ariel Berger","doi":"10.1177/19427891251392576","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251392576","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) was recommended in 2020 in the US for adults aged ≥50 years. This retrospective study used cross-sectional data from 2020 National Health Interview Survey respondents aged ≥50 years. Sample weights were applied to allow results to be representative of the non-institutionalized US population. Associations between respondent characteristics and coverage were explored using logistic regression. An estimated 14.1% of US adults aged ≥50 years had received ≥1 dose of RZV by 2020. Coverage varied by race and ethnicity (6.3% Hispanic, 6.9% Black/African American, 13.7% Asian, 16.6% White), education (6.9% for grade 1-11 to 24.1% with master's degrees), household income (8.8% for <$35,000 to 18.8% for ≥$100,000), age (7.3%, 14.6%, 19.9%, and 18.1% for ages 50-59, 60-64, 65-74, and ≥75 years, respectively), health insurance (2.2% without, 14.8% with), recency of last health visit (1.8% if >3 years prior to 15.1% if <1 year), and receipt of influenza vaccine in the past year (3.9% without, 21.1% with) (all <i>P</i> < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, factors associated with lower RZV coverage included Black/African American race, Hispanic ethnicity, age 50-59 years, lower household income, less recent last health visit, and no influenza vaccination. In conclusion, only 1-in-7 non-institutionalized Americans aged ≥50 years reported RZV coverage by 2020, with significant disparities among subgroups defined by race and ethnicity, age, and levels of educational attainment, income, and insurance. These results highlight an opportunity to improve herpes zoster protection through increased vaccination, pursued in a more equitable manner. [Figure: see text].</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"288-297"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145637729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Patient Goals to Team Action: A Qualitative Analysis of Student Capstone Projects from a Complex Care Curriculum.","authors":"Brooke Salzman, Lauren Hersh, Maria Brucato, Emily Romano, Mariana Kuperman, Tracey Earland","doi":"10.1177/19427891251390907","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251390907","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Complex care curricula (or \"interprofessional student hotspotting\") are experiential, longitudinal programs based on complex care practice models where health professions students engage patients with complex health and social needs through personalized, hands-on interventions. Prior studies report mixed impacts of complex care curricula and practice models on hospital readmissions and health care costs, but evaluation of patient-driven goals and outcomes has been sparse. The objective of this study was to characterize the goals of individuals with complex health and social needs that engage with complex care curricula and the associated interventions and barriers reported by interprofessional student teams. Capstone projects of 30 student teams spanning a 5-year period (2015-2020) were analyzed via directed content analysis to identify patient goals, team interventions, and barriers. Thematic analysis revealed that the most common patient goals and team interventions focused on enhancing self-efficacy in managing health (72% and 59%, respectively) and health care system navigation (50% and 69%). Identified barriers fell into 3 major categories: barriers encountered with the health system (28%), related to the individual (66%), and arising in teamwork (50%). Over the course of each curricular cycle, students graduated with an appreciation of the importance of collaborative care for complex patients. The longitudinal impact of this analysis emphasizes patients as key stakeholders in the development of complex care curricula. By deepening our understanding of patient goals, intervention trends, and barriers-we allow for enhanced programming that prepares health professionals for practice, optimizes collaboration on interprofessional health teams, and ensures better outcomes for patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"298-307"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145452747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Salene M W Jones, Rhonda-Lee F Aoki, Stacey E Alexeeff, David Carrell, David Cronkite, Lawrence H Kushi, David Mosen, Shaila Strayhorn, Leah Tuzzio, Jessica Mogk, Lauren Mammini, Candyce H Kroenke
{"title":"Evaluation of the Electronic Health Record-Support Social Support Score in Breast Cancer: Comparison of Count and Item Response Theory Scores.","authors":"Salene M W Jones, Rhonda-Lee F Aoki, Stacey E Alexeeff, David Carrell, David Cronkite, Lawrence H Kushi, David Mosen, Shaila Strayhorn, Leah Tuzzio, Jessica Mogk, Lauren Mammini, Candyce H Kroenke","doi":"10.1177/19427891251383539","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251383539","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In breast cancer, clinicians add data on social support to patient electronic health records (EHRs) often in free text notes, but those data may be challenging to use for population health initiatives or research purposes. We evaluated the EHR-Support score designed to summarize need for social support using data from the EHR. This study included 996 women from the Pathways study, a Kaiser Permanente Northern California cohort of women diagnosed in 2005-2013 with breast cancer. This unique data resource included both EHR data and questionnaire data on patient-reported social support. Using unstructured EHR data and natural language processing, we developed 11 concept groups (items) characterizing social support. We also used structured data to create two additional concept groups. EHR-Support scores reflecting the lack of social support were generated three ways: counting the number of negative concept groups (count score), using item response theory (IRT), and converting counts to the IRT metric (converted count scores). The count scores were only associated with two of six patient-reported measures (r's: -0.004 to -0.073). The IRT score (r's: -0.038 to -0.179) and converted count score (r's: -0.032 to -0.195) were associated with five of six patient-reported measures, indicating more need for support was associated with less patient-reported social support. The EHR-Support score is a valid and feasible measure of social support that can be used for health services research and managing population health. The converted count score may provide the best balance of validity, precision from IRT and feasibility.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"273-280"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12721345/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145239451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marsha Wittink, Noah Lee, Eliza Pope-Collins, Kristen Holderle, Daniel Maeng
{"title":"Hospital Outcomes for Patients with Psychiatric Comorbidities: A Comparison of an Integrated Medical-Psychiatry Unit and Traditional Medical Units.","authors":"Marsha Wittink, Noah Lee, Eliza Pope-Collins, Kristen Holderle, Daniel Maeng","doi":"10.1177/19427891251388072","DOIUrl":"10.1177/19427891251388072","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Patients with co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions often face fragmented care and prolonged hospitalizations in traditional medical units (MUs). Integrated medical-psychiatry units (MPUs) offer a model of concurrent care that may better meet the needs of these patients, but limited data exist on which patient populations benefit most. This study retrospectively compared outcomes for patients with psychiatric conditions discharged from an MPU versus traditional MUs within a single academic medical center between 2019 and 2023. Subgroups included patients presenting with suicidal ideation (SI) or toxic overdose (OD). Primary outcomes were length of stay (LOS) and discharge to the community. MPU patients were younger, more likely to be on Medicaid, and had significantly higher rates of psychotic, mood, substance use, and cognitive disorders (all <i>P</i> < 0.001). Despite this higher psychiatric complexity, MPU patients had shorter LOS and higher rates of discharge to home than their counterparts on general MUs, even after adjusting for demographic and clinical differences. Among patients with SI, those on the MPU had an average LOS of 5.5 days compared to 6.7 days in traditional units (<i>P</i> = 0.006). These findings highlight the effectiveness of MPUs in managing complex, high-need patients and support the broader implementation of integrated, interdisciplinary care models to improve hospital outcomes and care transitions for vulnerable populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":20396,"journal":{"name":"Population Health Management","volume":" ","pages":"281-287"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145422210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}