Alexandra Wynn, Jamie Kananen, Athena Bruess, Yendelela Cuffee, Katlyn Culhane-Suluai, Esther Hofknecht, Jennifer Horney
{"title":"Promoting Healthier Communities Through the Delaware State Health Improvement Plan.","authors":"Alexandra Wynn, Jamie Kananen, Athena Bruess, Yendelela Cuffee, Katlyn Culhane-Suluai, Esther Hofknecht, Jennifer Horney","doi":"10.32548/djph.2026.05.08","DOIUrl":"10.32548/djph.2026.05.08","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Delaware State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) is a statewide, multi-year strategic plan that aims to address Delaware's most pressing health issues. The SHIP, in its fourth year of a five-year action plan, is led through a collaboration involving the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), the University of Delaware (UD) Department of Epidemiology, and the UD Partnership for Healthy Communities (PHC), which together form the SHIP internal team. The purpose of the SHIP is to outline objectives and strategies for implementation across five health priorities identified through a State Health Assessment (SHA): mental health, chronic disease, maternal and infant health, avoidable injury, and premature death. Since the SHIP's publication in April 2025, the SHIP internal team has worked with the SHIP Partnership Coalition to actively implement the plan and refine its strategies. This commentary highlights the SHIP's objectives and the progress made toward them.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 2","pages":"16-20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13245565/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148213610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From the Bedside to the Books: How Creating Innovative Educational Research Pathways Helps to Retain Clinical Nurses.","authors":"Samantha J Clark, Briana Abernathy, Susan D Smith","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.05.14","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.05.14","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This commentary explores how educational research pathways tailored for bedside nurses ignite professional vitality and influence organizational retention. Engagement with clinically-based professional development has been linked to increased job satisfaction, yet opportunities for bedside nurses to engage specifically in research and emerging technology remain scarce. To fill this educational gap, ChristianaCare's Nursing Research Fellowship in Robotics and Innovation offers a \"first-of-its-kind\" innovative program that couples diverse didactic content with applied robotics research. Early preliminary programmatic survey data indicate high levels of program satisfaction, psychological safety, and a strengthened sense of community. Nurse fellows reported an increased intent to pursue further professional development (e.g., clinical ladders, certifications) and a renewed commitment to bedside practice. Investing in non-traditional educational pathways, such as research fellowships, allows healthcare organizations to harness nurses' unique bedside perspective to drive transformative changes in patient care leading to fulfillment and retention.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 2","pages":"60-61"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13245576/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148213471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kate Dupont Phillips, Monica Burnett Castellano, Linda Tholstrup, Bill Swiatek, Sarah Lester, Lauren J Footman
{"title":"Long-Term Investments, Cross-Sector Partnerships and Tailored Support Fuel Collaborative Efforts to Create Healthy and Thriving Delaware Communities.","authors":"Kate Dupont Phillips, Monica Burnett Castellano, Linda Tholstrup, Bill Swiatek, Sarah Lester, Lauren J Footman","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.05.10","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.05.10","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Healthy Communities Delaware's experience validates three tenets for partnering with communities to improve health, well-being, and equity: long-term investment, cross-sector partnerships, and community-tailored approaches. Community stories from West Side Wilmington, the Route 9 Corridor, and Laurel illustrate how putting these principles into practice advances the Vital Conditions so all Delaware communities can be healthy and thrive.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 2","pages":"24-28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13245561/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148213648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent Developments in United States Vaccine Policy: A Narrative Review.","authors":"Suhani Bhatt, Katherine Smith","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.16","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.16","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 1","pages":"118-120"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13048750/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147629302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Snapshot of Diabetes Risk, Risk Awareness, and Lifestyle Change Factors in Older Adults Attending Delaware Senior Centers.","authors":"Laurie Ruggiero, Elizabeth Orsega-Smith","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.13","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.13","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Diabetes prevalence increases with age. Senior centers offer an opportunity to reach community-dwelling older adults to educate them about diabetes and its prevention. <b>Objective</b>. The objective of the study was to examine diabetes/pre-diabetes occurrence, risk factors, and awareness, and lifestyle behaviors; and compare lifestyle behaviors in three diabetes risk-related subgroups (diabetes, lower risk; higher risk) in older adults attending senior centers. <b>Methods</b>. A single occasion cross-sectional self-report survey was conducted at two Delaware senior centers. A total of 159 individuals participated in the survey. <b>Results</b>. Demographic characteristics were: 76.08 years old on average (SD = 7.89); 77.4% female; 1.9% Hispanic/Latino/Latinx; 84.2 White, and 13.3% Black/African American. Of this sample, 20.0% self-reported a diabetes diagnosis, 66.3% without known diabetes may have increased risk, and 29.8% were aware of their diabetes risk. Furthermore, more than half reported a lack of knowledge about pre-diabetes. For lifestyle behaviors, 73% reported being in the action/maintenance stages of change for physical activity, 53%-72% across areas of healthy eating, and 93% were nonsmokers. No significant differences were found between risk groups for these lifestyle areas. <b>Conclusions/Policy Implications</b>. These findings suggest potential gaps in older adults' awareness of diabetes risk and opportunities for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors. Senior centers offer a convenient opportunity to reach older adults, to offer tailored approaches to address gaps in their awareness of pre-diabetes and diabetes risk, and to link individuals with current senior center, state, and other programs to further support diabetes prevention in older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 1","pages":"98-104"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13048754/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147629330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yasaman Moghadamnia, Ryan Zurakowski, Mohammad Aminul Islam
{"title":"Model-Informed Drug Development: Addressing the Critical Need for Training in the Promising New Field.","authors":"Yasaman Moghadamnia, Ryan Zurakowski, Mohammad Aminul Islam","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.11","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.11","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The pharmaceutical industry faces a major challenge in drug discovery and development, with overall success rates of only 10-20%, often due to reductionist approaches that fail to account for complex biological networks. To address this challenge, industry and regulatory agencies, including the FDA, are increasingly adopting Model-Informed Drug Development (MIDD) and Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) to improve dose optimization, trial design, and decision-making throughout the drug development pipeline. At the same time, pharmaceutical investment in the United States, particularly in the greater Delaware region, is rapidly expanding, increasing the demand for a highly skilled workforce trained in advanced modeling and simulation. However, the widespread adoption of MIDD and QSP methodologies is hindered by a shortage of trained scientists, as traditional Biomedical Engineering curricula often lack the advanced mathematical and computational modeling preparation required by industry. To address this gap, the Biomedical Engineering department at the University of Delaware has integrated MIDD principles into its graduate curriculum and launched the nation's first Master's program dedicated to QSP, providing structured, industry-aligned training to prepare students for careers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 1","pages":"68-71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13048755/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147629312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Blueprint for Partnership between AI and MD.","authors":"Thomas Schwaab, Patrick Callahan","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.07","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.07","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Healthcare delivery is experiencing a digital inflection point. Despite widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and expanding diagnostic technologies, clinicians increasingly report administrative overload, fragmented information systems, and reduced time for direct patient care. Data volume has increased, but clarity has not. This commentary proposes a four-pillar framework for transforming healthcare data from a source of cognitive burden into a driver of clinical, operational, and financial value. The framework includes: (1) early detection of clinical deterioration through AI-enabled analytics; (2) proactive operational adjustments using predictive capacity modeling; (3) population-level predictive capability to prevent avoidable hospitalizations; and (4) operational efficiency through automation of documentation and coding workflows. Rather than replacing physicians, artificial intelligence systems should function as intelligent assistants that synthesize data, reduce clerical burden, and support clinical judgment. We also discuss how integration of multi-omics data may further enhance early detection and personalized care. Moving from data fragmentation to actionable insight is not solely a technology challenge. It is a workforce sustainability issue and a public health priority.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 1","pages":"28-30"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13048753/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147629304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent Advances in Modeling and Prediction of Blood Glucose in Type 1 Diabetes.","authors":"Yixiang Deng, Yiwei Kong, Xuechun Wang, He Li","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.09","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.09","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Accurate prediction and control of blood glucose levels are essential for the management of type 1 diabetes, where patients rely on exogenous insulin and are vulnerable to both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. The widespread adoption of continuous glucose monitoring systems, insulin pumps, and wearable devices has generated large volumes of physiological and behavioral data, creating new opportunities for computational modeling and intelligent decision support. This review surveys recent advances in glucose prediction and control models, with a primary focus on type 1 diabetes. We examine three major classes of approaches: mechanistic models based on physiological principles, data-driven machine learning methods, and hybrid or biology-informed frameworks that integrate mechanistic knowledge with learning-based techniques. We also discuss the growing role of multimodal data, deep learning architectures, and reinforcement learning for automated insulin dosing and adaptive control in artificial pancreas systems. Despite significant progress, important challenges remain, including handling noisy and heterogeneous data, improving predictive reliability and uncertainty quantification, and enabling real-time deployment on resource-constrained medical devices. Emerging strategies such as edge computing, efficient model design, and hardware-algorithm co-optimization may help bridge this gap. Continued progress will require interdisciplinary collaboration, standardized evaluation on public datasets, and rigorous clinical validation to translate emerging modeling approaches into practical tools that improve patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 1","pages":"46-53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13048757/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147629333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Celia Payen, Xi Peng, Weisong Shi, Patrick Callahan
{"title":"Harnessing AI for Transformative Healthcare: Proceedings and Strategic Roadmap from AI4Health Industry Day 2026 in Delaware.","authors":"Celia Payen, Xi Peng, Weisong Shi, Patrick Callahan","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.17","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.17","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping healthcare, offering new capabilities to improve specialty care delivery, reduce administrative burden, enhance operational efficiency, and accelerate biomedical discovery. Yet implementation remains constrained by workforce shortages, fragmented data infrastructure, governance requirements, and the need for responsible deployment aligned with patient-centered outcomes. AI4Health Industry Day 2026 convened 50-60 stakeholders from across Delaware's healthcare & Innovation ecosystem, including ChristianaCare, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), the University of Delaware, NVIDIA, IBM, and emerging startups,to examine the current state of healthcare AI and identify pathways for scalable impact. This proceeding report synthesizes key themes spanning workforce analytics, robotics-enabled care operations, privacy-preserving machine learning, knowledge graph-driven discovery, and AI-accelerated gene editing. Panel discussions emphasized Delaware's Rural Health Transformation efforts and the importance of aligning innovation with access, cost, and equity priorities. We conclude with a strategic roadmap positioning Delaware as an emerging hub for responsible AI deployment in specialty care and public health.</p>","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 1","pages":"122-126"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13048759/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147629357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Maria in 2035: Delaware as a Living Laboratory for AI-Enabled Public Health.","authors":"Neil G Hockstein, Patrick J Callahan","doi":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.15","DOIUrl":"10.32481/djph.2026.03.15","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72774,"journal":{"name":"Delaware journal of public health","volume":"12 1","pages":"114-116"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13048763/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147629392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}