Hispanic Mobile Health

Background Publicly-insured and uninsured individuals-many of whom are marginalized because of race/ethnicity, disability and/or sexual preferences-experience barriers to accessing evidence-based interventions for eating disorders (EDs). Additionally, EBIs have not been developed with or for diverse populations, exacerbating poor treatment uptake. Mobile technology is perfectly positioned to bridge this gap and increase access to low-cost, culturally-sensitive EBIs. Methods This study leverages a user-centered design approach to adapt an existing coached cognitive-behavioral therapy-based digital program and evaluate its usability in a sample of 11 participants with (sub)clinical binge-purge type EDs who are publicly-insured ( n  = 10) or uninsured ( n  = 1)...

BACKGROUND: Digital technologies allow users to engage in health-related behaviors associated with positive outcomes. We aimed to identify classes of US adults with distinct digital technologies access and health use patterns and characterize class composition. Data came from Health Information National Trends Survey Wave 5 Cycles 1-4, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of US adults ( N = 13,993). We used latent class analysis to identify digital technologies access and health use patterns based on 32 behaviors and access to requisite technologies and platforms that include the internet, internet-enabled devices, health monitors, and electronic health records (EHRs)...

BACKGROUND: Health-related social needs are associated with poor health outcomes, increased acute health care use, and impaired chronic disease management. Given these negative outcomes, an increasing number of national health care organizations have recommended that the health system screen and address unmet health-related social needs as a routine part of clinical care, but there are limited data on how to implement social needs screening in clinical settings to improve the management of chronic diseases such as hypertension...

The built and natural environment factors (e.g., greenspace, walkability) are associated with maternal and infant health during and after pregnancy. Most pregnancy studies assess exposures to environmental factors via static methods (i.e., residential location at a single point in time, usually 3rd trimester). These do not capture dynamic exposures encountered in activity spaces (e.g., locations one visits and paths one travels) and their changes over time. In this study, we aimed to compare daily environmental exposure estimates using residential and global positioning systems (GPS)-measured activity space approaches and evaluated potential for exposure measurement error in the former...

PURPOSE: Integrating digital technologies into sexual health education can offer advantages for connecting with adolescents, particularly populations who may be underserved through common school-based approaches. This study assessed the effectiveness of In the Know, an in-person, group-based sexual health education program integrating digital technologies, codesigned with adolescents. METHODS: The study design was a cluster randomized trial with 1,263 adolescents aged 13-19 in 95 cohorts, implemented in community-based organizations and schools throughout Fresno County, California...

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether Latina women's upward economic mobility from early-life residence in impoverished urban neighborhoods is associated with preterm birth (< 37 weeks, PTB) . METHODS: Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed on the Illinois transgenerational birth-file with appended US census income information for Hispanic infants (born 1989-1991) and their mothers (born 1956-1976). RESULTS: In Chicago, modestly impoverished-born Latina women (n = 1,674) who experienced upward economic mobility had a PTB rate of 8...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility and usability of EnergyPoints™, an innovative mobile health app that teaches and guides people with cancer to implement daily acupressure to self-manage their fatigue and sleep disturbances. METHODS AND INTERVENTION: The study used an integrated agile, human-centered approach. Adults (age 18 years and over) with cancer experiencing at least moderate fatigue, and living in the Greater New York City community, were recruited from social media, patient advocacy groups, and referrals...

Social isolation can cause a variety of adverse physical and mental health effects and is central to understanding broader social disparities among marginalized groups in the United States. This study aims to assess whether temperature variation is associated with daily social isolation at the neighborhood level. I test a series of two-way fixed effects models to see if mean daily temperature is associated with individuals spending the entire day at home, as measured using smartphone data, across a sample of 45 million devices in 2019 in the United States...

Unaddressed functional difficulties contribute to disparities in healthy aging. While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is believed to have reshaped long-term care, little is known how it has collectively altered the prevalence of older adults with functional difficulties and their use of family and formal care. This study uses nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study (2008 - 2018) to describe racial-ethnic differences in prevalence of community-dwelling older adults who had difficulty with, but lacked assistance for self-care, mobility, and household activities before and after the ACA...

BACKGROUND:  In the United States, Latino caregivers of individuals with dementia face unique challenges and an elevated risk of adverse health outcomes. Despite the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer disease and related dementias among Latino adults, few evidence-based interventions are tailored to their cultural context. To address this gap, we examined the cultural adaptations required for the STAR caregivers (STAR-C) virtual intervention, an evidence-based intervention that educates family caregivers to manage behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia...

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity and a poor diet are modifiable behaviors that contribute to obesity. Obesity is a well-recognized risk factor for chronic diseases, including diabetes. Mobile health (mHealth) apps can play an important adjuvant role in preventing and treating chronic diseases and promoting positive health behavior change among people with obesity, and eHealth literacy skills have the potential to impact mHealth app use. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between the 2 dimensions, access and application, of eHealth literacy skills and mHealth app use among US adults (≥18 years of age) with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2 )...

BACKGROUND: Postpartum women with overweight/obesity and a history of adverse pregnancy outcomes are at elevated risk for cardiometabolic disease. Postpartum weight loss and lifestyle changes can decrease these risks, yet traditional face-to-face interventions often fail. We adapted the Diabetes Prevention Program into a theory-based mobile health (mHealth) program called Fit After Baby (FAB) and tested FAB in a randomized controlled trial. METHODS: The FAB program provided 12 weeks of daily evidence-based content, facilitated tracking of weight, diet, and activity, and included weekly coaching and gamification with points and rewards...

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that Latina immigrant survivors of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk for developing and remaining with either depression or anxiety or both symptoms. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a telehealth intervention-Cuidándome (quee-DAN-doh-meh, "taking care of myself"). Cuidándome is a 10-week, patient-centered, trauma-informed intervention delivered by a trained facilitator that promotes self-management of depression and anxiety symptoms through improved problem-solving skills and strategies...

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have suggested that the relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and the usage of mobile health (mHealth) technology may vary depending on the total number of CVD risk factors present. However, whether higher CVD risk is associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in specific mHealth use among US adults is currently unknown. OBJECTIVE: We aim to assess the associations between the composite CVD risk and each component of mHealth use among US adults regardless of whether they have a history of CVD or not...

The purpose of this study was to describe the health status and barriers of people who sought care on a free mobile health clinic for women without insurance in California. Participants were 221 women who attended the Salud para Mujeres (Women's Health) mobile medical clinic between 2019 and 2021. Medical chart abstractions provided data on sociodemographic factors, medical history, barriers to care, depressive symptoms, and dietary factors. Anthropometric measure, blood pressure, and biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease risk were also abstracted...

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the historical legacy of anti-immigrant sentiment in the US has resurfaced, fueled by a new wave of anti-immigrant political rhetoric. Violent political rhetoric, defined as either explicit or metaphorically targeted language to dehumanize targeted groups, can incite discriminatory treatment of immigrants at both interpersonal and institutional levels, shaping their health and healthcare experiences. This qualitative study explores and compares how Spanish- and Chinese-speaking immigrant populations in Chicago make sense of violent political rhetoric against their racial and ethnic identities, utilize coping strategies to maintain their sense of belonging, and experience downstream health consequences...

BACKGROUND: Health care data breaches are the most rapidly increasing type of cybercrime; however, the predictors of health care data breaches are uncertain. OBJECTIVE: This quantitative study aims to develop a predictive model to explain the number of hospital data breaches at the county level. METHODS: This study evaluated data consolidated at the county level from 1032 short-term acute care hospitals. We considered the association between data breach occurrence (a dichotomous variable), predictors based on county demographics, and socioeconomics, average hospital workload, facility type, and average performance on several hospital financial metrics using 3 model types: logistic regression, perceptron, and support vector machine...

BACKGROUND: Although treatment for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is effective, individuals face access barriers. The utility of mobile health clinics (MHC), effective mechanisms for providing healthcare to underserved populations, is understudied for HCV-related interventions. We aimed to describe implementation of, and factors associated with, screening and treatment via MHCs. METHODS: Clemson Rural Health implemented a novel MHC program to reach and treat populations at-risk for HCV with a focus on care for uninsured individuals...

OBJECTIVES: Nearly half of all state Medicaid agencies in the United States have implemented managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS). Data gaps have inhibited our understanding of MLTSS experiences to date. We draw on a national survey with novel data linkages to develop a profile of older dual-enrollees with significant LTSS needs by MLTSS program presence. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study using the 2015 round of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older...

INTRODUCTION: Increasing engagement in HIV care among people living with HIV, especially those from Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx communities, is an urgent need. Mobility data that measure individuals' movements over time in combination with sociostructural data (eg, crime, census) can potentially identify barriers and facilitators to HIV care engagement and can enhance public health surveillance and inform interventions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The proposed work is a longitudinal observational cohort study aiming to enrol 400 Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx individuals living with HIV in areas of the USA with high prevalence rates of HIV...