Investigating the impacts of alcohol outlet zoning policy on alcohol consumption and access to non-alcoholic services: A spatial agent-based simulation.

Debates continue over the effectiveness of limiting alcohol outlet density in reducing alcohol consumption, and its broader impacts on access to non-alcoholic services in low-income urban communities remain underexplored. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impacts of alcohol outlet zoning policies on alcohol consumption and walkable access to non-alcoholic services in low-income urban communities with different baseline densities of liquor and grocery stores. We developed a spatial agent-based model of Baltimore City neighborhoods, simulating the closure of non-conforming liquor stores following the city's zoning code rewrite.

Being Out: Impact of Disclosure on Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Receipt in a Sample of Sexual Minority Women and Gender Diverse Youth.

Purpose: Sexual minority women and gender diverse youth in the United States experience disparities in sexual and reproductive health. We evaluated whether sexual partner type, identity, and attraction were associated with healthcare disclosure, and whether healthcare disclosure was associated with sexual and reproductive healthcare receipt in a sample of sexual minority and gender diverse youth aged 18-24 years assigned female at birth.

Methods: 103 youth assigned female at birth completed a behavioral health survey.

A Preamble to Prevention of Adolescent Substance Use: Pediatric Resident Screening for Caregiver Substance Use.

Background: Caregiver problematic substance use (SU) is a common adverse childhood experience that is associated with the development of SU disorders in adolescence and poor health outcomes. Most pediatricians do not currently screen for caregiver SU, missing an opportunity to provide targeted prevention counseling to at-risk youth and their families. The objective of this study was to assess whether pediatric residents' screening-related competencies, beliefs, and training were associated with current screening practices and/or preparedness to screen in the future.

Model Building with Youth: Applying a System Science Approach to Examine the Dynamic Social Context of Adolescent and Young Adult Marijuana Use.

Marijuana use in adolescence is associated with significant adverse outcomes. Romantic relationships are an important context for marijuana use. Prior research suggests a bi-directional relationship between marijuana use and relationship functioning; however, the complex interplay between adolescent relationship dynamics and marijuana use remains unclear.

A Clinic-Level Approach to Improve Uptake of First COVID-19 Vaccine Dose in Primary Care.

This quality improvement initiative aimed to increase first dose of COVID-19 vaccinations during pediatric/adolescent clinic visits. Four plan-do-study-act cycles were performed with creation of eligibility lists and increasing health educator (HE) engagement. Statistical process control analysis assessed vaccine receipt over time.

Family-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention of Substance Use in Pediatric Primary Care Settings.

Prevention of substance misuse and substance use disorders is a national public health priority. The home environment can represent risk or protective factors for development of substance misuse. Children in homes with caregiver substance use are biologically, developmentally, interpersonally, and environmentally vulnerable to substance misuse and associated consequences, making it necessary for substance use prevention to focus on families early.

Discordant and Concordant Substance Use and Daily Partner Violence in Adolescent and Young Adult Relationships With Baseline Dating Violence.

Purpose: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are significant public health issues in the United States. Together, they can harm emotional regulation and romantic relationship functioning. This study examines the role of concordant and discordant substance use on IPV within AYA relationships.

Undermining the Translational Potential of Clinical Research With Adolescents and Young Adults: Differential Enrollment in Randomized Clinical Trials During COVID-19.

Background: COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and research restrictions halted recruitment and follow-up of clinical research patients. Although clinical research has resumed, it is an open question whether research participation has returned to levels similar to those before COVID-19.

Methods: We used data from the TECH-PN (NCT No.

Cash Transfers and After-School Programs: A Randomized Controlled Trial for Young Men at Risk of Violence Exposure in Wilmington, Delaware.

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether an after-school program paired with a cash transfer (a conditional cash transfer) or a cash transfer alone (an unconditional cash transfer) can help improve health and economic outcomes for young men between the ages of 14 and 17 whose parents have low incomes and who live in neighborhoods with high crime rates. We find that receiving the cash transfer alone was associated with an increase in healthy behaviors (one of our primary outcome composite measures) and that the cash transfer paired with after-school programming was associated with an improvement in the financial health of participants (one of our secondary outcome composite measures). We find no differences in spending on alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, or other drugs between either the treatment group and the control group.

Association of Adolescents' Body Mass Index Classification With Preventive Clinical Care Receipt.

Purpose: To examine differences in screening and advising for modifiable risk behaviors during well-visits based on adolescents' body mass index categories.

Methods: Retrospective analyses were conducted with the National Institute of Health's NEXT Generation Health Study data, a nationally representative cohort of 10th graders. In wave 1 (2010), adolescents were classified as being underweight (<4.

Investigating the Relative Influence of Romantic Sex Partners and Close Friends on Adolescent Alcohol and Marijuana Use.

A large body of research has identified peer exposure as a key factor driving adolescent substance use. However, findings on the role of sex partners are less robust and mixed. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the independent contribution of close friends' and sex partners' alcohol and marijuana use on adolescents' use of these substances.

"What Do You Consider Use?" Perspectives of Black Youth on Cannabis Use.

Purpose: Adolescent health surveillance systems are critical for understanding patterns of cannabis use; however, their limitations underscore the need for studies that generate new insights, particularly from individuals who are most impacted by negative outcomes. Our objectives were to learn about youths' cannabis use and their perceptions of their peers' cannabis use; their perspectives about trajectories of cannabis use over time and factors that influence trajectories; and perceived risks and benefits associated with cannabis use.

Methods: A group model building approach was used to gather data about cannabis use from a sample of urban, Black youth.

The Impact of Racism on the Health and Wellbeing of Black Indigenous and Other Youth of Color (BIPOC Youth).

Black, Indigenous, and other Youth of Color (BIPOC youth) experience racism from a young age. These experiences have both immediate and long-term impacts on their health and wellbeing. Systemic racism contributes to the inequitable distribution of health resources and other social determinants of health, creating barriers to accessing care.

Moving up but not getting ahead: Family socioeconomic position in pregnancy, social mobility, and child cognitive development in the first seven years of life.

Objectives: Understanding when and how socioeconomic position (SEP) influences cognitive development is key to reducing population inequalities in health and achievement. The objective of this study was to determine the unique association between prenatal family SEP and child cognitive development, and to determine whether marked postnatal social mobility was associated with improvements in child cognitive performance to age 7.

Methods: Data were from children enrolled in the US National Collaborative Perinatal Project (NCPP) (n = 28,761) during 1959-1965, a dataset large enough to observe marked mobility, which remains uncommon.

A systems framework depicting how complex neighborhood dynamics and contextual factors could impact the effectiveness of an alcohol outlet zoning policy.

An updated zoning policy eliminating all alcohol outlets (liquor stores) in residential districts was implemented to reduce high rates of violent crime in Baltimore City. Diverse stakeholders were engaged in group model building (GMB) activities to develop causal loop diagrams (CLDs) that elucidate the impact of the new zoning policy on crime, and more broadly, the potentially unintended social and environmental consequences of the policy. Three distinct groups, community advocates, city officials/academics, and community residents, participated in three separate GMB sessions.

State of the Art in Substance Use Prevention and Early Intervention: Applications to Pediatric Primary Care Settings.

With changes to drug-related policies and increased availability of many drugs, we currently face a public health crisis related to substance use and associated health consequences. Substance use and substance use disorders (SU/SUDs) are complex developmental disorders with etiologies that emerge through the intergenerational transmission of biological, familial, and environmental factors. The family ecosystem both influences and is influenced by SU/SUDs, particularly in children and adolescents.

Provider and Practice Characteristics and Perceived Barriers Associated With Different Levels of Adolescent SBIRT Implementation Among a National Sample of US Pediatricians.

Pediatrician Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) practices vary widely, though little is known about the correlates of SBIRT implementation. Using data from a national sample of US pediatricians who treat adolescents (n = 250), we characterized self-reported utilization rates of SBIRT among US pediatricians and identified provider- and practice-level characteristics and barriers associated with SBIRT utilization. All participants completed an electronic survey querying the demographics, practice patterns, and perceived barriers related to SBIRT practices.

Understanding caregiver acceptance of screening for family substance use in pediatric clinics serving economically disadvantaged children.

Children of parents with substance use disorders are at greater risk for mental and physical health co-morbidities. Despite guidelines, pediatricians rarely screen for substance use in the family/household, citing fear of offending parents. The objectives of this study were to examine (1) caregiver acceptance of pediatricians screening for family/household substance use during well-child visits, (2) prevalence of family/household substance use, and (3) the association between family/household substance use and trust in their child's pediatrician.

Adolescent and Young Women's Daily Reports of Emotional Context and Episodes of Dating Violence.

Purpose: To investigate same day, previous day, and next day associations between trust, closeness, commitment, jealousy and provision of instrumental support with dating violence victimization and perpetration.

Method: A convenience sample of young women, 16-19 years, in a heterosexual dating relationship with at least one act (past month) of physical or psychological victimization or perpetration, were recruited from urban public locations. Participants answered questions daily via text continuously for four months on dating violence and partner-specific emotions.

Adolescents' Patterns of Well-Care Use Over Time: Who Stays Connected.

Introduction: Well-care use can positively impact adolescents' current and future health. Understanding adolescents' longitudinal well-care use is critical to determine to whom and when to target engagement strategies to improve healthcare access. This study describes prospective well-care use patterns from childhood through adolescence stratified by sex.

The Impact of Relationship Stressors on Trust and Prorelationship Behavior Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Systems Approach.

Purpose: Trust is an essential component of romantic relationships. It is not understood how youth respond to a relationship stressor, which may impact trust, such as perceiving to be at risk for a sexually transmitted infection or their partner has other sex partners. We used a system science approach to examine feedback between trust and prorelationship behaviors within adolescent relationships.

Association between relationship characteristics, sexual health attitudes, and dual contraceptive use among young adult college students aged 18-24.

Determine the relationship characteristics, sexual health attitudes, and demographic factors associated with dual contraceptive use among college students. September-October 2018 via campus email, we recruited College of Public Health students attending a large, urban, public university (N = 424). Respondents completed a cross-sectional, Web-based sexual health questionnaire.

E-cigarette Use, Tobacco Product Polyuse, and Motivations for Use among Baltimore Young Adults.

Objective: We examined reasons for e-cigarette use, tobacco product polyuse, and tobacco cessation interest among tobacco-using young adults from an urban setting.

Methods: Participants (N = 97) completed a risk factor survey. Descriptive statistics and prevalence estimates of polytobacco use patterns, motivations for tobacco use, tobacco cessation interest, and beliefs and risk perceptions about tobacco use were explored.

Adolescent-Serving Addiction Treatment Facilities in the United States and the Availability of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder.

Purpose: Adolescents with opioid use disorder are less likely than adults to receive medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), yet we know little about facilities that provide addiction treatment for adolescents. We sought to describe adolescent-serving addiction treatment facilities in the U.S.