A Flexible Urban Health Index for Small Area Disparities

Available urban health metrics focus primarily on large area rankings. Less has been done to develop an index that provides information about level of health and health disparities for small geographic areas. Adopting a method used by the Human Development Index, we standardized indicators for small area units on a (0, 1) interval and combined them using their geometric mean to form an Urban Health Index (UHI). Disparities were assessed using the ratio of the highest to lowest decile and measurement of the slope of the eight middle deciles (middle; 80 %) of the data. We examined the sensitivity of the measure to weighting, to changes in the method, to correlation among indicators, and to substitution of indicators. Using seven health determinants and applying these methods to the 128 census tracts in the city of Atlanta, USA, we found a disparity ratio of 5.92 and a disparity slope of 0.54, suggesting substantial inequality and heterogeneity of risk. The component indicators were highly correlated; their systematic removal had a small effect on the results. Except in extreme cases, weighting had a little effect on the rankings. A map of Atlanta census tracts exposed a swath of high disparity. UHI rankings, ratio, and slope were resistant to alteration in composition and to non-extreme weighting schemes. This empirical evaluation was limited to a single realization, but suggests that a flexible tool, whose method rather than content is standardized, may be of use for local evaluation, for decision making, and for area comparison.     

Clinical Benefit-Risk Profile of Lenalidomide in Patients With Lower-risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes Without del(5q): Results of a Phase III Trial

BackgroundIn the phase III MDS-005 study of patients with lower-risk, non-del(5q) myelodysplastic syndromes, lenalidomide was associated with a higher rate of ≥ 8 weeks red blood cell transfusion independence (RBC-TI) compared with placebo, but also with a higher risk of hematologic adverse events (AEs).Patients and MethodsThis analysis evaluated the ratio of clinical benefit-risk in patients treated with lenalidomide or placebo, and assessed the effect of lenalidomide dose reductions on response. Clinical benefit was a composite endpoint defined as RBC-TI, transfusion reduction ≥ 4 units packed red blood cells, hemoglobin increase ≥ 1.5 g/dL, or cytogenetic response.ResultsThe rate of clinical benefit was higher with lenalidomide than with placebo (31.9% vs. 3.8%). The ratio of response (RBC-TI and clinical benefit) to risk (hematologic AEs) favored lenalidomide over placebo. Patients who underwent ≥ 1 lenalidomide dose reduction had a longer duration of treatment, received a higher cumulative dose, and were more likely to experience clinical benefit versus patients without dose reductions.ConclusionDespite the occurrence of hematologic AEs, the overall benefit-risk profile supported lenalidomide treatment. Appropriate management of hematologic AEs by dose reductions may help patients with myelodysplastic syndromes to remain on treatment and achieve clinical benefit.     

Morphometric analysis of variation in the ribs with age and sex

Rib cage morphology changes with age and sex are expected to affect thoracic injury mechanisms and tolerance, particularly for vulnerable populations such as pediatrics and the elderly. The size and shape variation of the external geometry of the ribs was characterized for males and females aged 0–100 years. Computed tomography (CT) scans from 339 subjects were analyzed to collect between 2700 and 10 400 homologous landmarks from each rib. Rib landmarks were analyzed using the geometric morphometric technique known as Procrustes superimposition. Age‐ and sex‐specific functions of 3D rib morphology were produced representing the combined size and shape variation and the isolated shape variation. Statistically significant changes in the size and shape variation (P < 0.0001) and shape variation (P < 0.0053) of all 24 ribs were found to occur with age in males and females. Rib geometry, location, and orientation varied according to the rib level. From birth through adolescence, the rib cage experienced an increase in size, a decrease in thoracic kyphosis, and inferior rotation of the ribs relative to the spine within the sagittal plane. From young adulthood into elderly age, the rib cage experienced increased thoracic kyphosis and superior rotation of the ribs relative to the spine within the sagittal plane. The increased roundedness of the rib cage and horizontal angling of the ribs relative to the spine with age influences the biomechanical response of the thorax. With the plane of the rib oriented more horizontally, loading applied in the anterior‐posterior direction will result in increased deformation within the plane of the rib and an increased risk for rib fractures. Thus, morphological changes may be a contributing factor to the increased incidence of rib fractures in the elderly. The morphological functions derived in this study capture substantially more information on thoracic skeleton morphology variation with age and sex than is currently available in the literature. The developed models of rib cage anatomy can be used to study age and sex variations in thoracic injury patterns due to motor vehicle crashes or falls, and clinically relevant changes due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or other diseases evidenced by structural and anatomic changes to the chest.     

Minding the gap: health and social care provider perceptions of parental communication and Black-Canadian youths’ sexual health

Abstract

Health and social care providers’ perceptions of Black-Canadian parent-youth sexual health communication has important implications for addressing knowledge gaps in the provision of services to young people and their parents. Providers’ perceptions are crucial as they often act as advisers in tailoring programmes or services to the perceived needs of parents and youth. To understand these perceptions, 17 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with providers who worked with African, Caribbean or Black (ACB) parents and youth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Critical Race Theory was used to help guide the interpretation of findings. The findings revealed providers believed that many parents were unlikely to explicitly discuss sexual health or HIV prevention with young people. Additionally, providers perceived that the content of and approach to parent-youth sexual health communication differed between African and Caribbean clients. Moreover, providers believed that both parents’ and young people’s sex and gender impacted the quality, content and style of sexual health communication and had important implications for programme development. Overall, findings suggest a need for understanding the development of providers’ perceptions of this communication, ways to address these perceptions and further parent-provider collaboration to promote Black youths’ sexual health.