Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Homelessness; Medicaid; HPV Vaccinations
Health Affairs: Homelessness Contributes To Pregnancy Complications
Homelessness during pregnancy poses significant health risks for mothers and infants. As health care providers increase their emphasis on social determinants of health, it is important to understand how unstable housing contributes to complications during pregnancy. We linked data about emergency shelter enrollees with Massachusetts Medicaid claims for the period January 1, 2008–June 30, 2015 to compare health care use and pregnancy complications for 9,124 women who used emergency shelter with those for 8,757 similar women who did not. Rates of mental illness and substance use disorders were significantly higher among homeless women. (Clark et al, 1/1)
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: Medicaid: What To Watch In 2019 From The Administration, Congress, And The States
Medicaid, the provider of health insurance coverage for about one in five Americans and the largest payer for long-term care services in the community and nursing homes, continues to be a key part of health policy debates at the federal and state level. Important Medicaid issues to watch in 2019 include Medicaid expansion developments amid ongoing litigation about the ACA’s constitutionality as well as Medicaid demonstration waiver activities, including those focused on work requirements and other eligibility restrictions. (Rudowitz, Musumeci and Artiga, 1/8)
Pediatrics: An Educational Intervention To Improve HPV Vaccination: A Cluster Randomized Trial
A total of 1596 eligible adolescents were observed during the 7-month trial. One-third of adolescents visited an intervention clinic. Adolescents who attended an intervention clinic were more likely to be younger (11–12 years) than those who attended a control clinic (72.4% vs 49.8%; P < .001). No differences in race or sex were observed. The proportion of adolescents with an observed change in vaccine status was higher for those attending an intervention clinic (64.8%) versus control clinic (50.1%; odds ratio, 1.82; 95% confidence interval, 1.47–2.25; P < .001). Adolescents whose parents watched the video had a 3-times greater odds of receiving a dose of the HPV vaccine (78.0%; odds ratio, 3.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.47–6.42; P = .003). (Dixon et al, 1/1)
JAMA Internal Medicine: Effect Of A Biobehavioral Environmental Approach On Disability Among Low-Income Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
In this randomized clinical trial of 300 low-income older adults with disability, participation in a person-directed program resulted in a 30% reduction in disability scores compared with the results achieved in an attention control group. (Szanton et al, 1/7)
