Racial/ethnic disparities in exposure to COVID-19, susceptibility to COVID-19 and access to health care - findings from a U.S. national cohort

We examined the influence of racial/ethnic differences in socioeconomic position on COVID-19 seroconversion and hospitalization within a community-based prospective cohort enrolled in March 2020 and followed through October 2021 (N=6740). The ability to social distance as a measure of exposure to COVID-19, susceptibility to COVID-19 complications, and access to healthcare varied by race/ethnicity with non-white participants having more exposure risk and more difficulty with healthcare access than white participants. Participants with more (versus less) exposure had greater odds of seroconversion (aOR:1.64, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.18-2.29). Participants with more susceptibility and more barriers to healthcare had greater odds of hospitalization (respective aOR:2.36; 1.90-2.96 and 2.31; 1.69-2.68). Race/ethnicity positively modified the association between susceptibility and hospitalization (aORnon-White:2.79, 2.06-3.78). Findings may explain the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infections and complications among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black persons. Primary and secondary prevention efforts should address disparities in exposure, COVID-19 vaccination, and treatment.

Socioeconomic Classes among Oldest-Old Women in South Korea: A Latent Class Analysis

Oldest-old women are known to live at the intersection of multiple socioeconomic disadvantages in South Korean society. This study classified oldest-old Korean women into several socioeconomically homogeneous classes based on various socioeconomic status (SES) risks and compared health characteristics among the identified classes. This cross-sectional study utilized the 2019 Korean Community Health Survey, including data from 11,053 women (≥80 years). Latent class analysis determined the number of underlying socioeconomic classes based on nine selected SES variables. Four distinct socioeconomic classes were identified: “Urban, living alone, recipient of NBLSS, moderate education, leisure activity” (Class 1), “Rural, traditional house, living with others, not financially deprived, low education, employed” (Class 2), “Urban, living with family, financially affluent, not employed, no barriers to healthcare” (Class 3), “Rural, traditional house, living alone, financially deprived, uneducated, employed, barriers to healthcare” (Class 4). Depressive symptoms, subjective stress, and the prevalence of sleep disorder and diabetes were higher in Class 1 compared to other classes. Health-related quality of life, perceived health, and self-rated oral health were the poorest in Class 4. Class 3 reported the best health status. Understanding the intersecting SES risk factors in this group can aid in developing targeted interventions.

Reaching Out to Older Adults in Rural Communities by Utilizing Community Health Workers During a Pandemic

Older adults in rural communities have access, isolation, and technology barriers to healthcare that are exacerbated by the COVID- 19 pandemic. A shortage of healthcare professionals combined with limited resources and poor broadband access have limited their ability to benefit from telehealth. The pandemic has further worsened isolation in rural communities. This Age-Friendly Care, PA pilot study uses community health workers (CHW) as a bridge to connect isolated and underserved older adults with their healthcare team. The CHWs facilitate access to telehealth provided by a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), and also provide “check-ins’ to housebound patients. The focus of the intervention is CHW delivered facilitation of telehealth and other supports to better manage their healthcare needs. We will describe the co-design of the project and discuss lessons learned in attempting to bridge the digital divide for rural older adults during and after the pandemic.

Health Problems & Barriers to Healthcare Services for the Transgender Community in Lahore, Pakistan

Objectives: To find out the major health problems and barriers in getting health care by transgender community in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in transgender community of Lahore from January to October 2020. The study included 214 participants from different areas of Lahore by targeting their “gurus”. Non-probability, snow-ball sampling technique was used to collect required sample size. Data was collected by using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results were generated in form of tables and graphs. Chi square test and Fischer’s exact test were used to find out associations between health seeking behavior with their transgender status and p value was fixed as ≤ 0.05 as significant. Results: Among total 214, 78.5% were transgender females and 21.5% were transgender male. Among the common health problems were depression (56%), anxiety (59%) and genital tract ulcers (45%). About 70% transgender seek health care from government hospitals. Among total 214 participants, 70% reported that they receive poor quality of health care. The main reasons of not getting proper care is non acceptance (20.7%), feeling ashamed (28.7%), non-availability of CNIC (44.5%) and un-affordability (6.1%). Significant association of transgender female with consultation with doctors (p=0.013), seeking care at government hospitals (p =0.038) poor experience at health care facility (0.050), neglect during medical treatment (p=0.015) and feeling of discrimination during treatment (p= 0.042). Conclusion: Transgender community face physical, mental, social and reproductive health issues. About 70% trans-genders receive poor quality of health care services. Non acceptance, feeling ashamed, non-availability of CNIC and non-affordability have been reported as major barriers in getting desired health care. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4375 How to cite this:Manzoor I, Khan ZH, Tariq R, Shahzad R. Health Problems & Barriers to Healthcare Services for the Transgender Community in Lahore, Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(1):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4375 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Poor Outcomes of Older Adults with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) Regardless of Insurance Types

Introduction Prior studies report multiple factors, including insurance status, as significant barriers to healthcare access in the United States. Barriers to healthcare access may lead to worse outcomes in APL, which requires timely diagnosis and prompt treatment. We performed a large database analysis to examine the effects of insurance type and other factors on one-month mortality and overall survival (OS) in patients ≥65 years of age with APL. Methods We aimed to compare one-month mortality and OS of patients on private insurance with patients on non-private insurance, which included Medicare, Medicaid, and other government insurance. Patients ≥65 years of age who were diagnosed with APL between 2004-2015 were identified from the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the effects of insurance type on the probability of one-month mortality. The Kaplan-Meier method estimated overall survival (OS), which was defined as the time from APL diagnosis to last contact or death from any cause. We used Cox regression model to determine the effects of insurance type on mortality risk adjusting for the other covariates of interest. Results We analyzed a total of 1520 patients- either private (12%) or non-private (88%), which included Medicare (85%), Medicaid (2%), and other government insurance (1%). Among total patients, 60% were 65-74 years of age, 46% were female, 87% were white, 84% had Charlson-Deyo comorbidity index (CCI) of 0 or 1, and 52% were treated at academic centers. One-month mortality was 18% for patients with private insurance and 23% for patients with non-private insurance. In a multivariate regression analysis, insurance type did not affect one-month mortality (Table 1). One-month mortality was higher for older patients; patients ≥75 years of age were more likely to die at one month compared to patients 65-74 years (Odds ratio [OR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.53-2.57, p<0.0001). Compared to patients with CCI of 0, patients with CCI of 1 (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.43-2.55, p<0.0001), CCI 2 (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.10-2.56, p=0.01), and CCI ≥3 (OR 2.88, 95% CI 1.75-4.73, p<0.0001) had worse one-month mortality. One-month mortality was higher for patients treated at comprehensive community cancer center compared to those treated at academic cancer center. Median follow-up for surviving patients was 4.5 years (0.03-13.72). Three-year OS was 56% for private insurance and 50% for non-private insurance (Table 2, Figure 1). In Cox proportional hazard model, there was no statistically significant difference in OS based on insurance type. (Table 3). OS did decrease with increasing age. Compared to patients 65-74 years of age, the likelihood of death was higher for patients ≥75 years (Hazard ratio [HR] 1.80, 95% CI 1.57-2.07, p><0.001). OS decreased with increasing comorbidities: HR 1.31 (95% CI 1.12-1.54, p=0.0007) for CCI 1, HR 1.60 (95% CI 1.28-1.99, p<0.0001) for CCI 2, and HR 1.80 (95% CI 1.37-2.37, p<0.0001) for CCI ≥3 compared to patients with CCI of 0. OS was lower for patients treated at comprehensive community cancer center compared to those treated at academic cancer center. Higher income status and diagnosis after 2009 were associated with improved OS. Conclusion In our large database analysis, while insurance types were not associated with mortality in patients ≥65 years of age with APL, one-month mortality (about 20%) still remains high and only half of older adults are alive at 3 years. Our study highlights a significant effect of increasing age on mortality even among older adults, with approximately 2-fold higher risk of mortality among patients ≥75 years versus those 65-74 years. Other factors associated with higher mortality included treatment outside of academic centers and lower income status. Unlike younger adults, APL in older adults still has significant unmet need. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Gundabolu: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Consultancy; Blueprint Medicines: Consultancy; Pfizer: Research Funding; Samus Therapeutics: Research Funding; BioMarin Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Bhatt: Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC: Consultancy; Partnership for health analytic research, LLC: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Jazz: Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Tolero Pharmaceuticals, Inc: Research Funding; National Marrow Donor Program: Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy; Rigel: Consultancy.

Integrative Health Policy for Migrants in Germany

It is not a new topic for Germany in receiving immigrants from various nations. However, it is thought-provoking how German integration policy is criticized to be exclusionist based on its immigration policies. 1 In Germany, efforts to integrate the current demand and needs of the migrant population into the healthcare system have proved uncoordinated and scattered as much as diversity in policy is slowly under the implementation process. Frequently, immigrants are not facing any complicated legal restrictions but it is reported that they experience extremely challenging access with barriers resulting in the worst results trying to utilize healthcare services. 2 Equal access to health care services is a crucial aspect of Germany's national health policy. Factors contributing to access barriers to healthcare are said to be: cultural differences; education; political issues; the absence of complementary voluntary health insurance. Therefore, this paper will explore the migrants’ health and barriers to healthcare access in Germany

Disruption of medical care among individuals in the southeastern United States during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Widespread disruptions of medical care to mitigate COVID-19 spread and reduce burden on healthcare systems may have deleterious public health consequences.Design and Methods: To examine factors contributing to healthcare interruptions during the pandemic, we conducted a COVID-19 impact survey between 10/7-12/14/2020 among participants of the Southern Community Cohort Study, which primarily enrolled low-income individuals in 12 southeastern states from 2002-2009. COVID survey data were combined with baseline and follow-up data.Results: Among 4,463 respondents, 40% reported having missed/delayed a health appointment during the pandemic; the common reason was provider-initiated cancellation or delay (63%). In a multivariable model, female sex was the strongest independent predictor of interrupted care, with odds ratio (OR) 1.63 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40-1.89). Those with higher education (OR 1.27; 95% CI 1.05-1.54 for college graduate vs ≤high school) and household income (OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.16-1.86 for >$50,000 vs <$15,000) were at significantly increased odds of missing healthcare. Having greater perceived risk for acquiring (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.17-1.72) or dying from COVID-19 (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.04-1.51) also significantly increased odds of missed/delayed healthcare. Age was inversely associated with missed healthcare among men (OR for 5-year increase in age 0.88; 95% CI 0.80-0.96) but not women (OR 0.97; 95% CI 0.91-1.04; p-interaction=0.04). Neither race/ethnicity nor comorbidities were associated with interrupted healthcare.Conclusions: Disruptions to healthcare disproportionately affected women and were primarily driven by health system-initiated deferrals and individual perceptions of COVID-19 risk, rather than medical co-morbidities or other traditional barriers to healthcare access.

Newcomer challenges with accessing healthcare services in Saskatchewan, Canada

Newcomers experience a variety of barriers to healthcare services. The study objective is to identify newcomers’ healthcare barriers. During 2014-2015, we conducted in-depth interviews with service providers, and newcomer parents who had been in Saskatchewan for under 5 years. Primary themes include: 1) navigation difficulty, 2) limited awareness, 3) language, 4) interpretation and translation, 5) health benefits, 6) service limitations and stigma, 7) gender and cultural concerns, 8) health attitudes and beliefs, and 9) work demands. The results exposed service gaps and suggest options to improve access to healthcare. Consideration should be given to the development of formal processes to ensure the provision of information concerning healthcare and health benefit programs, as well as responsive healthcare services, including convenient primary healthcare sites that offer comprehensive care in a culturally responsive manner with embedded interpretation services to ensure that the Saskatchewan healthcare system does not perpetuate or create health disparities.

Abstract P127: Heals Med-Tech: A Hypertension Control Program For African American Communities Using Telehealth Technologies

Background: Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, remain the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the US. Hypertension (HTN) is the single most chronic condition among African-American (AA) adults with health disparities in respect to control, awareness, and compliance. HEALS Med-Tech (HMT) is a 12-month HTN management program. This abstract will present findings from the first 3 months of HMT on BP reduction in diagnosed AA adults. Primary outcomes of interest are changes in systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and weight at 3, 6, and 12 months. Methods: HMT has 3 components: a) HEALS (Healthy Eating And Living Spiritually) a group-based, 12-month behavioral lifestyle intervention (3-months of weekly sessions followed by 9 monthly maintenance sessions) modified from the NIH-funded DASH and PREMIER programs; b) Med-component provides HTN management through medications and social support provided by PCPs; and c) Tech-component provides an interactive telehealth by mobile phone to combat barriers to healthcare access. Results: A total of 62 eligible AA participants were enrolled and randomized to either HEALS Med-Tech or standard care (control). The study is currently in maintenance phase. The least squares mean SBP at baseline was 144.1 mm Hg, and after 12 weeks of intervention, the SBP was 134.0 mm Hg. Similar changes were seen in DBP at 12 weeks from baseline. Conclusion: A multidisciplinary, community-engaged approach utilizing technology, supported by community peers, could improve HTN management in high-risk AAs. This study will contribute to understanding methods to empower AAs to increase self-care management of HTN and improve access to healthcare.