OBJECTIVE: Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, the authors examine the relationship between perceived work trajectories and mortality risk among Black and White women over 36 years. METHOD: Panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women (1967-2003) are used to evaluate how objective and subjective elements of work shape mortality risk for Black and White women born between 1923 and 1937. RESULTS: Estimates from Cox proportional hazards models reveal that Black working women manifest higher mortality risk than White working women even after accounting for occupation, personal income, and household wealth. Perceived work trajectories were also associated with mortality risk for Black women but not for White women. DISCUSSION: The findings reveal the imprint of women's work life on mortality, especially for Black women, and illustrate the importance of considering personal meanings associated with objective work characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, this research examines how accumulated financial strain affects women's self-rated health in middle and later life. METHOD: Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women (1967-2003), we employ random-coefficient growth curve models to examine whether recurring financial strain influences women's health, above and beyond several measures of objective social status. Predicted probabilities of poor health were estimated by the frequency of financial strain. RESULTS: Financial strain is associated with rapid declines in women's health during middle and later life, especially for those women who reported recurrent strain. Changes in household income and household wealth were also associated with women's health but did not eliminate the effects due to accumulated financial strain. DISCUSSION: Accumulated financial strain has long-term effects on women's health during middle and later life. The findings demonstrate the importance of measuring life course exposure to stressors in studies of health trajectories.

In this article, the authors describe a new data infrastructure project being developed at the Minnesota Population Center. The Integrated Spatio-Temporal Aggregate Data Series (ISTADS) will make it easier for researchers to use publicly available aggregate data for the United States over a time span that covers virtually the entire life of the nation: 17902012. In addition to facilitating access and ease of use, ISTADS will facilitate the use of thesevarious data sets in mapping and spatial analysis.

In 2011, about 25 percent of the Medicare fee-for-service population had diabetes. Among Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, approximately 14 percent had type 1, 85 percent had type 2 but did not use insulin, and less than 1 percent had type 2 diabetes and used insulin to manage their condition. Between 2007 and 2011, beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes who used insulin had the highest burden of comorbidity, hospitalization rates, and allowed payment, followed by those with type 1 diabetes. Most beneficiaries with diabetes had evaluation and management visits. Most also received needed preventive care, including HbA1c and LDL testing, and about half received an annual flu shot and eye exam. However, beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes using insulin had the lowest rates of receipt of preventive care. Most beneficiaries with diabetes visited both primary care and specialty providers. The number of providers with whom they had contact is high, indicating potential fragmentation in both primary and specialty care.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Depression and hopelessness are associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality; however, few studies have compared these constructs early in the atherogenic process, particularly in women or minorities. METHODS This cross-sectional study examined associations of hopelessness and depressive symptoms with carotid artery intimal-medial thickening (IMT) in 559 women (62% white, 38% black; mean+/-SD age, 50.2+/-2.8 years) without evidence of clinical CVD from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Heart Study. Hopelessness was measured by 2 questionnaire items; depressive symptoms were measured with the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Mean and maximum IMT were assessed by B-mode ultrasonography of the carotid arteries. RESULTS Increasing hopelessness was significantly related to higher mean (P=0.0139) and maximum (P=0.0297) IMT in regression models adjusted for age, race, site, income, and CVD risk factors. A weaker pattern of associations was noted for depressive symptoms and mean (P=0.1056) and maximum (P=0.0691) IMT. Modeled simultaneously in a risk factor-adjusted model, hopelessness was related to greater mean IMT (P=0.0217) and maximum IMT (P=0.0409), but depressive symptoms were unrelated to either outcome (P>0.4). No interactions with race or synergistic effects of depressive symptoms and hopelessness were observed. CONCLUSIONS Among middle-aged women, higher levels of hopelessness are associated with greater subclinical atherosclerosis independent of age, race, income, CVD risk factors, and depressive symptoms.

Objective: To determine whether the postnatal growth rate of infants with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with later cognitive function and body mass index (BMI). Study design: Infants with IUGR (<2211 g at ≥37 weeks' gestation) were identified in data from the Collaborative Perinatal Project, excluding those with diagnoses affecting cognition or growth. Wechsler Scale of Children's Intelligence (WISC) scores at age 7 years and data on postnatal growth at 16 weeks were available for 463 infants with IUGR. Linear regression relating postnatal growth and WISC score, adjusting for potential confounders, was performed for these infants. BMI at 7 years also was examined. Results: Weight gain at 16 postnatal weeks ranged from 1059 to 5119 g in the infants with IUGR, with lower achieved cognitive testing scores apparent at both extremes (ie, an inverted J-shape; P < .001). Infants gaining 1200 and 5000 g scored 15.5 and 2.4 fewer points, respectively, on the full scale compared with infants with score-maximizing growth. In contrast, BMI at 7 years was linearly related to postnatal weight gain (P < .001). Conclusions: Growth in the first 4 postnatal months is an independent risk factor for cognitive outcome at age 7 years, with both extremes associated with negative effects. © 2009 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Background: Prior studies demonstrate that 20-50% of adolescents and young adults (AYA, age 15-39 years) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) receive care at specialty cancer centers (SCC); yet a significant survival benefit has been observed for patients at these sites. Our objective was to identify patients at risk of severe geographic barriers to SCC-level care. across 43 U.S. states. We calculated driving distance and travel time from counties where participants lived to the closest SCC sites. We then used multivariable logistic regression models to examine the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics of counties where AYA ALLs resided and the need to travel >1 hour to obtain care at an SCC. Results: Among 11,813 AYA ALL patients, 43.4% were 25-39 years old, 65.5% were male, 32.9% were Hispanic, and 28.7% had public insurance. We found 23.6% of AYA ALL patients from 60.8% of included U.S. counties would be required to travel >1 hour one-way to access an SCC. Multivariable models demonstrate that patients living in counties that are non-metropolitan, with lower levels of educational attainment, with higher income inequality, lower internet access, located in primary care physician shortage areas and with fewer hospitals providing chemotherapy services are more likely to travel >1 hour to access an SCC. Conclusions: Substantial travel-related barriers exist to accessing care at SCCs across the U.S, particularly for patients living in areas with greater concentrations of historically marginalized communities. Abstract word count: 248 (without spelling out NAACCR CiNA acronym)

The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) is a five-year NSF-funded project designed to create a comprehensive U.S. census database-at the census tract and county level-for both the geographical and attribute data. Technological change presents an unprecedented opportunity to make these data readily available for social science research; thus bringing the complete census within reach of social scientists unlocking the potential of two centuries of data collection, and stimulating research in economics, history, sociology, geography and other fields.

Transforming nursing homes (NHs) from restrictive institutions to person-centered homes, referred to as NH culture change, is complex and multifaceted. This study, based on a survey of administrators in Minnesota NHs (n ¼ 102), tested the domain-specific relationships of culture change practices with resident quality of life (QOL) and family satisfaction, and examined the moderating effect of small-home or household models on these relationships. The findings revealed that culture change operationalized through physical environment transformation, staff empowerment, staff leadership, and end-of-life care was positively associated with at least one domain of resident QOL and family satisfaction, while staff empowerment had the most extensive effects. Implementing small-home and household models had a buffering effect on the positive relationships between staff empowerment and the outcomes. The findings provide meaningful implications for designing and implementing NH culture change practices that best benefit residents' QOL and improve family satisfaction.

Background

Whole-person care is a new paradigm for serious illness, but few programs have been robustly studied. We sought to test the effect of LifeCourse (LC), a person-centered program for patients living with serious illness, on health-care utilization, care experience, and quality of life, employing a quasi-experimental design with a Usual Care (UC) comparison group. The study was conducted 2012 to 2017 at an upper-Midwest not-for-profit health-care system with outcomes measured every 3 months until the end of life. Enrolled patients (N ¼ 903) were estimated to be within 3 years of end of life and diagnosed with 1þ serious illness. Exclusion criteria included hospice enrollment at time of screening or active dying. Community health workers (CHWs) delivered standardized monthly 1-hour home visits based on palliative care guidelines and motivational interviewing to promote patients' physical, psychosocial, and financial well-being. Primary outcomes included health-care utilization and patient-and caregiver-experience and quality of life. Patients were elderly (LC 74, UC 78 years) and primarily non-Hispanic, white, living at home with cardiovascular disease as the primary diagnosis (LC 69%, UC 57%). A higher proportion of LC patients completed advance directives (N ¼ 173, 38%) than UC patients (N ¼ 66, 15%; P < .001). LifeCourse patients who died spent more days in hospice (88 + 191 days) compared to UC patients (44 + 71 days; P ¼ .018). LifeCourse patients reported greater improvements than UC in communication as part of the care experience (P ¼ .016). Implementation of person-centered programs delivered by CHWs is feasible; inexpensive upstream expansion of palliative care models can yield benefits for patients and caregivers. Trial Registration: Trial NCT01746446 was registered on November 27, 2012 at ClinicalTrials.gov.

Reflexivity statement The authors include three females and eight males and span multiple levels of seniority. While three of the authors specialize in health care quality and health policy in China and West Pacific, the rest includes epidemiologists, economists, and medical staffs with expertise in sextually transmitted diseases, health economics, and global health in the Africa and Asia. All authors have extensive experience conducting fieldwork in developing countries, especially in China and India.

Nursing homes (NH) and other institutional-based long-term care settings are not considered an appropriate place for the care of those with serious mental illness, absent other medical conditions or functional impairment that warrants skilled care. Despite policy and regulatory efforts intended to curb the unnecessary placement of people with serious mental illness (SMI) in these settings, the number of adults with SMI who receive care in NHs has continued to rise. Through a scoping review, we sought to summarize the available literature describing NH care for adults with SMI from 2000 to 2020. We found that SMI was operationalized and measured using a variety of methods and diagnoses. Most articles focused on a national sample, with the main unit of analysis being at the NH resident-level and based on analysis of secondary data sets. Understanding current evidence about the use of NHs by older adults with SMI is important to policy and practice, especially as we continue to grapple as a nation with how to provide quality care for older adults with SMI.