Remote Evidence-Based Health Promotion Programs During COVID: A National Evaluation of Reach and Implementation for Older Adult Health Equity

INTRODUCTION.

Evidence-based health promotion programs (EBPs) support older adults where they live, work, pray, play, and age. COVID-19 placed a disproportionate burden on this population, especially those with chronic conditions. In-person EBPs shifted to remote delivery via video-conferencing, phone, and mail during the pandemic, creating opportunities and challenges for older adult health equity.

METHOD.

In 2021-2022, we conducted a process evaluation of remote EBPs by purposively sampling diverse U.S. organizations and older adults (people of color, rural, and/or with disabilities). The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) + Equity framework was used to understand program reach and implementation, including FRAME to describe adaptations for remote delivery. Analyses include descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of participant and provider surveys and interviews, and joint display tables to compare learnings.

RESULTS.

Findings from 31 EBPs through 198 managers/leaders and 107 organizations suggest remote delivery increases EBP reach by improving access for older adults who are underserved. For programs requiring new software or hardware, challenges remain reaching those with limited access to-or comfort using-technology. Adaptations were to context (e.g., shorter, smaller classes with longer duration) and for equity (e.g., phone formats, autogenerated captioning); content was unchanged except where safety was concerned. Implementation is facilitated by remote delivery guidelines, distance training, and technology support; and hindered by additional time, staffing, and resources for engagement and delivery.

CONCLUSIONS.

Remote EBP delivery is promising for improving equitable access to quality health promotion. Future policies and practices must support technology access and usability for all older adults.

Implementing a Metabolism-Informed Approach for Smoking Cessation in an Alaska Tribal Health System: Study Protocol for a Single-Arm Implementation Pilot Trial

Background

Individualized treatment for commercial tobacco smoking cessation, such as through the utilization of the nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR), offers substantial clinical benefit. NMR is a metabolism-informed biomarker that can be used to guide medication selection. NMR testing is particularly promising for tobacco cessation efforts in populations with high rates of smoking, such as some Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) communities. To date, no prior study has evaluated the implementation of NMR-guided tobacco cessation with AN/AI populations.

Methods

The present "QUIT" protocol is a two-phase study that will occur at Southcentral Foundation (SCF), an Alaska Native-owned health system, serving 70,000 AN/AI people, based in Anchorage, Alaska. In Phase one, qualitative interviews with customer-owners (patients), providers and administrators (n = 36) and a 10-participant beta-test will be used to refine a strategy to implement NMR testing in the health system. Phase two will involve a single-arm pilot trial (n = 50) and qualitative interviews throughout data collection (n = 48) to evaluate the implementation strategy and explore the real-world acceptability and feasibility of NMR testing to guide tobacco cessation with AN/AI populations.

Discussion

This study utilizes a community-based participatory approach to refine and implement a nicotine metabolism-informed smoking cessation program in a Tribal healthcare setting. The process and findings from this study will reflect the importance of customer-owner choice and honor the lived experience involved in quitting commercial tobacco. Pilot study data will inform the effect and sample sizes required for a future pragmatic trial of NMR-guided smoking cessation.

Birth Control in Clinical Trials: Industry Survey of Current Use Practices, Governance, and Monitoring

The Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology Technical Committee sponsored a pharmaceutical industry survey on current industry practices for contraception use during clinical trials. The objectives of the survey were to improve our understanding of the current industry practices for contraception requirements in clinical trials, the governance processes set up to promote consistency and/or compliance with contraception requirements, and the effectiveness of current contraception practices in preventing pregnancies during clinical trials. Opportunities for improvements in current practices were also considered. The survey results from 12 pharmaceutical companies identified significant variability among companies with regard to contraception practices and governance during clinical trials. This variability was due primarily to differences in definitions, areas of scientific uncertainty or misunderstanding, and differences in company approaches to enrollment in clinical trials. The survey also revealed that few companies collected data in a manner that would allow a retrospective understanding of the reasons for failure of birth control during clinical trials. In this article, suggestions are made for topics where regulatory guidance or scientific publications could facilitate best practice. These include provisions for a pragmatic definition of women of childbearing potential, guidance on how animal data can influence the requirements for male and female birth control, evidence-based guidance on birth control and pregnancy testing regimes suitable for low- and high-risk situations, plus practical methods to ascertain the risk of drug-drug interactions with hormonal contraceptives.

Plasma osteopontin as a biomarker of prostate cancer aggression: relationship to risk category and treatment response

BACKGROUND

High plasma osteopontin (OPN) has been linked to tumour hypoxia, metastasis, and poor prognosis. This study aims to assess whether plasma osteopontin was a biomarker of increasing progression within prostate cancer (PCa) prognostic groups and whether it reflected treatment response to local and systemic therapies.

METHODS

Baseline OPN was determined in men with localised (n=199), locally recurrent (n=9) and castrate-resistant, metastatic PCa (CRPC-MET; n=37). Receiver-operating curves (ROC) were generated to describe the accuracy of OPN for distinguishing between localised risk groups or localised vs metastatic disease. We also measured OPN pre- and posttreatment, following radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), androgen deprivation (AD) or taxane-based chemotherapy.

RESULTS

The CRPC-MET patients had increased baseline values (mean 219; 56-513 ng ml(-1); P<0.0001) compared with the localised, non-metastatic group (mean 72; 12-438 ng ml(-1)). The area under the ROC to differentiate localised vs metastatic disease was improved when OPN was added to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) (0.943-0.969). Osteopontin neither distinguished high-risk PCa from other localised PCa nor correlated with serum PSA at baseline. Osteopontin levels reduced in low-risk patients after radical prostatectomy (P=0.005) and in CRPC-MET patients after chemotherapy (P=0.027), but not after EBRT or AD.

CONCLUSION

Plasma OPN is as good as PSA at predicting treatment response in CRPC-MET patients after chemotherapy. Our data do not support the use of plasma OPN as a biomarker of increasing tumour burden within localised PCa.

Sonic hedgehog induces the proliferation of primitive human hematopoietic cells via BMP regulation

A pool of stem cells that arise from the mesoderm during embryogenesis initiates hematopoiesis. However, factors that regulate the expansion of blood stem cells are poorly understood. We show here that cytokine-induced proliferation of primitive human hematopoietic cells could be inhibited with antibodies to hedgehog (Hh). Conversely, Sonic hedgehog (Shh) treatment induced the expansion of pluripotent human hematopoietic repopulating cells detected in immunodeficient mice. Noggin, a specific inhibitor of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4), was capable of inhibiting Shh-induced proliferation in a similar manner to anti-Hh; however, anti-Hh had no effect on BMP-4-induced proliferation. Our study shows that Shh functions as a regulator of primitive hematopoietic cells via mechanisms that are dependent on downstream BMP signals.

Biphasic decay of latently infected CD4+ T cells in acute human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection

Latent infection of resting CD4(+) T cells represents a major barrier to eradication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The establishment and rate of decay of latent HIV-1 in resting CD(+) T cells from 9 acute seroconverters, 7 of whom began to receive highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) shortly after presentation, were studied. Before the initiation of therapy, these patients had very high frequencies of latently infected CD4(+) T cells, with a median frequency of 205 infectious units per million resting CD4(+) T cells. These values are > or =1 log higher than those seen in chronically infected patients who are not undergoing HAART. The number of latently infected cells declined dramatically after initiation of HAART but then tended to level off at a low but stable level. The biphasic decay of latent HIV in resting CD4(+) T cells in acute seroconverters supports current models of pre- and postintegration latency.

Characterization of chemokine receptor utilization of viruses in the latent reservoir for human immunodeficiency virus type 1

Latently infected resting CD4(+) T cells provide a long-term reservoir for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and are likely to represent the major barrier to virus eradication in patients on combination antiretroviral therapy. The mechanisms by which viruses enter the latent reservoir and the nature of the chemokine receptors involved have not been determined. To evaluate the phenotype of the virus in this compartment with respect to chemokine receptor utilization, full-length HIV-1 env genes were cloned from latently infected cells and assayed functionally. We demonstrate that the majority of the viruses in the latent reservoir utilize CCR5 during entry, although utilization of several other receptors, including CXCR4, was observed. No alternative coreceptors were shown to be involved in a systematic fashion. Although R5 viruses are present in the latent reservoir, CCR5 was not expressed at high levels on resting CD4(+) T cells. To understand the mechanism by which R5 viruses enter latent reservoir, the ability of an R5 virus, HIV-1 Ba-L, to infect highly purified resting CD4(+) T lymphocytes from uninfected donors was evaluated. Entry of Ba-L could be observed when virus was applied at a multiplicity approaching 1. However, infection was limited to a subset of cells expressing low levels of CCR5 and markers of immunologic memory. Naive cells could not be infected by an R5 virus even when challenged with a large inoculum. Direct cell fractionation studies showed that latent virus is present predominantly in resting memory cells but also at lower levels in resting naive cells. Taken together, these findings provide support for the hypothesis that the direct infection of naive T cells is not the major mechanism by which the latent infection of resting T cells is established.

Latent infection of CD4+ T cells provides a mechanism for lifelong persistence of HIV-1, even in patients on effective combination therapy

Combination therapy for HIV-1 infection can reduce plasma virus to undetectable levels, indicating that prolonged treatment might eradicate the infection. However, HIV-1 can persist in a latent form in resting CD4+ T cells. We measured the decay rate of this latent reservoir in 34 treated adults whose plasma virus levels were undetectable. The mean half-life of the latent reservoir was very long (43.9 months). If the latent reservoir consists of only 1 x 10(5) cells, eradication could take as long as 60 years. Thus, latent infection of resting CD4+ T cells provides a mechanism for lifelong persistence of HIV-1, even in patients on effective anti-retroviral therapy.

Postgraduate studies in radiation biology in Europe

The present system of radiobiological research in universities and research centres is no longer able to train radiobiologists who have a comprehensive understanding of the entire field of radiation biology including both 'classical' and molecular radiation biology. However, such experts are needed in view of the role radiation protection plays in our societies. No single institution in Europe could now run a 1-year, full-time course which covers all aspects of the radiobiological basis of radiation protection. Therefore, a cooperative action of several universities from different EU member states has been developed and is described herein.

Identification of a reservoir for HIV-1 in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

The hypothesis that quiescent CD4+ T lymphocytes carrying proviral DNA provide a reservoir for human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was examined. In a study of 22 patients successfully treated with HAART for up to 30 months, replication-competent virus was routinely recovered from resting CD4+ T lymphocytes. The frequency of resting CD4+ T cells harboring latent HIV-1 was low, 0.2 to 16.4 per 10(6) cells, and, in cross-sectional analysis, did not decrease with increasing time on therapy. The recovered viruses generally did not show mutations associated with resistance to the relevant antiretroviral drugs. This reservoir of nonevolving latent virus in resting CD4+ T cells should be considered in deciding whether to terminate treatment in patients who respond to HAART.

Differential susceptibility of naive and memory CD4+ T cells to the cytopathic effects of infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 strain LAI

CD4+ T lymphocytes of individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) exhibit a qualitative defect in their ability to mount memory responses to previously encountered antigens although their responses to mitogens remain normal. T cells responsible for memory responses can be distinguished from naive T cells based on differential expression of isoforms of the tyrosine phosphatase CD45. It has been suggested that memory CD4+ T cells from infected individuals have a greater virus burden than naive CD4+ T cells and that this accounts for the loss of recall responses in infected individuals. However, it has been unclear whether naive and memory T cells are equally susceptible to infection and to the cytopathic effects of the virus. We therefore infected highly purified resting naive and memory CD4+ T cells from HIV-1-seronegative individuals with HIV-1(LAI). Infected cells were then stimulated with phytohemagglutinin to render them permissive for viral replication. Cell viability and growth rate were monitored for 8 to 10 days as indicators of cytopathic effects induced by HIV-1(LAI). Our results indicated that naive and memory CD4+ T cells display marked differences in susceptibility to the cytopathic effects induced by HIV-1(LAI), infection. The cytopathic effects induced by HIV-1(LAI) were much more severe in memory CD4+ T cells than in naive CD4+ T cells. Differential cytopathic effects in naive and memory T cells were not due to differences in virus entry into and replication in these cell populations. Rather, memory cells were more susceptible to cytopathic effects. Pronounced cytopathic effects in memory cells were clearly detectable at 7 day postinfection. Cell death occurred at the single-cell level and was not accompanied by syncytium formation. The growth rate of infected memory CD4+ T cells was also severely compromised compared to that of naive CD4+ T cells, whereas the growth rates of both uninfected naive and memory CD4+ T cells were approximately the same. At least a portion of the dying cells exhibited biochemical changes characteristic of apoptosis. These results suggest that the selective functional defects present in the memory CD4+ T-cell subset of HIV-1-infected individuals may in part be the result of the greater susceptibility of memory T cells to cytopathic effects induced by HIV-1.

Quantification of latent tissue reservoirs and total body viral load in HIV-1 infection

The capacity of HIV-1 to establish latent infection of CD4+ T cells may allow viral persistence despite immune responses and antiretroviral therapy. Measurements of infectious virus and viral RNA in plasma and of infectious virus, viral DNA and viral messenger RNA species in infected cells all suggest that HIV-1 replication continues throughout the course of infection. Uncertainty remains over what fraction of CD4+ T cells are infected and whether there are latent reservoirs for the virus. We show here that during the asymptomatic phase of infection there is an extremely low total body load of latently infected resting CD4+ T cells with replication-competent integrated provirus (<10(7) cells). The most prevalent form of HIV-1 DNA in resting and activated CD4+ T cells is a full-length, linear, unintegrated form that is not replication competent. The infection progresses even though at any given time in the lymphoid tissues integrated HIV-1 DNA is present in only a minute fraction of the susceptible populations, including resting and activated CD4+ T cells and macrophages.

In vivo fate of HIV-1-infected T cells: quantitative analysis of the transition to stable latency

Although it is presumed that the integration of HIV-1 into the genome of infected CD4+ T lymphocytes allows viral persistence, there has been little direct evidence that CD4+ T cells with integrated provirus function as a latent reservoir for HIV-1 in infected individuals. Using resting CD4+ T-cell populations of extremely high purity and a novel assay that selectively and unambiguously detects integrated HIV-1, we show that resting CD4+ T cells harbouring integrated provirus are present in some infected individuals. However, these cells do not accumulate within the circulating pool of resting CD4+ T cells in the early stages of HIV-1 infection and do not accumulate even after prolonged periods in long-term survivors of HIV-1 infection. These results suggest that because of viral cytopathic effects and/or host effector mechanisms, productively infected CD4+ T cells do not generally survive for long enough to revert to a resting memory state in vivo.

Astigmatic changes after cataract surgery with 5.1 mm and 3.5 mm sutureless incisions

We evaluated postoperative keratometric astigmatism in 80 eyes that had phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation through sutureless corneal incisions. The eyes were separated into two groups based on the use of rigid ovoid or foldable silicone lenses inserted through 5.1 mm corneal lip incisions or 3.5 mm lip incisions, respectively. In the early postoperative period (one to three months), vector analysis showed less induced astigmatism in the 3.5 mm group than in the 5.1 mm group. Uncorrected visual acuity during the postoperative period was also better in the smaller incision group.