Exploring for Municipality-Level Socioeconomic Variables Related to Zika Virus Incidence in Colombia

Colombia experienced an outbreak of Zika virus infection during September 2015 until July 2016. This study aimed to identify the socioeconomic factors that at the municipality level correlate with this outbreak and therefore could have influenced its incidence. An analysis of publicly available, municipality-aggregated data related to eight potential explanatory socioeconomic variables was conducted. These variables are school dropout, low energy strata, social security system, savings capacity, tax, resources, investment, and debt. The response variable of interest in this study is the number of reported cases of Zika virus infection per people (projected) per square kilometer. Binomial regression models were performed. Results show that the best predictor variables of Zika virus occurrence, assuming an expected inverse relationship with socioeconomic status, are "school", "energy", and "savings". Contrary to expectations, proxies of socioeconomic status such as "investment", "tax", and "resources" were associated with an increase in the occurrence of Zika virus infection, while no association was detected for "social security" and "debt". Energy stratification, school dropout rate, and the percentage of the municipality's income that is saved conformed to the hypothesized inverse relationship between socioeconomic standing and Zika occurrence. As such, this study suggests these factors should be considered in Zika risk modeling.

Exploring associations between state education initiatives and teachers' sleep: A social-ecological approach

Social policies that are not specifically aimed at impacting health can still have health consequences. State education reforms, such as standardized testing and stringent accountability for schools and teachers, may affect teacher health by changing their working conditions. This study explores associations between state education initiatives and teachers' sleep, an important predictor of productivity and chronic health conditions. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2013 and 2014 data sets provided sleep and demographic data for 7836 teachers in 29 states in the United States. We linked the teacher data to state education reform data from the U.S. Department of Education. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of reporting inadequate sleep (i.e., <6.5 h and <5.5 h) associated with state education policies after adjusting for demographic characteristics. Teachers had significantly higher odds of reporting inadequate sleep if their state financed professional development, sanctioned or rewarded schools based on student performance, and regulated classroom materials for state-wide common core standards (ORs ranging from 1.25 to 1.84). More strictly defined inadequate sleep (<5.5 h) had generally higher ORs than less strict definition (<6.5 h). The Race-to-the-Top award, a US federal grant designed to encourage states to implement reforms through regulations and legislations, was also associated with inadequate sleep (OR = 1.41, p < 0.01, for <6.5 h; OR = 1.55, p < 0.01, for <5.5 h). Although this exploratory study did not have district- and school-level implementation data, the results suggest that some state education policies may have impacts on teacher sleep. Consequences of education reform for teacher health deserve more attention.