Hospital Readmission Rates in Hawai‘i
For hospitals, potentially preventable readmissions (PPRs) are costly, and high rates of PPRs can signal opportunities to improve quality of care. New findings show that among adults over age 65, Native Hawaiian men, Filipino men, and Other Pacific Islander men and women have higher rates of PPRs than whites, in a fully-adjusted analysis. However, other groups’ PPR rates were not signficiantly different from those of whites, and Chinese women over 65 had lower rates. The researchers, including senior author Deborah A. Taira, ScD, of The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, looked at data from the Hawaiʻi Health Information Corporation on nearly 500,000 hospitalizations in Hawaiʻi from 2007 to 2012. The use of data from subpopulations is important in detecting policy-relevant differences between subgroups of Asians and Pacific Islanders, the researchers concluded. The report, Thirty-Day Inpatient Readmissions for Asian American and Pacific Islander Sub-Groups Compared with Whites, is published in Medical Care Research and Review.
Odds of Chronic Disease Are Related to Food and Housing Insecurity in Hawai‘i
Food insecurity and housing insecurity may affect racial/ethnic groups in Hawai‘i differently. A new analysis of the likelihood of diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and asthma shows that housing-insecure Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) face nearly double the odds of having diabetes, as well as nearly double the odds of having CVD, compared with housing-secure NHOPIs. Moreover, food-insecure NHOPIs have more than double the odds of diabetes, compared with food-secure NHOPIs. In addition, whites and Asians with either housing insecurity or food insecurity have higher odds of having asthma compared with their secure counterparts. The analysis, conducted by David A. Stupplebeen, PhD, MPH, of UH Public Health, pooled data from the 2009 and 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and concluded that housing and food insecurity are associated with higher rates of chronic diseases in Hawai‘i. The report, Housing and Food Insecurity and Chronic Disease Among Three Racial Groups in Hawai–i, is published in Preventing Chronic Disease.
Improving Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Bones
Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods measure signals from water molecules that are located in relatively large compartments such as cells or extracellular spaces. Collagenated tissues, such as tendons, cartilage, and the outer layers of bones, are characterized by their dense structural features which have a strong effect on the physical properties of the water molecules within them. Signals from these water molecules quickly decay (within a few milliseconds), making it difficult to detect and, consequently, to use for imaging. The advancement of specialized MRI methods called ultrashort echo time (UTE) methods capable of imaging these types of tissues is an active field of research. Now, researchers Christoph Rettenmeier, PhD and V. Andrew Stenger, PhD, of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, have developed a method that enables the combination of a fast imaging technique called “parallel imaging” with UTE imaging to reduce the scan time for cortical bone images. Results from scans of healthy volunteers showed that a 3-minute scan using this combination of techniques produced images of the skull bones that were comparable in quality to those from a 20-minute scan using previous UTE methods. The paper, Radiofrequency Phase Encoded Half-Pulses in Simultaneous Multislice Ultrashort Echo Time Imaging, is published in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Why Hawai‘i Does Not Have Paid Family Leave
A bill that was introduced in the Hawaiʻi State Legistlature in 2016 would have provided paid family leave for many workers, but it did not pass. Researchers led by Jing Guo, PhD, of the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, and Hua Zan, PhD, of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, analyzed the bill and the 155 testimonials submitted about it. The analysis showed that businesses opposed the bill mainly for cost reasons, and that local unions did not support the bill because it required employees, but not employers, to pay into the fund to support workers taking leave. The researchers concluded that there is a need to build a unified, broad coalition of support for a paid family leave bill prior to introduction. They also identified gaps in empirical research on paid family leave. The paper, Policy Development and Advocacy: The Analysis of a Paid Family Leave Bill in the Hawai‘i State Legislature, is published in Social Work & Society.
Hepatitis B Prevalance Among Asians and Pacific Islanders in Hawai‘i
People with chronic hepatitis B infection face increased risk of liver cancer, but most people are not aware they carry the infection. A new study looked at nearly 1300 foreign-born Asians and Pacific Islanders who sought medical care at Kalihi-Palama Health Center and found that 5.6% tested positive for chronic hepatitis B infection, a rate 14 times higher than the estimated 0.4% prevalence in the general US population. Moreover, the prevalence was 26.5% among those in the study who reported having household contact with a person infected with hepatitis B. The team of researchers, including several researchers from UH Public Health and Thaddeus Pham, of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health, concluded that there is a need for increased hepatitis B screening and appropriate follow-up care, as well as vaccination and culturally-appropriate education, for at-risk communities in Hawaiʻi. The paper, Hepatitis B Prevalence and Risk Factors in a Foreign-Born Asian and Pacific Islander Population at a Community Health Center in Hawai‘i, is published in Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health.