OBJECTIVE: The Baby Pediatric Symptom Checklist (BPSC) is a screening tool developed for detecting behavioral or emotional concerns among parents of children younger than 18 months. Nationally representative survey data have not yet been used to assess the validity of the BPSC, nor to evaluate its appropriateness for use among children between 18 and 23 months old. The current study assesses the validity of the BPSC using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). METHODS: Data from the 2019 NHIS were used to evaluate the 12-item BPSC screening tool among a nationally representative sample of children 2-23 months. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and differential item functioning (DIF) were used to assess construct and predictive validity and test how response items differed by selected sociodemographics. Quantile regression was used to calculate 50(th), 70(th), and 90(th) percentiles for age-based normative curves of the previously established domains of irritability, inflexibility, and difficulty with routines. RESULTS: A three-factor CFA produced comparable results to the original study. Tests of DIF did not reveal any significant effects for the child's sex, race and Hispanic origin, household urbanization level, number of children in family, or respondent type (mother, father, other). In addition, DIF was not found between children aged 2-17 months and 18-23 months. Age-based normative data were calculated for each subscale. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the BPSC in a nationally representative survey produced findings comparable to those of the original-validation study. The NHIS can be used to track BPSC scores over time at the population-level.

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in timing of ART initiation for newly diagnosed people living with HIV before and after Haiti adopted its Test and Start policy for universal HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) in July 2016, and to explore predictors of timely ART initiation for both newly and previously diagnosed people living with HIV following Test and Start adoption. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study explored timing of ART initiation among 147 900 patients diagnosed with HIV at 94 ART clinics in 2004-2018 using secondary electronic medical record data. The study used survival analysis methods to assess time trends and risk factors for ART initiation. RESULTS: Timely uptake of ART expanded with Test and Start, such that same-day ART initiation rates increased from 3.7% to 45.0%. However, only 11.0% of previously diagnosed patients initiated ART after Test and Start. In adjusted analyses among newly diagnosed people living with HIV, factors negatively associated with timely ART initiation included being a pediatric patient aged 0-14 years (HR = 0.23, p < 0.001), being male (HR = 0.92, p = 0.03), being 50+ years (HR = 0.87, p = 0.03), being underweight (HR = 0.79, p < 0.001), and having WHO stage 3 (HR = 0.73, p < 0.001) or stage 4 disease (HR = 0.49, p < 0.001). Variation in timely ART initiation by geographic department and health facility was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Haiti has made substantial progress in scaling up Test and Start, but further work is needed to enroll previously diagnosed patients and to ensure rapid ART in key patient subgroups. Further research is needed on facility and geographic factors and on strategies for improving timely ART initiation among vulnerable subgroups.

INTRODUCTION: Our study describes changes in HIV care service delivery and continuity of HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLHIV) during the 8 weeks before and after diagnosis of the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Haiti on March 19, 2020. METHODS: Using data from 96 out of 167 health facilities offering ART services, we compared four ART program indicators: (1) count of HIV visits; (2) proportion of ART dispenses in community-based settings (DAC); (3) proportion of multi-month dispensing of ART medications > 6 months (> 6 m MMD); and (4) proportion of timely ART refills. We used uncontrolled interrupted time series (ITS) models to estimate slope and level changes in each indicator with the arrival of COVID-19. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: From week 1 to week 16, the average number of HIV visits fell from 121.5 to 92.5 visits, the proportion of DAC rose from 22.7% to 36.7%, the proportion of > 6 m MMD rose from 29.4% to 48.4%, and the proportion of timely ART refills fell from 51.9% to 43.8%. The ITS models estimated abrupt increases of 36% in > 6 m MMD (p < 0.001) and 37% in DAC (p < 0.001) at the time of COVID-19 arrival, and no change after arrival of COVID-19. The was an abrupt decline of 18% in timely ART refills with the arrival of COVID-19 and a decline of 1% per week thereafter, both non-statistically significant changes. CONCLUSIONS: The sudden changes in HIV service utilization represent dramatic adaptations needed to mitigate primary and secondary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on PLHIV. This study underscores the urgency of optimizing ART delivery models in Haiti and beyond, in order to maintain progress toward HIV epidemic control.

BACKGROUND: Haiti initiated the scale-up of HIV viral load (VL) testing in 2015-2016, with plans to achieve 100% coverage for all patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for treatment of HIV/AIDS. In the absence of HIV drug susceptibility testing, VL testing is a key tool for monitoring response to ART and optimizing treatment results. This study describes trends in expanded use of VL testing, VL results, and use of second-line ART regimens, and explores the association between VL testing and second-line regimen switching in Haiti from 2010 to 2017. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study with 66,042 patients drawn from 88 of Haiti's 160 national ART clinics. Longitudinal data from the iSante electronic data system was used to analyze the trends of interest. We described patients' VL testing status in five categories based on up to two most recent VL test results: no test; suppressed; unsuppressed followed by no test; re-suppressed; and confirmed failure. Among those with confirmed failure, we described ART adherence level. Finally, we used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the risk of second-line regimen switching by VL testing status, after adjusting for other individual characteristics. RESULTS: The number of patients who had tests done increased annually from 11 in 2010 to 18,828 in the first 9 months of 2017, while the number of second-line regimen switches rose from 21 to 279 during this same period. Compared with patients with no VL test, the hazard ratio (HR) for switching to a second-line regimen was 22.2 for patients with confirmed VL failure (95% confidence interval [CI] for HR: 18.8-26.3; p < 0.005) after adjustment for individual characteristics. Among patients with confirmed VL failure, 44.7% had strong adherence, and fewer than 20% of patients switched to a second-line regimen within 365 days of VL failure. CONCLUSIONS: Haiti has significantly expanded access to VL testing since 2016. In order to promote optimal patient health outcomes, it is essential for Haiti to continue broadening access to confirmatory VL testing, to expand evidence-based initiatives to promote strong ART adherence, and to embrace timely switching for patients with confirmed ART failure despite strong ART adherence.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLWH), but evidence about effects of expanded ART access on ART retention in low-resource settings is limited. SETTING: Haiti's Ministry of Health endorsed universal ART for pregnant women in March 2013 (Option B+) and for all PLWH in July 2016. This study included 51,579 ART patients from 2011-17 at 94 hospitals and clinics in Haiti. METHODS: This observational, retrospective cohort study described time trends in 6-month ART retention using secondary data, and compared results during three time periods using an interrupted time series (ITS) model: pre-Option B+ (period 1: 1/11-2/13), Option B+ (period 2: 3/13-6/16), and Test and Start (T&S, period 3: 7/16-9/17). RESULTS: From the pre-Option B+ to the T&S period, the monthly count of new ART patients increased from 366/month to 877/month, and the proportion with same-day ART increased from 6.3% to 42.1% (p<0.001). The proportion retained on ART after 6 months declined from 78.4% to 75.0% (p<0.001). In the ITS model, ART retention improved by a rate of 1.4% per quarter during the T&S period after adjusting for patient characteristics (Adjusted Incidence Rate Ratio [aIRR]=1.014; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.002-1.026, p<0.001). However, patients with same-day ART were 14% less likely to be retained compared to those starting ART >30 days after HIV diagnosis (aIRR=0.86; 95% CI: 0.84-0.89, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Achieving targets for HIV epidemic control will require increasing ART retention and reducing the disparity in retention for those with same-day ART.

Abstract OBJECTIVES: To estimate the national prevalence of parent-reported autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis among US children aged 3 to 17 years as well as their treatment and health care experiences using the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). METHODS: The 2016 NSCH is a nationally representative survey of 50 212 children focused on the health and well-being of children aged 0 to 17 years. The NSCH collected parent-reported information on whether children ever received an ASD diagnosis by a care provider, current ASD status, health care use, access and challenges, and methods of treatment. We calculated weighted prevalence estimates of ASD, compared health care experiences of children with ASD to other children, and examined factors associated with increased likelihood of medication and behavioral treatment. RESULTS: Parents of an estimated 1.5 million US children aged 3 to 17 years (2.50%) reported that their child had ever received an ASD diagnosis and currently had the condition. Children with parent-reported ASD diagnosis were more likely to have greater health care needs and difficulties accessing health care than children with other emotional or behavioral disorders (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, behavioral or conduct problems, depression, developmental delay, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, learning disability, Tourette syndrome) and children without these conditions. Of children with current ASD, 27% were taking medication for ASD-related symptoms, whereas 64% received behavioral treatments in the last 12 months, with variations by sociodemographic characteristics and co-occurring conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated prevalence of US children with a parent-reported ASD diagnosis is now 1 in 40, with rates of ASD-specific treatment usage varying by children's sociodemographic and co-occurring conditions.

Since the 2010 earthquake, tuberculosis (TB) control has been a major priority for health sector response and recovery efforts in Haiti. The goal of this study was to analyze trends in TB case notification in Haiti from the aggregate data reported by the National TB Control Program to understand the effects of such efforts. A total of 95,745 TB patients were registered for treatment in Haiti between 2010 and 2015. Three regions, the West, Artibonite, and North departments accounted for 68% of the TB cases notified during the period. Patients in the 15-34 age groups represented 53% (50,560) of all cases. Case notification rates of all forms of TB increased from 142.7/100,000 in 2010 to 153.4 in 2015, peaking at 163.4 cases/100,000 in 2013. Case notification for smear-positive pulmonary TB increased from 85.5 cases/100,000 to 105.7 cases/100,000, whereas treatment success rates remained stable at 79-80% during the period. Active TB case finding efforts in high-risk communities and the introduction of new diagnostics have contributed to increasing TB case notification trends in Haiti from 2010 to 2015. Targeted interventions and novel strategies are being implemented to reach high-risk populations and underserved communities.

An atypically large outbreak of Elizabethkingia anophelis infections occurred in Wisconsin. Here we show that it was caused by a single strain with thirteen characteristic genomic regions. Strikingly, the outbreak isolates show an accelerated evolutionary rate and an atypical mutational spectrum. Six phylogenetic sub-clusters with distinctive temporal and geographic dynamics are revealed, and their last common ancestor existed approximately one year before the first recognized human infection. Unlike other E. anophelis, the outbreak strain had a disrupted DNA repair mutY gene caused by insertion of an integrative and conjugative element. This genomic change probably contributed to the high evolutionary rate of the outbreak strain and may have increased its adaptability, as many mutations in protein-coding genes occurred during the outbreak. This unique discovery of an outbreak caused by a naturally occurring mutator bacterial pathogen provides a dramatic example of the potential impact of pathogen evolutionary dynamics on infectious disease epidemiology.

Cryptococcal meningitis is a common opportunistic infection among persons with advanced HIV-associated immunosuppression and is associated with high mortality. The prevalence of asymptomatic cryptococcal antigenemia (CrAg) can inform the potential utility of screening and pre-emptive treatment prevention strategies. We assessed CrAg prevalence in a cohort of patients infected with HIV at 28 health facilities from February to September 2014 in order to inform Haitian national clinical guidelines. Of 13,000 patients that underwent CD4 cell count, 1,025 (7.9%) had a count <=200 cells/mm3. Of these, 11 (1.1%) were CrAg positive. The CrAg positivity rate among patients with CD4 cell counts <100 cell/mm3 was 1.8%. Patients with CD4 cell counts <50 cells/mm3 had the highest CrAg rate (2.3%). CrAg prevalence was low but still warranted a CrAg screening and pre-emptive therapy approach for people infected with HIV with CD4 cell counts <100 cell/mm3 in Haiti.

At each stage from birth to young adulthood, the use of clinical preventive services (CPSs) provides an opportunity to intervene early to improve outcomes for many costly and complex conditions and to modify important disease-defining risk factors.1 A number of important provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will provide impetus to improve the use of CPSs, in particular, the provision that such services are now covered without cost sharing.2 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has collected baseline data and reported detailed information on a select set of CPSs for children to serve as a benchmark to measure change following ACA implementation.3 | The selected CPSs were identified by the CDC because they represent important public health issues for which CPSs exist, the service was underused before ACA implementation, and national data (largely parent and self-report or provider office-based surveys) were available to establish a baseline (defined as prior to 2012). Other important CPSs for children were not included in the report because of the lack of national data to track the clinical service (eg, screening for body mass index was considered, but surveillance data on screening in clinical care were not available), or the utilization of the CPS was already at high levels (eg, many infant immunizations). Not all of the CPSs included in the CDC report have a US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) grade A or B or a comparable evidence review process recommendation (eg, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices); but all, with the exception of dental visits and preventive services by dentists, like dental sealants, are now covered under the ACA.3

The number of conditions included in newborn screening panels has increased rapidly in the United States during the past decade, and many more conditions are under consideration for addition to state panels. The rare nature of candidate conditions for newborn screening makes their evaluation challenging. The scarcity of data on the costs of screening, follow-up, treatment, and long-term disability must be addressed to improve the evaluation process for nominated conditions. Decision analyses and economic evaluations can help inform policy decisions for newborn screening programs by providing a systematic approach to synthesizing available evidence and providing projected estimates of long-term clinical and economic outcomes when long-term data are not available. In this review, we outline the types of data required for the development of decision analysis and cost-effectiveness models for newborn screening programs and discuss the challenges faced when applying these methods in the arena of newborn screening to help inform policy decisions.Genet Med advance online publication 5 April 2012.

OBJECTIVE: To explore geographic differences in diagnosed emotional and behavioral mental health conditions and receipt of treatment. METHODS: Data are from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative, parent-reported, cross-sectional survey. Pediatric mental health conditions were identified using parents' responses to 3 questions regarding whether a health care provider had ever told them that their child had depression, anxiety problems, or behavioral or conduct problems. Parents also reported on past-year treatment or counseling by a mental health professional. State-level differences in condition prevalence were identified using unadjusted and adjusted prevalence estimates. Multivariate logistic regression assessed the odds of not receiving treatment by state and diagnoses. RESULTS: Nearly 8% of children aged 6 to 17 years have ever been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, and 5.4% have ever been diagnosed with behavioral or conduct problems. State-level estimates of parent-reported depression or anxiety varied from 4.8% in Georgia to 14.4% in Vermont, while prevalence of behavioral problems ranged from 3.2% in California to 9.2% in Louisiana. Nearly 10% of all school-aged children and 53.1% of those ever diagnosed with either condition type received past-year treatment. The odds of receiving past-year parent-reported treatment did not differ by state of residence with the exception of Louisiana and Nevada: children ever diagnosed had approximately 2.5 times the odds of not receiving past-year treatment in these states. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of parent-reported mental health disorders among children varies by geographic and sociodemographic factors, while receipt of treatment is generally dependent on sociodemographic and health-related factors.

BACKGROUND: Persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with cervical and other anogenital cancers. PURPOSE: This paper reports results of awareness of an HPV diagnosis and HPV knowledge from a multi-site study of HPV knowledge, attitudes and behavior, and the impact of an HPV diagnosis on women and their partners. METHODS: During September 2003 - November 2005, a survey containing shared and site-specific items was administered to 736 women who had received HPV DNA testing in conjunction with cytology for cervical cancer screening. RESULTS: Overall, there was low knowledge about HPV transmissibility, curability and the effects of an HPV diagnosis across all sites regardless of a woman's racial/ethnic and/or socio-demographic background. Further, only about 50% of the women were aware of their HPV diagnosis even after receiving their results and counseling from a health care professional. DISCUSSION: There is need for consistent and clear information about HPV and HPV DNA testing as part of cervical cancer screening. Research concerning methods or best practices for improving communication between practitioner and patient about testing, diagnosis, counseling, behavioral consequences and follow-up care may be warranted. TRANSLATION TO HEALTH EDUCATION PRACTICE: General messages as well as population-specific messages need to be developed and disseminated to reduce confusion emanating from HPV diagnosis. Modes for delivering messages may need to vary. Further research should address message content and delivery.

OBJECTIVES: The reported increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attendant health and family impact make monitoring of ASD prevalence a public health priority. METHODS: The prevalence of parent-reported diagnosis of ASD among US children aged 3 to 17 years was estimated from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (sample size: 78037). A child was considered to have ASD if a parent/guardian reported that a doctor or other health care provider had ever said that the child had ASD and that the child currently had the condition. The point-prevalence for ASD was calculated for those children meeting both criteria. We examined sociodemographic factors associated with current ASD and with a past (but not current) ASD diagnosis. The health care experiences for children in both ASD groups were explored. RESULTS: The weighted current ASD point-prevalence was 110 per 10,000. We estimate that 673,000 US children have ASD. Odds of having ASD were 4 times as large for boys than girls. Non-Hispanic (NH) black and multiracial children had lower odds of ASD than NH white children. Nearly 40% of those ever diagnosed with ASD did not currently have the condition; NH black children were more likely than NH white children to not have current ASD. Children in both ASD groups were less likely than children without ASD to receive care within a medical home. CONCLUSIONS: The observed point-prevalence is higher than previous US estimates. More inclusive survey questions, increased population awareness, and improved screening and identification by providers may partly explain this finding.