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Background The stay-at-home orders imposed in early April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in various states complicated mosquito control activities across the United States (US), and Florida was no exception. Mosquito control programs are the first line of defense against mosquito-borne pathogens. The purpose of this study was to examine the capabilities of Florida mosquito programs to implement key mosquito measures during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Methods Using a self-administered online survey, we examined the capabilities of all Florida mosquito control programs (both state-approved mosquito districts, N = 63; and open programs, N = 27) at a time when the state of Florida was still under heightened awareness of, stay-at-home orders and planning a phase 1 reopening over the COVID-19 pandemic (June to July 2020). The final sample included mosquito control programs structured as the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) (n = 42), independent tax district (n = 16), municipal (n = 10), and health or emergency department (n = 5). We used descriptive statistics to summarize information about the characteristics of responding programs, their implemented mosquito control and surveillance activities.  wWe used bivariate analysis to compare the characteristics of responding programs and the self-reported mosquito measures. Results Of the recruited mosquito control programs, 73 completed the survey (81.1% response rate; 73/90). Of these, 57.5% (n = 42) were Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) mosquito control programs, 21.9% (n = 16) were independent tax district programs, 13.7% (n = 10) were municipal mosquito control programs, and only 6.8% (n = 5) were either health or emergency department mosquito control programs. Except for arbovirus surveillance, most programs either fully or partially performed larval (61.8%) and adult (78.9%) surveillance; most programs conducted species-specific control for Aedes aegypti (85.2%, n = 54), Aedes albopictus (87.3%, n = 55), Culex quinquefasciatus (92.1%, n = 58), and Culex nigripalpus (91.9%, n = 57). Conclusions Findings underscore the importance of ongoing mosquito control activities, and suggest that Florida mosquito control programs are vigilant and have significant capability to handle potential mosquito-borne disease threats, but arbovirus surveillance systems (laboratory testing of mosquito pools and testing of human and nonhuman specimens for arboviruses) are needed during pandemics as well.

While it is well known from numerous epidemiologic investigations that social determinants (socioeconomic, environmental, and psychosocial factors exposed to over the life-course) can dramatically impact cardiovascular health, the molecular mechanisms by which social determinants lead to poor cardiometabolic outcomes are not well understood. This review comprehensively summarizes a variety of current topics surrounding the biological effects of adverse social determinants (i.e., the biology of adversity), linking translational and laboratory studies with epidemiologic findings. With a strong focus on the biological effects of chronic stress, we highlight an array of studies on molecular and immunological signaling in the context of social determinants of health (SDoH). The main topics covered include biomarkers of sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activation, and the role of inflammation in the biology of adversity focusing on glucocorticoid resistance and key inflammatory cytokines linked to psychosocial and environmental stressors (PSES). We then further discuss the effect of SDoH on immune cell distribution and characterization by subset, receptor expression, and function. Lastly, we describe epigenetic regulation of the chronic stress response and effects of SDoH on telomere length and aging. Ultimately, we highlight critical knowledge gaps for future research as we strive to develop more targeted interventions that account for SDoH to improve cardiometabolic health for at-risk, vulnerable populations.

Background: The national wide lockdown order imposed in early April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic complicated mosquito control activities across the United States (US), and Florida is no exception. Mosquito control programs are the first line of defense against mosquitoes-borne pathogens in the state of Florida. The purpose of this study was to examine the capabilities of Florida mosquito programs to implement key mosquito measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: In a self-administered online survey, we examined capabilities of all Florida mosquito control programs during the COVID-19 pandemic (both state-approved mosquito districts (N=63) and open programs (N=27). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize information about the characteristics of responding programs, as well as the implemented mosquito control and surveillance activities. We used bivariate analysis to compare the characteristics of these responding programs and the self-reported mosquito measures.Results: Of the recruited mosquito control programs, 77 completed the survey (85.6% response rate; 77/90). Of these, 57.5% (n=42) were Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) mosquito control programs, 21.9% (n=16) were independent tax district programs, 13.7% (n=10) were municipal mosquito control programs, and only 6.8% (n=5) were either health or emergency department mosquito control programs. Except for arbovirus surveillance, most programs either fully or partially performed larval (61.8%) and adult (78.9%) surveillance; and for Aedes aegypti (85.2%, n=54), Aedes albopictus (87.3%, n=55), Culex quinquefasciatus (92.1%, n=58), and Culex nigripalpus (91.9%, n=57).Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of ongoing mosquito control activities and suggests that Florida mosquito control programs are vigilant and have significant capability to handle potential mosquito-borne disease threats, but arbovirus surveillance systems; laboratory testing of mosquito pools and testing of human and nonhuman specimens for arboviruses are needed during pandemics as well.

Background Key to the US refugee resettlement effort is the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who receive, place, and provide transitional programs and referrals to new and recently resettled refugees. Yet only one rapid assessment study thus far examined the impact of COVID-19 on service delivery systems of US refugee resettlement agencies. This exploratory study describes the capability and preparedness of US refugee resettlement agencies to provide services and care to clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Using both telephone interviews and an internet survey, we assessed the impact of COVID-19 on service delivery, agency capacity, and preparedness of 101 US refugee resettlement agencies. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the dataset, while chi-square (χ2) tests were used to examine relationships by resettlement agency size (number of employees in each agency). Results Despite a temporary pause on refugee admissions, restrictive stay-at-home orders, and refugee travel restrictions, the majority of responding US refugee resettlement agencies continued to provide specialized services and care to resettled refugees and other immigrants. Among the more important findings was that agencies that continued to provide refugee services and care onsite in their existing facilities or office rather than moving such services offsite differed by agency size [χ2 (9.494, n = 101), p < 0.05]. Almost all agencies (93.1%) strongly agreed or agreed that staff have timely access to COVID-19 information. Most of the refugee services were provided offsite (n = 72 agencies, some with multiple offices across the US). Conclusions US refugee resettlement agencies continued to perform admirably despite a lack of funding. Future research is underway to obtain a more balanced understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on practice or operations.

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Background The increasing prevalence of smartphone apps to help people find different services raises the question of whether apps to help people find physical activity (PA) locations would help better prevent and control having overweight or obesity. Objective The aim of this paper is to determine and quantify the potential impact of a digital health intervention for African American women prior to allocating financial resources toward implementation. Methods We developed our Virtual Population Obesity Prevention, agent-based model of Washington, DC, to simulate the impact of a place-tailored digital health app that provides information about free recreation center classes on PA, BMI, and overweight and obesity prevalence among African American women. Results When the app is introduced at the beginning of the simulation, with app engagement at 25% (eg, 25% [41,839/167,356] of women aware of the app; 25% [10,460/41,839] of those aware downloading the app; and 25% [2615/10,460] of those who download it receiving regular push notifications), and a 25% (25/100) baseline probability to exercise (eg, without the app), there are no statistically significant increases in PA levels or decreases in BMI or obesity prevalence over 5 years across the population. When 50% (83,678/167,356) of women are aware of the app; 58.23% (48,725/83,678) of those who are aware download it; and 55% (26,799/48,725) of those who download it receive regular push notifications, in line with existing studies on app usage, introducing the app on average increases PA and decreases weight or obesity prevalence, though the changes are not statistically significant. When app engagement increased to 75% (125,517/167,356) of women who were aware, 75% (94,138/125,517) of those who were aware downloading it, and 75% (70,603/94,138) of those who downloaded it opting into the app’s push notifications, there were statistically significant changes in PA participation, minutes of PA and obesity prevalence. Conclusions Our study shows that a digital health app that helps identify recreation center classes does not result in substantive population-wide health effects at lower levels of app engagement. For the app to result in statistically significant increases in PA and reductions in obesity prevalence over 5 years, there needs to be at least 75% (125,517/167,356) of women aware of the app, 75% (94,138/125,517) of those aware of the app download it, and 75% (70,603/94,138) of those who download it opt into push notifications. Nevertheless, the app cannot fully overcome lack of access to recreation centers; therefore, public health administrators as well as parks and recreation agencies might consider incorporating this type of technology into multilevel interventions that also target the built environment and other social determinants of health.