JMIR Public Health and Surveillance

Molecular HIV surveillance (MHS) can be used to help identify and respond to emerging clusters of rapidly spreading HIV transmissions, a practice known as Cluster Detection and Response (CDR). In the US, MHS relies on HIV gene sequences obtained from routine clinical antiretroviral resistance testing (ARVRT). By law, ARVRT results are reported to public health agencies for MHS and individuals are not asked for their specific consent to do so. This practice has raised ethical concerns, including the lack of consent for, and transparency surrounding, public health uses of these clinical data and spurred debate. Such concerns could have a chilling effect on the willingness of people living with HIV (PLWH) to agree to ARVRT when recommended clinically and jeopardize the utility of MHS-informed HIV prevention efforts. In response to concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the use of ARVRT results for MHS, in 2022, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV AIDS (PACHA) issued a resolution calling on the US Centers for Disease Control to “require that providers explain MHS/CDR and the laboratory test results that are collected and used in these surveillance activities to their patients” as this disclosure is not routinely provided.

Effective dissemination of federal risk communication by news media during multi-jurisdictional enteric illness outbreaks can increase message reach to rapidly contain outbreaks, limit adverse outcomes, and promote informed decision-making by the public. However, dissemination of risk communication from the federal government by mass media has not been evaluated.

Incorporating youth perspectives into health research can enhance quality, relevance, and ethics while also providing youth with mentorship, exposure to academic research, and professional development opportunities. This has led to a growing number of youth advisory boards (YABs). Despite increased attention to YABs, however, mentions of YABs remain low in the published research on youth and health. Further, little published work has reflected on the importance of engaging with youth of color in YABs. This is critical both for the perspectives and insight they bring to the research process and to help close the participation gap in extracurriculars among youth from minoritized groups. To contribute to the literature on YABs and health equity, we offer an overview and reflection on the development and implementation of the Midwest Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT), a one-week virtual, financially compensated summer YAB for youth of color ages 13 to 17 centered on amplifying youth voices on questions related to digital technology and mental health. MYWIT youth advisors successfully co-developed a novel research question and semi-structured interview guide on the topic of navigating social media algorithms. The MYWIT process also highlighted the importance of youth compensation levels, scheduling, recruitment strategies, and overall resource constraints. We hope to encourage researchers to reflect on the value that even short duration YABs can add to the research process and how YABs can be structured to better recruit and support advisors from minoritized backgrounds given economic, institutional, and structural barriers.

Canada continues to experience a national overdose crisis. While studies are available at the regional, provincial, and territorial levels, detailed national data regarding the burden and context of substance-related acute toxicity deaths are limited, particularly in subpopulations. In response to the overdose crisis, the Public Health Agency of Canada, in collaboration with provincial and territorial ministries of health and chief coroner and chief medical examiner offices, has undertaken a national chart review study.

Optimizing sentinel surveillance site allocation for early pathogen detection remains a challenge, particularly in ensuring coverage of vulnerable and underserved populations.

Black cisgender women (BCW) account for 2% of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)-eligible people in the United States who use PrEP to prevent HIV. In correlation with low PrEP use, BCW continue to contract HIV more than women from every other racial group. Intervention efforts that can bridge the link between knowing that PrEP prevents HIV and support with access to PrEP are necessary for BCW.

Adoption of eHealth accelerated during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Inequalities in adoption of eHealth during the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported, but there are few such studies among people with impairment.

Immunization is a cost-effective way to prevent infectious diseases in children, but parental hesitancy leads to low vaccination rates, leaving children at risk. Caregivers of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are more hesitant about vaccines than those of healthy children.

Emerging pathogens and zoonotic spillover highlight the need for One Health surveillance to detect outbreaks as early as possible. Participatory surveillance empowers communities to collect data at the source on the health of animals, people, and the environment. Technological advances increase the use and scope of these systems. This initiative sought to collate information from active participatory surveillance systems to better understand parameters collected across the One Health spectrum.

To address the challenges of population ageing, WHO has made a great effort to promote Age-Friendly Communities Initiatives(AFCIs). Previous researches discussed the construction of Age-Friendly Communities(AFCs) in urban cities, evaluating AFCs often rooted on the WHO’s Checklist and focused on a single subject, namely older adults, which ignored the initiative of community residents in other age groups.

Infectious diseases (ID) have a significant detrimental impact on global health. Timely and accurate infectious disease forecasting can result in more informed implementation of control measures and prevention policies.

Cervical cancer remains a major global health issue. Personalized, data-driven cervical cancer prevention (CCP) strategies tailored to phenotypic profiles may improve prevention and reduce disease burden.