Past Events

2018 Nov 14

Moderating Impact of Parental Relationship Quality on Quality of Life for Youth with and without Chronic Conditions

Location

Avenida Vitacura 2885, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

Poster presentation at the 15th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine in Santiago, Chile.

Abstract ID: 588
Session title: Poster Session A
Location of session: Foyer Volcanes, Hotel...

2018 Nov 14

Alcohol use beliefs and behaviors of parents of medically vulnerable youth

Location

Avenida Vitacura 2885, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

Poster presentation by Elissa Weitzman at the 15th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine in Santiago, Chile. Co-authored by Lauren Wisk, Sharon Levy, Kara Magane, and Julie Lunstead.

Abstra...

2018 Nov 13

15th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine

Location

Avenida Vitacura 2885, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

Save the date for the 15th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine! The congress will take place in exquisite Santiago, Chile, from November 14 through 17, 2018. Rising from the base of the...

2018 Oct 18

NIH Career Development “K” Awards

Location

Boston Children's Hospital

Lauren Fiechtner, MD, MPH and Lauren Wisk, PhD present to the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship program about NIH Career Development Awards and helpful tips on how to apply...

2018 Oct 17

Guest Lecture in HSPH Course - SBS208 Adolescent Health

Location

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Lauren Wisk, PhD, presents on "Financial and Insurance Issues for Adolescents with Chronic Conditions" in the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health course on Adolescent Health.

2018 Jul 10

Assessing Health Care Transition Readiness and Self-Efficacy using a Novel Mixed Methods Approach

Location

Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine LEAH CORE Meeting

2018 Jun 25

Parental Views on State Cannabis Laws and Marijuana Use for Their Medically Vulnerable Children

Location

AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, Seattle, WA

Poster Session: Behavioral Health

B-104

Parental Views on State Cannabis Laws and Marijuana Use for Their Medically Vulnerable Children

Lauren Wisk, PhD, Sharon Levy, MD, MPH and...

2018 Jun 24

Inequalities in Young Adult Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Health Care Post-Federal Health Reform

Location

AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, Seattle, WA

Poster Session: Disparities and Health Equity

A-377

Inequalities in Young Adult Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Health Care Post-Federal Health Reform

Lauren Wisk, PhD...

2018 Jun 23

AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting

Location

Seattle, WA

https://www.academyhealth.org/events/2018-06/2018-annual-research-meeting

2018 May 30

Third Annual Child and Family Patient Centered Outcomes Research Scholars Program Symposium

Location

Boston Children's Hospital

Wisk L, Peltz A, Galbraith AA. Changes in Health Care-Related Financial Burden for US Families With Children Associated With the Affordable Care Act. JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174(11):1-9.

See also: Family Health, Financial Burden, Health Services Research

Publisher's Version

Abstract

Importance: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to improve access and affordability of health insurance. Although most ACA policies targeted childless adults, the extent to which these policies also impacted families with children remains unclear. Objective: To examine changes in health care-related financial burden for US families with children before and after the ACA was implemented based on income eligibility for ACA policies. Design, Setting, and Participants: Data used for this cohort study were obtained from the 2000-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative, population-based survey. Multivariable regression with a difference-in-differences estimator was used to examine changes in family financial burden before and after ACA implementation according to income-based ACA eligibility groups (≤138% [lowest-income], 139%-250% [low-income], 251%-400% [middle-income], and >400% [high-income] federal poverty level). The cohort included 92 165 families with 1 or more children (age ≤18 years) and 1 or more adult parents/guardians. Exposures: Income-based eligibility groups during post-ACA years (calendar years 2014-2017) vs pre-ACA years (calendar years 2000-2013). Main Outcomes and Measures: Family annual out-of-pocket (OOP) health care and premium cost burden relative to income. High OOP burden was determined based on a previously validated algorithm with relative cost thresholds that vary across incomes, and extreme OOP burden was defined as costs exceeding 10% of income. Premiums exceeding 9.5% of income were classified as burdensome and premiums relative to median household income defined an unaffordability index. Results: Compared with high-income families who experienced a lesser change post-ACA implementation (high OOP burden, 1.1% pre-ACA vs 0.9% post-ACA), the lowest-income families saw the greatest reduction in high OOP burden (35.6% pre-ACA vs 23.7% post-ACA; difference-in-differences: -11.4%; 95% CI, -13.2% to -9.5%) followed by low-income families (24.6% pre-ACA vs 17.3% post-ACA, difference-in-differences: -6.8%; 95% CI, -8.7% to -4.9%) and middle-income families (6.1% pre-ACA vs 4.6% post-ACA, difference-in-differences: -1.2%; 95% CI, -2.3% to -0.01%). Although premiums rose for all groups, premium unaffordability was the least exacerbated for the lowest-, low-, and middle-income families compared with higher-income families. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study suggest that low- and middle-income families with children who were eligible for ACA Medicaid expansions and Marketplace subsidies experienced greater reductions in health care-related financial burden after the ACA was implemented compared with families with higher incomes. However, despite ACA policies, many low- and middle-income families with children appear to continue to face considerable financial burden from premiums and OOP costs.

PMID :
32986093

doi :
10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3973

Last updated on 02/25/2023
Harstad E, Sideridis G, Kaye D, Wisk L, Weitzman E, Levy S. Parental Perceptions About Alcohol Use for Their Adolescent with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2020;41(5):366-372.

See also: Adolescent and Young Adult Health, Family Health

Publisher's Version

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol use can worsen attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, interfere with treatment, and worsen outcomes. Our objective was to describe parental perceptions of alcohol use for their adolescents with ADHD. METHODS: Parents of adolescents with ADHD completed an online survey about perceptions of adolescent alcohol use for adolescents with ADHD. We described the level of parental concern about the impacts of alcohol use on their adolescent's functioning. We assessed whether specific covariates were associated with the level of parental concern. RESULTS: Of 290 parents who completed the survey, 96.5% were women, and 66.1% had an educational attainment of college degree or higher. Most adolescents (75.4%) took ADHD medication, and 59.9% had comorbid anxiety or depression. Almost one-third (30.3%) of parents perceived that their adolescent was more likely to use alcohol because of ADHD, whereas 34.8% of parents disagreed with this and 34.8% of parents were neutral. Parents who suspected their adolescent regularly used alcohol were less likely to report concern about the impact of alcohol on their adolescent's school performance or ADHD medication effectiveness compared with parents who did not suspect regular adolescent alcohol use. Almost half of the parents (48.5%) did not report discussing the impact of alcohol use on ADHD with their adolescent. CONCLUSION: Many parents of adolescents with ADHD do not understand the unique risks of alcohol use for their adolescents. In addition, if alcohol use harm is not obvious, parents may not perceive there to be concerns about alcohol use on functioning. Parental education about alcohol use and ADHD is needed.

PMID :
32168259

DOI :
10.1097/DBP.0000000000000794

Last updated on 02/25/2023
Study shows that online data closely match formal, large-scale surveillance data and could help monitor the effects of local alcohol control policies

December 02, 2019

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/bch-anw120219.php

and here: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-nimbler-track-alcohol-useby-twitter.html
Tweets and online searches provide a faster way to track alcohol use

December 02, 2019

Collecting rigorous public health data through large survey-based studies is a slow, expensive process.

New research from Boston Children's Hospital shows that mining people's alcohol-related tweets and online searches offers a more immediate, localized information source to complement traditional methods, offering public health professionals the opportunity to spot emerging trends and measure the effects of alcohol-related interventions.

Findings appear December 2 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Read more here: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20191202/Tweets-and-online-searches-provide-a-faster-way-to-track-alcohol-use.aspx
A nimbler way to track alcohol use: mining Twitter and Google searches

December 02, 2019

Large, survey-based studies are a slow, expensive way to collect rigorous public health data. New research, focusing on alcohol use, shows that mining Twitter and online searches could enable public health professionals to get immediate, localized insights, spot emerging trends, and even measure the effects of interventions.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, shows that online data closely match formal, large-scale surveillance data and could help monitor the effects of local alcohol control policies.

Read more about the study here.
Wisk L, Magane K, Levy S, Weitzman E. Alcohol Use Behaviors and Reasons to Abstain from or Limit Drinking among Medically Vulnerable Youth. Journal of Addiction Medicine. 2020;14(4):311-318.

See also: Adolescent and Young Adult Health, Chronic Disease Epidemiology

Publisher's Version

Abstract

Background: Youth with chronic medical conditions (YCMC) use alcohol at levels similar to their healthy peers but face elevated risk for adverse health consequences. As salient reasons to abstain from or limit drinking (RALD) among YCMC are unknown, we sought to identify clusters of RALD and test associations with use behaviors.

Methods: Eligible YCMC (ages 9-18) recruited from outpatient clinics reported their use behaviors and importance of potential RALD. Cluster analysis was used to discern RALD patterns, which were examined as predictors of alcohol use using multivariate regression.

Results: Among 398 participants, 30.9% reported past year alcohol use. Concerns about impacts on medications, school, and disease status were the most frequently endorsed RALD; prior negative experiences with alcohol and family history were the least frequently endorsed. Five RALD clusters were identified for all YCMC and 2 for recent drinkers. Compared to the cluster with high endorsement of multiple general and health-related RALD, those predominantly citing concerns about addiction and those not strongly endorsing any RALD consistently reported greater alcohol use. Among recent drinkers, the cluster characterized by low concern across multiple RALD also consistently reported greater alcohol use compared to their counterparts expressing moderate concern.

Conclusions: For YCMC, RALD are complex but endorsement of multiple general and health-related RALD is associated with less use, and health concerns are especially prevalent. More research is needed to understand how salient RALD can inform tailored interventions that aim to delay and reduce substance use and improve health outcomes for YCMC.

PMID :
31985512

DOI :
10.1097/ADM.0000000000000603

Last updated on 02/25/2023

Lauren E. Wisk, PhD

Past Events