2019 was a productive year for the Public Health Data & Training Center (Data Center) at the Institute for Public Health, particularly for multidisciplinary student trainees, Data Center colleagues and Faculty Scholars who collaborated on written contributions to national journals and other publications.
Center Manager Anne Trolard supervised trainees Eleanor Bergquist (Public Health), Branson Fox (Sociology), Yueming Zhao (Public Health), and Will Lyons (Computer Science) and mentored authorship of six publications in 2019. Ms. Trolard collaborated with Hilary Reno, MD, PhD (Infectious Diseases) and Cynthia Herrick, MD (Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research) as clinical expert contributors to the science. Publication productivity is evidence of the center’s role in building the capacity of students and faculty to use and interpret data. Center staff and faculty will continue to train future public health leaders in 2020.
The influence of race and sex on gonorrhea and chlamydia treatment in the emergency department was published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. This study computed rates of empiric treatment for sexually transmitted infections in an urban emergency department in St. Louis. Women were less likely to receive treatment when they were positive for infections, and black patients were more likely to receive unnecessary treatment—to be over-treated—when they were negative for infection. Data center manager Anne Trolard is co-first author on this paper, and data center trainee Eleanor Bergquist (second author) and Hilary Reno, MD, PhD (last) were also involved. Other WUSTL authors represent anthropology and emergency medicine. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2019.05.054
The next three papers were spearheaded by data center trainee Eleanor Bergquist as part of her dissertation research. Anne Trolard and Hilary Reno, MD, PhD contributed to all three, as did colleagues from anthropology, emergency medicine, public health, and biostatistics. Data Center students also supported the work as indicated below.
- Presenting to the emergency department versus clinic-based sexually transmitted care locations for testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea: a spatial exploration was published in the journal, Sexually Transmitted Disease. This study found that 30% of patients who visited a St. Louis-area emergency department emergency department for sexually transmitted infection testing actually lived closer to a clinic that was open, had walk-in availability, and was free at the time they made their emergency department visit. This article was the editor’s pick for the issue, and data center student Branson Fox led the analysis and was third author. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001007
- Under-treatment of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea among Pregnant Women in the Emergency Department was published in the International Journal of STD and AIDS. Pregnant women who visit the emergency department for sexually transmitted infection testing are far less likely to receive empiric treatment for their infections than women who are not pregnant, and yet rates of infection are statistically similar in both groups. doi: 10.1177/0956462419880379
- Single and Repeat Use of the Emergency Department for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Care was published in the journal, Sexually Transmitted Disease. The study found that repeat users of the emergency department for sexually transmitted infection care are more likely to be younger and have no or public insurance compared with patients who only made one visit during our study period of 5.5 years. This article was also the editor’s pick for the issue. Data center student Yueming Zhao conducted the data management and analysis, and is third author on the paper. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001087
Postpartum diabetes screening among low income women with gestational diabetes in Missouri 2010–2015 was published in BMC Public Health. This study used a dataset that linked Medicare and clinic records to determine presence and timing of diabetes screening postpartum for women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Data Center Manager Anne Trolard and former Data Center Manager Ben Cooper are authors and supported lead author Cynthia Herrick, MD with spatial analysis for this paper. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6475-0
SCORE-leveling the playing field for surgical training programs was published in the Journal of Surgical Education. Data center student Will Lyons conducted the data management and analysis for this study and is third author on the paper. The study found no significant differences in utilization metrics of the tool between university and independent programs. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2019.07.009
The Public Health Data & Training Center at the Institute for Public Health amplifies public health knowledge through data sharing, strategic partnerships with the community, and the training of future public health leaders.