BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression is the most common complication of childbearing can affect the entire family unit. Health professionals must strive to identify and develop effective, feasible solutions for women during this critical period. AIMS: To determine whether postpartum maternal functioning (as measured by the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning) and depression symptoms (as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) were improved after participation in the Visiting Moms program. METHOD: Paired data were collected from women at program intake and after completion of the Visiting Moms program. Visiting Moms provides services through eastern and central Massachusetts and was designed to support new mothers throughout the infant’s first year of life. The study population was composed of adult women living in the Jewish Family and Children’s Services geographic catchment area, who enrolled in Visiting Moms between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all 402 women enrolled in this timeframe. Utilizing a pretest/posttest design, paired t tests were performed for the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning ( n = 149) and for the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 ( n = 156), where women had complete scores at both intake and completion, to determine the program’s potential impact on depressive symptoms and functional status. RESULTS: Functioning and depression scores were significantly improved after participation in the program. CONCLUSIONS: Visiting moms, and similar programs, aimed at delivery of enhanced social support, may be effective in promoting mental and emotional wellness among new mothers who are require additional support in the postpartum period.

Background: Notifiable disease reporting, although required by law, does not always occur. For this reason, it is crucial for local public health agencies to leverage new partnerships for reporting of notifiable diseases. Schools represent sites within communities that experience relatively high numbers of cases of notifiable disease and clusters of illness. By leveraging partnerships with schools, an increase in disease reporting can occur within communities.

Platform trials allow efficient evaluation of multiple interventions for a specific disease. The HEALEY ALS Platform Trial is testing multiple investigational products in parallel and sequentially in persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with the goal of rapidly identifying novel treatments to slow disease progression. Platform trials have considerable operational and statistical efficiencies compared with typical randomized controlled trials due to their use of shared infrastructure and shared control data. We describe the statistical approaches required to achieve the objectives of a platform trial in the context of ALS. This includes following regulatory guidance for the disease area of interest and accounting for potential differences in outcomes of participants within the shared control (potentially due to differences in time of randomization, mode of administration, and eligibility criteria). Within the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, the complex statistical objectives are met using a Bayesian shared parameter analysis of function and survival. This analysis serves to provide a common integrated estimate of treatment benefit, overall slowing in disease progression, as measured by function and survival while accounting for potential differences in the shared control group using Bayesian hierarchical modeling. Clinical trial simulation is used to provide a better understanding of this novel analysis method and complex design. ANN NEUROL 2023

Background:One of the core responsibilities of the Epidemiology Program at the Georgia Department of Public Health is to detect and respond to population health events through traditional and novel surveillance. One type of event that we have planned for over the years has been conducting disease surveillance during a mass sheltering event.Methods: Mid-day on October 5, 2016, the North Central Health District (NCHD) Emergency Preparedness Program notified the District Health Emergency Alert and Response Team that we would be receiving evacuees from the coast of Georgia and Florida due to Hurricane Matthew and that our District Operations Center (DOC) would be staffed 24/7 for the remainder of the event. The District Epidemiology Program's responsibility during this event was shelter surveillance and although planning had been done for this type of surveillance it was unclear as to what exactly that would look like during a real event.Results: The NCHD had 6 American Red Cross (ARC), and a few Good Samaritan shelters open during the Hurricane Matthew evacuation and shelter event. The ARC shelters housed >550 evacuees and all hotels were occupied. The district had ~130 district and county staff (~40% of total district/county staff) work the event and had assistance from the state and other districts. The DOC was staffed 24 hours per day continuously from October 5-11.However, pre-and post-planning occurred before and after those dates. Conclusions:This presentation will provide an overview of the importance of shelter surveillance during a mass sheltering event, review the NCHD DOC Shelter Surveillance Protocols developed by the NCHD District Epidemiologist, and examine the lessons learned from this event from a local epidemiology perspective.

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