Browsing by Author "Stevens, Elizabeth"
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Item Open Access Combating COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic.(Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 2023-03) Mortiboy, Marissa; Zitta, John-Paul; Carrico, Savannah; Stevens, Elizabeth; Smith, Alecia; Morris, Corey; Jenkins, Rodney; Jenks, Jeffrey DThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, populations of color have been disproportionately impacted, with higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and mortality, compared to non-Hispanic whites. These disparities in health outcomes are likely related to a combination of factors including underlying socioeconomic inequities, unequal access to healthcare, higher rates of employment in essential or public-facing occupations, language barriers, and COVID-19 vaccine inequities. In this manuscript the authors discuss strategies of how one local health department responded to vaccine inequities to better serve historically excluded communities throughout the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. These efforts helped increase vaccination rates in marginalized communities, primarily in the Black or African American population in Durham County, North Carolina.Item Open Access Mpox Vaccination and the Role of Social Vulnerability in Durham County, North Carolina, USA(Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities) Carrico, Savannah; Zitta, John-Paul; Stevens, Elizabeth; Jenkins, Rodney; Mortiboy, Marissa; Jenks, Jeffrey DItem Open Access Test-of-Cure After Treatment of Pharyngeal Gonorrhea in Durham, North Carolina, 2021-2022.(Sexually transmitted diseases, 2022-10) Jenks, Jeffrey D; Hester, Lizeth; Ryan, Emily; Stancil, Candy; Hauser, Quinn; Zitta, John-Paul; Mortiboy, Marissa; Rayner, Malkia; Stevens, Elizabeth; Carrico, Savannah; Jenkins, RodneyBackground
In December 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its treatment guidelines for gonococcal infection and, for the first time, recommended universal test-of-cure for all individuals treated for pharyngeal gonorrhea. After the release of these guidelines, data are lacking on rates of return for the test-of-cure, particularly in populations other than men who have sex with men.Methods
We analyzed the demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, rate of return for the recommended test-of-cure, and percent positivity for Neisseria gonorrhoeae on repeat pharyngeal specimens at a local public health department in Durham, NC.Results
Of 101 individuals treated for pharyngeal gonorrhea between March 2021 and April 2022, 54.5% were men, 71.2% Black or African American, and 58.4% between the ages of 20 and 29 years. Most identified as either women who have sex with men (38.6%), men who have sex with men (24.8%), or men who have sex with women (22.8%). Of these individuals, 41 (40.6%) returned for a test-of-cure, with LGBTQ+ individuals more likely to return than men who have sex with women and women who have sex with men. Of those who returned for the test-of-cure, 4.9% of pharyngeal samples were equivocal and 2.4% positive for N. gonorrhoeae by nucleic acid amplification testing, likely reflecting false-positive tests.Conclusion
Despite recommendations to perform a test-of-cure 7 to 14 days after treatment of pharyngeal gonorrhea, rates of return continue to be low. Alternative strategies should be investigated to increase test-of-cure rates.