{"id":221954,"date":"2023-02-10T22:58:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T03:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=221954"},"modified":"2023-11-09T20:38:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T01:38:45","slug":"professor-integrates-social-determinants-of-health-in-atrial-fibrillation-research","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2023\/professor-integrates-social-determinants-of-health-in-atrial-fibrillation-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Integrates Social Determinants of Health in Atrial Fibrillation Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-center has-primary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1576\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-scaled.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"ECG example of a pathological 12-lead rhythm, atrial flutter\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-636x391.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-1024x630.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-768x473.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-1536x945.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-2048x1261.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-755x465.jpg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-1625x1000.jpg 1625w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-900x554.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-1920x1182.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/02\/afib-1-1200x739.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner has-opacity-80\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">health equity<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Professor Integrates Social Determinants of Health in Atrial Fibrillation Research<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">A new report identifies opportunities to incorporate\u00a0social determinants of health in\u00a0atrial fibrillation research, with\u00a0a goal to reduce inequities of the heart condition through increased screening and treatment among disadvantaged patients.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar js-block-editorial-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">February 10, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/jillian-mckoy\/\">Jillian McKoy<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>Atrial fibrillation (Afib) is a common irregular heartbeat condition that can lead to blood clots in the heart and increase the risk of stroke and heart failure. An estimated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/heartdisease\/atrial_fibrillation.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2.7 million people<\/a> experience Afib in the United States, but the true prevalence is likely higher as the condition is often overlooked among disadvantaged populations who are more likely to be under or uninsured, and who face additional socioeconomic barriers to healthcare screening and treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The consequences of these barriers and other social determinants of health (SDOH)\u2014known as the conditions in which individuals live, work, and age\u2014on Afib are largely unknown. Now, a School of Public Health researcher is working to close this knowledge gap, starting with a new report <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamacardiology\/article-abstract\/2799379\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published in JAMA<em> Cardiology<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Published as a Special Communication in the journal\u2019s February 2023 issue, the report presents a comprehensive overview of current knowledge gaps, and it identifies major opportunities to accelerate SDOH research related to Afib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The recommendations followed a panel that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened last year, led by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/emelia-benjamin\/\">Emelia Benjamin<\/a>, professor of epidemiology at SPH, professor of&nbsp;medicine at Boston University Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine, and a cardiologist at Boston Medical Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSocial determinants of health affect access to care and management decisions for atrial fibrillation, increasing the likelihood of adverse outcomes among individuals who experience systematic disadvantages,\u201d says Benjamin, who is the corresponding author of the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developing effective approaches to address modifiable social determinants of health requires research to eliminate inequities in healthcare delivery and health outcomes, wrote the panelists, which included a team of researchers in public health and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The panel discussed a wide range of social determinants that may hinder patients\u2019 access to Afib screening and treatment, divided into six segments: socioeconomic status and access to healthcare; Health literacy; race, ethnicity and racism; sex and gender; place (including neighborhood and community); and shared decision-making in disadvantaged populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team underscored the need to better understand the impact of multiple social determinants on Afib and the cumulative disadvantages of these determinants that patients experience throughout their lifetime. Future research should include innovative machine learning approaches that will capture these intersectional and collective experiences, the authors state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEnsuring equitable access to broadband and mobile health technologies will enhance research in technologically disadvantaged populations,\u201d says Benjamin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Atrial fibrillation (Afib) is a common irregular heartbeat condition that can lead to blood clots in the heart and increase the risk of stroke and heart failure. An estimated 2.7 million people experience Afib in the United States, but the true prevalence is likely higher as the condition is often overlooked among disadvantaged populations who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15205,"featured_media":221961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"health equity","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[1767,2070,3420,2178,2526,2517],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[2793],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/221954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221954"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/221954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233460,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/221954\/revisions\/233460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221954"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=221954"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=221954"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=221954"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=221954"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=221954"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=221954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}