Animal Science and Zoology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Conservation, Multidisciplinary
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Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Cervical cancer prevention behaviors and determinants among Indigenous women in rural Nepal Babita Bhetwal, Vinita Sharma, Anne Abbott, Ellen J Schafer Health Promotion International, 2026 Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among Nepali women, and most have not been screened. Little is known about cervical cancer prevention behaviors [e.g. screening and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination] and behavioral determinants (e.g. knowledge and attitudes) among Nepal’s minority groups, and no study to date has examined Tamang women exclusively. The objective of the study was to assess cervical cancer prevention behaviors and determinants in Tamang women. We utilized an in-person, one-on-one questionnaire, administered by a research-trained Nepali woman visiting women in their homes (n = 250) in three municipalities of Nuwakot, Nepal. Descriptive statistics and regression models were used to characterize participants and describe factors associated with cervical cancer prevention behaviors. On average, participants were 37 years old, had a low level of knowledge about cervical cancer and preventive behaviors (18% knew at least one prevention behavior), but most had positive attitudes toward screening (76.80%) and HPV immunization (81.60%). Participants who knew what cervical cancer is (OR = 3.27, 95% CI: 1.29–8.31) or knew at least one risk factor for cervical cancer (OR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.27–4.96) had higher odds of intending to seek screening. Study results suggest health education programs and policies need to be culturally tailored for women living in rural areas, include local stakeholders, use local communication methods, and incorporate familial support.
Incidence of long COVID among U.S. children and adults during the omicron era – Tracking Post-COVID Conditions (Track-PCC) network, 2022–2023 Brian E. Dixon, Katie S. Allen, Nicole Simmons, Jason Brinkley, Jennifer G. Andrews, Bari J. Dzomba, Marina O. Feiler, Resa M. Jones, Miguel Reina Ortiz, Vinita Sharma, Alexandra F. Dalton, Caroline Pratt, Shaun J. Grannis, Sharon H. Saydah Journal of Infection and Public Health, 2025 BACKGROUND: Long COVID, or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC), refers to new and persisting sequelae occurring in the months following an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although previous studies have reported estimates of PCC incidence, few have examined trends during the Omicron variant period or have included geographically distinct regions for the same time periods. METHODS: Track PCC is a surveillance network, leveraging electronic health records and public health data to monitor incidence over time across five diverse geographic sites in the U.S. This study examines the incidence of PCC in children and adults during the Omicron predominance period (January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023) through April 2024. Incident conditions were identified using diagnostic codes for 49 conditions. Crude and adjusted incidence for the occurrence of PCC per 1000 person-days was calculated independently during three post-acute time periods: 31-90 days, 91-180 days, and 181-365 days. Incidence of PCC per 1000 person-days was also calculated by demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: The Track PCC network included 438,491 adults and 85,264 children with COVID-19 during the Omicron period. PCC incidence was highest 31-90 days post-acute; range from 2.95 to 5.05 per 1000 person-days among adults and 1.53-3.15 per 1000 person-days among children. Incidence was higher among older patients and patients with 3 or more co-morbidities and generally stable across variant sublineage periods. CONCLUSION: These data suggest the PCC incidence following acute COVID-19 has not increased during the Omicron period. This is useful for understanding the burden of PCC and estimating demand of medical services following acute COVID-19 infections. PCC surveillance, including tracking the incidence of PCC, understanding patients at higher likelihood of developing PCC, and creating robust estimates, is critical to public health efforts to understand disease burden and guide prevention and treatment efforts.
Academic-Nonprofit Partnership for Public Health: Document Analysis and Systematization of the Implementation of a Multijurisdictional Long COVID Surveillance Platform Vinita Sharma, Rebekah Epstein, Megha K Arora, Tracy Edinger, McKenna Dahlquist, Christian Flessner, J. Mac McCullough, Umesh Ghimire, Lillian Upton Smith, Miguel Reina Ortiz Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 2025 Context: Health information exchanges (HIEs) are generally underutilized as data sources for public health surveillance, potentially decreasing the ability of public health practitioners to leverage the rich, real-time, clinical, and public health data therewith contained. Objectives: To systematize the process of implementing an academic-nonprofit partnership (ANPP) designed to leverage multijurisdictional HIE data for public health surveillance of Long COVID by Systematizing the ANPP’s. Implementation, with a focus on its operational strengths, opportunities, challenges, and strategies for its sustained growth. Design: Document review and analysis informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Surveillance System Evaluation framework. We employed a systematic approach to the collection and interpretation of 5 types of documents to describe the experience of implementing a multistakeholder, multijurisdictional, HIE-based ANPP for public health surveillance from 2022 to 2025. Setting: Multijurisdictional settings in the US. Participants: The ANPP and its constituent organizations. Intervention: Implementation of the ANPP. Main Outcome Measure: Identification of critical lessons learned including key partnership elements, encountered challenges, surveillance framework application, and strategies for implementing a multistakeholder, multijurisdictional ANPP for public health surveillance. Results: A participatory, iterative approach was used to engage stakeholders on ANPP implementation. Foundational strengths included complementary partner expertise and robust data environments, which created unique opportunities for comprehensive Long COVID surveillance. Challenges involved navigating varied institutional, legal, and regulatory requirements, complex data permission structures, and coordinating teams across different time zones. Key lessons learned highlighted that extensive initial investment in legal frameworks, data environments, and communication protocols, though time-consuming, significantly improves surveillance capabilities. Strategies to ensure success included replacing large meetings with focused working groups, fostering frequent communication, and implementing rigorous inter-team data quality control. Conclusion: Implementing multistakeholder, multijurisdictional, HIE-based surveillance necessitates substantial upfront investment. Continuous refinement and strategic efforts are vital for overcoming operational complexities and maximizing HIE potential for robust public health surveillance.
Tracking the burden, distribution, and impact of Post-COVID conditions in diverse populations for children, adolescents, and adults (Track PCC): passive and active surveillance protocols Resa M. Jones, Jennifer G. Andrews, Alexandra F. Dalton, Brian E. Dixon, Bari J. Dzomba, Shane I. Fernando, Kristen M. Pogreba-Brown, Miguel Reina Ortiz, Vinita Sharma, Nicole Simmons, Sharon H. Saydah, , Joshua Slen, Lillian Smith, Joanna McComack, Mac McCullough, Brian Young, Megha Khatri Arora, Rebekah Epstein, Ralph Figueroa, Terry Mahotiere, Kathryn Miller, Lori Barrett, McKenna Dahlquist, Dolores Busch, Tracy Edinger, Pablo Garcia, Richard Gibson, Sara Hallvik, Emily Sim, Christian Flessner, Navina Forsythe, Maria Johnson, Ryan McLelland, Joseph Sorenson, Fatima Ayllon, Marina Oktapodas Feiler, Matthew Fukuhara, Aaron Mishkin, Thanh T. D. Phan, Mehdi Rajaeebaygi, Radhika Sinha, John Turella, Weiting Wang, Lucie Wiedefeld, Recai Yucel, Susan Robinson, Argelia Benavides, Kate Bessey, Shane Brady, Collin Catalfamo, Dametreea Carr, Clancey Collins, Felina Cordova-Marks, Kacey Ernst, Leslie Farland, Pamela Gracia-Filion, Scott Frost, Kelly Heslin, Elizabeth Jacobs, Priscilla Lauro, Velia Nuno, Sydney Pettygrove, Vern Pilling, Susan Robinson, Alexandra Shilen, Vignesh Subbian, Shaun Grannis, Katie Allen, Lauren Buelow, Aaron Buck, Tom Duszynski, William Fadel, Zamal Franks, Ashley Griffith, Laura J. Myers, John Price, Ashley Wiensch, Hiping Xu, Abe Agedew, Deja Edwards, Emily Koumas, Douglas Slaughter, Elizabeth Sullivan, Tracy Wyche, Jason Brinkley, Tana Brummer, Sameer Desale, Rebecca Devlin, Charles Harpole, Danielle Rentz Hunt, Zuha Jeddy, Brandon Poe, Steve Pickett, Erica Sewell, Brian Sokol, Karen Stein, Joseph Thomas BMC Public Health, 2024 Background Track PCC includes five geographic surveillance sites to conduct standardized population-based surveillance to estimate and track Post-COVID Conditions (PCC) by age, sex, race/ethnicity, geographic area, severity of initial infection, and risk factors among persons with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (based on the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologist [CSTE] case definitions for confirmed cases or laboratory-confirmed evidence of infection). Methods The study will estimate the incidence, prevalence, including temporal trends, and duration and severity of PCC symptoms, among children, adolescents, and adults. PCCs include a broad range of symptoms and conditions that continue or develop after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 illness. Surveillance includes both passive and active components for diverse populations in Arizona, Indiana, and Utah as well as the Bronx Borough, NY, and part of Philadelphia County, PA. Passive surveillance will utilize electronic health records and health information exchanges within each site catchment area to longitudinally follow persons with COVID-19 to estimate PCC occurring at least 30 days after acute COVID-19 illness. Active surveillance will utilize self-report of PCCs from detailed surveys of persons ages 7 years and older with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the past 3 months. Respondents will complete follow-up surveys at 6-, 12- and 18-months post-infection. Discussion These data can help identify which groups are most affected by PCC, and what health differences among demographic groups exist, as well as indicate potential barriers to care. These additional levels of granularity can inform public health action and help direct needed clinical care for patients.
Missing Opportunities in the Screening of Alcohol Use and Problematic Use, and the Provision of Brief Advice and Treatment Information among Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder Vinita Sharma, Alyssa Falise, Lorna Bittencourt, Amir Zafaranian, Audrey Hang Hai, Catalina Lopez-Quintero Journal of Addiction Medicine, 2024 Objectives The aim of this study was to identify sociodemographic and substance-related factors associated with being screened, receiving advice or treatment information from healthcare providers, among individuals who met the criteria for the past 12-month alcohol use disorder (AUD). Methods The 2015–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data were analyzed to identify factors associated with being (1) asked about alcohol used among adults with AUD, who visited a healthcare provider within the past 12 months, and were not receiving AUD treatment (sample 1, n = 13,321); (2) asked about problematic use; (3) advised to reduce consumption; and (4) offered alcohol treatment information, among those in sample 1 who were asked about their use (n = 6,905). Results About half (52.9%) in sample 1 were asked about their alcohol use. Among them, 21.6% were asked about problematic use, 17.7% were advised to reduce alcohol consumption, and 7.6% were offered information. The odds of being asked about alcohol use among male participants were 0.72 times the odds of female participants; however once asked, male participants showed greater odds of being asked about problematic use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29–1.82), advised to reduce consumption (aOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.24–2.16), and offered treatment information (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.34–2.35). As compared with non-Hispanic White participants, other racial/ethnic groups were less likely to be asked about alcohol use; however, once asked, no differences were observed for other outcomes. Conclusions Significant gaps in the screening and provision of advice or treatment information were identified, particularly for racial/ethnic and sex subgroups. Reducing barriers for effective screening could help address AUD-related disparities.
Screening the “Invisible Population” of Older Adult Patients for Prescription Pain Reliever Non-Medical Use and Use Disorders Alyssa M. Falise, Vinita Sharma, Carolin C. Hoeflich, Catalina Lopez-Quintero, Catherine W. Striley Substance Use and Misuse, 2023 Background: In the United States, the number of older adults reporting non-medical use of prescription pain relievers (NMUPPR) between 2015 and 2019 has remained constant, while those meeting criteria for opioid use disorders (OUDs) between 2013 and 2018 increased three-fold. These rates are expected to increase due to increased life expectancy among this population coupled with higher rates of substance use. However, they have consistently lower screening rates for problematic prescription pain reliever use, compared to younger cohorts. Objectives: This commentary reviewed trends in older adult NMUPPR and OUDs and reviewed several available screening tools. We then considered reasons why providers may not be screening their patients, with a focus on older adults, for NMUPPR and OUDs. Finally, we provided recommendations to increase screenings in healthcare settings. Results: Low screening rates in older adult patients may be due to several contributing factors, such as providers’ implicit biases and lack of training, time constraints, and comorbid conditions that mask NMUPPR and OUD-related symptoms. Recommendations include incorporating more addiction-related curricula in medical schools, encouraging participation in CME training focused on substance use, attending implicit bias training, and breaking down the silos between pharmacy and geriatric, addiction, and family medicine. Conclusions: There is a growing need for older adult drug screenings, and we have provided several recommendations for improvement. By increasing screenings among older populations, providers will assist in the identification and referral of patients to appropriate and timely substance use treatment and resources to ultimately ameliorate the health of older adult patients.
Operation Soft Gold – Integration of cyber intelligence in curbing illegal Shahtoosh trade in India A. Pragatheesh, Vinita Sharma, C.P. Sharma, H.V. Girisha Forensic Science International Animals and Environments, 2022 The fine wool Shahtoosh obtained from the Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii Abel, 1826) which is endemic to Tibetan Plateau, is highly valued for its rarity, warmth and lightness. The illegal trade in Shahtoosh may lead to extinction of this species. The Tibetan Antelope is protected from commercial trade throughout its range, both nationally and internationally thereby prohibiting any commercial use or trade of any product in India and in the international market. Though globally banned the illegal trade of Shahtoosh driven by international demand has continued to be actively operational undercover in India. In order to bypass this trade ban, the traffickers mis-declare Shahtoosh consignments as Pashmina, Cashmere or conceal by mixed them in shipments between look-alike woolen products. In the present study the illegal Shahtoosh trade was analysed from 2009 to 2020. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has envisaged Operation Soft Gold to curb this. A total of 62 confirmed Shahtoosh cases were detected in India from 2009 to 2020. Most of them were detected at exit points and intended for international smuggling. The Indri Gandhi International airport New Delhi in India was the most preferred airport, while Air Cargo and Air Courier were often used by the traffickers. Our analysis shows that the illegal Shahtoosh trade network is going on between the Western Asian countries, Oman, China, Japan, Pakistan, UK, Spain, Hong Kong and Switzerland are either destination or transit countries for illegal Shahtoosh products.
