AJPH Releases New Influenza Articles from Experts on Vulnerable Populations Early

Newswise — In light of interest in the ongoing H1N1 influenza outbreak, several scientific papers are being published online ahead of schedule. A special supplement to the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) on influenza preparedness, in which these and other papers appear, will be published as scheduled later this year.

Additionally, AJPH has made accessible to the public more than 160 influenza-related articles that have appeared in previous issues. The articles are available free-of-charge online at www.ajph.org.

The papers highlighted below were developed prior to the current outbreak as guidance for a potential severe influenza pandemic. Up-to-date information and guidance on H1N1 influenza can be found at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu. Among the articles selected for early publication are several papers commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) providing advice for protecting the health of vulnerable populations during a severe influenza pandemic:

- "Pandemic Influenza and Pregnant Women: Summary of a Meeting of Experts" provides a summary of expert input that emerged from a meeting designed to integrate scientific evidence and expert opinion around planning to meet the health needs of pregnant women during an influenza pandemic.

- "Protecting Home Health Care Workers: A Challenge to Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Planning" summarizes findings which highlight the need to integrate home health care employers, workers, community advocates and labor unions into the pandemic planning process.

- "Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Vulnerable Populations in Tribal Communities" outlines potential issues to consider in identifying and providing appropriate services for vulnerable populations in tribal communities and highlights available preparedness resources.

- "Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Among Immigrants and Refugees" offers advice from experts and service providers to help immigrants and refugees overcome limited resources, inaccessible health services, language barriers, cross-cultural misunderstandings and inexperience in adhering to public health guidelines during an influenza pandemic.

Also included among the influenza-related articles released ahead of schedule are:

- "Pandemic Influenza and Pregnancy: An Opportunity to Reassess Maternal Bioethics" which explores the ethical challenges presented by pregnant women when planning for a pandemic, particularly in relation to resource allocation.

- "The Open-Air Treatment of Pandemic Influenza" which is a historical examination of the 1918 H1N1 "Spanish flu" outbreak that argues for an emphasis on "open-air" temporary hospitals in emergency planning, as well as other measures taken during the 1918 pandemic.

- "Disparities in Influenza Treatment among Disabled Medicaid Patients in Georgia" which presents the finding of a research study investigating whether racial/ethnic, geographic or gender disparities exist in the usage of antiviral drugs for treating influenza.

For more information about papers without listed authors, contact the CDC Division of Media Relations at 404-639-3286.

Each of these articles will be published online May 21, 2009, at 4 p.m. (ET) by the American Journal of Public Health under "First Look" at http://www.ajph.org/first_look.shmtl, and they are currently scheduled to appear in the October 2009 supplemental print issue of the Journal. "First Look" articles have undergone peer review, copyediting and approval by authors but have not yet been printed to paper or posted online by issue.

The American Journal of Public Health is published by the American Public Health Association, www.apha.org, and is available at www.ajph.org.

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the oldest organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of books and periodicals promoting sound scientific standards, action programs and public policy to enhance health. More information is available at www.apha.org. Complimentary online access to the journal is available to credentialed members of the media. Address inquiries to Patricia Warin at APHA, (202) 777-2511, or via e-mail, [email protected]. A single print issue of the Journal is available for $25 from the Journal's Subscriptions department at www.ajph.org/subscriptions. If you are not a member of the press, a member of APHA or a subscriber, online single issue access is $22 and online single article access is $10 at http://www.ajph.org. If you would like to order or renew a subscription, visit www.ajpj.org/subscriptions or for direct customer service, call 202-777-2516 or email [email protected].