Derek Chapman

Virginia Commonwealth University | VCU · Division of Epidemiology, Dept. of Family Medicine & Population Health

Background Differential experiences of psychosocial stress during pregnancy may contribute to racial inequities in adverse pregnancy outcomes in the US. Valid and unbiased measurement scales are needed to assess the effect of psychosocial stress on pregnancy outcomes, however, the numerous modified scales implemented to measure stress are not alway...

Background: In the past two decades, maternal opioid use and neonatal abstinence syndrome have increased dramatically in the United States. Although pregnant women are experiencing the opioid epidemic in parallel with the general population, research into opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment rarely includes, and often intentionally excludes, this vu...

Introduction: We describe the California Healthy Places Index (HPI) and its performance relative to other indexes for measuring community well-being at the census-tract level. The HPI arose from a need identified by health departments and community organizations for an index rooted in the social determinants of health for place-based policy making...

A retrospective review of children with confirmed hearing loss identified through universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) in Virginia from 2010 to 2014 was conducted in order to compare the incidence of Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) risk factors in children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) to bilateral hearing loss (BHL). Over the 5...

Importance: Pediatric tonsillectomy is a common procedure now being performed most often for patients with obstructive sleep apnea, which has been associated with increased sensitivity to the respiratory side effects of opioid medications. This study investigates a strategy to decrease the use of opiate medications in a particularly vulnerable pop...

Adult mortality varies greatly by educational attainment. Explanations have focused on actions and choices made by individuals, neglecting contextual factors such as economic and policy environments. This study takes an important step toward explaining educational disparities in U.S. adult mortality and their growth since the mid-1980s by examining...

Objective To systematically compare midlife mortality patterns in the United States across racial and ethnic groups during 1999-2016, documenting causes of death and their relative contribution to excess deaths. Design Trend analysis of US vital statistics among racial and ethnic groups. Setting United States, 1999-2016. Population US adults age...

Supplemental material: additional information

In public health research, it has been well established that geographic location plays an important role in influencing health outcomes. In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on the impact of neighborhood or contextual factors as potential risk factors for childhood obesity. Some neighborhood factors relevant to childhood obesity in...

Objective: To analyze 2007 Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) risk factors in children with confirmed unilateral hearing loss (UHL) who initially passed newborn hearing screening. Methods: Retrospective record review of 16,108 infants who passed newborn hearing screening but had one or more JCIH risk factors prompting subsequent follow-up...

Background Preterm birth is a complex disorder with a heritable genetic component. Studies of primarily white women born preterm show that they have an increased risk of subsequently delivering preterm. This risk of intergenerational preterm birth is poorly defined among black women. Objective Our objective was to evaluate and compare the intergen...

Background: Preterm birth is one of the leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality. Although major strides have been made in identifying risk factors for preterm birth, the complexities between social and individual risk factors are not well understood. Objective: This study examines the association between neighborhood youth violence and...

Objectives: Approximately half of US pregnancies are unintended and 43% of these end in induced abortions. Male partners and their involvement in reproductive decisions is not well understood. We examined the association between couple pregnancy intentions and induced abortion in US women. Materials and Methods: Data came from the National Survey o...

A recently released map of Kentucky demonstrates how life expectancy varies across the state’s 120 counties. The map vividly shows a decline in life expectancy as one travels east from the “Golden Triangle” in central urban Kentucky to the mountains of Appalachia. The lowest life expectancies are largely in the far southeastern portion of the state...

BACKGROUND: Rapid repeat pregnancy (RRP) is a major problem in the U.S. Few studies have explored the influence of partner agreement on pregnancy intention and RRP. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between couple pregnancy intentions and rapid repeat pregnancy (RRP) among women in the U.S. STUDY DESIGN: Data came from the 2006-2010 National S...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major problem that could affect reproductive decision making. The aim of this study is to examine the association between IPV and contraceptive use and assess whether the association varies by receipt of prenatal birth control counseling and race/ethnicity. This study analyzed the 2004-2008 national Pregnancy Ri...

Research has substantiated the relationships between education and health as well as health and education. These pathways and relationships will be thoroughly explored such that participants are fluent in how education and health are interdependent.

There is a growing body of research that demonstrates the importance of contextual factors occurring throughout a woman’s life course on her reproductive outcomes. We created a multi-generation dataset by linking 2005-2009 resident live birth data to 1960-1997 resident live birth data in Virginia. Maternal information from the recent birth cohort...

Although place-based characteristics play an important role in population health, few studies have quantitatively and qualitatively examined community assets that enhance population health on a fine geographic scale. We use California census tracts (CTs) to identify local assets that might explain geographic areas of unexpectedly high life expectan...

BACKGROUND: Newborn hearing loss, also known as congenital hearing loss, is the most commonly occurring condition for which newborns are screened. The goal of the Virginia Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program (VEHDIP) is to identify congenital hearing loss in children before three months of age and to assure enrollment in appropriate ea...

BACKGROUND: Infant mortality is an important indicator of the health and well-being of a society because it is affected by many factors, including the community's poverty rate and education level, its economic development and the access to health care. The death of an infant is most often the result of complex interactions among factors, which pres...

This study examined characteristics of self-identified heterosexual women who were concordant or discordant in their sexual behavior and the association of discordance and sexual partnering among those aged 15-44 years from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (n = 7,353). Sexual concordance was defined as reporting a heterosexual identit...

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between menarcheal age and subsequent sexual partnering in women aged 21-44 years. Methods: Data from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth were used (n=7,962). Menarcheal age was defined as ≤ 11, 12-14, or ≥ 15 years. Sexual partnering was defined as being concurrent,...

This study examined the association of sexual debut and sexual partnering among men in the United States aged 21 to 44 years who participated in the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth. Age at debut was categorized as <15 years, 15 to 17 years, and ≥18 years to permit comparison with previous research. Sexual partnering was defined as being...

Background: Considering that 1 of every 8 infants in the U.S. is born preterm, much research has focused on the modifiable causes of the problem. Both cigarette smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy have been associated with preterm birth. The present study seeks to determine whether a previous preterm or low birthweight delivery impacts materna...

PURPOSE: This study examined the association of menarcheal age and subsequent sexual partnering among American women aged 21-44 years from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth. METHODS: Menarcheal age was defined as "early" (≤11 years of age), "average" (12-14), or "late" (≥15). Sexual partnering was defined as being concurrent, serial mo...

The residential segregation of black populations, often in areas of high-economic disadvantage and low social status, may play a crucial role in the observed racial inequities in sexually transmitted disease rates. An ecological analysis of 2005 to 2009 average gonorrhea rates was performed across 277 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The b...

This paper examined the generational recurrence of low birthweight (LBW) among first-born singletons using a statewide maternally-linked birth dataset. An intergenerational dataset was created by linking 2005-2009 to 1960-1997 Virginia resident live birth data. Maternal information from the recent birth cohort was linked to infant information in th...

Objective To analyze the presence of Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) risk factors and co-occurring birth defects (CBDs) in children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL). Design Retrospective review. Setting Statewide registry of universal newborn hearing screen data for all children born in Virginia from 2002 through 2008. Patients The study...

Half of the states in the United States mandate that health insurers cover contraceptives. Health care reform includes recommendations to extend these mandates nationally through the essential benefits package. This study evaluates the association of state-level insurance mandates and consistent contraceptive use among privately insured women aged...

Early detection of hearing loss in all newborns and timely intervention are critical to children's cognitive, verbal, behavioral, and social development. The initiation of appropriate early intervention services before 6 months of age can prevent or reduce negative developmental consequences. The purpose of this study was to assess, using large, po...

Striking racial disparities in infant mortality exist in the United States, with rates of infant death among African Americans (AA) nearly twice the national average. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches have been successful in fostering collaborative relationships between communities and researchers focused on developing effect...

There is a growing recognition in maternal and child health of the importance of social, behavioral, biological, and genetic factors across the entire life course. Unfortunately, most state maternal and child health surveillance systems are not designed to readily address longitudinal research questions or track and follow children across multiple...

In the United States the number of births to unmarried mothers is at a record high. Although being unmarried is a significant risk factor for low birth weight and preterm births, paternal presence may have a protective effect. In addition to marital status, paternity may be a proxy measure for paternal support. Virginia birth registry data were ana...

Interviews from 655 women participating in the Chicago Women's Health Risk Study (CWHRS) were used to assess prevalence and factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Black women had the highest rate of IPV overall and among pregnant women, and had decreased odds of PTSD compared to Black nonpr...

Background: Much attention is devoted to reducing the infant mortality rate which was declining until 2002. The recent rise was found to stem from an increase in deaths during the early neonatal period. Fetal deaths are not well understood and not routinely included when evaluating infant mortality. Methods: Using data collected from 2001 to 2006...

We applied a public health approach to the study of mental retardation by providing a basic descriptive epidemiological analysis using a large statewide linked birth and public school record database (N = 327,831). Sociodemographic factors played a key role across all levels of mental retardation. Birthweight less than 1000 g was associated with th...

Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) symptoms of common mental disorders derived from structured interviews of a representative sample of 4,049 twin children and adolescents and their adult caretakers. A dimensional model based on the assignment of symptoms to...

This chapter discusses the role of recreation and leisure activities in the prevention of emotional and behavioral disorders. The number of children having emotional and behavioral disorders identified in the schools continues to rise every year. The chapter presents evidence that neighborhood‐level risk factors should be considered when interventi...

This study utilized an electronic data linkage method to examine the effects of risk factors present at birth on language development in preschool. The Preschool Language Scale-3 (PLS-3) was administered to 853 low-income children, and cumulative risk data were abstracted from linked birth records. At least one risk factor was present in 94% of thi...

Examines the impact of a program aimed at reducing re-offending among juveniles transferred to adult court in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Initiated in 1998, the Juvenile Sentencing Advocacy Project (JSAP) worked to increase the degree to which defense lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and police officers considered the developmental status of youth cha...

The current study is a population-based investigation of birth risk factors for school-identified specific language impairment (SLI). The sample consisted of 244,619 students (5,862 SLI) born in Florida between 1989 and 1990 who were in the Florida public school system at ages 6-7. Epidemiological measures of effect were used to investigate both in...

The predictive value of maternal age and education in relation to rates of administratively defined mental retardation in a 3-year birth cohort (N = 267,277) was studied. Low maternal education placed individuals at increased risk for both educable mentally handicapped (EMH) and trainable mentally handicapped (TMH) placements. Older maternal age wa...

An important, but often overlooked, area of investigation in developmental psychology is that of intergenerational risk factors. A body of research spanning over 60 years clearly demonstrates the impact of maternal intergenerational factors on physical growth. In addition to operating through this biological mechanism, intergenerational risk factor...

The authors investigated birth risk factors for school-identified learning disabilities (LD) using a sample of 244,619 six- to eight-year-old public school children ( 6,715 LD) born in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Epidemiological measures of effect were used to investigate both individual- and population-level risk. Very low birth weight (VLBW),...

This article discusses the computation and application of various epidemiological measures of effect in educational and developmental research. Specifically, epidemiology provides a potentially important perspective for studies identifying risk factors for healthy child development. For example, it allows for the examination of both individual-leve...

Epidemiological methodology is used to examine the relationship between early childhood risk factors and future identification as having a Severe Emotional Disturbance or as having an Emotional Handicap (SED/EH) at age 13. Data were obtained from 1979/1980 Florida birth records that were electronically linked with 1992/1993 Florida school records....

To best influence policymakers, researchers need to provide information and measures of effects that reflect the nature of policy decisions. Specifically, policymakers are often interested in factors associated with changes in the number of cases or rate of disorders in a community. Regression/analysis of variance (ANOVA) models, which focus on the...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Miami, 1999. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-54).