Jemar R. Bather

• PhD Student at Harvard University

Background Recent shifts in hybrid working practices have coincided with rising prices, potentially inducing inflation-related stress among employees. Objective To investigate associations between remote work status and self-reported inflation-related stress among employed US adults in an overall sample and stratified by gender identity and race/e...

Background Research on social determinants of genetic testing uptake is limited, particularly among unaffected patients with inherited cancer susceptibility. Methods We conducted a secondary analysis of the Broadening the Reach, Impact, and Delivery of Genetic Services (BRIDGE) trial at University of Utah Health and NYU Langone Health, involving 2...

We recommend three well-established yet underused statistical methods in social epidemiology: Multiple Informant Models (MIMs), Fractional Regression Model (FRM), and Restricted Mean Survival Time (RMST). MIMs improve how we identify critical windows of exposure over time. FRM addresses the inadequacies of ordinary least squares and logistic regres...

This cross-sectional study examines rates of police pursuit fatalities in the US from 2017 to 2021.

Objectives The relationship between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and interest in master of public health (MPH) programs is unknown. We examined trends in MPH application rates for 31 MPH concentrations and specifically for the MPH concentration in epidemiology and differences by race and ethnicity before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pa...

Background We examined neighborhood characteristics concerning breast cancer screening annual adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We analyzed 6673 female patients aged 40 or older at increased inherited cancer risk in 2 large health care systems (NYU Langone Health [NYULH] and the University of Utah Health [UHealth]). Multinomial model...

Background Social vulnerability may play a role in social media-involved crime, but few studies have investigated this issue. We investigated associations between social vulnerability and social media-involved violent crimes. Methods We analyzed 22,801 violent crimes occurring between 2018 and 2023 in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Social media...

Importance Increasing numbers of unaffected individuals could benefit from genetic evaluation for inherited cancer susceptibility. Automated conversational agents (ie, chatbots) are being developed for cancer genetics contexts; however, randomized comparisons with standard of care (SOC) are needed. Objective To examine whether chatbot and SOC appr...

Objective To analyze the relationship between perceived discrimination over the life course, social status, and limited health literacy (HL). Methods 5040 adults who participated in the 2023 Survey of Racism and Public Health. We applied stratified multilevel models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. Results The average age was 47 yea...

Background Studies investigating the impact of racial segregation on health have reported mixed findings and tended to focus on the racial composition of neighborhoods. These studies use varying racial composition measures, such as census data or investigator-adapted questions, which are currently limited to assessing one dimension of neighborhood...

Background Research is needed to understand the impact of social determinants of health on health literacy throughout the life course. This study examined how racial composition of multiple past and current social environments was related to adults' health literacy. Methods In this study, 546 adult patients at a primary care clinic in St. Louis, M...

Background Little attention has been devoted to framing multiple continuous social variables as a “mixture” for social epidemiologic analysis. We propose using the Bayesian kernel machine regression analytic framework that yields univariate, bivariate, and overall exposure mixture effects. Methods Using data from the 2023 Survey of Racism and Publ...

Background: Innovative analytic approaches to drug studies are needed to understand better the co-use of opioids with non-opioids among people using illicit drugs. One approach is the Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), widely applied in environmental epidemiology to study exposure mixtures but has received far less attention in substance us...

The diversity of racial/ethnic representation in the health services and policy research (HSPR) workforce plays a crucial role in addressing the health needs of underserved populations. We assessed changes (between 2012 and 2022) in the racial/ethnic composition of students and faculty from departments of Health Policy & Management (HPM) and Health...

Background Upon reintegration into society, formerly incarcerated individuals (FIIs) experience chronic financial stress due to prolonged unemployment, strained social relationships, and financial obligations. This study examined whether marriage and perceived social status can mitigate financial stress, which is deleterious to the well-being of FI...

BACKGROUND Studies investigating the impact of racial segregation on health have reported mixed findings and tended to focus on the racial composition of neighborhoods. These studies use varying racial composition measures, such as census data or investigator-adapted questions, which are currently limited to assessing one dimension of neighborhood...

Objective This study aimed to 1) investigate algorithm enhancements for identifying patients eligible for genetic testing of hereditary cancer syndromes using family history data from electronic health records (EHRs); and 2) assess their impact on relative differences across sex, race, ethnicity, and language preference. Materials and Methods The...

Purpose There is limited research on the relationship between structural environmental factors and genomics-related knowledge, self-efficacy, perceived importance, and communication. We examined the potential impact of racial segregation on these genomics-related outcomes among medically underserved patients. Methods We analyzed data from a sample...

Confusion often arises when attempting to articulate target estimand(s) of a clinical trial in plain language. We aim to rectify this confusion by using a type of causal graph called the Single-World Intervention Graph (SWIG) to provide a visual representation of the estimand that can be effectively communicated to interdisciplinary stakeholders. T...

Background: Epidemiological studies have reported associations of anti-androgenic phthalate metabolite concentrations with later onset of male puberty, but few have assessed associations with progression. Objectives: We examined the association of prepubertal urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations with trajectories of pubertal progression a...

There has been heightened interest in identifying critical windows of exposure for adverse health outcomes; that is, time points during which exposures have the greatest impact on a person's health. Multiple informant models implemented using generalized estimating equations (MIM GEEs) have been applied to address this research question because the...

The lack of diversity among the environmental health sciences (EHS) workforce has been an ongoing concern. However, limited research exists on the racial and ethnic composition of EHS students and faculty over time. We analyzed 2011 and 2021 data on EHS students, graduates, and faculty to compare changes in the racial and ethnic composition among A...

Objective: To examine cognitive, relational, and social predictors of interest in and timing preference for cancer predisposition testing (CPT) and expanded carrier screening (ECS) offered in routine gynecologic care for women of reproductive age. Methods: Women between 20 and 35 years old who were currently pregnant or had a prior pregnancy (N...

Objective: This study is a follow-up to a study in 2020 that reviewed changes in the racial and ethnic composition of public health students, graduates, and faculty among Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)-member institutions. In the current study, we evaluated how the racial and ethnic composition among biostatistics and...

Confusion often arises when attempting to articulate target estimand(s) of a clinical trial in plain language. We aim to rectify this confusion by using a type of causal graph called the Single-World Intervention Graph (SWIG) to provide a visual representation of the estimand that can be effectively communicated to interdisciplinary stakeholders. T...

Aim To prospectively investigate the associations of urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations measured at four time points spanning pubertal development with semen parameters in Russian men. Design 516 boys were enrolled at ages 8–9 years (2003–2005) and followed annually. Methods Urine samples were collected annually and pooled into four expo...

Sequencing technologies can inform individuals’ risks for multiple conditions, supporting population-level screening approaches. Prior research examining interest in genetic testing has not generally examined the context of population-based approaches offered in routine healthcare or among ethnically diverse populations. Cancer predisposition testi...

Background: Youth with perinatal HIV exposure have demonstrated high rates of emotional-behavioral problems. Few studies have longitudinally examined racial/ethnic disparities in such functioning across adolescence, a critical time for targeting prevention/intervention efforts. Setting: The PHACS Adolescent Master Protocol, one of the largest US...

Objective This study is a follow-up to an examination of the racial/ethnic composition of public health students (1996) and faculty (1997) at schools of public health that was conducted 20 years ago. We examined data on the race/ethnicity of students, graduates, and faculty among Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)–member i...