Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Detecting, Preventing, And Treating Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Adolescent Arrestees: An Unmet Public Health Need, Christopher Salvatore, Steven Belenko, Richard Dembo, Matthew Rollie, Kristina Childs

Christopher Salvatore

Studies of detained and incarcerated adolescent offenders in the United States indicate that these juveniles have an elevated risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). However, many more arrestees enter the “front end” of the juvenile justice system that is detained or incarcerated, and research into the STD risk profiles and service needs of this larger group is lacking. An expansion of STD testing (including of asymptomatic youths), prevention, and treatment is needed, as is improved knowledge about gender- and race-specific services. A pilot program in Florida has shown that juvenile justice and public health systems can collaborate to implement STD …

Medically Tailored Meals As A Prescription For Treatment Of Food-Insecure Type 2 Diabetics, Leslie J. Rabaut

Aurora Family Medicine Residents

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is an immense burden to the health of our population and to our current health care system, and the weight of this burden is only projected to multiply in coming years. A nutritious diet is an indispensable aspect of diabetes treatment, and the lack of access to food engenders poor disease-state control, which correlates with increased health care utilization. Interventions aimed at improving access to food through medically tailored meals (MTMs) have demonstrated effectiveness in improving the health of food-insecure type 2 diabetic patients and reducing health care costs. Further studies are necessary to increase the …

Intellectual Property And Public Health – A White Paper, Ryan G. Vacca, Jim Chen, Jay Dratler Jr., Tom Folsom, Timothy Hall, Yaniv Heled, Frank Pasquale, Elizabeth Reilly, Jeff Samuels, Kathy Strandburg, Kara Swanson, Andrew Torrance, Katharine Van Tassel

Katharine Van Tassel

On October 26, 2012, the University of Akron School of Law’s Center for Intellectual Property and Technology hosted its Sixth Annual IP Scholars Forum. In attendance were thirteen legal scholars with expertise and an interest in IP and public health who met to discuss problems and potential solutions at the intersection of these fields. This report summarizes this discussion by describing the problems raised, areas of agreement and disagreement between the participants, suggestions and solutions made by participants and the subsequent evaluations of these suggestions and solutions.

Led by the moderator, participants at the Forum focused generally on three broad …

Child Labour: A Public Health Issue, S. A. Gulzar, Samina Vertejee, Laila Pirani

Samina Vertejee

Child labour is a global practice and has many negative outcomes. According to International Labour Organization, child labour is the important source of child exploitation and child abuse in the world today. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has estimated the number of Pakistani working children to be around 11-12 millions, out of which, at least, half the children are under the age of ten years. It portrays the society's attitude towards child care. It is therefore, essential to break this vicious cycle and hence, enable the society to produce healthy citizens. This article analyzes the determinants of child labour …

Screening For Elder Mistreatment Among Older Adults Seeking Legal Assistance Services, Sheryl M. Strasser, Megan Smith, Scott Weaver, Shimin Zheng, Yan Cao

Shimin Zheng

Introduction: The aging population is a rapidly growing demographic in the United States. Isolation, limited autonomy, and declining physical and mental health render many older adults vulnerable to elder mistreatment (EM). The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of EM among a sample of older adults using legal assistance services in Atlanta, Georgia. Methods: Researchers administered surveys to consenting older adults (aged 60þ) in 5 metro Atlanta community centers that hosted legal assistance information sessions as part of the Elderly Legal Assistance Program. The surveys screened for risk factors and prevalence of EM risk using …

Exponential Growth, Animal Welfare, Environmental And Food Safety Impact: The Case Of China’S Livestock Production, Peter J. Li

Peter J. Li, PhD

Developmental states are criticized for rapid “industrialization without enlightenment.” In the last 30 years, China’s breathtaking growth has been achieved at a high environmental and food safety cost. This article, utilizing a recent survey of China’s livestock industry, illustrates the initiating role of China’s developmental state in the exponential expansion of the country’s livestock production. The enthusiastic response of the livestock industry to the many state policy incentives has made China the world’s biggest animal farming nation. Shortage of meat and dairy supply is history. Yet, the Chinese government is facing new challenges of no less a threat to political …

Lifetime Prevalence Of Non-Melanoma And Melanoma Skin Cancer In Australian Recreational And Competitive Surfers, Michael Climstein, James Furness, Wayne Hing, Joe Walsh

Wayne Hing

Background/Purpose Surfing is one of the most popular outdoor aquatic activities in Australia with an estimated 2.7 million recreational surfers; however, Australia has long been recognized as having the highest incidence of melanoma in the world, and it is the most common type of cancer in young Australians. The aim of this study was to investigate the lifetime prevalence of non-melanoma [basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)] and melanoma skin cancers in Australian recreational and competitive surfers. Methods Australian surfers were invited to complete an online surveillance survey to determine the lifetime prevalence of non-melanoma and melanoma skin …

Noncompliance With Public Health Service (Phs) Policy On Humane Care And Use Of Laboratory Animals: An Exploratory Analysis, Leah M. Gomez, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens

Martin Stephens, PhD

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a major biomedical research-funding body in the United States. Approximately 40% of NIH-funded research involves experimentation on nonhuman animals (Monastersky, 2008). Institutions that conduct animal research with NIH funds must adhere to the Public Health Service (PHS) care and use standards of the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW, 2002a). Institutions deviating significantly from the PHS’s animal care and use standards must report these incidents to the NIH’s OLAW. This study is an exploratory analysis of all the significant deviations reported by animal-research facilities to OLAW during a 3-month period. The study identifies …

Why-The-United-States-Needs-A-National-Birth-Cohort-Study.Pdf, Ezekiel J. Dixon-Román

Ezekiel J Dixon-Román

Physical Activity And Public Health: Training Courses For Researchers And Practitioners, David Brown, Russell Pate, Michale Pratt, Fran Wheeler, David Buchner, Barbara Ainsworth, Caroline Macera

David C. Brown

No abstract provided.

Building Capacity In Physical Activity And Public Health, Russell Pate, Jennifer Gay, David Brown, Michael Pratt

David C. Brown

No abstract provided.

Travel To, And Use Of, Twenty-One Michigan Trails, Anna Greer, Julian Reed, Lisa Grost, Christina Harvey, Karah Mantinan

Anna E. Greer

Objective and methods: This study examined trail use among 857 trail users on 21 trails in Michigan from 2008 to 2011 using a valid and reliable intercept survey. Results: Most of the 857 participants traveled to the trail from their home (92.6%), lived within 15 min of the trails (74.8%), and used active transport to travel to the trails 69.7%. The odds of active transport to the trails were greater among those who had not graduated high school (OR=3.49; 95% CI=1.02, 11.99) and high school graduates (OR=7.432; 95% CI=2.02, 27.30) compared to college graduates. Whites and adults also had greater …

Providing Information Across Multiple Devices To The Public Health Workforce: Challenges And Opportunities, E. Hatheway Simpson, Lisa Sedlar

E. Hatheway Simpson

Public health workers are increasingly using mobile technology to access information. PHPartners.org, the web portal of the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce, has implemented a responsively designed website to allow users to access and easily view the same information across multiple devices including mobile phones, tablets, and desktop computers. This webinar will present an overview of the benefits of responsive web design, the challenges to implementation, and future developments.

Making The Blue Zones: Neoliberalism And Nudges In Public Health Promotion, Eric Carter

Eric D. Carter

This paper evaluates the ideological and political origins of a place-based and commercial health promotion effort, the Blue Zones Project (BZP), launched in Iowa in 2011. Through critical discourse analysis, I argue that the BZP does reflect a neoliberalization of public health, but as an "actually existing neoliberalism" it emerges from a specific policy context, including dramatic health sector policy changes due to the national Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare; a media discourse of health crisis for an aging Midwestern population; and an effort to refashion Iowa cities as sites of healthy and active living, to retain and …

Consumer Hookah Consumption: Is The Hubble Bubble The New Coffee And Cocktail?, Tracy Harmon-Kizer

Tracy R. Harmon-Kizer Ph.D.

Hookah smoking is a growing practice among American teens and young adults. In a single hookah smoking session, a smoker may inhale 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled in a single cigarette. Yet, the risks and adverse consequences of hookah smoking are relatively unfamiliar to health professionals, tobacco policy regulators and consumer behavior researchers. To extend our understanding of this epidemic-like consumption practice, this study explores consumer initiation and continued practice, and the meanings, attitudes and beliefs held by those who smoke hookah, especially with respect to cigarette smoking. Our findings reveal adulterated ways in which hookah …

Racism, Place, And Health Of Urban Black Elders Relationship Of Neighborhood Effects And Reaction To Discrimination On Self-Rated Health, Priscilla Ryder

Priscilla T. Ryder

As a population, older African Americans in the United States have more compromised health in terms of numbers and severity of conditions, ages at onset, and levels of physical function than European Americans of similar ages. Some of the inequality may be due to life-long exposure to institutional, interpersonal, and internalized racism. This monograph describes the results of a survey of African Americans ages 60 years and older living in Baltimore, Maryland. The study sets out to explain differences in self-rated health using report of racism, reaction to unfair treatment, and physical and psychosocial characteristics of participants? neighborhoods. Mental health, …

Kentucky State Innovation Model (Sim) Design Grant: Consumer Engagement, Susan Buchino, Monica Wendel, Liza Creel

Susan Buchino

The Public Health Impacts Of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations On Local Communities, Michael Greger, Gowri Koneswaran

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

Large-scale farm animal production facilities, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), release a significant amount of contaminants into the air and water. Adverse health effects related to exposure to these contaminants among CAFO workers have been welldocumented; however, less is known about their impact on the health of residents in nearby communities. Epidemiological research in this area suggests that neighboring residents are at increased risk of developing neurobehavioral symptoms and respiratory illnesses, including asthma. Additional research is needed to better understand community-scale exposures and health outcomes related to the management practices and emissions of CAFOs.

The Human/Animal Interface: Emergence And Resurgence Of Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

Emerging infectious diseases, most of which are considered zoonotic in origin, continue to exact a significant toll on society. The origins of major human infectious diseases are reviewed and the factors underlying disease emergence explored. Anthropogenic changes, largely in land use and agriculture, are implicated in the apparent increased frequency of emergence and reemergence of zoonoses in recent decades. Special emphasis is placed on the pathogen with likely the greatest zoonotic potential, influenzavirus A.

The Qigong And Quality Of Life Trial: Implications For Women In Cancer Survivorship Phase, Siew Yim Loh Assoc Prof

Siew Yim Loh

Background: Qigong is widely acknowledged by Asian breast cancer survivors as a potent health-promoting physical activity. This study investigated the hypothesis that quality of life (QoL) in the Qigong group is better than the placebo (aerobic) or usual care group. Methods: 197 participants were randomly assigned to either the 8-week Qigong, Placebo or Usual care (control) group. Measurement taken at baseline and post-intervention included QoL, distress and fatigue. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Kruskal Wallis were used to examine for differences between groups of the measurements. Results: 95 consented participants completed the 8 week trial. The adherence rate for Qigong …

Compelling Product Sellers To Transmit Government Public Health Messages, Stephen D. Sugarman

Stephen D Sugarman

No abstract provided.

Reasons To Be Hopeful: Streams Of Renewal In Healthcare, Ray Moynihan

Ray Moynihan

Extract: The iconoclastic former BMJ editor Richard Smith has mused that medicine might need to feel utterly defeated for it to undergo much needed radical renewal.1 Whether or not defeat is imminent, a culture shift is being debated,2 and renewal is inevitable. The current medical-industrial paradigm—fragmented, technocratic, mechanistic, inhuman, and imperial—is neither healthy nor sustainable. While there’s much that is hopeful in debates about clinical medicine, public health, and beyond, I’d like to identify 10 streams of change that may ultimately coalesce to form a coherent vision of radical renewal.

Research With Communities To Improve Health And Reduce Health Disparities, Elmer R. Freeman

Elmer Freeman

No abstract provided.

Estimating The Effect Of A Community-Based Intervention With Two Communities, Mark Van Der Laan, Maya Petersen, Wenjing Zheng

Wenjing Zheng

Due to the need to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based programs in practice, there is substantial interest in methods to estimate the causal effects of community-level treatments or exposures on individual level outcomes. The challenge one is confronted with is that different communities have different environmental factors affecting the individual outcomes, and all individuals in a community share the same environment and intervention. In practice, data are often available from only a small number of communities, making it difficult if not impossible to adjust for these environmental confounders. In this paper we consider an extreme version of this dilemma, in …

Environmental And Occupational Interventions For Primary Prevention Of Cancer: A Cross-Sectorial Policy Framework, Carolina Espina, Miquel Porta, Joachim Schüz, Ildefonso Hernández Aguado, Robert V. Percival, Carlos Dora, Terry Slevin, Julietta Rodriguez Guzman, Tim Meredith, Philip J. Landrigan, Maria Neira

Robert Percival

Nearly 13 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths occur worldwide each year; 63% of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. A substantial portion of all cancers are attributable to carcinogenic exposures in the environment and the workplace. The objective of this study was to develop an evidence-based global vision and strategy for the primary prevention of environmental and occupational cancer. The study concluded that opportunities exist to revitalize comprehensive global cancer control policies by incorporating primary interventions against environmental and occupational carcinogens.

Barriers To Providing School-Based Health Care: International Case Comparisons, Denise Seigart, Elaine Dietsch, Michèle Parent

Denise Seigart

Background: This article reports on an international collaborative study which compared school-based health care in the United States of America, Canada and Australia.

Method: Tri-nation school-based health care was compared and contrasted through the utilisation of a series of interpretive case studies. Grounded theory approaches informed the data analysis and reporting processes.

Findings: Unlike the US, Canadian and Australian school students rarely have access to school-based health care on site. All three nations face structural, cultural and societal barriers, often related to limited resources which limit the effectiveness of school-based health care.

Discussion: The benefits of school-based health care and …

Evaluation Of Student Outcomes In Online Vs. Campus Biostatistics Education In A Graduate School Of Public Health, John Mcgready, Ron Brookmeyer

Ron Brookmeyer

Objective: To compare student outcomes between concurrent online and on-campus sections of an introductory biostatistics course offered at a U.S. school of public health in 2005. Methods: Enrolled students (95 online, 92 on-campus) were invited to participate in a confidential online survey. The course outcomes were compared between the two sections adjusting for differences in student characteristics. Results: Seventy-two online (76%) and 66 (72%) on-campus enrollees participated. Unadjusted final exam scores for the online and on-campus sections were respectively 85.1 and 86.3 (p = 0.50) in term 1, and 87.7 and 86.9 (p=0.58) in term 2. After adjustment for student …

Youth Aging Out Of Foster Care: The Invisible Public Health Care Crisis Emergent Findings And Implications For Policy And Practice, Angelique G. Day

Angelique G Day

The purpose of this paper is to review related literature on foster care transitions and identify the implications for practice. Findings indicate that young people aging out of foster care face significant barriers that impede their ability to transition successfully to adulthood. This population is growing, and the collective negative social outcomes constitute a serious public health care crisis that needs to be addressed.

Intellectual Property And Public Health – A White Paper, Ryan G. Vacca, Jim Chen, Jay Dratler Jr., Tom Folsom, Timothy Hall, Yaniv Heled, Frank Pasquale, Elizabeth Reilly, Jeff Samuels, Kathy Strandburg, Kara Swanson, Andrew Torrance, Katharine Van Tassel

Ryan G. Vacca

On October 26, 2012, the University of Akron School of Law’s Center for Intellectual Property and Technology hosted its Sixth Annual IP Scholars Forum. In attendance were thirteen legal scholars with expertise and an interest in IP and public health who met to discuss problems and potential solutions at the intersection of these fields. This report summarizes this discussion by describing the problems raised, areas of agreement and disagreement between the participants, suggestions and solutions made by participants and the subsequent evaluations of these suggestions and solutions.

Led by the moderator, participants at the Forum focused generally on three broad …

Child Mental Health And Service Needs In Iraq: Beliefs And Attitudes Of Primary School Teachers., A Al-Obaidi, B Nelson, G Albadawi, M Hicks, A Guarino

Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks

No abstract provided.