Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
Gunshot-victim cooperation with police investigations: Results from the Chicago Inmate Survey.
Just one in ten nonfatal shootings in Chicago lead to an arrest. Unlike in fatal cases, gunshot victims who survive can often provide information of use in the police investigation. Nonetheless, nonfatal shooting cases in Chicago and elsewhere have much lower arrest rates than fatal cases, in part because most victims do not cooperate. ⋯ In fact, victims were more likely to speak with the police when they did not have any information on their shooter. Respondents explained their choice not to cooperate by reference to "street codes" against snitching, mistrust of the police, and the desire to retaliate against the shooter personally. If more shooting victims could be persuaded to cooperate, the police could solve more cases and hence be more effective in curtailing gun violence.
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
Emotional and physical symptoms after gun victimization in the United States, 2009-2019.
Interpersonal firearm violence is a major public health problem in the United States. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of gun victimization on the likelihood of post emotional and physical symptoms as reported by victims. We focused on non-fatal violent crimes reported to the National Crime Victimization Surveys for 2009-2019 and ran a set of binary logistic regressions. ⋯ We controlled for demographics of the victim, as well as other aspects of the crime (e.g., age, race, sex of victim, multiple offenders, type of violent crime). Victims of crimes in which the offender used a gun were most likely to report both emotional and physical symptoms, followed by victims of crimes in which the offender used other weapons, and lastly by victims of unarmed offenders. Our findings suggest that the presence of a firearm during a violent crime results in an increased likelihood of subsequent emotional and physical repercussions.
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
Workers at long-term care facilities and their risk for severe COVID-19 illness.
Given the high concentration of COVID-19 cases in long-term care (LTC) facilities in the United States, individuals working in these facilities are at heightened risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Using data from the nationally-representative 2017 and 2018 National Health Interview Surveys on adults who reported working in LTC facilities, this study examines the extent to which LTC workers are also at increased risk or potentially at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 including hospitalization, intubation, or death. We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's list of conditions placing individuals in these risk categories to the extent possible. ⋯ There were few significant differences in demographic characteristics between risk groups, though those at increased risk had lower educational attainment and recent trouble affording prescription medications. Despite the high degree of vulnerability of both LTC residents and workers to severe illness from COVID-19, many LTC facilities still have inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 tests. Given that state budget deficits due to the COVID-19 pandemic limit the potential for state actions, enhanced federal efforts are needed to protect LTC residents and staff from COVID-19.
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
Incarceration exposure and electronic cigarette use during pregnancy: Findings from the pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system, 2016-2018.
Smoking during pregnancy is a serious public health concern that poses risks for maternal and infant health. Considering the rise of electronic cigarette use in recent years, there is also growing concern about electronic cigarette use during pregnancy. Recent research has begun to explore correlates of electronic cigarette use among pregnant women. ⋯ Specifically, analyses demonstrate that incarceration-exposed women were approximately 2.7 times (AOR = 2.699, 95% CI = 1.939, 3.755) as likely to use electronic cigarettes after adjusting for a host of demographic, economic, health, and pregnancy related characteristics. Additional analyses reveal this association remains after accounting for conventional cigarette use during pregnancy. Considering the potential harmful health ramifications for electronic cigarette use during pregnancy, these findings suggest a need for interventions targeting electronic cigarette use among incarceration-exposed populations and point to electronic cigarette use among pregnant women in particular as an important area of focus for both criminal justice and public health practitioners.
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
Views on the need to implement restriction policies to be able to address COVID-19 in the United States.
Several restriction policies implemented in many states in the United States have demonstrated their effectiveness in mitigating the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but less is known about the differences in views on the restriction policies among different population segments. This study aimed to understand which different population groups of adults in the United States consider several key restriction policies as necessary to combat COVID-19. Survey data from Wave 64 (March 19-24, 2020) of the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel (n=10,609) and logistic regression were used to evaluate the association between socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, employment status, political party affiliation, news exposure, census region, and opinions about COVID-19 restriction policies. ⋯ Regardless of population segments, those who followed news closely or considered themselves Democrat/lean Democrat were more likely to consider all the policies as necessary than those not following the news closely or those who considered themselves Republican/lean Republican. The effectiveness of key COVID-19 restriction policies is likely to vary substantially across population groups given that views on the need to implement these policies vary widely. Tailored health messages may be needed for some population segments given divergent views on COVID-19 restriction policies.