Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
ReviewLearning from community-based HIV prevention to inform control and mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current COVID-19 pandemic and the likelihood of future viral pandemics demonstrate a need for strategic prevention campaigns that integrate biomedical, structural, and behavioral interventions within larger scale comprehensive public health initiatives. In Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention, community-based efforts have resulted in reductions in transmission rates, increases in testing, increases in biomedical prevention uptake, and increased engagement in secondary and tertiary prevention efforts. In this paper, we review three community-based strategies (health communication, accessible screening, and accessible prevention resources) that have demonstrated effectiveness in HIV prevention and offer recommendations for utilizing these strategies in the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ In addition, studies have shown that improving accessibility of HIV screening and prevention resources in community venues such as schools, pharmacies, mobile-testing sites, churches, hair salons, and bars is useful for increasing the uptake of HIV testing, especially among disproportionately affected populations and those deemed hard to reach. Despite differences in modes of transmission, it is plausible that a synergistic multilevel response with emphasis on community-based efforts could lead to similar outcomes for the current COVID-19 pandemic and future viral pandemics. Community-based prevention strategies offer an opportunity to integrate, and bolster disconnected and siloed initiatives that achieve limited impacts independently.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
Maternal precarious employment and child overweight/obesity in the United States.
Precarious employment has increased in the United States and is now recognized as an important social determinant of health. Women are disproportionately employed in precarious jobs and are largely responsible for caretaking, which could deleteriously affect child weight. We utilized data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth adult and child cohorts (1996-2016; N = 4453) and identified 13 survey indicators to operationalize 7 dimensions of precarious employment (score range: 0-7, 7 indicating the most precarious): material rewards, working-time arrangements, stability, workers' rights, collective organization, interpersonal relations, and training. ⋯ Higher maternal precarious employment was associated with a 10% higher incidence of children having overweight/obesity (Confidence Interval: 1.05, 1.14). A higher incidence of childhood overweight/obesity may have important implications at the population-level, due to the long-term health consequences of child obesity into adulthood. Policies to reduce employment precariousness should be considered and monitored for impacts on childhood obesity.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
Effectiveness and feasibility of three types of parent reminders to increase adolescent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.
Parent reminders have produced modest improvements in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescents. However, little prior research has compared the effectiveness and feasibility of different HPV reminder types in resource-limited settings. We conducted a quasi-experimental study (2016-2017) to evaluate the effectiveness of three parent reminder types (mailed letters, robocalls, text messages) on next-dose HPV vaccine receipt among 12-year-olds in a large Federally Qualified Health Center in Los Angeles County. ⋯ Robocalls were the least feasible reminder type. Text message reminders are feasible and effective for promoting HPV vaccination. Future research is needed to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of reminders compared to other vaccine promotion strategies.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
Notifying university students' emergency contacts in mental health emergencies: Multi-year analysis of student consent policy preferences.
Information sharing is a frequently discussed yet divisive suicide prevention strategy in universities. This study aimed to investigate which students are most and least likely to opt-in to university permission to notify an emergency contact if there are serious concerns about their mental health. Routine cross-sectional data were obtained from 29,799 students in 2020 and 31,998 students in 2021 within a UK university. ⋯ Some of the most vulnerable students appear least likely to opt-in. Insights are offered about potential gaps in universities' access to emergency contacts to prevent serious harm or loss of life. Further research is required into why the groups identified in this study are less likely to opt-in and what additional support they may require.