Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
Stay-at-home orders and firearms in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Firearms are a leading cause of death and injury in the United States, and this trend has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to identify whether states designated gun retailers as essential businesses in their stay-at-home orders and characterize other references that could affect firearm acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this cross-sectional policy review, we assessed stay-at-home orders issued in March or April 2020. ⋯ Only four states and the District of Columbia did not include federal firearms licensees among essential businesses or include provisions for them to be open. Meanwhile, an all-time high in firearm background checks indicates firearm sales have markedly increased. Given the associations between firearm access and injury risk, the effects of continued firearm access facilitated by these orders should be the focus of future research.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
Comparative StudyAmericans' perceptions of disparities in COVID-19 mortality: Results from a nationally-representative survey.
As with many other infectious and chronic conditions, the COVID-19 crisis in the United States (U. S.) reveals severe inequities in health. The objective of this study was to describe public perceptions of disparities in mortality from COVID-19 and examine correlates of those perceptions. ⋯ Partisanship and information sources used were associated with perceptions of SES- and racial-disparities, with Democrats and those attune to national news-but not Fox cable news-more likely to perceive these disparities. As of April 2020, information about age- and health condition-related disparities in COVID-19 was well known by the U. S. public, while information about social disparities was less recognized and varied along socioeconomic and partisan lines.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
School characteristics and children's mental health: A linked survey-administrative data study.
Mental health difficulties are childhood-onset with lifelong health, social and economic consequences. Children spend a large amount of time in schools, making schools an important context for mental health prevention and support. We examine how school composition and school climate, controlling for individual child-level characteristics, are associated with children's mental health difficulties (emotional and behavioural difficulties). ⋯ More positive school climate was associated with lower emotional (coef = -0.09 [95%CI:-0.11,-0.08]) and behavioural (coef = -0.13 [95% CI,-0.15:-0.11]) symptoms and lower odds of mental health difficulties (OR = 0.78, 95%CI:0.74,0.81). Some associations between school factors and mental health were moderated by child sex and SES. School composition factors were weakly associated with children's mental health, whereas school climate explained a larger amount of between-school variation and appears a good target for universal prevention of mental health difficulties in children.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
Food insecurity, participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the degree to which patients anticipate help from clinics to find food in Los Angeles County.
Healthcare clinics are uniquely positioned to screen for food insecurity and refer patients to food resources. This study examines this approach to address this social condition. A 2018 intercept survey of 1,103 adult patients recruited from across 11 clinic waiting rooms in Los Angeles County was conducted to describe the prevalence of food insecurity and whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and the degree to which patients anticipated their clinics to help them locate food varied by socio-demographic factors. ⋯ An exploratory analysis showed that common reasons for not enrolling in SNAP included older adults not knowing how to apply to the program and Spanish-speaking Latinx worrying about citizenship status as it relates to the eligibility process. Findings revealed disparities in the prevalence of food insecurity and SNAP participation among patients of Los Angeles' low income clinics. Information from this study can help inform low-income clinics' efforts to intervene on food insecurity in their patient population.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
Cannabis use and driving under the influence: Behaviors and attitudes by state-level legal sale of recreational cannabis.
As states continue to legalize the sale of recreational cannabis, there is a need to study attitudes and behaviors regarding driving after cannabis use. The purpose of this study was to describe US adults' attitudes and behaviors regarding driving after cannabis use by state-level legal sale of recreational cannabis, and to determine whether these associations differ by frequency of cannabis use. ⋯ Public health messaging campaigns to reduce driving and riding after cannabis use and to improve attitudes regarding driving after cannabis use are warranted across all U.S. states, regardless of legalization status.