American journal of preventive medicine
-
Firearm injuries and motor vehicle injuries are 2 leading causes of fatal injury in the U.S., each accounting for approximately 35,000 deaths annually. Research on firearm injuries is under-represented compared with research on motor vehicle collisions. This study seeks to identify perceived barriers to firearm injury research versus motor vehicle injury research. ⋯ When compared with motor vehicle injury researchers, firearm injury researchers are significantly more likely to report limited support and threats to personal safety as barriers to research. Further research to understand the impact of these barriers and methods to overcome them is needed.
-
Fast food restaurants, including top burger chains, have reduced calorie content of some menu items in recent years. However, the extent to which the nutrition profile of restaurant menus is changing over time is unknown. ⋯ At large chain burger restaurants, most items were unhealthy, and the overall nutrition profile of menus remained unchanged from 2012 to 2016. Future research should examine the nutrition profile of restaurant menus in a larger, more diverse sample of restaurants over a longer timeframe and examine whether results are robust when other measures of nutritional quality are used.
-
The objectives of this study were to investigate an association between the risk of patient falls and self-reported hearing loss and to examine whether self-reported hearing loss with versus without hearing aids predicts patient falls in an inpatient setting. ⋯ In the inpatient setting, there was a positive association between hearing loss and falls. However, among patients with hearing loss, only those without hearing aids were significantly more likely to fall, accounting for the Morse Fall Scale score and demographics characteristics. These findings support adding hearing loss as a modifiable risk factor in risk assessment tools for falls and exploring the use of amplification devices as an intervention.
-
The geographic overlap of violence and poor health is a major public health concern. To understand whether and how place-based interventions targeting micro-geographic places can reduce this undesirable co-occurrence, the study addresses 2 important questions. First, to what extent are deteriorated health conditions associated with living at violent crime hot spots? Second, through what mechanisms can focused place-based interventions break the association between living with violence and deteriorated health? ⋯ Indicated or selective strategies are urgently needed to target micro-geographic locations with known increased risks, supplementing universal strategies applied to a broader community.
-
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that, during 1999-2008, people born in 1945-1965 (the baby boomer generation) represented approximately 75% of people infected with hepatitis C virus and 73% of hepatitis C virus-associated deaths and are at greatest risk for hepatocellular carcinoma and liver disease. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended one-time hepatitis C virus screening for people born during 1945-1965. In addition, New York State enacted a Hepatitis C Virus Testing Law in 2014. This analysis assesses the impacts of the 2012 recommendation and 2014 New York State Testing Law on hepatitis C virus screening rates among New York City Medicaid-enrolled recipients born during 1945-1965. ⋯ Hepatitis C virus screening rates increased in the quarter after the 2014 New York State Hepatitis C Virus Testing Law became effective. Additional efforts are needed to screen baby boomers and people who were recently infected with hepatitis C virus related to opioid use.