American journal of preventive medicine
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Populations of deaf sign language users experience health disparities unmeasured by current public health surveillance. Population-specific health data are necessary to collaboratively identify health priorities and evaluate interventions. Standardized, reproducible, and language-concordant data collection in sign language is impossible via written or telephone surveys. ⋯ Community-engaged research with deaf populations identifies strengths and priorities, providing essential information otherwise missing from existing public health surveillance, and forming a foundation for collaborative dissemination to facilitate broader inclusion of deaf communities.
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Dissemination and implementation science focuses on bridging the gap between research and practice. The Community Preventive Services Task Force published recommendations for increasing physical activity based on scientific review and consensus. Little research on the dissemination and implementation of these recommendations has been conducted in under-represented populations at high risk for inactivity and chronic disease. ⋯ This study illustrates how evidence can be translated to practice and identifies key factors in that process. The successful beta model provides a practical blueprint for dissemination and implementation in rural, under-represented populations. This model is currently being disseminated (scaled up) to other rural New Mexico communities.
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Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may help ease economic and time constraints of cooking, helping low-income households prepare healthier meals. Therefore, frequent cooking may be more strongly associated with improved dietary outcomes among SNAP recipients than among income-eligible non-recipients. Alternately, increased frequency of home-cooked meals among SNAP participants may be beneficial simply by replacing fast food intake. This study quantified the association between home cooking and fast food with diet intake and weight status among SNAP recipients. ⋯ Strategies to improve dietary intake among SNAP recipients should consider both increasing home cooking and reducing fast food intake.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Weight-Gain Reduction Among 2-Year College Students: The CHOICES RCT.
The young adult years have been recognized as an influential period for excess weight gain. Non-traditional students and those attending 2-year community colleges are at particularly high risk for a range of adverse weight-related outcomes. ⋯ The intervention was not successful in achieving BMI differences between treatment groups. However, an 8% reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity over time may have population-level significance.
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Adolescent use of hookah continues to increase in the U.S., even in states that have reported decreases in traditional cigarette use among youth. Hookah use typically involves smoking a moistened, loose, sweetened tobacco product with charcoal as the heat source. ⋯ The increase in hookah use among adolescents needs continuous monitoring given the recent increase after relatively stable patterns. Efforts are needed to reduce the appeal and use of hookah by young people.