Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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Adolescent sexual activity involving three or more people is an emerging public health concern. The goal of this exploratory, cross-sectional study was to describe the prevalence, correlates, and context of multiple-person sex among a sample of adolescent females seeking health care from an urban clinic. Because sex involving multiple people may either be consensual (i.e., "three-ways" or "group sex") or forced (i.e., "gang rape"), we use the term "multi-person sex" (MPS) to encompass these experiences. ⋯ Condom nonuse by at least one male participant in the most recent MPS was reported by 45%. Controlling for potential demographic confounders, MPS was associated with cigarette smoking (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR], 3.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56-9.44), sexual initiation prior to age 15 (APR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.04-5.98), ever being diagnosed with an STI (APR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.08-6.03), dating violence victimization (APR, 4.43; 95% CI, 1.68-11.69), childhood sexual abuse victimization (APR, 4.30; 95% CI, 1.83-10.07) and past-month pornography exposure (APR, 4.79; 95% CI, 1.91-11.98). Additional study of the perpetration and prevention of adolescent MPS is urgently needed.
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An important research area is the relationship among income status, health, and the environment. This study examined the relationships among income levels, features of the environment and friendliness toward physical activity. We investigated whether low-, middle-, and high-income neighborhoods differ in terms of four environmental characteristics that affect the degree to which an area is conducive to physical activity: population density, land use diversity, street design, and physical disorder in the environment. ⋯ The low-income neighborhoods had significantly greater density and land use diversity than the high-income neighborhoods. High- and middle-income neighborhoods had significantly fewer manifestations of physical disorder and incivility than low-income neighborhoods. Features of physical activity-promoting environments were found in each income level neighborhood.
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We examined whether neighborhood urban form, along with the social environment, was associated with depressive symptoms in a sample of Miami residents. Using a validated measure of depressive symptoms, we found that living in neighborhoods with higher housing density was associated with fewer symptoms. ⋯ Our results suggest that how residents use the environment matters. Living in neighborhoods with a higher density of auto commuters relative to land area, an indicator of chronic noise exposure, was associated with more symptoms.
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Young Mexican-American women are disproportionately affected by teen pregnancy and early childbearing. While many of the studies that have investigated this population's high risk for early childbearing have focused predominantly on micro-level factors, a growing body of research has demonstrated the importance of neighborhood-level factors in shaping risk for this outcome. ⋯ Major findings include: (1) participants view the blocks on which they live as their neighborhood, but their exposure to neighborhood context extends beyond these blocks and includes the transient spaces they move through daily; and (2) within their neighborhood contexts, participants are influenced by experiences of discrimination and the presence of gangs and violence. These findings point to the importance of neighborhood-level factors in the lives of adolescent Mexican-American women, and may be used to inform future studies looking at the role of neighborhood context in shaping risk for early childbearing among this population.
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Prevention Point Pittsburgh (PPP) is a public health advocacy organization that operates Allegheny County's only needle exchange program. In 2002, PPP implemented an Overdose Prevention Program (OPP) in response to an increase in heroin-related and opioid-related overdose fatalities in the region. In 2005, the OPP augmented overdose prevention and response trainings to include naloxone training and prescription. ⋯ Of these 249 overdose episodes in which naloxone was administered, participants reported 96% were reversed. The data support findings from a growing body of research on similar programs in other cities. Community-based OPPs that equip drug users with skills to identify and respond to an overdose and prescribe naloxone can help users and their peers prevent and reverse potentially fatal overdoses without significant adverse consequences.