Bmc Public Health
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Toxic stress (TS), minority race and their interaction are evaluated as determinants of change in quality of life (QOL) over 8 years follow-up in a nationally representative sample of United States (US) adults (≥50 years old) with heart disease (HD) and/or type-2 diabetes (T2DM) diagnosed by 2006 as part of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). ⋯ Toxic stress and minority race are social determinants of deterioration in QOL among older Americans with chronic diseases (HD/T2DM). The types and prevalence of toxic stressors varied by race/ethnicity. Policy interventions to address root causes of TS while targeted at proximate drivers of TS by race/ethnicity represent a viable strategy for mitigating racial disparities in overall wellbeing and improving QOL in all aging Americans regardless of race.
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Implementation of food taxes or subsidies may promote healthier and a more sustainable diet in a society. This study estimates the effects of a tax (15% or 30%) on meat and a subsidy (10%) on fruit and vegetables (F&V) consumption in the Netherlands using a social cost-benefit analysis with a 30-year time horizon. ⋯ The studied meat taxes and F&V subsidy showed net total welfare benefits for the Dutch society over a 30-year time horizon.
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Civic engagement, including voting, volunteering, and participating in civic organizations, is associated with better psychological, physical and behavioral health and well-being. In addition, civic engagement is increasingly viewed (e.g., in Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health action framework) as a potentially important driver for raising awareness of and addressing unhealthy conditions in communities. As such, it is important to understand the factors that may promote civic engagement, with a particular focus on the less-understood, health civic engagement, or civic engagement in health-related and health-specific activities. Using data from a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States (U.S.), we examined whether the extent to which individuals feel they belong in their community (i.e., perceived sense of community) and the value they placed on investing in community health were associated with individuals' health civic engagement. ⋯ Health civic engagement, including voting and volunteering to ultimately guide government decisions about health issues, may help improve conditions that influence health and well-being for all. Focusing on individuals' sense of community and highlighting investments in community health may concurrently be associated with increased health civic engagement and improved community and population health.
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The Ebola communication crisis of 2014 generated widespread fear and attention among Western news media, social media users, and members of the United States (US) public. Health communicators need more information on misinformation and the social media environment during a fear-inducing disease outbreak to improve communication practices. The purpose of this study was to describe the content of Ebola-related tweets with a specific focus on misinformation, political content, health related content, risk framing, and rumors. ⋯ Results highlight the importance of anticipating politicization of disease outbreaks, and the need for policy makers and social media companies to build partnerships and develop response frameworks in advance of an event. While each public health event is different, our findings provide insight into the possible social media environment during a future epidemic and could help optimize potential public health communication strategies.
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In the globe, 1.3 million deaths and around 50 million non-fatal injuries were reported. From all deaths, 90% occur in developing countries. Ethiopia is considered as one of the worst countries in the globe where road traffic accident causes a lot of fatalities and injuries of road users every year. The main objective of the study was to identify the main predictors of fatal car accident. ⋯ In conclusion, fatal road traffic accidents happened due to drivers' lack of sufficient driving experience and low educational level. In addition, driving on weekends and driving on summer season were disclosed as responsible for fatal car accident. Moreover, drivers with younger age and those who drove a new vehicle likely caused fatal car accident. However, drivers who drive their vehicles seemed to be less responsible for fatal car accident than that of employed.