American journal of public health
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Suicide and other self-directed violence deaths are likely grossly underestimated, reflecting inappropriate classification of many drug intoxication deaths as accidents or unintentional and heterogeneous ascertainment and coding practices across states. As the tide of prescription and illicit drug-poisoning deaths is rising, public health and research needs would be better satisfied by considering most of these deaths a result of self-intoxication. Epidemiologists and prevention scientists could design better intervention strategies by focusing on premorbid behavior. We propose incorporating deaths from drug self-intoxication and investigations of all poisoning deaths into the National Violent Death Reporting System, which contains misclassified homicides and undetermined intent deaths, to facilitate efforts to comprehend and reverse the surging rate of drug intoxication fatalities.
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The HIV epidemic is an ongoing public health problem fueled, in part, by undertesting for HIV. When HIV-infected people learn their status, many of them decrease risky behaviors and begin therapy to decrease viral load, both of which prevent ongoing spread of HIV in the community. ⋯ A mobile health (mHealth) campaign would be a low-cost, accessible solution to activate patients to take greater control of their health, especially populations at risk for HIV. This campaign could achieve Healthy People 2020 objectives: improve patient-physician communication, improve HIV testing, and increase use of mHealth.
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We surveyed young men on their experiences of police encounters and subsequent mental health. ⋯ The intensity of respondent experiences and their associated health risks raise serious concerns, suggesting a need to reevaluate officer interactions with the public. Less invasive tactics are needed for suspects who may display mental health symptoms and to reduce any psychological harms to individuals stopped.
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We assessed mental health screening and medication continuity in a nationally representative sample of US prisoners. ⋯ A substantial portion of the prison population is not receiving treatment for mental health conditions. This treatment discontinuity has the potential to affect both recidivism and health care costs on release from prison.
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We estimated the effect of a simulated cap-and-trade policy to reduce added sugar in the food supply. ⋯ A cap-and-trade policy to reduce added-sugar intake may reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes to a greater extent than currently-proposed excise taxes.