American journal of public health
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To evaluate the impact of the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in Berkeley, California, which became the first US jurisdiction to implement such a tax ($0.01/oz) in March 2015. ⋯ Berkeley's excise tax reduced SSB consumption in low-income neighborhoods. Evaluating SSB taxes in other cities will improve understanding of their public health benefit and their generalizability.
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In June 2015, nearly 500 concert attendees suffered injuries from smoke inhalation and severe burns following a color-dust explosion at a waterpark in Taiwan. We report on the progressions of the incident and government responses, share cross-departmental mobilization and case management lessons, and reflect on clinical and complex policy issues emerged. The timely and coordinated emergency responses, a high-quality universal health care system, and dedicated clinicians voluntarily working overtime resulted in an unprecedented 2.4% mortality rate (international statistics predicted 26.8%).
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To compare access to care and perceived health care quality by insurance type among low-income adults in 3 southern US states, before Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. ⋯ Many states are still considering whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and whether to pursue alternative models for coverage expansion. Our results suggest that access to quality health care will improve under the Affordable Care Act's coverage expansions, regardless of the type of coverage.