American journal of public health
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We used community-based ethnography and public health risk assessment to assess beliefs about pesticide exposure risks among farmworkers in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington State. ⋯ We elucidated farmworkers' pesticide-relevant beliefs regarding perceived danger and susceptibility to pesticides, the need to put safety second to financial considerations, and reasons for delaying decontamination. Researchers and policymakers should incorporate these data in study designs and legislation concerned with farmworker exposure to pesticides.
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This follow-up study assessed indigenous and Latino farmworkers' occupational health and safety needs and measured variables related to pesticide exposure and pesticide safety training among this population. Results yielded differences between indigenous workers and Latino workers related to language barriers, experiences of workplace discrimination, preferred modes of information dissemination, pesticide exposures, and sufficiency of pesticide training. Employing more people who speak indigenous languages as interpreters, community and organizational leaders, and health workers may remove some of the linguistic and cultural barriers to occupational safety training.
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We sought to investigate longitudinal trends and risk factors for mental health diagnoses among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. ⋯ Mental health diagnoses increased substantially after the start of the Iraq War among specific subgroups of returned veterans entering VA health care. Early targeted interventions may prevent chronic mental illness.
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Research involving human participants continues to grow dramatically, fueled by advances in medical technology, globalization of research, and financial and professional incentives. This creates increasing opportunities for ethical errors with devastating effects. ⋯ We used a recent case-the Johns Hopkins University/Kennedy Kreiger Institute Lead Paint Study-to examine lessons learned since the Tuskegee Syphilis Study about the role of institutionalized science ethics in the protection of human participants in research. We address the role of the institutional review board as the focal point for policy attention.