American journal of public health
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Public health agencies increasingly use electronic means to acquire, use, maintain, and store personal health information. Electronic data formats can improve performance of core public health functions, but potentially threaten privacy because they can be easily duplicated and transmitted to unauthorized people. ⋯ Public health professionals should collaborate with law and information technology colleagues to assess possible threats, implement updated policies, train staff, and develop preventive engineering measures to protect information. Tightened physical and electronic controls can prevent misuse of data, minimize the risk of security breaches, and help maintain the reputation and integrity of public health agencies.
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It is increasingly recognized that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption contributes to childhood obesity. Most states have adopted laws that regulate the availability of sugar-sweetened beverages in school settings. However, such policies have encountered resistance from consumer and parent groups, as well as the beverage industry. The beverage industry's recent adoption of voluntary guidelines, which call for the curtailment of sugar-sweetened beverage sales in schools, raises the question, Is further policy intervention in this area needed, and if so, what form should it take? We examine the interplay of public and private regulation of sugar-sweetened beverage sales in schools, by drawing on a 50-state legal and regulatory analysis and a review of industry self-regulation initiatives.
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Historical Article
Chemical warfare and medical response during World War I.
The first large-scale use of a traditional weapon of mass destruction (chemical, biological, or nuclear) involved the successful deployment of chemical weapons during World War I (1914-1918). Historians now refer to the Great War as the chemist's war because of the scientific and engineering mobilization efforts by the major belligerents. The development, production, and deployment of war gases such as chlorine, phosgene, and mustard created a new and complex public health threat that endangered not only soldiers and civilians on the battlefield but also chemical workers on the home front involved in the large-scale manufacturing processes. The story of chemical weapons research and development during that war provides useful insights for current public health practitioners faced with a possible chemical weapons attack against civilian or military populations.
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Historical Article
Cardiovascular disease and global health equity: lessons from tuberculosis control then and now.
Early 20th-century cardiovascular voluntary organizations in the United States drew strength from the well-established antituberculosis movement. By mid-century, heart disease among the young and tuberculosis had declined in this country. ⋯ Meanwhile, support for international cardiovascular interventions has lagged behind. We trace the divergent path of the international cardiovascular movement and suggest ways in which it could once again learn from the trials and achievements of tuberculosis control.
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We examined the relationship between intimate partner violence victimization among women in the general population and emergency department use. We sought to discern whether race/ethnicity moderates this relationship and to explore these relationships in race/ethnic-specific models. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the emergency department is an opportune setting to screen for intimate partner violence victimization, especially among Hispanic women. Future research should focus on why Hispanic victims are more likely to use the emergency department compared with nonvictims, with regard to socioeconomic and cultural determinants of health care utilization.