Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jul 2005
Comparative StudyIncreasing excise taxes on cigarettes in California: a dynamic simulation of health and economic impacts.
California raised cigarette excise taxes in 1999, and may generate additional health and economic benefits by raising them further. ⋯ Even considering benefits from the 1999 increase, California has not yet maximized the potential of excise taxes to lessen the negative impacts of smoking. Additional tax increases would provide added health benefits and revenue to the state.
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Preventive medicine · Jul 2005
The primary care pediatrician's influence on medical student's performance of smoking assessments and counseling.
American medical schools lack significant educational programs for teaching medical students about counseling parents and children on smoking prevention and cessation. Thus, the objectives of this study were to describe medical student's self-reported behaviors in the assessment of parents and children's use of tobacco and to compare these practices with well-accepted pediatric activities: injury prevention and developmental assessment. ⋯ Third year medical students were less likely to complete smoking assessments than those for developmental assessment and injury prevention counseling. However, primary care pediatricians' strong expectations and modeling of smoking counseling were uniformly associated with improved self-perceived student performance. Future educational activities should engage the primary care pediatrician preceptors of students completing pediatric rotations.
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Preventive medicine · Jul 2005
Comparative StudySurvey on colorectal cancer screening knowledge, attitudes, and practices of general practice physicians in Lazio, Italy.
Several international guidelines have recommended the involvement of general practitioners (GPs) in screening programs, but current evidence suggests this is very difficult. We implemented a survey to understand the attitudes, knowledge, and practices regarding colorectal cancer screening of GPs in the Lazio region. ⋯ The low response rate reveals the lack of GP's interest in screening. Knowledge about screening and use of guidelines as sources of scientific information are important factors to improve attitudes about screening, but there is a large percentage of well-informed GPs who do not recommend colorectal cancer screening at all. Currently, many GPs do not properly follow the patients up after a positive FOBT.
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Preventive medicine · Jul 2005
Comparative StudyAdolescents' health beliefs are critical in their intentions to seek physician care.
The examination of predictors of adolescents' intentions to use health care for different types of health issues has received little attention. This study examined adolescents' health beliefs and how they relate to intentions to seek physician care across different types of health problems. ⋯ Adolescents' health beliefs are important when understanding intentions to seek physician care. Health care use may be improved by increasing adolescents' beliefs that physicians are effective in areas other than physical health, including risk behaviors and mental health.