Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · Nov 2012
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyDisparities in alcohol use: does race matter as much as place?
National estimates of race differences in alcohol use suggest that whites are more likely to be current and binge users of alcohol. These findings fail to account for race differences in the social and environmental context where people live. This study aims to determine whether race disparities persist in alcohol use among individuals who share similar social and environmental conditions. ⋯ Among individuals who share similar social and environmental risk exposures, race group differences in alcohol use patterns are similar.
-
Preventive medicine · Nov 2012
Associations between active commuting and physical activity in working adults: cross-sectional results from the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study.
To quantify the association between time spent in active commuting and in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a sample of working adults living in both urban and rural locations. ⋯ Promoting active commuting might be an important way of increasing levels of physical activity, particularly in women. Further research should assess whether increases in time spent in active commuting are associated with increases in physical activity.
-
Preventive medicine · Nov 2012
Heterogeneity of risk within racial groups, a challenge for public health programs.
Targeting high-risk populations for public health interventions is a classic tool of public health promotion programs. This practice becomes thornier when racial groups are identified as the at-risk populations. I present the particular ethical and epistemic challenges that arise when there are low-risk subpopulations within racial groups that have been identified as high-risk for a particular health concern. ⋯ First, recognizing low-risk subpopulations would allow more efficient use of limited resources. Communicating this valuable information to the subpopulations would also promote truth-telling. Finally, presenting a more nuanced empirically-supported representation of which groups are at known risk of diseases (not focusing on mere racial categories) would combat harmful biological race essentialist views held by the public.
-
Preventive medicine · Nov 2012
The role of food culture and marketing activity in health disparities.
Marketing activities have attracted increased attention from scholars interested in racial disparities in obesity prevalence, as well as the prevalence of other preventable conditions. Although reducing the marketing of nutritionally poor foods to racial/ethnic communities would represent a significant step forward in eliminating racial disparities in health, we focus instead on a critical-related question. ⋯ We build on prior research that explores the socio-cultural context in which marketing efforts are perceived and interpreted. We discuss each element of the marketing mix to highlight the complex relationship between food culture, marketing activities, and health disparities.
-
Preventive medicine · Nov 2012
ReviewFinancial incentives for smoking cessation among pregnant and newly postpartum women.
Smoking during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of poor pregnancy outcomes in the U.S., causing serious immediate and longer-term adverse effects for mothers and offspring. In this report we provide a narrative review of research on the use of financial incentives to promote abstinence from cigarette smoking during pregnancy, an intervention wherein women earn vouchers exchangeable for retail items contingent on biochemically-verified abstinence from recent smoking. ⋯ The systematic use of financial incentives has promise as an efficacious intervention for promoting smoking cessation among economically disadvantaged pregnant and recently postpartum women and improving birth outcomes. Additional trials in larger and more diverse samples are warranted to further evaluate the merits of this treatment approach.