Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2016
State of transition: Marijuana use among young adults in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California may vote on marijuana legalization in 2016. Young adults have the highest rates of marijuana use, but little is known about the correlates of use in this age group, including factors that may be affected by policy change. We investigated whether there are differences in marijuana use by sociodemographic characteristics, psychological distress, loneliness and social support, controlling for risk factors such as alcohol and cigarette use as well as perceived harm of marijuana. ⋯ Legalization policies should include public education campaigns addressing potential harms of marijuana use particularly targeting multiracial young adults who also engage in other risk behaviors, such as cigarette smoking and binge drinking.
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialPhysical activity outcomes in afterschool programs: A group randomized controlled trial.
Afterschool programs (ASPs) across the US are working towards achieving the standard of all children accumulating 30min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during program time. This study describes the two-year impact of an intervention designed to assist ASPs meeting the 30min/day MVPA standard. ⋯ STEPs can have an impact on children's MVPA and time spent sedentary, yet was unable to fully achieve the goal of all children accumulating 30minMVPA/day. Additional efforts are need to identify strategies ASPs can use to meet this important public health standard.
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of a smoking cessation intervention for women in subsidized neighborhoods: A randomized controlled trial.
To evaluate the effectiveness of a community based participatory research (CBPR) developed, multi-level smoking cessation intervention among women in subsidized housing neighborhoods in the Southeastern US. ⋯ This CBPR developed intervention showed potential to engage smokers and reduce smoking among women in these high-poverty neighborhoods. Effectiveness in promoting cessation in communities burdened with fiscal, environmental and social inequities remains a public health priority.
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2016
The impact of neighborhood on physical activity in the Jackson Heart Study.
Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for many diseases. Most research has focused on individual-level factors for physical activity (PA), but evidence suggests that neighborhood is also important. We examined baseline data collected between 2000 and 2004 from 5236 participants in the Jackson Heart Study to determine the effects of neighborhood on 2 types of PA: Active Living (AL), and Sports and Exercise (Sport) in an all-African American cohort. ⋯ There was an inverse interaction effect between individual and lower neighborhood education (p=0.01), as well as between age and urban neighborhoods (p=0.02) on AL. Individual level education (OR=1.30) and per capita income (OR=1.07) increased the odds of moderate-to-high sports. Future studies should focus on what contextual aspects of urban or less educated neighborhoods are influential in determining PA, as well as longitudinal multilevel analyses of neighborhood effects on PA.