Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · May 2021
Provider specialty and odds of a new codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol prescription before and after the CDC opioid prescribing guideline publication.
The CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain cautioned against high dose prescribing but did not provide guidance on type of opioid for new pain episodes. We determined if new prescriptions for Schedule II opioids vs. tramadol decreased in the 18 months after vs. before the CDC guideline and if this decrease was associated with physician specialty. New opioid prescriptions, provider type and covariates were measured using a nationally distributed, Optum® de-identified Electronic Health Record (EHR) data base. ⋯ Surgical specialists were least likely to start opioid therapy with tramadol. In the 18 months after vs. before the CDC guideline, emergency care and primary care providers increased tramadol prescribing. Guidelines tailored to specialists that frequently begin opioid therapy with oxycodone may enhance safe opioid prescribing.
-
Preventive medicine · May 2021
Review Meta AnalysisSchool-based interventions to improve sun-safe knowledge, attitudes and behaviors in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review.
Ultraviolet radiation exposure is the leading cause of skin cancer, and childhood and adolescence is a particularly susceptible life period for exposure. This systematic review assessed whether interventions in elementary and secondary school settings reduced sun exposure, sunburns, and development of melanocytic nevi, and improved sun-safe knowledge, attitudes and sun protection behaviors in childhood and adolescence. A systematic search up to June 2020 of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane and ProQuest databases was undertaken, for studies conducted among students in an elementary or secondary school setting that compared an intervention group with a pre-intervention or separate control group. ⋯ Key positive intervention features included: elementary school settings, interactive features or multiple components, and incorporating social norm influences. Most studies were classified at high risk of bias. In conclusion, school-based sun-related interventions had positive impacts on behaviors and attitudes among elementary and secondary school children.
-
Preventive medicine · May 2021
ReviewCost evaluation of tobacco control interventions in clinical settings: A systematic review.
Elucidating the cost implications of tobacco control interventions is a prerequisite to their adoption in clinical settings. This review fills a knowledge gap in characterizing the extent to which cost is measured in tobacco control studies. A search of English literature was conducted in the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, EconLit, PsychINFO, and CINAHL using MeSH terms from 2009 to 2018. ⋯ Stakeholder perspectives included: healthcare organization (n = 10), payer (n = 8), patient (n = 2), and societal (n = 1). Few studies have reported the cost of tobacco control interventions in clinical settings. Cost is a critical outcome that should be consistently measured in evaluations of tobacco control interventions to promote their uptake in clinical settings.
-
Preventive medicine · May 2021
Addressing the critical need for long-term mental health data during the COVID-19 pandemic: Changes in mental health from April to September 2020.
Despite the large amounts of research currently being conducted and the high number of editorials warning about the potential mental health impacts, there is a stunning lack of longitudinal mental health data on the effects of the pandemic. Yet, the pandemic may have sizable long-term impacts on psychological distress and health behaviors-these effects may be long-lasting and may disproportionately affect some demographic groups more than others. Data came from a longitudinal international study of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults' psychological distress and wellbeing (N = 1567). ⋯ Specific demographic groups (people of color and sexual and gender minorities) appeared to be at high risk of distress across analyses. Our findings suggest high rates of depression, anxiety, acute stress, and other signs of distress like isolation, hopelessness, and use of substances to cope-even at five-month follow-up. Our findings suggest a need to prioritize availability of, and access to, mental health care during both the pandemic and the recovery.
-
Preventive medicine · May 2021
How changes in menu quality associate with subsequent expenditures on (un)healthy foods and beverages in school cafeterias: A 3-year longitudinal study.
Evidence of the association between the school food environment and children's and adolescents' diet is mostly cross-sectional, usually based on self-reported behavior, and often conducted in high-income countries. Also, relatively little is known about how variations in menu quality associate with the subsequent expenditure on food and beverages of the same- (vs. cross-) nutritional value. Based on a three-year longitudinal dataset comprised of 4,268,457 purchases made by 20,333 children and adolescents from 54 private schools in Brazil, we unobtrusively assess how changes in (un)healthy product availability associate with students' subsequent purchase behavior. ⋯ Cross-nutritional value effects were stronger for beverages. The inclusion of one HNV beverage was associated not only with a subsequent increase in expenditure on HNV beverages (β = 0.19; 95% CI = 0.115, 0.264), but also with a decrease in expenditure on LNV beverages (β = -0.18; 95% CI = -0.352, -0.010). Although only a small percentage of foods and beverages consumed in private school cafeterias in Brazil are of high nutritional value, improvements to menu quality have the potential to increase the consumption of healthier products and decrease the consumption of unhealthy ones.