Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
The associations between place-based measures of walkability and physical activity across a range of diverse streetscapes.
Walkability relates to aspects of a physical environment that have the potential to influence walking in that environment. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency developed the National Walkability Index (NWI), an easily accessible, U. S. ⋯ Linear regression indicated Walk Score, employment/household occupancy mix, and employment mix were associated with walkers/h (p < .001) while only employment/household occupancy mix, and employment mix were associated with leisure PA/h (p < .001). The NWI did not account for a significant portion of the variance in PA outcomes. A place-based examination of PA and walkability indexes favors the use of Walk Score and a modified version of the NWI.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
Employment Insurance may mitigate impact of unemployment on food security: Analysis on a propensity-score matched sample from the Canadian Income Survey.
Food insecurity, the inadequate access to food due to financial constraints, affects one-sixth of Canadian households, with substantial health implications. We examine the impact of unemployment and the mitigating effect of Employment Insurance (EI) on household food insecurity in Canada. Using the Canadian Income Survey 2018-2019, we sampled 28,650 households with adult workers 18-64 years old. ⋯ EI receipt was associated with 23% (aOR 0.77, 95% CI 0.66-0.90; 4.02 percentage points) lower likelihood of food insecurity, but this association was only significant among households with lower income, full-time workers, and children under 18. The findings suggest a broad impact of unemployment on working adults' food insecurity and a substantial mitigating effect by EI on select unemployed workers. Making EI more generous and accessible for part-time workers may help alleviate food insecurity.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
From old pollutants to the regulation of bisphenol A: Lessons learned for health promotion and disease prevention.
Citizens deserve regulatory changes and policies more sensitive to the current needs of humans, the climate, and nature. In this work we draw on prior experiences of preventable human suffering and economic losses caused by delayed regulation of legacy and emerging pollutants. ⋯ Numerous lessons can be learned from science-to-policy processes built for "old pollutants" (as persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, tributyltin), as well as from current trends regarding the regulation of non-persistent chemicals, such as the prototypical endocrine disruptor bisphenol A. We end discussing relevant pieces of the puzzle to tackle the environmental and regulatory challenges faced by our societies.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2023
Determining who healthcare providers screen for firearm access in the United States.
Healthcare providers are well positioned to screen for firearm access to reduce risk of suicides, yet there is a limited understanding of how often and for whom firearm access screening occurs. The present study examined the extent to which providers screen for firearm access and sought to identify who has been screened in the past. The representative sample included 3510 residents from five US states who reported whether they have been asked about their access to firearms by a healthcare provider. ⋯ People who have been asked were more likely to be White, male, and firearm owners. Those with children under 17 years old in the home, that have been in mental health treatment, and report a history of suicidal ideation were more likely to be screened for firearm access. Although there are interventions for mitigating firearm related risks in healthcare settings, many providers may be missing the opportunity to implement these because they do not ask about firearm access.