Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2011
Comparative community outreach to increase cervical cancer screening in the Mississippi Delta.
The aim of the study was to increase participation in cervical cancer screening of under-screened women living in the Mississippi Delta, a U.S. population at high risk for cervical cancer. ⋯ We found that offering self-collection will increase participation in cervical cancer screening among under-screened populations living in the Mississippi Delta. Based on these preliminary results, we suggest that self-collection with HPV DNA testing might complement current Pap testing programs to reach under-screened populations of women, such as those living in the Mississippi Delta.
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2011
Completion and timing of the three-dose human papillomavirus vaccine series among adolescents attending school-based health centers in Oregon.
Many adolescents do not complete the 3-dose human papillomavirus vaccine series in the recommended time frame, or at all. Given the challenges of administering a multi-dose vaccine to adolescents, especially those in vulnerable populations, we evaluated completion of the human papillomavirus vaccine series in 19 of Oregon's school-based health centers. ⋯ Even in challenging conditions, school-based health centers provide excellent preventive care to vulnerable youth. These results support the importance of maintaining and expanding school-based health center access in vulnerable adolescent populations.
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2011
Estimating the potential of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce consumption and generate revenue.
Beverage taxes came into light with increasing concerns about obesity, particularly among youth. Sugar-sweetened beverages have become a target of anti-obesity initiatives with increasing evidence of their link to obesity. Our paper offers a method for estimating revenues from an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages that governments of various levels could direct towards obesity prevention. ⋯ A modest tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could both raise significant revenues and improve public health by reducing obesity. To the extent that at least some of the tax revenues get invested in obesity prevention programs, the public health benefits could be even more pronounced.