American journal of preventive medicine
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Identifying ethnic differences in the age of smoking onset from nationally representative data can lead to improved targeted prevention programs and policies to combat smoking in ethnic communities. ⋯ These findings indicate significant ethnic disparities in relation to when people start smoking, with the majority of A/PIs and AAs initiating as young adults. The findings suggest that prevention strategies should begin at a young age and continue throughout young adulthood, especially among ethnic minority populations. Further consideration of the different influences on later initiation in ethnic minorities may lead to suggestions to improve current smoking-prevention programs aimed at adolescents and young adults.
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Latino smokers are more likely than white non-Latino smokers to attempt cessation, but less likely to receive cessation advice from physicians or to use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Proposed underlying causes have included lighter smoking, lower financial status, and less healthcare access. This study assessed these factors as possible explanations for disparate rates of smoking-cessation support. ⋯ Population-level differences in health status, smoking level, financial status, or healthcare access do not explain why Latino smokers less often use proven pharmaceutical aids to increase cessation. Further research is needed to understand these disparities, and greater effort is needed to deliver cessation support to Latino smokers seeking to quit.
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Hearing and vision screening programs for school-aged children are common, yet little is known about their impact. ⋯ According to parent reports, most children had follow-up after an abnormal screen, and the majority of these children received treatment. Screening school-aged children for sensory impairment appears to be an important public health function.
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There is a limited understanding of the social influences, such as the role of parents on youth sun-safe practices, that may reduce the risk of developing skin cancer later in life. ⋯ Sun-safe practices were correlated between parent-child pairs and parental factors exerted a positive role on youth sunscreen-use frequency. These data may guide further sociobehavioral and intervention research for the design of skin cancer prevention programs in schools and communities to improve levels of sun-safe practices.