American journal of preventive medicine
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Comparative effectiveness research (CER) on preventive services can shape policy and help patients, their providers, and public health practitioners select regimens and programs for disease prevention. Patients and providers need information about the relative effectiveness of various regimens they may choose. Decision makers need information about the relative effectiveness of various programs to offer or recommend. ⋯ Examples illustrate how effective screening regimens may not result in effective screening programs and how measures can vary across subgroups and settings. Both regimen and program relative effectiveness measures assess benefits of prevention services in real-world settings, but each addresses different scientific and policy questions. As the body of CER grows, a common lexicon for various measures of relative effectiveness becomes increasingly important to facilitate communication and shared understanding among researchers, healthcare providers, patients, and policymakers.
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American Indians in South Dakota have the highest mortality rates in the nation compared to other racial and ethnic groups and American Indians in other states. ⋯ Premature mortality among American Indians in South Dakota is a serious public health problem. Unified efforts at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels are needed to reduce premature death within this population.