American journal of preventive medicine
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Tribal sovereignty exempts tribal casinos from statewide smoking bans. ⋯ This tribal casino would likely realize increased patronage associated with smoke-free status while also contributing to improved health for casino workers and patrons.
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Describing the characteristics and patterns of suicidal behavior is an essential component in developing successful prevention efforts. The Data and Surveillance Task Force (DSTF) of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention was charged with making recommendations for improving national data systems for public health surveillance of suicide-related problems, including suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and deaths due to suicide. ⋯ Some of the DSTF recommendations are potentially achievable in the short term (<1-3 years) within existing data systems, whereas others involve more extensive changes and will require longer-term efforts (4-10 years). Implementing these recommendations would assist in the development of a national coordinated program of fatal and nonfatal suicide surveillance to facilitate evidence-based action to reduce the incidence of suicide and suicidal behavior in all populations.
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In 2012, the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention's Research Prioritization Task Force (RPTF) released a series of Aspirational Goals (AGs) to decrease suicide deaths and attempts. The RPTF asked experts to summarize what was known about particular AGs and to propose research pathways that would help reach them. This manuscript describes what is known about the benefits of access to health care (AG8) and continuity of care (AG9) for individuals at risk for suicide. Research pathways are proposed to address limitations in current knowledge, particularly in U.S. healthcare-based research. ⋯ Evidence exists to support optimism regarding future suicide prevention, but knowledge is limited. Future research is needed on U.S. healthcare services and system enhancements to determine which of these approaches can provide empirical evidence for reducing suicide.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized trial of Text2Quit: a text messaging program for smoking cessation.
Text messaging programs on mobile phones have shown some promise in helping people quit smoking. Text2Quit is an automated, personalized, interactive mobile health program that sends text messages to offer advice, support, and reminders about quitting smoking. ⋯ These results provide initial support for the relative efficacy of the Text2Quit program.
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Reducing the availability of highly lethal and commonly used suicide methods has been associated with declines in suicide rates of as much as 30%-50% in other countries. The theory and evidence underlying means restriction is outlined. Most evidence of its efficacy comes from population-level interventions and natural experiments. ⋯ Research is needed in a number of areas: communications research to identify effective messages and messengers for "lethal means counseling," clinical trials to identify effective interventions, translational research to ensure broad uptake of these interventions across clinical and community settings, and foundational research to better understand method choice and substitution. Approaches to suicide methods other than firearms are discussed. Means restriction is one of the few empirically based strategies to substantially reduce the number of suicide deaths.