American journal of preventive medicine
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Substantial racial/ethnic disparities exist in the identification and management of major depression. Faith-Based Health Promotion interventions reduce disparities in health screenings for numerous medical conditions. However, the feasibility of systematically screening for depression in faith-based settings has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using a validated instrument to screen for depression in African-American churches. ⋯ It was feasible to screen for depression with the PHQ-9 in African-American churches. The prevalence of positive depression screen was high, especially among black men. Churches may be an important setting in which to identify depressive symptoms in this underserved population.
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The high prevalence of overweight and obesity threatens the health and safety of the fire service. Healthcare professionals may play an important role in helping firefighters achieve a healthy weight by providing weight loss counseling to at-risk firefighters. This study characterizes the impact of healthcare professional weight loss advice on firefighter weight perceptions and weight loss behaviors among overweight and obese male firefighters. ⋯ Healthcare professional weight loss advice appears to increase the accuracy of firefighter weight perceptions, promote weight loss attempts, and may encourage dieting and physical activity behaviors among overweight firefighters. Healthcare providers should acknowledge their ability to influence the health behaviors of overweight and obese patients and make efforts to increase the quality and frequency of weight loss recommendations for all firefighters.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Encouraging Influenza Vaccination Among Text4baby Pregnant Women and Mothers.
Pregnant women, postpartum women, and infants are at high risk for complications from influenza. From October to November 2012, Text4baby, a free national text service for pregnant women and mothers of infants aged <1 year, implemented a module of interactive messages encouraging maternal influenza vaccination. A program evaluation examined whether a text-based reminder or tailored education improved self-reported influenza vaccination or intent to be vaccinated later in the influenza season among Text4baby participants. ⋯ Text reminders and tailored education may encourage influenza vaccination among this vulnerable population; both have now been incorporated into Text4baby.
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The risk of obesity is reduced when youth engage in recommended levels of physical activity (PA). For that reason, public health organizations in the U. S. have encouraged communities to implement programs and policies designed to increase PA in youth, and many communities have taken on that challenge. ⋯ Neighborhood and community factors related to PA were assessed using three measures: (1) child perceptions of the neighborhood environment; (2) availability of PA equipment; and (3) attributes of the child's street segment via direct observation. School influences on children's PA were assessed via three constructs: (1) school PA policies; (2) child perceptions of the school PA environment; and (3) school outdoor PA environment. These measures will enable examination of the associations between characteristics of community PA programs and policies and obesity-related outcomes in children and youth.
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Multifaceted community interventions directed at improving food environments are emerging, but their impact on dietary change and obesity prevalence has not been adequately documented. The Healthy Communities Study (HCS) is seeking to identify characteristics and combinations of programs and policies that are associated with children's diets and obesity-related outcomes in various types of communities across the U. S. ⋯ Dietary-related behaviors were assessed by a survey administered to the parent, child, or both, depending on child age. School nutrition measures were obtained from a combination of school staff surveys and researcher observations. Information from these measures is expected to contribute to a better understanding of "what is working" to improve the dietary behaviors that are likely to prevent obesity and improve health in children.