American journal of preventive medicine
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Medicaid-enrolled children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) encounter significant barriers to dental care. Iowa's I-Smile Program was implemented in 2006 to improve dental use for all children in Medicaid. This study compared dental home and preventive dental utilization rates for Medicaid-enrolled children by ASD status and within three time periods (pre-implementation, initial implementation, maturation) and determined I-Smile's longitudinal influence on ASD-related dental use disparities. ⋯ Among newly Medicaid-enrolled children in Iowa's I-Smile Program, those with ASDs were not less likely than those without ASD to have dental homes but were significantly less likely to utilize preventive dental care.
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The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, with a nuclear accident subsequently occurring at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The government ordered a mandatory evacuation from the high radioactive concentration area in Fukushima, which might have forced many evacuees to change particular aspects of their lifestyles. This study assessed the hypothesis that mean body weight and the proportion of overweight/obese individuals would increase among evacuees after versus before the disaster. ⋯ Body weight and the proportion of overweight/obese people increased among residents, especially evacuees, in the evacuation zone of Fukushima prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
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Comparative Study
Cost Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccine Choices in Children Aged 2-8 Years in the U.S.
Prior evidence found live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) more effective than inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) in children aged 2-8 years, leading CDC in 2014 to prefer LAIV use in this group. However, since 2013, LAIV has not proven superior, leading CDC in 2015 to rescind their LAIV preference statement. Here, the cost effectiveness of preferred LAIV use compared with IIV in children aged 2-8 years is estimated. ⋯ Results support CDC's decision to no longer prefer LAIV use and provide guidance on effectiveness differences between influenza vaccines that might lead to preferential LAIV recommendation for children aged 2-8 years.
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In an effort to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) transmission through universal screening and isolation, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched the National MRSA Prevention Initiative in October 2007. The objective of this analysis was to quantify the budget impact and cost effectiveness of this initiative. ⋯ Wide-scale implementation of a national MRSA surveillance and prevention strategy in VA inpatient settings may have prevented a substantial number of MRSA HAIs. Although the savings associated with prevented infections helped offset some but not all of the cost of the initiative, this model indicated that the initiative would be considered cost effective.
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Interpersonal violence affects millions of people worldwide, often has lifelong consequences, and is gaining recognition as an important global public health problem. There has been no assessment of measures countries are taking to address it. This report aims to assess such measures and provide a baseline against which to track future progress. ⋯ Although many countries have begun to tackle violence, serious gaps remain, and public health researchers have a critical role to play in addressing them.