American journal of preventive medicine
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California's landmark 1994 Smokefree Workplace Act contained numerous exemptions, or loopholes, believed to contribute to inequities in smokefree air protections among low-income communities and communities of color (e.g., permitting smoking in warehouses, hotel common areas). Cities/counties were not prevented from adopting stronger laws. This study coded municipal laws and state law changes (in 2015-2016) for loophole closures and determined their effects in reducing inequities in smokefree workplace protections. ⋯ Although jurisdictions made important progress in closing loopholes in smokefree air law, state law changes achieved greater reductions in inequities in policy coverage.
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Michigan is one of 3 states that have implemented health risk assessments for enrollees as a feature of its Medicaid expansion, the Healthy Michigan Plan. This study describes primary care providers' early experiences with completing health risk assessments with enrollees and examines provider- and practice-level factors that affect health risk assessment completion. ⋯ Early in program implementation, health risk assessment completion rates by primary care providers were low and awareness of financial incentives limited. Most primary care provider respondents perceived health risk assessments to be very or somewhat useful in identifying health risks, and about half of primary care providers viewed health risk assessments as very or somewhat useful in helping patients to change health behaviors.
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The association between e-cigarette use and chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has not been studied thoroughly, particularly in populations defined by concomitant combustible smoking status. ⋯ The results suggest possible e-cigarette-related pulmonary toxicity across all the categories of combustible cigarette smoking status, including those who had never smoked combustible cigarettes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Health for Hearts United Longitudinal Trial: Improving Dietary Behaviors in Older African Americans.
Church-based interventions have been shown to improve the dietary health of underserved populations, yet few studies have examined sustainability of health behavior change over time. This paper examines dietary outcomes over a 24-month period (baseline and 6, 18, and 24 months) for fruit and vegetable and fat consumption behaviors of African-American participants in the Health for Hearts United church-based intervention in North Florida. ⋯ Dietary behaviors of mid-life and older African Americans can be improved and sustained over 24 months using a church-based heart health intervention, with similar improvements noted for both comparison and treatment participants.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Male Adolescents' Gender Attitudes and Violence: Implications for Youth Violence Prevention.
This study analyzed the associations among male adolescents' gender attitudes, intentions to intervene, witnessing peers' abusive behaviors, and multiple forms of adolescent violence perpetration. This community-based evaluation aims to inform future youth violence prevention efforts through the identification of potential predictors of interpersonal violence perpetration. ⋯ This is the first U.S.-based study to elicit information from male adolescents in community-based settings (rather than schools or clinics) about multiple types of interpersonal violence perpetration. Findings support violence prevention strategies that challenge harmful gender and social norms while simultaneously increasing youths' skills in interrupting peers' disrespectful and harmful behaviors.