American journal of preventive medicine
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Having a higher purpose in life has been linked to favorable health outcomes. However, little research has examined whether the purpose-health association persists across different levels of SES. This study assesses whether the association between higher purpose in life and lower mortality is similar across the levels of SES. ⋯ The highest level of purpose appeared protective against all-cause mortality regardless of the levels of SES. By contrast, when levels of purpose were more modest, people with lower SES may benefit less health-wise from having a purpose.
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The evidence-based public health course equips public health professionals with skills and tools for applying evidence-based frameworks and processes in public health practice. To date, training has included participants from all the 50 U. S. states, 2 U. ⋯ Participants from later cohorts (2012-2019) reported more overall barriers to applying course content in their work (mean difference=0.15, 95% CI=0.05, 0.24). The evidence-based public health course represents an important strategy for increasing the capacity (individual skills) for evidence-based processes within public health practice. Organization-level methods are also needed to scale up and sustain capacity-building efforts.
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires many health insurance plans to cover certain clinical preventive services in network with no cost sharing. This study describes the utilization trends of 8 clinical preventive services by insurance status and analyzes utilization disparities. ⋯ Despite the reduction of cost barriers for the insured, there were larger increases in utilization among the uninsured, and a narrowed gap was observed over time for some services. Ongoing efforts to monitor the trends in clinical preventive services utilization may help identify and evaluate the strategies designed to increase their use.
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Several U.S. states have implemented paid family leave policies for new parents. Few studies have evaluated the impacts of U.S. paid family leave policies on families' health. This study tests the hypothesis that paid family leave policies in California and New Jersey improved parent and child mental health. ⋯ Study findings suggest that state paid family leave policies improved mental health among parents, with mixed findings among children, including positive, negative, or no changes in mental health, depending on the subgroup. Future work should clarify how more recent state policies, some of which provide more generous benefits and job protections for low-income parents, influence health among affected families.
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Individuals with noncommunicable diseases account for a disproportionate share of medical expenditures, absenteeism, and presenteeism. Therefore, employers are increasingly looking to worksite wellness programs as a cost-containment strategy. Previous reviews examining whether worksite wellness programs deliver a positive return on investment have shown mixed results, possibly because the more optimistic findings come from studies with poorer methodologic quality. The purpose of this systematic review is to critically revisit and update this literature to explore that hypothesis. ⋯ The highest-quality studies do not support the hypothesis that worksite wellness programs deliver a positive return on investment within the first few years of initiation.