American journal of preventive medicine
-
To address the ongoing opioid crisis, states use policy enactment to restrict prescribing by licensed healthcare providers and mandate the use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. There have been mixed results regarding the effectiveness of such state policies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of Colorado Senate Bill 18-022, which limits opioid prescriptions to ≤7-day supply among patients without an opioid prescription in the previous year (i.e., are opioid naive). ⋯ Statutory limits on days' supply among opioid-naive patients had little impact on opioid prescribing in Colorado. Legislating limits on opioid prescribing should be evaluated using Prescription Drug Monitoring Program data and considered for deimplementation when not impactful.
-
Although the relationship between smoking and depression has been well-established, little is known about the association between use of e-cigarette and depression, particularly among youth and young adults. This study proposes that e-cigarette dependence, rather than simply use, serves as a potential stressor and may interact with pre-existing vulnerabilities to contribute to depression in youth, consistent with the diathesis-stress theory. This study examines the longitudinal association of vaping dependence and vaping frequency on depression symptoms among youth and young adults who have never smoked cigarettes. ⋯ These results are consistent with the diathesis-stress model of the relationship between substance use and depression. Vaping dependence but not vaping frequency was associated with increased depressive symptoms among people who never smoked cigarettes.
-
Multicenter Study
Racial Inequities in Police Transport for Patients to the Emergency Department: A Multicenter Analysis.
Police involvement in patient transport to emergency medical care has increased over time, yet studies assessing racial inequities in transport are limited. This study evaluated the relationship between race and police transport to the emergency department for adult patients. ⋯ This analysis revealed racial inequities in police-involved transport to emergency medical care, highlighting an urgent need to evaluate drivers of inequities and the ways in which police transport influences clinical outcomes.
-
Firearm injury-related hospitalizations in the U.S. cost $900 million annually. Before the Affordable Care Act, government insurance programs covered 41% of the costs. This study describes the impact of Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion and state-level firearm legislation on coverage and costs for firearm injuries. ⋯ Affordable Care Act expansion increased government coverage of hospitalizations for firearm injuries. Unintentional and self-harm costs were significantly higher for states with weak firearm legislation. States with weak firearm legislation that did not expand Medicaid had the highest proportion of uninsured/self-pay patients.