American journal of preventive medicine
-
The evidence hierarchy in public health emphasizes longitudinal studies, whereas social media monitoring relies on aggregate analyses. Authors propose integrating longitudinal analyses into social media monitoring by creating a digital cohort of individual account holders, as demonstrated by a case study analysis of people who vape. ⋯ By aligning with standard epidemiologic surveillance practices, this approach can greatly enhance the usefulness of social media monitoring in informing public health decision making, such as yielding insights into the timing of cessation behaviors among people who vape.
-
Intrinsic capacity (IC), a composite of physical and mental capacities, is a marker of healthy aging. Social determinants of health (SDOH), namely the economic and social environments across a lifespan, are the most fundamental factors influencing health outcomes and health disparities. However, there is limited evidence on the influence of the individual and combined burden of the SDOH on IC. ⋯ Certain SDOH levels were significantly and negatively associated with IC. Targeted interventions may be needed to improve SDOH in individuals at high risk of poor IC.
-
Few studies have longitudinally examined TV viewing trajectories and cardiovascular disease risk factors. The objective of this study was to determine the association between level and annualized changes in young adult TV viewing and the incidence of cardiovascular disease risk factors from young adulthood to middle age. ⋯ In this prospective cohort study, higher TV viewing in young adulthood and annual increases in TV viewing were associated with incident hypertension, high triglycerides, and obesity. Young adulthood as well as behaviors across midlife may be important time periods to promote healthful TV viewing behavior patterns.
-
Sexual violence is a major public health problem in the U.S. that is associated with numerous health impacts, including pregnancy. U.S. population-based estimates (2010-2012) found that three million women experienced a rape-related pregnancy during their lifetimes. The current study presents more recent estimates of rape and sexual coercion-related pregnancy and examines prevalence by demographic characteristics. ⋯ Pregnancy as a consequence of rape or sexual coercion is experienced by an estimated six million U.S. women. Prevention efforts may include healthcare screenings to identify violence exposure and use of evidence-based prevention approaches to reduce sexual violence.
-
The purpose of this study was to evaluate if an electronic health record (EHR) self-scheduling function was associated with changes in mammogram completion for primary care patients who were eligible for a screening mammogram using U.S. Preventive Service Task Force recommendations. ⋯ EHR-based self-scheduling was associated with a significant increase in mammogram completion among primary care patients. Self-scheduling can be a low-cost, scalable function for increasing preventive cancer screenings.