American journal of preventive medicine
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Chronic disease is a barrier to delivery of preventive health care and health maintenance. However, health behaviors of adults and children with eczema, a chronic skin disorder, have not been examined. This study examined associations of eczema with vaccination, disease screening, health maintenance, and healthcare utilization. ⋯ Eczema in adults and children is associated with greater utilization of preventive health care and health maintenance, but not cancer screening.
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The County Health Rankings (CHR) provides data for nearly every county in the U.S. on four modifiable groups of health factors, including healthy behaviors, clinical care, physical environment, and socioeconomic conditions, and on health outcomes such as length and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to empirically estimate the strength of association between these health factors and health outcomes and to describe the performance of the CHR model factor weightings by state. ⋯ This paper further provides a framework by which to prioritize health-related investments, and a call to action for healthcare providers and the schools that educate them. Realizing the greatest improvements in population health will require addressing the social and economic determinants of health.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Hip-Hop to Health Jr. Randomized Effectiveness Trial: 1-Year Follow-up Results.
The preschool years provide a unique window of opportunity to intervene on obesity-related lifestyle risk factors during the formative years of a child's life. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a preschool-based obesity prevention effectiveness trial at 1-year follow-up. ⋯ The adaptation of Hip-Hop to Health Jr. produced modest benefits in diet quality but did not significantly impact weight gain trajectory. Not unlike other effectiveness trials, this real-world version delivered by Head Start teachers produced fewer benefits than the more rigorous efficacy trial. It is important to understand and build upon the lessons learned from these types of trials so that we can design, implement, and disseminate successful evidence-based programs more widely and effectively.
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Clinical Trial Observational Study
Cardiovascular Health and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer: The Women's Health Initiative.
The American Heart Association's "Simple 7" offers a practical public health conceptualization of cardiovascular health (CVH). CVH predicts incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) in younger populations, but has not been studied in a large, diverse population of aging postmenopausal women. The extent to which CVH predicts cancer in postmenopausal women is unknown. ⋯ Lower ideal CVH is more common among minority and less educated postmenopausal women and predicts increased risk of CVD and cancer in this population, emphasizing the importance of prevention efforts among vulnerable older adults.
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Data from 20 years ago--shortly after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act--showed that women with significant mobility disability had 40% lower Pap test rates than other women. ⋯ Little has changed over time in Pap test rates for all women. Women with certain disabilities continue to experience disparities compared with nondisabled women in receipt of this important screening test.