American journal of preventive medicine
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Barbershops and beauty salons are located in all communities and frequented by diverse groups of people, making them key settings for addressing health disparities. No studies have reviewed the growing body of literature describing studies promoting health in these settings. This review summarized the literature related to promoting health within barbershops and beauty salons to inform future approaches that target diverse populations in similar settings. ⋯ Barbershops and beauty salons are promising settings for reaching populations most at risk for health disparities. Although these results are encouraging, more rigorous research and evaluation of future salon- and barbershop-based interventions are needed.
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Uncontrolled hypertension remains a widely prevalent cardiovascular risk factor in the U.S. team-based care, established by adding new staff or changing the roles of existing staff such as nurses and pharmacists to work with a primary care provider and the patient. Team-based care has the potential to improve the quality of hypertension management. The goal of this Community Guide systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of team-based care in improving blood pressure (BP) outcomes. ⋯ Team-based care increased the proportion of people with controlled BP and reduced both systolic and diastolic BP, especially when pharmacists and nurses were part of the team. Findings are applicable to a range of U.S. settings and population groups. Implementation of this multidisciplinary approach will require health system-level organizational changes and could be an important element of the medical home.
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Abnormal glucose metabolism is a major determinant of coronary artery disease (CAD) and mortality in developed countries. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a more stable, accurate parameter of glucose homeostasis than fasting glycemia, thus providing prognostic information in diabetics. However, its role and relationship with CAD remains unclear in non-diabetics. ⋯ Among non-diabetic patients, higher HbA1c even within the normal range is significantly associated with the risk of CAD. Future large studies are needed to evaluate whether more aggressive cardiovascular prevention can reduce the risk of CAD among patients with HbA1c ≥ 5.8%.
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To inform consumers, U.S. Federal Courts have ordered the tobacco industry to disseminate "corrective statements" (CSs) about their deception regarding five topics: smoker health effects, nonsmoker health effects, cigarette addictiveness, design of cigarettes to increase addiction, and relative safety of light cigarettes. ⋯ This study suggests that smokers would value and respond to CSs, particularly smokers from groups that suffer from tobacco-related health disparities.
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Smoking increases the risk of morbidity and mortality and is particularly harmful to HIV-infected people. ⋯ Despite declining rates of cigarette smoking, integrated interventions are needed to help women with and at risk for HIV infection to quit smoking and sustain cessation.