American journal of preventive medicine
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Use of data generated through social media for health studies is gradually increasing. Twitter is a short-text message system developed 6 years ago, now with more than 100 million users generating over 300 million Tweets every day. Twitter may be used to gain real-world insights to promote healthy behaviors. ⋯ The approach includes five steps: (1) selecting keywords to gather an initial set of Tweets to analyze; (2) importing data; (3) preparing data; (4) analyzing data (topic, sentiment, and ecologic context); and (5) interpreting data. The steps are implemented using tools that are publically available and free of charge and designed for use by researchers with limited programming skills. Content mining of Tweets can contribute to addressing challenges in health behavior research.
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Influenza vaccination decisions may be influenced by perceived risk reduction related to herd immunity. ⋯ Interventionists may be more successful by capitalizing on existing social-influence considerations than by trying to combat the conscious lure of free-riding.
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Neonatal withdrawal syndrome, which is associated most frequently with opioid use in pregnancy, is an emerging public health concern, with recent studies documenting an increase in the rate of U.S. infants diagnosed. ⋯ Diagnosis of neonatal withdrawal syndrome increased significantly in Michigan with infants who had the syndrome requiring a significantly longer LOS compared to those without it.
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Public policy can limit alcohol consumption and its associated harm, but no direct comparison of the relative efficacy of alcohol control policies exists for the U.S. ⋯ Comparative policy ratings can help characterize the alcohol policy environment, inform policy discussions, and identify future research needs.
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To induce consumers to purchase healthier foods and beverages, some policymakers have suggested special taxes or labels on unhealthy products. The potential of such policies is unknown. ⋯ Taxation may induce consumers to purchase healthier foods and beverages. However, it is unclear whether the 15%-20% tax rates proposed in public policy discussions would be more effective than labeling products as less healthy.