American journal of preventive medicine
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Cigarette warning label policy alternatives and smoking-related health disparities.
Pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packaging have been proposed for the U.S., but their potential influences among populations that suffer tobacco-related health disparities are unknown. ⋯ Pictorial health warning labels with graphic images have the most-pronounced short-term impacts on adult smokers, including smokers from groups that have in the past been hard to reach.
-
Financial incentives, including taxes and subsidies, can be used to encourage behavior change. They are common in transport policy for tackling externalities associated with use of motor vehicles, and in public health for influencing alcohol consumption and smoking behaviors. Financial incentives also offer policymakers a compromise between "nudging," which may be insufficient for changing habitual behavior, and regulations that restrict individual choice. ⋯ Drawing on a literature review and insights from the SLOTH (sleep, leisure, occupation, transportation, and home-based activities) time-budget model, this paper argues that financial incentives may have a larger role in promoting walking and cycling than is acknowledged generally.
-
Research is needed to understand parental factors influencing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, particularly in groups with a higher burden of cervical cancer. ⋯ Findings indicate low levels of vaccination among 2-1-1 callers. Increased understanding of determinants of HPV vaccination in low-income minority groups can guide interventions to increase coverage. Because 2-1-1 informational and referral services networks reach populations considered medically underserved, 2-1-1 can serve as a community hub for informing development of and implementing approaches aimed at hard-to-reach groups.
-
The extent to which the prevalence of smoking in Canada varies across geographic areas independently of individual characteristics has not been quantified. ⋯ Geographic variation in smoking remained after accounting for individual, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics, suggesting the importance of place, at the level of provinces and communities in Canada. Remaining community variation in smoking was largely attenuated after accounting for collective family norms discouraging smoking. Area-level influences such as the social and/or environmental conditions of provinces and communities may be important sources of variation in smoking and therefore need to be considered if rates of smoking are to be modified.
-
Information and referral systems such as 2-1-1 can be key partners in responding to community-wide health crises and other emergency and disaster events. This paper describes the experience of Toronto 2-1-1 dealing with the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic and later that year the Great Northeastern Blackout. It shares five lessons learned from these experiences and describes how they have shaped the current approach to emergency and disaster response at Toronto 2-1-1 (now 2-1-1 Central Region Ontario).