American journal of preventive medicine
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To document the growing use in the United States of health impact assessment (HIA) methods to help planners and others consider the health consequences of their decisions. ⋯ These completed HIAs are useful for helping conduct future HIAs and for training public health officials and others about HIAs. More work is needed to document the impact of HIAs and thereby increase their value in decision-making processes.
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Although youth violence is a serious concern in the United States, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth have generally been neglected as a demographic group for scholarly inquiry or community mobilization efforts. This lack of attention in the violence prevention field is indicative of two perceptual impediments with which AAPI communities have struggled for decades: (1) That AAPIs represent a relatively small portion of the United States population, and (2) That AAPIs are stereotyped as "model minorities" who do not encounter serious social obstacles and who lack ethnic heterogeneity. ⋯ Findings from these mobilization efforts highlight the need for long-term university-community commitments, in which university entities take a leadership role in disaggregating AAPI juvenile justice data. Another critical need is to work with previously marginalized ethnic groups within the AAPI population.
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Prostate cancer is the leading cancer in U.S. men, and the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Principal screening tests for detection of asymptomatic prostate cancer include digital rectal examination (DRE) and measurement of the serum tumor marker, prostate-specific antigen (PSA). There are risks and benefits associated with prostate cancer screening. Randomized controlled trials of screening by DRE and PSA are limited to two previously published studies. Two other large-scale randomized controlled trials are currently in progress. ⋯ The American College of Preventive Medicine concludes that there is insufficient evidence to recommend routine population screening with DRE or PSA. Clinicians caring for men, especially African-American men and those with positive family histories, should provide information about potential benefits and risks of prostate cancer screening, and the limitations of current evidence for screening, in order to maximize informed decision making.
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Video games provide extensive player involvement for large numbers of children and adults, and thereby provide a channel for delivering health behavior change experiences and messages in an engaging and entertaining format. ⋯ Research is needed on the optimal use of game-based stories, fantasy, interactivity, and behavior change technology in promoting health-related behavior change.
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To estimate the incidence of all-terrain vehicle (ATV)-related injury hospitalizations in the United States from 2000 through 2004, and to describe the types of injuries and associated hospital costs for the entire population. ⋯ Voluntary industry and government safety efforts have had little impact on the increasing incidence and cost of ATV injuries. Renewed prevention efforts to making ATV riding safer are warranted.