American journal of preventive medicine
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Comparative Study
Ethnicity and smoking: differences in white, black, Hispanic, and Asian medical patients who smoke.
To describe differences in the attitudes and behaviors of white, black, Hispanic, and Asian medical patients who smoke, we surveyed 2,835 patients of primary care physicians who participated in a controlled trial on smoking cessation. White smokers smoked more cigarettes per day, were more addicted to cigarettes, had more smoking-related symptoms and illnesses, and were more likely to relate smoking to their symptoms and illnesses. ⋯ Hispanic and Asian smokers more often wanted to quit to keep their children from being exposed to smoking. We conclude that a single approach to helping patients quit smoking is less likely to be effective than one tailored to the ethnic differences among those patients.
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We report the results of a survey conducted in upper-midwestern communities to assess public attitudes toward policy level interventions to moderate the use of alcohol, tobacco, and high-fat food. Four hundred thirty-eight women and 383 men were asked to indicate how much they favored or did not favor 29 policy proposals. Results showed that regulatory controls in all three areas were favored by the general public. ⋯ There was a strong positive association between age and support for measures to moderate alcohol use. Individuals reporting least personal use of alcohol, tobacco, and high-fat foods were most in favor of control policies. The results of this survey indicate specific measures that might be most readily enacted and what segments of the population are likely to be most and least receptive.
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The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has funded the Preventive Cardiology Academic Award (PCAA) for more than a decade. The background for focusing on physicians in training and prevention is reviewed, as well as the status of the 49 medical schools that have received the award. This report presents a synthesis of the objectives for the award, curricular approaches, and teaching strategies employed by awardees and also the framework for program evaluation. The degree of institutionalization of the programs and the diffusion nationally as well as trends in the program over the past decade are examined.