Public health reports
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Public health reports · Nov 1988
Effects of legislative reform to reduce drunken driving and alcohol-related traffic fatalities.
From 1980 through 1985, considerable progress was made across the Nation in reducing drunken driving and fatal automobile crashes. More than 400 chapters of local citizen groups concerned with reducing drunken driving were formed. New media coverage, measured in number of stories, increased fiftyfold from 1980 to 1984. ⋯ To sustain the progress of the early 1980s, we need to:* Refocus community and media attention on the drunken driving problem. * Increase police enforcement and public support for enforcement of laws against drunken driving.* Heighten educational and enforcement efforts that target risky traffic behaviors more common among drunken drivers-particularly speeding and failure to wear seatbelts.* Develop educational efforts aimed at all segments of the population to increase informal social pressure to discourage drunken driving and riding in vehicles with drivers who are drunk. Traffic accidents remain the leading cause of death among persons ages I to 34; 52 percent of the 46,050 traffic fatalities in 1986 involved ad river or pedestrian who had been drinking. Without renewed attention to the problems posed by drunken driving, we may be unable to sustain the dramatic progress of the early 1980s.
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The Public Health Service and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration share the responsibility for problems related to injury prevention and control regarding the alcohol-impaired operation of motor vehicles. NHTSA activities have evolved over several decades within a general framework which emphasizes community-based systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is promoting program activities that stress community-level involvement in problems of alcohol and highway use. ⋯ Statistical method changes are being discussed for surveillance of motor vehicle-related injuries for Health Objectives for the Nation for the Year 2000. NHTSA data systems being discussed are thought to be more timely and more sensitive to crash activity than methods now in use. Public health approaches to the problems of alcohol and highway safety are benefiting from growing cooperation among highway safety and public health officials to reduce the morbidity and mortality resulting from operation of motor vehicles by performance-impaired drivers.
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Public health reports · Nov 1988
The Indian Health Service approach to alcoholism among American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The transfer to the Indian Health Service (IHS) of 158 alcohol treatment programs that had been administered by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism began in 1978. Today, approximately 300 alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs offer services to American Indians, among them primary residential treatment, halfway houses, outreach, and aftercare. This system provides a national network upon which additional activities may be established. ⋯ S. population, it decreased from 54.5 per 100,000 population to 26.1 between 1978 and 1985-a reduction of 52 percent. The philosophy of the IHS in emphasizing prevention of disease and promotion of wellness provides an opportunity for continuing the considerable progress already made. The critical and decisive role played by the Indian communities themselves will determine whether ultimate success can be achieved.
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Public health reports · Sep 1988
Assessment of the excess risk of Salmonella dublin infection associated with the use of certified raw milk.
The risk of serious illness attributable to infection with Salmonella dublin associated with the consumption of certified raw milk in California was evaluated. Data were derived from case reports of S. dublin isolations from persons in the State of California during the period 1980-83 and from production figures for raw milk from the major supplier. ⋯ Among raw milk consumers, it is estimated that more than 95 percent of reported S. dublin infections were acquired from raw milk; this proportion corresponds to a rate of reported S. dublin infections acquired from raw milk in the range of 8 to 35 cases per 100,000 users per year. It appears that immunocompromised persons are at exceptionally high risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from S. dublin exposure, and therefore raw milk is a particular health hazard for such persons.
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A retrospective study of 1,052 unintentional drowning deaths in North Carolina during the period from 1980 through 1984 was carried out, with emphasis on the victims' activity and alcohol consumption, and the settings of the accidents. The data suggest that many drownings are preventable, and reinforce the etiologic importance of ethanol consumption in such deaths. The overall drowning rate for North Carolina residents during the period covered by the study was 3.2 per 100,000 persons. ⋯ Most occurred in freshwater settings, notably lakes and ponds, 39 percent, and rivers and creeks, 29 percent. Of the 752 victims 15 years and older tested for blood ethanol, 53 percent had positive tests and 38 percent had blood alcohol concentrations of 100 milligrams per deciliter or greater. Significant percentages of victims 15 years and older with blood alcohol concentrations greater than 100 milligrams per deciliter were found in all settings and activity groups.