Public health reports
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Public health reports · Jul 2018
Disparities in Initiation of Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents for Hepatitis C Virus Infection in an Insured Population.
The cost of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may contribute to treatment disparities. However, few data exist on factors associated with DAA initiation. ⋯ Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities exist in DAA initiation. Substance use may also influence patient or provider decision making about DAA initiation. Strategies are needed to ensure equitable access to DAAs, even in insured populations.
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Public health reports · Jul 2018
Anticipating Industry Arguments: The US Food and Drug Administration's Authority to Reduce Nicotine Levels in Cigarettes.
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is considering lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes to "minimally addictive or nonaddictive levels." This could be a transformative public health measure, but the tobacco industry is likely to challenge such an action in court. This article reviews some of the key legal arguments that industry is likely to advance and considers possible responses. As we demonstrate, there are strong arguments that the US Food and Drug Administration has the authority to implement a policy to reduce nicotine in cigarettes to nonaddictive levels.
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Public health reports · May 2018
Naming Institutionalized Racism in the Public Health Literature: A Systematic Literature Review.
Although a range of factors shapes health and well-being, institutionalized racism (societal allocation of privilege based on race) plays an important role in generating inequities by race. The goal of this analysis was to review the contemporary peer-reviewed public health literature from 2002-2015 to determine whether the concept of institutionalized racism was named (ie, explicitly mentioned) and whether it was a core concept in the article. ⋯ Although institutionalized racism is recognized as a fundamental cause of health inequities, it was not often explicitly named in the titles or abstracts of articles published in the public health literature during 2002-2015. Our results highlight the need to explicitly name institutionalized racism in articles in the public health literature and to make it a central concept in inequities research. More public health research on institutionalized racism could help efforts to overcome its substantial, longstanding effects on health and well-being.