Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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This paper is a case study of how Youth ALIVE!, a nonprofit public health organization, blended direct service and policy goals to reduce youth gun violence at a time when guns became the number one killer of children in California. Youth ALIVE! trained young people living in California communities with the highest rates of gun violence to become peer educators and leaders to reduce both the supply of, and demand for, guns. The youth presented health and criminal justice data in the context of their own experiences living in communities endangered by gun violence to help build public policy solutions, contributing to the subsequent drop in gun homicides. ⋯ The youths' successes demonstrate how nonprofit direct service organizations are uniquely positioned to advocate for policy and regulatory changes that can be beneficial to both program participants and society. Direct service organizations' daily exposure to real-life client needs provides valuable insights for developing viable policies-plus highly motivated advocates. When backed by scientific findings on the causes of the problem, this synergy of youth participant engagement in civil society can promote good policy and build healthy communities.
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Intimate partner sexual violence: a comparison of foreign- versus US-born physically abused Latinas.
Men's violence against women-particularly intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV)-is associated with the transmission of HIV. Men who physically abuse their female intimate partners often also sexually abuse them. Latinas are one of the fastest growing populations in the USA and at high-risk for contracting HIV, though little is known about IPSV against physically abused Latinas, including whether there is an association between nativity of the victim and the likelihood of sexual violence by intimate partners. ⋯ Physically abused Latinas who were foreign born had two times greater odds of reporting recent IPSV than physically abused Latinas born in the USA, after controlling for other demographic covariates. Exploratory post hoc analyses examining all pairwise comparisons of IPSV against Latinas born in the USA, Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean also revealed some significant differences that warrant further study with larger samples. HIV prevention efforts aimed at reducing IPSV in this population are needed.
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Most researches related to pregnancy complications and future cardiovascular disease, and their risk factors have been equivocal. Existence and extent of these complications, as a contributing factor to CVD risks, with underlying mechanisms of these associations, still remain uncertain. Hence, the current study tends to examine associations between "complicated pregnancies" with obesity markers known to be coherent reflections of cardiovascular health in urban women. ⋯ The association with the calculated 10-year CVD risk (≥10 %) based on the Framingham prediction score was 3.01 OR (2.11-3.72 CI) for pregnancy DM, 4.52 (3.68-4.93 CI) for preeclampsia/gestational hypertension, 2.16 (2.01-2.79 CI) for size at GA (SGA and LGA), 2.25 (1.91-2.85 CI) for preterm births, and 2.48 (2.08-3.98 CI) for abnormal birth weight when compared with women without pregnancy diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia/gestational hypertension, appropriate gestational age, full-term babies, and normal birth weight, respectively, in completely adjusted models. Therefore, HDP, pregnancy diabetes mellitus, and pregnancy outcomes are all associated with an increased risk of CVD 10 years later. Pregnancy may provide an opportunity to identify women at increased risk of CVD relatively early in life.
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Urban slum dwellers are not only prone to develop communicable diseases but also to non-communicable disease (NCDs). The extent and magnitude of NCDs among slum dwellers is largely unknown in Nigeria. A total of 964 adults aged 20-81 years (male 330 and female 634) residing in the urban slum of Ajegunle in Lagos State, Nigeria were studied to determine the prevalence of hypertension and associated factors. ⋯ The socio-demographic factors significantly associated with hypertension status were age, sex, education, religion, BMI, and marital status. The study concludes a high prevalence of hypertension among urban slums dwellers in Lagos. The need for government to develop policies for the control of hypertension, improve access to early diagnosis and provide an enabling socioeconomic environment while promoting healthy living.
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The objective of this study was to assess the association between oral health and individual-level characteristics as well as both socioeconomic position (SEP) and service provision characteristics at the neighborhood level. Multilevel logistic analysis was undertaken of data from the Neighbourhood Effects on Health and Well-being Study in Toronto comprising 2,412 participants living in 47 neighborhoods and 87 census tracts. Three oral health outcomes were investigated: last dental visit, self-rated oral health, and self-rated oral pain. ⋯ In adjusted regression models, few neighborhood level variables were significantly associated with dental visits and self-rated oral health and no neighborhood variables were associated with oral pain. Based on these results, SEP appears to be important in evaluating oral health outcomes. While insignificant in this study, neighborhood factors are important when considering the impact of service provision on oral health.