Bmc Public Health
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Injection overuse and unsafe injection practices facilitate transmission of bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Anecdotal reports of unsafe and unnecessary therapeutic injections and the high prevalence of HBV (8.0%), HCV (6.5%), and HIV (2.6%) infection in Cambodia have raised concern over injection safety. To estimate the magnitude and patterns of such practices, a rapid assessment of injection practices was conducted. ⋯ Our data suggest that Cambodia has one of the world's highest rates of overall injection usage, despite general awareness of associated infection risks. Although there was little evidence of reuse of needles and syringes, support is needed for interventions to address injection overuse, healthcare worker safety and appropriate waste disposal.
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To date, no school-based intervention has been proven to be effective in preventing adolescent smoking, despite continuing concern about smoking levels amongst young people in the United Kingdom. Although formal teacher-led smoking prevention interventions are considered unlikely to be effective, peer-led approaches to reducing smoking have been proposed as potentially valuable. ⋯ Comprehensive evaluations of complex public health interventions of this scale and nature are rare in the United Kingdom. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of conducting cluster RCTs of complex public health interventions in schools, and how the rigour of such designs can be maximised both by thorough implementation of the protocol and by broadening the scope of questions addressed in the trial by including additional evaluative components.
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Head injury in England is common. Evidence suggests that socio-economic factors may cause variation in incidence, and this variation may affect planning for services to meet the needs of those who have sustained a head injury. ⋯ Head injury incidence in England varies by a factor of 4.6 across HA's and PCT's. Planning head injury related services at the local level thus needs to be based on local incidence figures rather than regional or national estimates. Socio-economic factors are shown to be associated with admission, including travel to work patterns and lifestyle indicators, which suggests that incidence is amenable to policy initiatives at the macro level as well as preventive programmes targeted at key groups.
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Cigarette smoking takes a staggering toll on human health and attracts considerable public health attention, yet real solutions seem distant. The 2004 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (US Senate bill S2461) would have given the US Food and Drug Administration limited authority to regulate cigarettes to "protect the public health." However, such legislation is unlikely to substantially reduce smoking or related deaths. ⋯ Cigarettes, or an equally addictive alternative, will be a permanent and common product in most societies. Regulations restricting only the safest addictive nicotine products are hard to justify. Addictive nicotine compliments other tobacco control strategies. Modern tobacco control policies are applicable to addictive nicotine. Controlled trials and test market studies are urgently needed to evaluate addictive nicotine as an alternative to smoking. Meanwhile, legislators should preserve the Food and Drug Administration's option to permit non-prescription sales of addictive nicotine.
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Comparative Study
Leisure-time versus full-day energy expenditure: a cross-sectional study of sedentarism in a Portuguese urban population.
Low physical activity is known to be a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease. With high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in the Portuguese urban population, little is known about how sedentary this population is and what factors are associated to sedentary lifestyles. This study's objective was to examine sedentary lifestyles and their determinants through a cross-sectional study. ⋯ A high prevalence of sedentarism is found in the study participants when measuring leisure-time and full-day energy expenditure. The Portuguese population may therefore benefit from additional promotion of physical activity.