Health Objectives (health + objective)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of Health Objectives

  • public health objective


  • Selected Abstracts


    Healthy People 2010 Oral Health Objectives,the Role of AAPHD

    JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 4 2001
    AAPHD President, Rebecca King DDS
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Active commuting to and from school and BMI in elementary school children , preliminary data

    CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2005
    K. A. Heelan
    Abstract Background, United States National Health Objectives include increasing the proportion of trips made by walking to and from school for children who live within 1.6 km to 50%. The purpose of this objective is to increase the level of physical activity among children. However, the impact of walking, bicycling or skating (active commuting) to and from school on the prevalence of overweight is unknown. Methods, Body mass index (BMI) was measured for 320 children (age 10.2 ± 0.7 years) in September. Over 5 months, an active commuting index (SI) and daily physical activity were estimated via questionnaire. In April, BMI and body fat were measured. Results, A significant positive association was found between April BMI and SI adjusting for September BMI (partial r = 0.03, P < 0.05). Positive associations were found between SI and physical activity before school (r = 0.17, P < 0.05) and daily moderate intensity physical activity (r = 0.13, P < 0.05). There were no significant association between SI and BF (P > 0.05). Conclusions, This preliminary data suggests that active commuting does not appear to provide sufficient amounts of physical activity to attenuate BMI; however, it may contribute to the attainment of physical activity recommendations. Future research is needed to objectively measure the impact of active commuting on the prevalence of overweight. [source]


    Systematic review of interventions in the management of overweight and obese children which include a dietary component

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED HEALTHCARE, Issue 1 2007
    Clare E Collins PhD BSc Dip Nutr Diet Dip Clin Epi APD
    Background, The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is increasing at an alarming rate around the world and prevention has become a key public health objective. Treatment and management of those already overweight and obese must be aligned with the best available evidence on effectiveness, if the risk of obesity-related morbidity and mortality is yet be reduced. Diet plays a pivotal role in successful treatment of obesity but to date, there is limited evidence on which to base practice. Objectives, To identify and present the best available evidence on the optimal dietetic treatment and management of children and adolescent who are overweight or obese. Search strategy, Published English language literature was searched using the electronic databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, PRE-MEDLINE, DARE, COCHRANE, EMBASE, AUSTROM, Current Concepts and Dissertation Abstracts. The databases were limited to English Language from 1975 until 2003. Government reports from the UK, USA and Australian were also searched and a hand search performed for the Journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, International Journal of Obesity and the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics and the bibliographies of retrieved articles. Selection criteria, (i) Interventions that evaluated the effectiveness of nutrition or dietary interventions to treat or manage overweight and obesity; (ii) Children aged less than 18 years; and (iii) Participants were defined as overweight or obese by relative weight or a measure of body weight status, studies that reported body weight per se were excluded. Data collection and analysis, An experienced professional librarian searched the databases, and two trained research assistants independently identified studies for retrieval and assessed each article for inclusion. The included studies were critically appraised for methodological quality by two people independently. Data were extracted from the appropriate articles and when a discrepancy arose, a third party would arbitrate. Main results, There were 116 articles that met the inclusion criteria. While 49 articles described randomised controlled trials, they arose from 37 separate studies. There were 67 non-randomised trials. Meta-analyses were performed on eight studies that included both a dietary intervention component and an adequate control group and on four studies that had follow-up data. There was a high degree of heterogeneity between studies and this made comparisons between studies problematic. Interventions that include diet therapy generally result in significant weight loss, at least in the short term. Many studies were poorly designed and had no or only minimal follow up. The details of the dietary intervention were often inadequately described and dietary outcomes rarely reported, making repetition of the studies difficult. Reviewers' conclusions, There is an urgent need for high quality studies investigating the optimal dietary approach to management of paediatric overweight and obesity. These studies require adequate follow up to ascertain if weight loss can be sustained in the long term. Details of the dietary prescription, adherence to the dietary intervention and diet-specific outcomes need to be reported in order to inform best practice. [source]


    ,EVEN IF YOU'RE POSITIVE, YOU STILL HAVE RIGHTS BECAUSE YOU ARE A PERSON': HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE OF HIV-POSITIVE PERSONS

    DEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS, Issue 1 2008
    LESLIE LONDON
    ABSTRACT Global debates in approaches to HIV/AIDS control have recently moved away from a uniformly strong human rights-based focus. Public health utilitarianism has become increasingly important in shaping national and international policies. However, potentially contradictory imperatives may require reconciliation of individual reproductive and other human rights with public health objectives. Current reproductive health guidelines remain largely nonprescriptive on the advisability of pregnancy amongst HIV-positive couples, mainly relying on effective counselling to enable autonomous decision-making by clients. Yet, health care provider values and attitudes may substantially impact on the effectiveness of nonprescriptive guidelines, particularly where social norms and stereotypes regarding childbearing are powerful, and where providers are subjected to dual loyalty pressures, with potentially adverse impacts on rights of service users. Data from a study of user experiences and perceptions of reproductive and HIV/AIDS services are used to illustrate a rights analysis of how reproductive health policy should integrate a rights perspective into the way services engage with HIV-positive persons and their reproductive choices. The analysis draws on recognised tools developed to evaluate health policies for their human rights impacts and on a model developed for health equity research in South Africa to argue for greater recognition of agency on the part of persons affected by HIV/AIDS in the development and content of policies on reproductive choices. We conclude by proposing strategies that are based upon a synergy between human rights and public health approaches to policy on reproductive health choices for persons with HIV/AIDS. [source]


    Vested Interests in Addiction Research and Policy Poisonous partnerships: health sector buy-in to arrangements with government and addictive consumption industries

    ADDICTION, Issue 4 2010
    Peter J. Adams
    ABSTRACT Aim This paper critically appraises relationship arrangements among three broadly conceived sectors: the government sector, the health sector (including researchers) and addictive consumption industries (particularly tobacco, alcohol and gambling). Method Three models for involvement are examined. In the ,tripartite partnership model' health sector agencies engage as co-equals with the government and industry sectors in order to implement public health initiatives such as host responsibility and public education. In the ,non- association model' the health sector engages with government agencies but not with the industry sector. In the ,managed association model' the health sector engages for specific purposes with the industry sector but contact is monitored and managed by government agencies. Findings Government and industry sectors commonly favour tripartite partnership arrangements. Health sector agencies that opt to engage in these partnership arrangements can encounter conflicts of interest and find their voice subsumed by dominant influences. Furthermore, their partnership compliance generates divisions within the health sector, with partnership dissenters often silenced and excluded from policy processes and funding. The non-association model is the least hazardous to the health sector because it protects against compromise and dominance. The managed association model is an option only when the government sector as a whole is committed strongly and clearly to the public health objectives. Conclusion In contexts where key parts of the government sector are conflicted over their public health responsibilities, health sector engagement in partnership arrangements entails too many risks. [source]


    The European Male Ageing Study (EMAS): design, methods and recruitment

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 1 2009
    David M. Lee
    Summary Life expectancy is increasing in most developed countries, in part due to improved socioeconomic conditions and in part to advances in healthcare. It is widely acknowledged that the promotion of healthy ageing by delaying, minimizing or preventing disabilities or diseases is one of the most important public health objectives in this century. In contrast to the menopausal transition in females, we know relatively little about the contribution of androgens and anabolic hormones to the quality of ageing in men. The European Male Ageing Study (EMAS) is a multicentre prospective cohort designed to examine the prevalence, incidence and geographical distribution of gender-specific and general symptoms of ageing in men, including their endocrine, genetic and psychosocial predictors. Men aged 40,79 years were recruited from eight European centres: Florence (Italy), Leuven (Belgium), Lodz (Poland), Malmö (Sweden), Manchester (UK), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Szeged (Hungary) and Tartu (Estonia). Subjects were recruited from population registers and those who agreed to take part completed a detailed questionnaire including aspects of personal and medical history, lifestyle factors and sexual function. Objective measures of body size, cognition, vision, skeletal health and neuromuscular function were obtained. Blood and DNA specimens were collected for a range of biochemical and genetic analyses. After an average of 4 years, it is planned to resurvey the participants with similar assessments. A total of 3369 men with a mean age of 60 ± 11 years were recruited. The mean centre response rate was 43%, and highest in those aged 50,59 years. Those who participated were marginally younger than those who were invited but declined to participate (60.0 vs. 61.1 years). Participants left education slightly later than a sample of non-participants, though there were no consistent differences in levels of general health, physical activity, or smoking. EMAS will provide new population-based data concerning the main features that characterize ageing in men and its critical determinants, particularly with reference to age-related changes in hormone levels. Such information is an important prerequisite to develop effective strategies to reduce age-related disabilities and optimise health and well-being into old-age. [source]


    Religion and Reproductive Genetics: Beyond Views of Embryonic Life?

    JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 4 2007
    JOHN H. EVANS
    Advances in new reproductive genetic technologies have spawned a very polarized public and political debate. As with the abortion debate, most formal opposition to these technologies comes from religious organizations that are concerned about embryonic and fetal life. In this article we conduct an analysis of the first nationally representative opinion survey on religion and reproductive genetics. We find, as in the abortion debate, that evangelicals, fundamentalists, and traditionalist Catholics are more opposed than more liberal religious groups. When we compare respondents with the same views on embryonic life, we find that differences remain in the level of approval for genetic technologies, suggesting that there is more to this debate than concern about embryos. We also find that religious conservatives are more distinct from the religious nonattenders in their views of health objectives of reproductive genetic technologies and less distinct in their views of improvement objectives. [source]


    The big picture: Obesity, consumption, and food production

    AGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2006
    Robert C. Johansson
    Reducing the percentage of Americans who are either overweight or obese to meet public health objectives may influence agricultural production. The authors' results show that reducing aggregate consumption by 6% to meet public health objectives with no increase in overall physical activity could reduce production of agricultural commodities and reduce net returns to producers by $3.5 billion. However, if consumption is reduced by 2% concomitantly with a marginal increase in physical activity, similar health outcomes could be achieved at much less cost ($1.3 billion). Conversely, continuing obesity trends may enhance returns to agricultural production by $1.3 billion annually. Changes in agricultural activities would likely be variable across the landscape. Results indicate that the largest potential changes in agricultural producer net returns (positive or negative) would occur in the Corn Belt and the Lake States. There, crop acreage could fall by as much as 650,000 hectares. [EconLit citations: Q130, Q180] © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 22: 491,503, 2006. [source]


    Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance , United States, 2001

    JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 8 2002
    Jo Anne Grunbaum
    ABSTRACT: Priority health-risk behaviors, which contribute to the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among youth and adults, often are established during youth, extend into adulthood, are interrelated, and are preventable. This report covers data during February-December 2001. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors six categories of priority healthrisk behaviors among youth and young adults; these behaviors contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity. The YRBSS includes a national school-based survey conducted by CDC as well as state, territorial, and local school-based surveys conducted by education and health agencies. This report summarizes results from the national survey, 34 state surveys, and 18 local surveys conducted among students in grades 9,12 during February-December 2001. In the United States, approximately three-fourths of all deaths among persons aged 10,24 years result from only four causes: motor-vehicle crashes, other unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide. Results from the 2001 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey demonstrated that numerous high school students engage in behaviors that increase their likelihood of death from these four causes: 14.1% had rarely or never worn a seat belt during the 30 days preceding the survey; 30.7% had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol; 17.4% had carried a weapon during the 30 days preceding the survey; 47.1% had drunk alcohol during the 30 days preceding the survey; 23.9% had used marijuana during the 30 days preceding the survey; and 8.8% had attempted suicide during the 12 months preceding the survey. Substantial morbidity and social problems among young persons also result from unintended pregnancies and STDs, including HIV infection. In 2001, 45.6% of high school students had ever had sexual intercourse; 42.1% of sexually active students had not used a condom at last sexual intercourse; and 23% had ever injected an illegal drug. Two-thirds of all deaths among persons aged ,25 years result from only two causes: cardiovascular disease and cancer. The majority of risk behaviors associated with these two causes of death are initiated during adolescence. In 2001, 28.5% of high school students had smoked cigarettes during the 30 days preceding the survey; 78.6% had not eaten ,5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables during the 7 days preceding the survey; 105% were overweight; and 67.8% did not attend physical education class daily. Health and education officials at national, state, and local levels are using these YRBSS data to analyze and improve policies and programs to reduce priority health-risk behaviors among youth. The YRBSS data also are being used to measure progress toward achieving 16 national health objectives for 2010 and 3 of the 10 leading health indicators. [source]


    Aspects of tooth decay in recently arrived refugees

    AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 6 2000
    Dell Kingsford Smith
    Objective:To measure and compare the prevalence and distribution of tooth decay among two refugee groups recently arrived in Australia. Method:The study included refugees aged 15,44 years from Iraq and the former Yugoslavia and random, age-matched social security recipients attending for emergency dental care in 1996. Results:In younger persons, former Yugoslavian refugees had significantly greater decay experience than Iraqis and emergency care recipients. Refugees had significantly more untreated decay than emergency care recipients and a similar distribution of untreated decayed teeth, with only 15% having none and more than 10% having high decay levels. More than 33% of emergency care recipients had no untreated decay and less than 5% had high levels. Conclusion:Significant differences were found between refugees and emergency dental care recipients, with refugees having a higher prevalence and more uniform distribution of untreated decay. Implications:Consistent with public health objectives, the finding that refugees had significantly more untreated decay than other disadvantaged Australians provides support for improved access to dental care during the settlement period. [source]