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Public Health Programs (public + health_program)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	80%

Selected Abstracts

Promoting mental health following the London bombings: A screen and treat approach

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 1 2008
Chris R. Brewin
Following the 2005 London bombings, a novel public health program was instituted to address the mental health needs of survivors. In this article, the authors describe the rationale for the program, characteristics of individuals assessed within the program, and preliminary outcome data. In addition to validated screening instruments and routine service usage data, standardized questionnaire outcome measures were collected. Seventy-one percent of individuals screened positive for a mental disorder. Of those receiving a more detailed clinical assessment, PTSD was the predominant diagnosis. Preliminary outcome data on 82 patients revealed large effect sizes for treatment comparable to those previously obtained in randomized controlled trials. The program succeeded in its aim of generating many more referrals of affected individuals than came through normal referral channels. [source]

Epidemiology of cancer in adolescents,

PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER, Issue 3 2002
Charles Stiller MA
Abstract In western populations, the annual incidence rate of cancer among adolescents aged 15,19 years is around 150,200 per million, intermediate between the rates for older children and young adults. The most frequent diagnostic groups are acute leukemia, lymphomas, central nervous system tumors, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, germ cell tumors, thyroid carcinoma, and malignant melanoma. While the causes of most cancers in teenagers are still unknown, health education and promotion and public health programs offer some scope for prevention among people of this age group. Reduction in sun exposure should lead to a reduction in incidence of melanoma, and elimination of hepatitis B in regions where it is endemic should result in a decrease in hepatic carcinoma. Five-year survival of patients diagnosed around 1990 exceeded 70% in the USA and UK. Entry to clinical trials appears to be much less frequent for adolescents with cancer than for children. There is some evidence that higher survival is associated with entry to trials or centralized treatment for certain cancers in this age group. Med Pediatr Oncol 2002;39:149,155. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Is lack of retail competition in the grocery sector a public health issue?

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 5 2009
Jon Wardle
Abstract Objectives: The economic implications of a lack of competition in the grocery retail sector are hotly contested. However, there are also significant health implications of such anti-competitive practices that seldom receive attention. This paper hopes to draw attention to the potential public health issues that arise as a result of lack of competition in the grocery retail sector. Method: Relevant supporting literature was reviewed to explore the possible effects of market concentration on various health outcomes. Results: High retailer concentration may adversely affect affordability, accessibility, quality, and choice of healthy food options to consumers. In turn this has significant implications for public health. Implications: Unless these upstream factors are addressed through the development of healthy competition, policy public health programs aimed purely at encouraging the public to consume higher quantities of healthful foods may be rendered ineffective. [source]

Parsimonious prediction model for the prevalence of dental visits

COMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 5 2008
Hazem Seirawan
Abstract,,, Objectives:, To analyze the prevalence of dental visits within the last year in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System or BRFSS (2003) national database by simple sociodemographic factors, and to predict prevalence in States that have not participated in BRFSS 2003. Methods:, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted by the state-level authorities in the United States and based on a standardized questionnaire to determine the distribution of risk behaviors and health practices among noninstitutionalized adults. A multivariable logistic regression model considers the complex sample design of the BRFSS was used to predict the prevalence of dental visits based on four nonclinic parsimonious variables. Results:, White race, high income (,$35 000), education above high school, and marital status were associated with an annual dental visit with odds ratios of 1.38, 2.09, 1.61, and 1.18, respectively. Utah had the highest percentage (78%) of estimated annual users, while ,Virgin Islands' had the lowest percentage (59%). The model's correct classification rate was 61.5%. Conclusions:, State and local governments, health promotion organizations, insurance companies, and organizations that administer public health programs (such as Medicare and Medicaid in the U.S.) will benefit by applying this model to the available nonclinical databases, and will be able to improve planning of dental health services and required dental workforce. [source]

Concepts of risk in dental public health

COMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 4 2005
Brian A. Burt
Abstract , The purpose of this paper is to review the concepts of risk as we use them today in dental public health practice, and to suggest that we should broaden our view of risk. Use of terms like risk factor in the literature can be quite vague, and it is recommended that a clear definition of that and related terms be adhered to. A broader view of risk in dental research would take in the concepts of social determinants of health and population health. While some progress has been made in our understanding of these issues, better knowledge would give the public health administrator more readily available information to use in program planning. The skewed distribution of caries in the high-income countries has led to the emergence of targeted prevention programs toward those considered to be at high risk. In public health programs, targeting at the individual level is not practical: the risk assessment methods are not yet sufficiently precise, and even when individuals are identified there are practical problems with schools and with the children themselves. (For private practice, however, high-risk child patients can be identified as those with at least one approximal lesion in permanent teeth.) For public health purposes, an argument is made for geographic targeting, i.e. identification of areas of social deprivation where whole schools or school districts can be targeted. Geographic targeting is something between individual targeting and whole-population approaches. Ideally, geographic targeting would supplement population measures like water fluoridation and dental health education. Examples of geographic targeting from Ohio and New York are presented as illustrations. [source]