Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television, 2001 to 2007

Analyzes the exposure of twelve-to-twenty-year-olds to television alcohol ads, by types of programming, network, and product; brands' compliance with voluntary codes; proportion of underage viewers; and proportion compared with "responsibility" ads

Call to action to promote healthy homes

This Call to Action was prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Environmental Health under the direction of the Office of the Surgeon General.The Call to Action describes the steps people can take now to protect themselves from disease, disability and injury that may result from health hazards in their houses. These steps have been scientifically proven to reduce health problems that cause or contribute to disease and injuries. And, improving literacy about healthy homes and teaching people about the steps they can take to change unhealthy and unsafe behaviors at home will lead to better health for all Americans. This Call to Action also outlines the next steps of a society-wide, comprehensive and coordinated approach to healthy homes that will result in the greatest possible public health impact and reduce disparities in the availability of healthy, safe, affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly homes.Suggested citation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General\u2019s Call to Action To Promote Healthy Homes. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2009.Message from the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- Foreword from the Acting Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- Section 1. The Need for healthy homes -- Section 2. The Connection between health and homes -- Section 3. Promoting healthy homes through prevention -- Section 4. Homes and health research -- -- Section 5. Ensuring healthy homes: taking action for the future -- Goal 1: Ensuring Healthy, Safe, Affordable, and Accessible Homes -- Goal 2: Increase Public Awareness and Promote Health Literacy -- Goal 3: Conduct Healthy Homes Research -- Goal 4: Translate Research into Practice and Policy -- -- Section 6. Conclusions -- References -- Acknowledgments -- Glossary.2009Prevention and Control707

The Role of Alaska's Nurse Practitioners in Preventing Early Childhood Caries

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is the most common chronic disease of childhood despite being preventable. Because of its high prevalence, its impact on the quality of life of young children, and its potential for increasing their risk of caries in the permanent dentition, ECC is arguably one of the most serious and costly health conditions among young children. Poor access to dental services by rural Alaskans and poor dental care in general are considered the main contributing factors to the continued rise in ECC in Alaska. Primary care providers (PCPs), such as nurse practitioners (NPs), are in unique positions to complement the work of dental professionals because PCPs often provide care before a child’s first dental visit. This project assessed the practice habits and perceived competence of Alaska’s NPs with regards to performing pediatric oral health-related tasks as well as knowledge of current tools. Data was collected from NPs in Alaska by survey. This data was analyzed to find specific areas of educational-need and to model an information kit for NPs in the State of Alaska to improve their primary pediatric practice. The results indicated that NPs in the State of Alaska believe oral heath assessments and preventative education should be included in pediatric well-child care but their frequency of actual performance and perceived confidence was low. Recommendations to improve frequency of oral health-related tasks during visits with pediatric populations focus on increasing education in these areas for Alaska’s NPs

Need for Human Services in Illinois

This report aims to support the Illinois Human Services Commission in its effort to fulfill its charge to "undertake a systematic review of human services programs with the goal of ensuring their consistent delivery in the State of Illinois" and to "make recommendations for achieving a system that will provide for the efficient and effective delivery of high quality human service" by outlining basic population and demographic trends that impact human services and by diving deeper into seven human services categories to identify who is in need of services and how current realities and trends may impact the level and type of need going forward. The seven categories of human services were chosen based on their diversity, vulnerability in the state budget, and their potential to be impacted by emerging and likely trends. **More than simply a compendium of data on need, this report demonstrates how relatively simple data can inform program and policy decisions, which are far too often made in information voids. With Illinois human services plagued by increasingly scarce resources, cutbacks in services, and program closures in the last few years, such data-driven decision making is more critical than ever. To that end, the report concludes with a detailed account of how all need estimates in the report were developed and practical recommendations for how the state can incorporate this type of analysis into regular planning

A Background of the Opioid Epidemic and Its Relationship to the Medicaid Expansion

Despite the recent increase in public awareness of the opioid epidemic, the background of this epidemic is still disappointingly unknown to the public. The opioid epidemic is a national crisis which impacts, not only individuals’ wellbeing but the economy of the United States. The federal government sought to mitigate it through the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Medicaid expansion, which was built into this law, sparked controversy; controversy which has yet to be solved to this day. Going forward, the knowledge we gather from examining the connection between this epidemic and the Medicaid expansion will be indispensable, for it is from studying prior successes and failures that we learn to improve

Mental health service needs of a Latino population: A community-based participatory research project

Community-based participatory research bridges the gap between academic researchers and the real-life issues of communities and offers promise for addressing racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care. The purpose of this community-based participatory research was to identify factors that affect access, use, and perception of mental health services by a Latino population at individual, organizational, and community levels. Individual level factors included health beliefs about mental illness and care, suspicions of providers, financial concerns, and culturally determined gender roles. Organizational factors included problems with access to care related to cost, lack of bilingual providers, and culturally competent care; and community level factors included distance between resources and the need for services to be provided in community sites. Immigration status and acculturation were identified as factors at all levels

Trends in the Health of Young Children in California

Analyzes trends in key health indicators for California's 0- to 5-year-olds -- including health insurance status and type, source of care, and percentage of overweight children -- by family income and race/ethnicity. Makes recommendations

Best Predictive Factor for Knowledge of How to Appropriately Respond to Suicidal Individuals

Suicide is a major health crisis affecting all parts of the world. Although extensive research has been conducted on suicide and numerous suicide prevention programs are in place, there still exists a gap in our knowledge as to how to encourage the public to reach out to individuals who may be suicidal. The aim of the current study is to examine methods of responding when confronted by an individual with suicidal tendencies. Participants completed four scales measuring their knowledge of suicide, personality characteristics, level of suicide stigma, and knowledge of how best to respond to an individual with suicidal tendencies. Data was analyzed by way of a regression analysis. Results suggest knowledge of suicide and suicide stigma are predictive of knowledge of how to appropriately respond to someone with suicidal tendencies; however, the personality characteristics included in this study were not found to add to the regression model. Limitations and future directions are discussed

A Comparison of Parent and Child Mental Health Outcomes, Parenting Skills and Family Functioning of Adult Treatment Court and Family Treatment Court Participants

Background: Parental substance use puts children at risk for poor outcomes. Estimates indicate that 66% of substantiated cases of maltreatment are of parents with substance use disorders (SUD). Some parents with SUD have the opportunity to be treated through two accountability courts including Drug Courts (DC) and family treatment courts (FTC). Purpose: Little is known about the children of parents who participate in treatment through DC’s via the criminal justice system. This study examined differences in parents and their children who receive treatment through FTC’s and DC’s with the notion that DC’s could serve as an important treatment venue for improving child outcomes, which is a major focus of FTCs. Methods: The data used for these analyses are the baseline data of a quasi-experimental study involving two DC’s and two FTC’s across Georgia. The intervention included the implementation of evidence-based parenting and trauma services at one drug court and at one family treatment court, while the other courts served as controls. At each court, participants, one other caregiver, and one child were invited to participate in the project by completing an annual assessment. This included computerized surveys and a videotaped play and talking activity with each adult with the child. Measures included demographics, parenting behaviors, mental health measures, social support, and child mental health measures. All data used in the analyses were collected at baseline and thus prior to intervention. Participants were 80 DC triads and 25 FTC triads (DCP, another caregiver, and child). Results: Compared to DC, FTC clients were more likely to be female (p = p = p =.014). They also had younger children (p = .05) and were more likely to have custody of those children (p =.0015). Parents in FTCs compared to those in DC reported greater social support (p =.05) and better family functioning (p =.03). Parents in DCs reported poorer parental involvement and poorer monitoring of children than FTCs, but no differences in positive parenting (p =.13), inconsistent discipline (p =.27), or child abuse potential (total risk \u3e 9, p =.42; total risk \u3e12, p =.37). Regarding mental health, DC clients reported a greater number of symptoms or poor mental health than FTC. No differences were found for education level (p =.96), parent-child communication skills (p =.38), post-traumatic stress symptom severity (p =.62), or child behavior problems. Conclusion: These data show some differences between FTC participants and DC participants that can affect child outcomes. FTC parents were more involved in their children’s lives and DC parents had greater mental health problems that could interfere with parenting. Interventions are needed, especially for DC client to strengthen the parent-child relationship and improve parenting outcomes

Neighborhood Parks and Playgrounds: Risky or Protective Contexts for Youth Substance Use?

Neighborhood parks and playgrounds are thought to reduce the stressors of disorganized urban environments by adding greenspace and fostering community cohesion, and, in doing so, may reduce crime and delinquency. Yet, they may also foster criminal behaviors, including substance use, as they can provide areas for would-be offenders to gather without surveillance or fear of being caught. This study provides one of the first examinations of the relationship between the number of parks and playgrounds in a neighborhood and adolescent substance use. To do so, we analyze data from 1,584 youth living in 76 neighborhoods in Chicago. Using multivariate, multilevel Rasch models that control for many other factors that may affect adolescent substance use, we find that youth living in areas with more parks and playgrounds have a greater odds of engaging in substance use compared with those living in areas with fewer parks and centers