scholarly journals Homeopathy Use in the United States and Implications for Public Health: A Review

Homeopathy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (01) ◽  
pp. 003-009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Dossett ◽  
Gloria Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Musculoskeletal Complaints ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Public Health Benefit ◽  
States Data ◽  
Upper Respiratory

AbstractHomeopathy is used by just over 2% of the U.S. population, predominantly for respiratory, otorhinolaryngology, and musculoskeletal complaints. Individual users who see a homeopathic provider for care are more likely to perceive the therapy as helpful than those who do not; however, only 19% of users in the United States see a provider. The rest presumably rely upon over-the-counter products. Recent clinical trials highlight several areas in which homeopathy may play a role in improving public health, including infectious diseases, pain management, mental health, and cancer care. This review examines recent studies in these fields, studies assessing costs associated with homeopathic care, safety, and regulations in the United States. Data suggest the potential for public health benefit from homeopathy, especially for conditions such as upper respiratory infections and fibromyalgia.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2120
Author(s):  
Kent J. Koster ◽  
Hilary L. Webb ◽  
Jeffrey D. Cirillo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Miliary Tuberculosis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection ◽  
Skin Test Reactivity ◽  
Bcg Vaccination ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
The Impact

Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination, widely used throughout the world to protect against infant tuberculous meningitis and miliary tuberculosis (TB), can provide broad non-specific protection against infectious respiratory diseases in certain groups. Interest in BCG has seen a resurgence within the scientific community as the mechanisms for non-specific protection have begun to be elucidated. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nearly every aspect of society has profoundly illustrated the pressure that respiratory infections can place on a national healthcare system, further renewing interest in BCG vaccination as a public health policy to reduce the burden of those illnesses. However, the United States does not recommend BCG vaccination due to its variable effectiveness against adult TB, the relatively low risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in most of the United States, and the vaccine’s interference with tuberculin skin test reactivity that complicates TB screening. In this review, we explore the broad immune training effects of BCG vaccination and literature on the effects of BCG vaccination on COVID-19 spread, disease severity, and mortality. We further discuss barriers to scheduled BCG vaccination in the United States and how those barriers could potentially be overcome.

scholarly journals Public health benefit of over-the-counter nicotine medications

1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Shiffman ◽  
J. Gitchell ◽  
J. M. Pinney ◽  
S. L. Burton ◽  
K. E. Kemper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Public Health Benefit

Can increases in Twitter posts predict increases in cumulative incidence of COVID-19 in the United States? Evidence that social media can inform epidemic surveillance. (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruoyan Sun ◽  
Henna Budhwani
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Cumulative Incidence ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Education Attainment ◽  
Public Health Systems ◽  
Per Capita

BACKGROUND Though public health systems are responding rapidly to the COVID-19 pandemic, outcomes from publicly available, crowd-sourced big data may assist in helping to identify hot spots, prioritize equipment allocation and staffing, while also informing health policy related to “shelter in place” and social distancing recommendations. OBJECTIVE To assess if the rising state-level prevalence of COVID-19 related posts on Twitter (tweets) is predictive of state-level cumulative COVID-19 incidence after controlling for socio-economic characteristics. METHODS We identified extracted COVID-19 related tweets from January 21st to March 7th (2020) across all 50 states (N = 7,427,057). Tweets were combined with state-level characteristics and confirmed COVID-19 cases to determine the association between public commentary and cumulative incidence. RESULTS The cumulative incidence of COVID-19 cases varied significantly across states. Ratio of tweet increase (p=0.03), number of physicians per 1,000 population (p=0.01), education attainment (p=0.006), income per capita (p = 0.002), and percentage of adult population (p=0.003) were positively associated with cumulative incidence. Ratio of tweet increase was significantly associated with the logarithmic of cumulative incidence (p=0.06) with a coefficient of 0.26. CONCLUSIONS An increase in the prevalence of state-level tweets was predictive of an increase in COVID-19 diagnoses, providing evidence that Twitter can be a valuable surveillance tool for public health.

scholarly journals Baby Box Distributions: Public Health Benefit or Concern?

2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-331
Author(s):  
Wendy Middlemiss ◽  
Naomi C. Brownstein ◽  
Miranda Leddy ◽  
Scott Nelson ◽  
Srikant Manchiraju ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Public Health Benefit
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