State-Level Changes in Firearm Laws and Workplace Homicide Rates: United States, 2011 to 2017

Objectives. To test whether year-over-year strengthening of state-level firearm laws is associated with decreases in workplace homicide rates. Methods. In this time-series ecological study of working people in all 50 US states, we used federal data on workplace homicides by state and year from 2011 to 2017, linked to an index of state–year firearm laws, to characterize the regulatory environment (overall and within legislative categories). We used generalized linear regression to model associations between changes in firearm laws and changes in workplace homicide rates the following year. Results. From 2011 to 2017, more than 3000 people died as a result of workplace homicides; over that period, 23 states strengthened firearm regulations and 23 weakened them. We modeled the impact of states strengthening laws within the interquartile range (IQR; equivalent to adding 20.5 firearm laws). This change was associated with a 3.7% reduction in the workplace homicide rate (95% confidence interval [CI] = −3.86, −3.51). Positive IQR changes in specific categories of firearm laws—concealed carry permitting (−5.79%; 95% CI = −6.09, −3.51), domestic violence–related restrictions (−5.31%; 95% CI = −5.57, −5.05), and background checks (−5.07%; 95% CI = −5.32, −4.82)—were also associated with significant reductions. Conclusions. Strengthening state-level firearm laws may reduce the population-level mortality and morbidity burden posed by workplace homicides.

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Smoking Prevalence and COVID-19 in Europe

Nicotine & Tobacco Research ◽

10.1093/ntr/ntaa121 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (9) ◽

pp. 1646-1649 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Panagiotis Tsigaris ◽

Jaime A Teixeira da Silva

Keyword(s):

Economic Activity ◽

Ecological Study ◽

Smoking Prevalence ◽

Strong Association ◽

Positive Association ◽

Population Level ◽

Negative Association ◽

Confounding Factors ◽

Policy Enactment ◽

The Impact

Abstract Introduction This ecological study investigates the association between smoking prevalence and COVID-19 occurrence and mortality in 38 European nations as of May 30, 2020. Methods Data were collected from Our World in Data. Regression analysis was conducted to adjust for potential confounding factors such as economic activity (gross domestic product), the rate of COVID-19 testing, and the stringency of COVID-19 control policies. Results There was a statistically significant negative association between smoking prevalence and the prevalence of COVID-19 across the 38 European nations after controlling for confounding factors (p = 0.001). A strong association was found between the prevalence of COVID-19 per million people and economic activity (p = 0.002) and the rate of COVID-19 testing (p = 0.0006). Nations with stricter policy enactment showed fewer COVID-19 cases per million people, but the association was not significant (p = 0.122). Delaying policy enactment was associated with a greater prevalence of COVID-19 (p = 0.0535). Evidence of a direct association between smoking prevalence and COVID-19 mortality was not found (p = 0.626). There was a strong positive association between COVID-19 mortality rate and the prevalence of COVID-19 cases (p < 0.0001) as well as the proportion of the population over 65 years of age (p = 0.0034) and a negative association with the rate of COVID-19 testing (p = 0.0023). Conclusions We found a negative association between smoking prevalence and COVID-19 occurrence at the population level in 38 European countries. This association may not imply a true or causal relationship, and smoking is not advocated as a prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Implications Given the evidence of this ecological study, and of several other studies that found an underrepresentation of smoking prevalence in hospitalized cases, it may be worth examining, in laboratory experiments and controlled human trials, if nicotine offers any protection against COVID-19. Most importantly, to date, no study, including this one, supports the view that smoking acts as a treatment intervention or prophylaxis to reduce the impact or ameliorate the negative health impacts of COVID-19.

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The Impact of State Firearm Laws on Homicide Rates among Black and White Populations in the United States, 1991–2016

Health & Social Work ◽

10.1093/hsw/hlz024 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 232-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anita Knopov ◽

Michael Siegel ◽

Ziming Xuan ◽

Emily F Rothman ◽

Shea W Cronin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fixed Effects ◽

Black People ◽

State Level ◽

The United States ◽

Homicide Rates ◽

Black And White ◽

Author Identification ◽

Background Check ◽

Black Populations ◽

The Impact

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the potential differential effects of state-level firearm laws on black and white populations. Using a panel design, authors examined the relationship between state firearm laws and homicide victimization rates among white people and black people in 39 states during the period between 1991 and 2016. Authors modeled homicide rates using linear regression with year and state fixed effects and controlled for a range of time-varying, state-level factors. Results showed that universal background check laws and permit requirement laws were associated with lower homicide rates among both white and black populations, and “shall issue” laws were associated with higher homicide rates among both white and black populations. Laws that prohibit firearm possession among people convicted of a violent misdemeanor or require relinquishment of firearms by people with a domestic violence restraining order were associated with lower black homicide rates, but not with white homicide rates. Author identification of heterogeneity in the associations between state firearm laws and homicide rates among different racial groups has implications for reducing racial health disparities.

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Cultural values predict national COVID-19 death rates

SN Social Sciences ◽

10.1007/s43545-021-00080-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Damian J. Ruck ◽

Joshua Borycz ◽

R. Alexander Bentley

Keyword(s):

Cultural Values ◽

Cultural Context ◽

State Level ◽

Population Level ◽

World Values Survey ◽

Death Rates ◽

Trust In Institutions ◽

National Response ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact

AbstractNational responses to a pandemic require populations to comply through personal behaviors that occur in a cultural context. Here we show that aggregated cultural values of nations, derived from World Values Survey data, have been at least as important as top-down government actions in predicting the impact of COVID-19. At the population level, the cultural factor of cosmopolitanism, together with obesity, predict higher numbers of deaths in the first two months of COVID-19 on the scale of nations. At the state level, the complementary variables of government efficiency and public trust in institutions predict lower death numbers. The difference in effect between individual beliefs and behaviors, versus state-level actions, suggests that open cosmopolitan societies may face greater challenges in limiting a future pandemic or other event requiring a coordinated national response among the population. More generally, mass cultural values should be considered in crisis preparations.

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Spending on social and public health services and its association with homicide in the USA: an ecological study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016379 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (10) ◽

pp. e016379 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Heather L Sipsma ◽

Maureen E Canavan ◽

Erika Rogan ◽

Lauren A Taylor ◽

Kristina M Talbert-Slagle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Services ◽

Ecological Study ◽

State Level ◽

Primary Outcome Measure ◽

Public Health Services ◽

Homicide Rates ◽

Available N ◽

The Us ◽

The Usa

ObjectiveTo examine whether state-level spending on social and public health services is associated with lower rates of homicide in the USA.DesignEcological study.SettingUSA.ParticipantsAll states in the USA and the District of Columbia for which data were available (n=42).Primary outcome measureHomicide rates for each state were abstracted from the US Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting.ResultsAfter adjusting for potential confounding variables, we found that every $10 000 increase in spending per person living in poverty was associated with 0.87 fewer homicides per 100 000 population or approximately a 16% decrease in the average homicide rate (estimate=−0.87, SE=0.15, p<0.001). Furthermore, there was no significant effect in the quartile of states with the highest percentages of individuals living in poverty but significant effects in the quartiles of states with lower percentages of individuals living in poverty.ConclusionsBased on our findings, spending on social and public health services is associated with significantly lower homicide rates at the state level. Although we cannot infer causality from this research, such spending may provide promising avenues for homicide reduction in the USA, particularly among states with lower levels of poverty.

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Is COVID-19 Another Case of Obesity Paradox? - Results from An International Ecological Study on behalf of the REPROGRAM Consortium Obesity

Archives of Medical Science ◽

10.5114/aoms/136447 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sonu Bhaskar ◽

Sanja Jovanovic ◽

Anubhav Katyal ◽

Narayanan Namboodiri ◽

Dimitrios Chatzis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecological Study ◽

Operating Characteristic ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Characteristic Curve ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Obesity Paradox ◽

Morbidity Burden ◽

Specific Mortality ◽

Double Number ◽

The Impact

IntroductionObesity has emerged as one of the major risk factors of severe morbidity and cause-specific mortality among severe acute respiratory syndromes coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected individuals. Patients with obesity also have overlapping cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which make them increasingly vulnerable. This novel ecological study examines the impact of obesity and/or body mass index (BMI) on rates of population-adjusted cases and deaths due to coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19).Material and methodsPublicly available datasets were used to obtain relevant data on COVID-19, obesity and ecological variables. Group-wise comparisons and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to compute the area under the curve.ResultsWe demonstrate that male BMI is an independent predictor of cause-specific (COVID-19) mortality, and not of the caseload per million population. Countries with obesity rates of 20-30% had a significantly higher (approximately double) number of deaths per million population to both those in <20% and >30% slabs. We postulate that there may be a U-shaped paradoxical relationship between obesity and COVID-19 with cause-specific mortality burden more pronounced in the countries with 20-30% obesity rates. These findings are novel along with the methodological approach of doing ecological analyses on country-wide data from publicly available sources.ConclusionsWe anticipate, in light of our findings, that appropriate targeted public health approaches or campaigns could be developed to minimize risk and cause-specific morbidity burden due to COVID-19 in countries with nationwide obesity rates of 20-30%.

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301 Theatre Timing Audit (TTA): HPB and Transplant theatre timing during COVID

British Journal of Surgery ◽

10.1093/bjs/znab259.452 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 108 (Supplement_6) ◽

Author(s):

Marios Ghobrial ◽

Jos Crush ◽

Igor Chipurovski ◽

Fanourios Georgiades

Keyword(s):

World Health Organisation ◽

World Health ◽

P Value ◽

Anaesthetic Induction ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Morbidity Burden ◽

Period 2 ◽

The World ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

Abstract Introduction Severe-Acute-Respiratory-Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 is a novel, highly infectious virus that has spread throughout the world causing respiratory disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation in March 2020. The UK has been severely affected with around 70000 deaths recorded by December 2020. Surgical practice during this pandemic has changed, as peri-operative infections carry significant mortality and morbidity burden. Method Theatre timing from a large volume hospital specifically for HPB-Transplant dedicated theatres were assessed to evaluate the impact of the national/local COVID-19 protocols on service delivery. “Pre-COVID period” was defined by auditing times from ward-to-theatre, anaesthetic induction-to-start of procedure and end of procedure-to-transfer out of theatre for 2 consecutive weeks in October/November 2019. “COVID period-1” and “COVID period-2” were defined as two consecutive weeks during the UK government-imposed lockdown in April and November 2020, respectively. Results Under the care of the HPB-Transplant team pre-COVID 56 individuals were treated in 30 sessions. Only 16 patients (28.6% of capacity) in 12 sessions were treated in COVID period-1 and 48 patients were treated (85.7% of capacity) in 30 sessions in COVID period-2. Similar times were observed in transferring patients to theatre (p-value=0.265) and induction of anaesthesia (p-value=0.698) across the 3 periods. Significant delays were observed in transferring patients out of theatre during COVID period-1, that returned to near normal timing during COVID period-2 (16.6±12.8 Vs 39.4±10.9 Vs 17.6±10.5 min; p-value = <0.00001). Conclusions Despite returning to near normal theatre timings in COVID period-2, we treat fewer patients, adversely affecting waiting lists.

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Assessing the impact of TRAP laws on abortion and women’s health in the USA: a systematic review

BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health ◽

10.1136/bmjsrh-2017-101866 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 128-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Nichole Austin ◽

Sam Harper

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

State Level ◽

Population Level ◽

Future Research ◽

Individual Level ◽

Perceived Burden ◽

The Usa ◽

The Impact

IntroductionTargeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws impose extensive and sometimes costly requirements on abortion providers and facilities, potentially leading to barriers to care. Understanding the impact of these laws is important given their prevalence in the USA, but no review to date has summarised the available evidence. We conducted a systematic review of literature on TRAP laws and their impact on abortion trends and women’s health.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, PubMed and EconLit for original, quantitative studies where the exposure was at least one TRAP policy and the outcome was abortion and/or any women’s physical or mental health outcome.ResultsSix articles met our inclusion criteria. The most common outcome was population-level abortion trends; studies also assessed the effect of TRAP laws on gestational age at presentation and measures of self-perceived burden. While certain TRAP laws (eg, admitting privilege requirements) appeared to have an effect on abortion outcomes, the impact of other laws – or combinations of laws – was unclear, due in part to heterogeneity between studies with respect to study design, geography, and exposure definition.ConclusionsTRAP laws may have an impact on the experience of obtaining an abortion in the USA. However, our review revealed a paucity of empirical research on their population and individual-level impact, as well as some disagreement about the effect of different TRAP laws on subsequent abortion outcomes. Future research should prioritise the specific TRAP laws that may have a uniquely strong effect on state-level abortion rates and other outcomes.

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Effective Community-Based Interventions for the Prevention and Management of Heat-Related Illnesses: A Scoping Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18168362 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (16) ◽

pp. 8362

Author(s):

Fariha Hasan ◽

Shayan Marsia ◽

Kajal Patel ◽

Priyanka Agrawal ◽

Junaid Abdul Razzak

Keyword(s):

Scoping Review ◽

Population Level ◽

Early Warning Systems ◽

Action Plans ◽

Community Based Interventions ◽

Public Health Response ◽

Community Based ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

The Impact ◽

Related Mortality

Background: Extreme temperatures have negative consequences on the environment, ecosystem, and human health. With recent increases in global temperatures, there has been a rise in the burden of heat-related illnesses, with a disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income countries. Effective population-level interventions are critical to a successful public health response. Objective: This scoping review aims to summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of population-level heat-related interventions and serve as a potential guide to the implementation of these interventions. Methods: Studies that evaluated the effectiveness of community-based interventions to mitigate or reduce the impact of extreme heat on heat-related mortality and morbidity were sought by searching four electronic databases. Studies published in the English language and those that had quantifiable, measurable mortality, morbidity or knowledge score outcomes were included. Results: The initial electronic search yielded 2324 articles, and 17 studies were included. Fourteen studies were based in high-income countries (HICs) (Europe, US, Canada) and discussed multiple versions of (1) heat action plans, which included but were not limited to establishing a heat monitoring system, informative campaigns, the mobilization of health care professionals, volunteers, social workers and trained caregivers in the surveillance and management of individuals with known vulnerabilities, or stand-alone (2) education and awareness campaigns. Multi-pronged heat action plans were highly effective in reducing heat-related mortality and morbidity, especially among vulnerable populations such as the elderly and those with chronic conditions. Conclusions: The heat action plans covered in these studies have shown promising results in reducing heat-related mortality and morbidity and have included instituting early warning systems, building local capacity to identify, prevent or treat and manage heat-related illnesses, and disseminating information. Nevertheless, they need to be cost-effective, easy to maintain, ideally should not rely on a mass effort from people and should be specifically structured to meet the local needs and resources of the community.

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To Study the impact of Gabbar Singh tax or Goods & services tax for Restaurant and Food Services Business in India

Restaurant Business ◽

10.26643/rb.v118i12.13070 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 118 (12) ◽

pp. 32-48

Author(s):

Mr. Arun Gautam ◽

Dr. Saurabh Sharma ◽

CA Narendra Kumar Bansal

Keyword(s):

State Level ◽

The State ◽

Assessment Framework ◽

Food Services ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Single Tax ◽

The Impact

GST that is Goods and Services Tax has been in compel since first July, 2017 and which is, in constrain on numerous countries globally and they all were thinking about it as their business assessment framework. The principle reason for GST is to realize single tax on products at both centre and the state level in the nation.

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Use of Nutrition Information and Understanding of “Percent Daily Value” on Nutrition Facts Tables: Evaluating the Impact of a National Public Education Campaign among Youth and Young Adults in Canada

Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research ◽

10.3148/cjdpr-2019-010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 80 (4) ◽

pp. 200-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Brittany Cormier ◽

Lana Vanderlee ◽

David Hammond

Keyword(s):

Population Level ◽

Correct Recall ◽

Nutrition Information ◽

Education Campaign ◽

Knowledge Based ◽

Public Education Campaign ◽

Youth And Young Adults ◽

Campaign Message ◽

Health Canada ◽

The Impact

Purpose: In 2010, Health Canada implemented a national campaign to improve understanding of “percent daily value” (%DV) in Nutrition Facts Tables (NFTs). This study examined sources of nutrition information and knowledge of %DV information communicated in the campaign. Methods: Respondents aged 16–30 years completed the Canada Food Study in 2016 (n = 2665). Measures included sources of nutrition information, NFT use, and %DV knowledge based on the campaign message (“5% DV or less is a little; 15% DV or more is a lot”). A logistic regression examined correlates of providing “correct” responses to %DV questions related to the campaign messaging. Results: Overall, 7.2% (n = 191) respondents correctly indicated that 5% is “a little”, and 4.3% (n = 115) correctly indicated 15% DV was “a lot”. Only 4.0% (n = 107) correctly answered both. Correct recall of %DV amounts was not associated with number of information sources reported, but was greater among those who were female, were younger, and reported greater NFT understanding and serving size information use (P < 0.05 for all). Conclusions: Results show low awareness of messaging from the Nutrition Facts Education Campaign among young Canadians. Such a mass media campaign may be insufficient on its own to enhance population-level understanding of %DV.

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