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Pesticide exposure has been linked with immediate and delayed health effects. Anyone who lives in a farmworker household may be exposed to pesticides. Studies with farmworkers have found generally low levels of awareness of pesticide exposure and prevention. Less is known about the perceptions of nonfarmworkers living with farmworkers. This article presents the results of 41 in-depth interviews conducted with Latino women in farmworker households regarding their knowledge of pesticides and perceptions of risk to their children's health. Their perceptions and behavior differ from scientific understanding and policy recommendations for exposure management, resulting in behaviors that may increase children's risk of exposure and subsequent health problems. Because the level at which exposure becomes harmful remains a subject of scientific debate, the wisest course of action is to minimize exposure (the precautionary principle). Families living in farmworker households would benefit from health education programs that target their specific needs.

Involving students in community-based participatory research is a useful mechanism for engaging the community and helping it build future capacity. This article describes student involvement in a series of community-based environmental health research projects with migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina. High school, undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students have participated in various aspects of these projects, including planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting results. Students were required to invest time in learning about the farmworker population, as well as in learning to conduct community-based environmental health research. Drawing on these experiences, we offer observations regarding successful student integration in this type of research. Community-based projects benefit from student participation while encouraging the development of future community-oriented environmental health researchers.

ABSTRACT: Involving students in community-based participatory research is a useful mechanism for engaging the community and helping it build future capacity. This article describes student involvement in a series of [...]

Evidence that the private health sector is a key player in delivering health services and impacting health outcomes, including those related to HIV/AIDS, underscores the need to optimize the role of the private health sector to scale up national HIV responses in lower-income countries. This article reviews findings on the types of HIV/AIDS services provided by the private health sector in developing countries and elaborates on the role of private providers of HIV services in Ethiopia. Drawing on data from the nation's innovative Private Health Sector Project, a pilot project that has demonstrated the feasibility of public-private partnerships in this area, the article highlights the potential for national governments to scale up HIV/AIDS services by leveraging private health sector resources, innovations, and expertise while working to regulate quality and cost of services. Although concerns about uneven quality and affordability of private sector health services must be addressed through regulation, policy, or other innovative approaches, we argue that the benefits of leveraging the private sector outweigh these challenges, particularly in light of finite donor and public domestic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between youth exposure to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's national tobacco public education campaign, The Real Cost, and changes in smoking initiation.Methods: From November 2013 to November 2016, a longitudinal study of youth was conducted with a baseline and 4 post-campaign follow-up surveys. The sample consisted of nonsmoking youths from 75 U.S. media markets (n=5,103) who completed a baseline and at least 1 follow-up survey. Exposure was measured by media market-level target rating points and self-reported ad exposure frequency. Smoking initiation was examined among youths who had never smoked at baseline and defined as first trial of a cigarette. Discrete-time survival models using logistic regression and controlling for confounding influences were estimated. Analyses were conducted in 2018.Results: The odds of reporting smoking initiation at follow-up was lower among youths in media markets with higher levels of campaign advertisements than among those with less. Both between-wave and cumulative target rating points were associated with decreased risk of smoking initiation (AOR=0.69 [p<0.01] and AOR=0.89 [p<0.05], respectively); for every 3,500 between-wave target rating points on air, there was an associated 30% reduction in the hazard of smoking initiation among youths. Results from self-reported recall of the campaign advertisements found similar dose-response effects. The campaign is associated with an estimated 380,000-587,000 youths aged 11-19 years being prevented from initiating smoking nationwide.Conclusions: Sustained national tobacco public education campaigns like The Real Cost can change population-level smoking initiation among youths, preventing future generations from tobacco-related harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A previous study found that the Food and Drug Administration's The Real Cost national tobacco education campaign was associated with preventing approximately 350,000 U.S. youth from initiating smoking between 2014 and 2016. This study translates the reduction in smoking initiation into monetary terms by examining the cost effectiveness of the campaign.Methods: The cost effectiveness of The Real Cost was assessed by measuring efficiency in two ways: (1) estimating the cost per quality-adjusted life year saved and (2) estimating the total monetary return on investment by comparing the cost savings associated with the campaign to campaign expenditures. Analyses were conducted in 2017.Results: The Real Cost averted an estimated 175,941 youth from becoming established smokers between 2014 and 2016. Campaign expenditures totaled $246,915,233. The cost per quality-adjusted life year saved of the campaign was $1,337. When considering the costs of smoking, the averted established smokers represent >$31 billion in cost savings ($1.3 billion when only external costs considered). The overall return on investment of the campaign was $128 in cost savings for every $1 spent ($4 for every $1 spent when only external costs considered). These conclusions were robust to sensitivity analyses surrounding the parameters.Conclusions: Campaign expenditures were cost efficient. The cost savings resulting from The Real Cost represent a large reduction in the financial burden to individuals, their families, and society as a result of tobacco. Public health campaigns, like The Real Cost, that reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality for a generation of U.S. youth also provide substantial cost savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the relationship between youth's exposure to the Food and Drug Administration's national tobacco public education campaign, The Real Cost, and changes in campaign-targeted beliefs.Design: Longitudinal design with baseline survey and 2 postcampaign follow-up surveys.Sample: Youth from 75 US media markets (N = 1680) who completed all 3 surveys and had experimented with or were susceptible to future cigarette smoking.Measures: Exposure was measured by self-reported frequency of ad exposure and media market-level target rating points. Agreement with 30 self-reported tobacco-related beliefs was assessed in 3 categories: (1) beliefs specifically targeted by campaign messages (campaign-targeted belief), (2) beliefs not targeted by the campaign (nontargeted beliefs), and (3) beliefs corresponding to other media campaigns on air concurrent with The Real Cost (ambiguous beliefs).Analysis: Descriptive analyses of aggregate changes in beliefs and logistic regressions to examine the association between campaign exposure and beliefs.Intervention: The Real Cost.Results: Agreement with campaign-targeted beliefs increased from baseline to first and second follow-ups, with a mean relative increase of 10.4% and 11.5%, respectively. Nontargeted beliefs did not change substantially. Both measures of campaign exposure were positively associated with increased odds of agreeing with 5 of 8 campaign-targeted beliefs. Exposure was not significantly associated with 12 of 14 nontargeted tobacco-related beliefs.Discussion: A sustained national tobacco public education campaign can change population-level perceptions of tobacco-related harms among youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]