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Background. In summer 2016, Miami-Dade County, Florida, declared a public health emergency when reports of locally acquired Zika infections were confirmed. Officials at a large public university in the county warned students of the risks and advocated the use of repellents and permethrin to prevent mosquito bites. A subsequent study showed few students (2.9%) sprayed their clothes with permethrin. Purpose. In the absence of a safe and effective vaccine, a team of Master of Public Health students sought to determine if a brief educational intervention might increase permethrin use. Methods. Students living in six dormitories were chosen as the population of interest. Three dormitories were randomly assigned to an experimental condition (information about Zika) and three to a control condition (information about psychological counseling services). A questionnaire was distributed to participants immediately before and again immediately after a 20-30-minute educational presentation. The educational intervention was developed following the six steps of Intervention Mapping for Health Promotion Planning. Responses to questionnaire items were coded and analyzed. Results. After exposure to an educational program on Zika infections and prevention, significant increases (p<.001) were recorded for 61 student volunteers regarding: (1) having ever heard of permethrin (10.5% to 86.2%), (2) best to spray permethrin on your clothes (8.9% to 86.4%), and permethrin is entirely safe (9.5% to 47.5%). Students who indicated they would definitely use permethrin to prevent mosquito bites increased from 17.3% at baseline to 40.7% at follow-up (p=.01). No significant differences in pre- and post-intervention scores were noted for the 51 students in the control condition. Discussion. A brief educational intervention can be effective in promoting permethrin use to prevent Zika and other mosquito-borne infections among college students. Permethrin and instructions for proper use should be included in Zika prevention kits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the incidence proportion (IP) and incidence rate (IR) of ACL injury in football players.Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis.Data Sources: PubMed, CINAHL and SPORTDiscus electronic databases were searched from inception to 20 January 2017.Eligibility Criteria For Selecting Study: Studies that reported the total number of participants/population by sex, total number of ACL injuries by sex and total person-time by sex were included.Results: Twenty-eight studies were included. The IP and IR of ACL injury in female football players were 2.0% (95% CI 1.2% to 3.1%) and 2.0/10 000 athlete exposures (AEs) (95% CI 1.6 to 2.6; I2=91%) over a period of one season to 4 years. The IP and IR of ACL injury in male players were 3.5% (95% CI 0.7% to 8.2%) and 0.9/10 000 AEs (95% CI 0.7 to 1.1; I2=94%). Studies that evaluated matched cohorts of female and male players showed no difference in IP (relative risk=1.2; 95% CI 0.9 to 1.6; P=0.47) over a period of one season to 4 years. Women were at greater risk than men (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=2.2; 95% CI 1.6 to 3.1; I2=83%; P<0.001). When accounting for participation level, the difference in IR between women and men was greatest for intermediate players (IRR=2.9; 95% CI 2.4 to 3.6) compared with amateur (IRR=2.6; 95% CI 1.4 to 4.8) and elite (IRR=2.0; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.4) players.Summary/conclusion: Overall, more men sustained ACL injury in football. There was no difference in the relative risk of ACL injury between female and male football players in a window that spanned one season to 4 years. The IR of ACL injury among women was 2.2 times higher than the IR of ACL injury among men. The reported sex disparity in ACL injury was independent of participation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the incidence proportion (IP) and incidence rate (IR) for ACL injury in athletes.Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis DATA SOURCES: The PubMed, CINAHL and SPORTDiscus electronic databases were searched from inception to 20 January 2017.Eligibility Criteria For Selecting Studies: Studies were included if they reported total number of participants/population by sex, total number of ACL injuries by sex and total person-time by sex.Results: Fifty-eight studies were included. The IP and IR of ACL injury in female athletes were 3.5% (1 out of every 29 athletes) and 1.5/10 000 athlete-exposures over a period of 1 season-25 years. The IP and IR of ACL injury in male athletes were 2.0% (1 out of every 50 athletes) and 0.9/10 000 athlete-exposures over a period of 1-25 years. Female athletes had a higher relative risk (RR) for ACL injury compared with males (RR=1.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 1.9; P<0.01) and a higher incidence rate ratio (IRR) of ACL injury compared with males over 1 season-25 years (IRR=1.7; 95% CI 1.4 to 2.2; P<0.010). When accounting for participation level, the disparity in the IR between female and male athletes was highest for amateur athletes compared with intermediate and elite athletes (IRR=2.1; 95% CI 1.3 to 3.4; P<0.01; I²=82%). Amateur female athletes remained at higher risk of ACL injury than did with amateur male athletes. In studies where follow-up length was <1 year, female athletes had a higher IR of ACL injury than did to males (IRR=1.7; 95% CI 1.3 to 2.2; P<0.01). Where follow-up was 1 year and beyond, there was no sex difference in the IR of ACL injury (IRR=2.1; 95% CI 0.9 to 4.8; P=0.06; I²=65%).Summary/conclusions: One in 29 female athletes and 1 in 50 male athletes ruptured their ACL in a window that spanned from 1season to 25 years. The IR of ACL injury among female athletes in a season was 1.7 times higher than the IR of ACL injury among male athletes and the IP of ACL injury among female athletes was 1.5 times higher than the IP of ACL injury among male athletes. The reported sex disparity in ACL injury rates is independent of participation level and length of follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]