Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 13.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elizabeth Walshe, PhD Research Post-Doctoral Fellow Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) Children's Hospital of Philadelphia   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Motor vehicle crashes are a major public health concern and are the leading cause of death for adolescents in the US and other countries. Much of the research into why young driver crash rates are so high has focused on the role of driving experience and skills. But even among equally novice drivers, crash risk is still higher for younger novice drivers (17 year old new drivers have a higher crash risk than 20 year old new drivers). This suggests that crashes are related to development, and this is the focus of our research. We know from the field of neuroscience that the frontal lobe of the brain is still developing across adolescence and into adulthood along with some cognitive abilities. One of these cognitive abilities, called working memory is particularly important for managing complex tasks, such as driving. It allows us to monitor and update information in the moment (e.g. monitor and update information about the environment and the vehicle), and attend to multiple subtasks simultaneously (like multitasking to control the steering and speed, as well as other vehicle controls, perhaps while talking to a passenger or listening to the radio). Working memory has been shown to develop later, and at different rates for different people: some teens develop at a faster rate, and some teens develop a little later, even as late as the mid-twenties. In parallel, while crash rates are high for teen drivers, we also know that not all teen drivers crash. So what is it about those who do crash? Could this be related to their developing working memory? That question is what motivated this study. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Geriatrics / 13.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: XinQi Dong MD, MPH Henry Rutgers Distinguished Professor of Population Health Sciences Director of the Director of Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08901XinQi Dong MD, MPH Henry Rutgers Distinguished Professor of Population Health Sciences Director of the Director of Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08901  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: This study was done among community-dwelling US Chinese older adults aged 60 and above living in the greater Chicago area. The baseline cohort consisted of 3,157 participants, and we followed up with them from 2011 to 2017. There were heterogeneities in the associations between the strictness of definitions and subtypes of elder mistreatment (EM) and yearly mortality.   (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Mental Health Research / 07.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nathan W. Link, PhD Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Criminal Justice Rutgers University Camden, NJ 08102 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Much literature documents the physical and mental health problems ailing prisoners and those incarcerated in jails. Some research finds that incarceration can bring about or exacerbate these mental and physical health conditions. Beginning from this premise, we ask how this damaged health status influences former prisoners’ ability to return home and remain crime free. We examined physical health limitations and depression among a longitudinal sample of prisoners in twelve U.S. states and found that both dimensions of health problems lead to further criminal behavior and in turn reincarceration. This effect is of health conditions is indirect; it affects crime and reincarceration through adverse impacts on employment and family relationships—factors long known to be related to criminal offending. In this way, we now know that not only can incarceration lead to health problems, but health problems can lead to incarceration. This is important in a society with leading incarceration levels and wide health disparities across race and socioeconomic status. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Ophthalmology / 01.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daejoon Alex Hwang, PhD Instructor in Ophthalmology Investigator, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Yellow night driving glasses are sold with promises to reduce headlight glare from oncoming traffic and help aging individuals see better at night. Despite a 1997 ruling by the Federal Trade Commission against one company’s claims, the products still remain popular online. We tested three commercially available yellow lens night driving glasses and compare their effectiveness with clear lens glasses on our novel headlight glare simulator in the driving simulator. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA / 26.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Justin C. McCarty, DO, MPH General Surgery Resident, PGY-4 Department of Surgery | St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The main finding of the paper is that the assumption of the training that teaching how to apply one type of tourniquet translates to knowledge and understanding of how to apply any other tourniquet is questionable. I love the Stop the Bleed campaign and what it stands for but I believe that it is important that as it moves forward that there is continuous questioning of the educational curriculum and how it is delivered. Currently, I question whether the best interim method of teaching and empowering laypeople is to focus more on pressure and packing of wounds; a skill that is always fully translatable, doesn’t require anything other than a willing set of hands, and is incredibly effective, rather than tourniquets. A second question I have is whether existing tourniquets and the associated training are approaching the issue from the right angle since to me the device should be designed to not require training and continuous practice, but rather should be intuitive and simple to use, features lacking from all existing devices.   (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews / 25.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aaron Kivisto, Ph.D., HSPP Licensed Psychologist Co-Director, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology University of Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN 46227 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There’s a robust literature showing that increased gun ownership rates are associated with increased rates of firearm homicide and suicide. We sought to examine whether the increased risk of homicide attributable to firearms is equally distributed across the population of potential victims or whether the risk is localized to particular victim groups. Our findings showed that the risk of gun ownership is fairly localized to intimate partners and other family members; they’re bearing the bulk of the risk associated with gun ownership. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 28.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Amanda Fingarson, DO Attending Physician, Child Abuse Pediatrics Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Feinberg Northwestern School of Medicine 

MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?

Response: Child physical abuse is a substantial pediatric public health issue, with significant morbidity and mortality. Studies have found that men, particularly children’s fathers and mothers’ boyfriends are common perpetrators of physical abuse. There is still a lack of knowledge, however, about the specific caregiver features that increase a child’s risk for physical abuse.

Our study design was unique, in that it was a multi-center study that compared young children with abusive and accidental injuries. Our primary finding was that abuse was much more likely when a male caregiver was present, and the resulting injuries were more likely to be severe or fatal. The presence of the mother’s boyfriend was the riskiest scenario, with the highest likelihood of abuse. Similarly, we found that caregiver relationships of less than 1 year increased the odds of abuse. Overall, the likelihood of abuse with female caregivers was much lower, with the exception of female babysitters.  A final important finding of our study was that caregiving arrangements that were different than usual at the time of injury were at increased risk of abuse, suggesting that a stable and consistent caregiver is also important.  (more…)

Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brain Injury, ENT, Pediatrics / 12.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amishav Bresler MD Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This study was inspired by a personal experience with the rental scooters. The most recent American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery annual conference was in Atlanta this year. At the time of the conference, the scooter rental industry had recently entered the region. A friend of mine, another ENT resident, was encouraging others to use these scooters for transportation for both the novelty and convenience. However, he didn't even have a helmet! Here was a well-educated doctor who takes call for craniofacial injuries, who was about to get on a scooter without a helmet. This experience made me wonder if scooters were dangerous scooters and their overall impact on public health. In terms of the backgroud, the personal transportation industry is undergoing a revolution. The search for efficient and environmentally-friendly urban transportation ignited an ongoing debate in the United States regarding the role of motorized scooters. Although known to be a popular method of transportation in Europe and Asia, motorized scooters have only recently begun to make inroads in the United States. The gradual rise in popularity has been attributed to their convenience, affordability, and status as a “green” alternative to vehicles with combustion engines. These advantages combined with the fact electric scooters enable users to travel longer distances than conventional scooters present an attractive method of transportation to school, work, and leisure. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, ENT, Pediatrics / 06.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Garth Essig, MD Otolaryngologist The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Dog bites are a significant yet modifiable public health concern, but the true magnitude is difficult to estimate with such wide ranges in reporting, severity of injury and varieties of breeds that bite.  We reviewed bites from reports in the literature and from two regionally distinct medical centers. We concluded that bite frequency and severity could be attributed to certain breeds in this sample, if the breed is known. Our study also acknowledged the significant risk of biting with the mixed breed population, which creates a dilemma with identification. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Surgical Research, University of Michigan / 05.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mark R. Hemmila MD Associate Professor of Surgery Division of Acute Care Surgery University of Michigan  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Traumatic injury has a tendency to be thought of as a disease that preferentially impacts younger people.  We wanted to explore the prevalence and impact of traumatic injury within the population of patients for whom Medicare is the third party payer.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Geriatrics, JAMA / 05.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PT, PhD Canada Research Chair (Tier II), Physical Activity, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Director, Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory University of British Columbia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  Falls in older adults are the third-leading cause of chronic disability and the leading cause of hospitalization for adults over age 65. Older adults who experience multiple falls are at increased risk for disability, loss of independence, and even death. How to best prevent falls in this high risk group is not well established.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Toxin Research / 03.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Gary Smith, MD MPH Director, Center for Injury Research and Policy Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus, OH MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our 2016 study (https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/137/5/e20154529) investigated calls to US poison control centers related to laundry and dishwasher detergent exposures among children younger than 6 years old from 2013 through 2014 and found that poison control centers received more than 30 calls a day about children who had been exposed to a laundry detergent packet, which is about one call every 45 minutes. The current study investigated trends in calls to poison control centers across the country for exposure to liquid laundry detergent packets in order to evaluate the impact of the voluntary safety standard for this product with a focus on young children. The study found only a modest decrease (18%) in calls for children younger than 6 years of age following adoption of a 2015 product safety standard as well as an increase in calls for older children and adults. Exposures to the eyes also continued to climb. The observed decrease in exposures among young children is considerably less than the 40% to 55% decrease in toxic ingestions seen after passage of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. This demonstrates that the current liquid laundry detergent safety standard is inadequate and needs to be strengthened. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 20.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeffrey Colvin, MD, JD Department of Pediatrics Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City, MO 64111  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Prior studies have found that infants spend an average of 5-6 hours a day in sitting devices. Sitting devices include car seats, swings, infant seats, and strollers. Given how much time infants are spending in sitting devices, we wanted to know if sleep-related infant deaths (such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or "SIDS") was occurring in those devices. We examined over 10,000 infant sleep-related deaths from 45 states. We found that 3% (or 348) of the deaths occurred in sitting devices. Two-thirds of the deaths in sitting devices were in car seats. What was most surprising was that less than 10% of the deaths in car seats occurred in cars. Instead, the great majority occurred in the child's home or the home of a relative, friend, or babysitter. In 1/3 of the deaths in car seats, the supervising adult was asleep.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA / 20.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: XinQi Dong Director, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research Henry Rutgers Distinguished Professor of Population Health Sciences Professor, Department of Medicine - Division of General Internal Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Interpersonal violence is a substantial public health issue across all socio-demographic and socioeconomic strata globally. A depth of prior studies have found that victims of childhood sexual abuse might have higher risks of re-experiencing sexual violence as adults. But the “re-victimization” phenomenon has been insufficiently examined among the rapidly growing aging populations. There lacks examinations about life-course violence experiences and the accumulative effect of which in older ages. Our study examined three most common forms of interpersonal violence (child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse) across the life span and found an interconnectedness among them. Individuals with a history of child maltreatment and/or intimate partner violence had two to six times higher risks of elder abuse compared to those without a past experience of the violence.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Diabetes, Neurology / 17.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: foot-neuropathyMonica Perazzolo Research Centre for Musculoskeletal Science and Sports Medicine School of Healthcare Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our research on motor control in diabetes focussed on the effect of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on driving. Drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy showed a less well controlled use of the accelerator pedal and sometimes larger, faster steering corrections needed to stay in lane when driving a simulator compared to healthy drivers and people with diabetes but no neuropathy. Despite these negative findings, an important result is that drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy demonstrated an improvement in their driving with practice.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brain Injury / 29.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Joseph A Schwartz PhD Public Affairs and Community Service, Criminology and Criminal Justice University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: My larger research agenda is focused on identifying the ways in which environmental and biological influences work collectively to shape behavioral patterns across major stages of the life course. I am particularly interested in identifying environmental influences that can change biological functioning or activity to result in behavioral change. Brain injury was a natural progression of these interests since brain injury is expected to result in changes in the structure and functioning of the brain, which has been linked to meaningful changes in behavior. There have also been a sizable number of studies that indicate that justice involved populations experience brain injury at a rate that is between five and eight times what is observed in the general population. I was fascinated by this finding and thought that brain injury may be a good candidate influence to investigate further. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Cannabis / 26.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Angela Eichelberger, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist Insurance Institute for Highway Safety MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dr. Romano and Dr. Kelley-Baker have previously studied the problem of child endangerment in alcohol-related crashes. In the United States, each year, about 200 children die and another 4,000 are injured while being driven by a drinking adult. For this study, we wanted to take the opportunity to look at the prevalence of alcohol and cannabis use among drivers who participated in a roadside survey in Washington State. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine cannabis use among drivers transporting a child. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 28.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Madeleine Liljegren, MD Division of Oncology and Pathology Department of Clinical Sciences Lund University Lund, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We know from former studies including patients with a clinical diagnosis of dementia, that criminal and socially inappropriate behaviors can be signs of dementia, sometimes even the first signs of a neurodegenerative disorder. We wanted to study this relatively large (n=220) cohort of neuropathologically verified Alzheimer disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients, who had been followed clinically by specialists in cognitive medicine or geriatric psychiatry during their disease period, to see if we could confirm results from previous studies. In this paper, we further wanted to study potential differences regarding protein pathology and criminal behavior in frontotemporal dementia patients. This has, to our knowledge, never been done before. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Emergency Care, NEJM, University Texas / 27.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeffrey Howard, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Kinesiology, Health and Nutrition University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX 78249 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  There is a saying that “the only winner in war is medicine”, which is the first sentence in the article.  The point of that quote is that many medical advances over the last 500 years or more have been learned or propagated as a result of war. With that as the backdrop, the purpose of our study was to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the trauma system than previous work.  We accomplished this by compiling the most complete data to-date on the conflicts, using data from both Afghanistan and Iraq, and analyzing multiple interventions/policy changes simultaneously rather than in isolation.  Previous work had focused primarily on single interventions and within more narrow timeframes.  We wanted to expand the scope to include multiple interventions and encompass the entirety of the conflicts through the end of 2017.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Technology / 26.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cynthia Lum, PhD Professor of Criminology Law and Society George Mason University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are one of the most rapidly diffusing technologies in policing today, costing agencies and their municipalities millions of dollars. Recent estimates by the Bureau of Justice statistics indicate that over 60% of local police departments have already acquired BWCs. This adoption has been propelled by highly publicized officer-involved shootings and other death-in-custody events in this decade, as well as more generally by continuing concerns regarding police-citizen relationships, particularly within communities of color. All of these contexts prompt the need to better understand the impacts and effects of BWCs as they diffuse rapidly into policing. Specifically, do BWCs achieve the expectations that citizens, communities, and the police have of them? This article provides a narrative review of 70 studies, representing over 110 findings, about what we know from research across six important Body-worn cameras domains: (1) the impact of BWCs on officer behavior; (2) officer attitudes about BWCs; (3) the impact of BWCs on citizen behavior; (4) citizen and community attitudes about BWCs; (5) the impact of BWCs on criminal investigations; and (6) the impact of BWCs on law enforcement organizations. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Inflammation, JACC, Lipids / 18.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. George Dangas MD PhD Professor of Medicine, Cardiology Mount Sinai Health System MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Widespread use of statins targeted to decrease levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) below 70mg/dL are recommended by guidelines. However, residual cholesterol risk may only be one part of the residual risk equation. Indeed, Biological inflammation has long been known as a pathophysiological mechanism of atherosclerosis and the recent CANTOS trial opened new therapeutic perspective by demonstrating that inflammation modulation via selective interleukin-1β inhibition could result in improved diagnosis in patients with coronary artery disease. However, the prevalence and impact of a residual inflammatory biological syndrome in patients with controlled cholesterol risk is unclear. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA / 25.02.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hannah Decker MD Candidate, Class of 2019 Emory School of Medicine Jeremiah Schuur, MD, MHS FACEP Physician-in-chief for emergency medicine at Lifespan and Chair of the department of Emergency Medicine Brown MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Firearm injury is a leading cause of injury and death in the United States. Many physician groups advocate for evidence-based policies, such as universal background checks, to reduce this morbidity and mortality. We studied contributions of the 25 largest political action committees (PACs) affiliated with physician professional groups during the 2016 election cycle and found that almost all gave more money to political candidates who voted against universal background checks and were endorsed by the NRA. These PACs contributed to more than twice as many incumbent US Senate candidates who voted against an amendment to expand firearm background checks than those who voted for the amendment. In the US House of Representatives, the pattern of giving was similar. These PACs gave $2.8 million more to candidates who did not sponsor a bill to expand background checks than to those who did. Finally, these physician PACs were more than twice as likely to contribute to and gave almost $1.5 million dollars more to candidates rated A by the NRA. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Cannabis / 22.02.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lonnie M. Schaible PhD Associate Professor School of Public Affairs University of Colorado Denver, CO MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Following legalization of recreational marijuana use in Colorado, strong -- but unsubstantiated -- claims were being made about crime surrounding marijuana dispensaries.  We wanted to know what the data would show.  We were especially interested in determining whether the addition of recreational facilities had any effects above and beyond those which might exist for medical dispensaries.  To better capture the dynamic landscape of marijuana legalization, this is the first study to control for the prior existence of medical dispensaries and assess how effects of both of these types of establishments changed over time. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Dermatology / 06.02.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Sarah Hall PhD Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science Anglia Ruskin University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We initially started the study in collaboration with Essex Fire and Rescue Services, as we were already doing some research on the recovery of evidence from fire scenes. During a visit to their cold fire scene facility, they described a tragic fatality with extensive fire damage, which didn’t link with the main fuel in the room. Therefore they questioned if a skin cream, regularly used by the victim, could have contributed as a fuel or ignited to initiate the fire and asked if we would do some initial research. Now we are also working with West Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, the London Fire Brigade, St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns and the National Fire Chiefs Council. We initially started the study in collaboration with Essex Fire and Rescue Services, as we were already doing some research on the recovery of evidence from fire scenes. During a visit to their cold fire scene facility, they described a tragic fatality with extensive fire damage, which didn’t link with the main fuel in the room. Therefore they questioned if a skin cream, regularly used by the victim, could have contributed as a fuel or ignited to initiate the fire and asked if we would do some initial research. Now we are also working with West Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, the London Fire Brigade, St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns and the National Fire Chiefs Council. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Emergency Care, JAMA, Yale / 24.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Edouard Coupet Jr, MD, MS Assistant Professor Department of Emergency Medicine Yale School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: For many individuals with nonfatal firearm injuries, their only point of contact with the healthcare system may be the emergency department. Both hospital-based violence intervention programs and counseling and safe firearm storage have shown promise in reducing the burden of firearm injury. In this study, one third of individuals with firearm injuries presented to non-trauma centers. Only 1 out of 5 firearm injuries were assault injuries that led to admission to trauma centers, the population most likely to receive interventions to reduce re-injury.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Sexual Health / 06.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Angie Kennedy, PhD Associate Professor School of Social Work Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Nearly half of women (44%) experience physical or sexual partner violence by young adulthood, with 1 in 5 girls in high school reporting abuse within the last year. Sexual violence typically co-occurs with other forms of partner violence; co-occurring sexual and physical violence among adolescent girls is linked to health-risk behaviors including alcohol and drug use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk-taking, and suicidality. As such, it represents a serious public health problem. To better understand this issue, we wanted to explore risk factors for sexual violence during young women’s adolescent and young adult relationships, i.e., what predicts attempted rape and rape by a partner during this vulnerable period? We took a novel approach: We examined predictors across multiple relationships, beginning with the first one, and we recruited a diverse sample of young women from a four-year research university, a two-year community college, and community sites serving low-income young women. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Social Issues / 06.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca R. Thompson, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Scholar Department of Psychological Science University of California, Irvine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our research team has been interested in how people respond to the repeated threat of disaster exposure for many years. We recently published a review of the literature on evacuation from natural disasters, and one of our main findings was that there have been no studies that include assessments of individuals’ intentions, perceptions, and psychological states assessed prior to an approaching storm’s landfall – all prior research has been retrospective, and recall is undoubtedly biased and unreliable.  Our goal in undertaking this study was to fill this hole in the literature. We sought to assess individuals' responses to Hurricane Irma in the days leading up to and immediately after its landfall in the State of Florida. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Sexual Health, UCSD / 26.12.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John W. Ayers, PhD, MA Vice Chief of Innovation | Assoc. Professor Div. Infectious Disease & Global Public Health University of California San Diego MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: The greatest barrier to understanding trends around sexual violence is they are largely hidden because victims are unable speak up publicly. Moreover, ongoing monitoring relies on proxies that underreport the scale of the problem such as police or medical records where only the most severe instances or a fraction of all instances of sexual violence are represented. As a result, we know very little about the scale of America's sexual violence problem. It was this backdrop that inspired #MeToo to call on victims to publicly voice their stories thereby revealing the scale of the problem. Our goal was to, for the first time, assess how this change inspired the public to engage with sexual violence issues. By tracking private aggregate internet search query trends we can begin to understand the scale of public engagement with issues around sexual violence including the precise motivation for a search, such as reporting episodes of sexual violence or learning how to prevent sexual violence. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, USPSTF / 28.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alex Kemper, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.  Dr. Kemper is a board-certified pediatrician and chief of the Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is also the deputy editor of Pediatrics. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this recommendation statement? What are the main findings and recommendations?  Response: Child maltreatment, which includes abuse and neglect, is a serious health problem that affects too many children in the United States.  Abuse and neglect can have devastating health consequences, including long-term disabilities, depression, physical injury, and even death. In 2016, approximately 676,000 children were subjected to maltreatment, and more than 1,700 children died as a result. Because this is such an important public health issue, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force looked at the most recent evidence on whether primary care clinicians can help prevent child maltreatment and its negative consequences. We found that, unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against these interventions. The Task Force is calling for more research on this important subject so that we can help prevent children from being abused and neglected.    (more…)