An Experimental Comparison of the Impact of 'Warning' and 'Health Star Rating' FoP Labels on Adolescents' Choice of Breakfast Cereals in New Zealand.

This research investigated the performance of the red, octagonal Vienna Convention traffic 'STOP' sign as a front of pack (FoP) warning nutritional label. While the Vienna Convention traffic light system is an established FoP label, the potential of the 'STOP' sign in the role has not been investigated. The performance of the 'STOP' label was compared with that of a single star (low nutritional value) Australasian Health Star Rating (HSR) label using a fractionally replicated Latin square design.

Measuring Preventable Outcomes: Global Cardiovascular Risk (GCVR).

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) piloted a new approach to quality measurement meant to reduce avoidable cardiac events and improve overall population health. In this pilot, we investigated whether a standardized technical specification could sufficiently define a process to reliably generate predicted outcome scores from heterogeneous electronic clinical data systems (ECDS) [1]. Patient data were electronically extracted from four health care organizations and processed by the Archimedes, Inc.

Field test results of a new ambulatory care Medication Error and Adverse Drug Event Reporting System--MEADERS.

Purpose: In this study, we developed and field tested the Medication Error and Adverse Drug Event Reporting System (MEADERS)-an easy-to-use, Web-based reporting system designed for busy office practices.

Methods: We conducted a 10-week field test of MEADERS in which 220 physicians and office staff from 24 practices reported medication errors and adverse drug events they observed during usual clinical care. The main outcomes were (1) use and acceptability of MEADERS measured with a postreporting survey and interviews with office managers and lead physicians, and (2) distributions of characteristics of the medication event reports.

Rural public health financing: implications for community health promotion initiatives.

Background: Public health in rural areas has distinctive features, often shaped by state-level infrastructure and organization and financing of public health activities. Variation in the way funds are distributed can influence the ability of local health departments and nongovernmental organizations serving rural communities to conduct public health functions.

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to describe how federal funds for selected chronic disease prevention and health promotion activities are distributed through states to the local level and identify infrastructure-related barriers that local health departments and nongovernmental organizations may face in securing these funds.