Using the emergency department to investigate smoking in young adults.

Purpose: Smoking in young adults identifies the population at risk for future tobacco-related disease. We investigated smoking in a young adult population and within high-risk groups using emergency department (ED) data in a metropolitan area.

Methods: Using the electronic health record, we performed a retrospective study of smoking in adults aged 18-30 years presenting to the ED.

Developing a Community-Based Participatory Research Curriculum to Support Environmental Health Research Partnerships: An Initiative of the GROWH Community Outreach and Dissemination Core.

Background: The Transdisciplinary Research Consortium for Gulf Resilience on Women's Health (GROWH) addresses reproductive health disparities in the Gulf Coast by linking communities and scientists through community-engaged research. Funded by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, GROWH's Community Outreach and Dissemination Core (CODC) seeks to utilize community-based participatory research (CBPR) and other community-centered outreach strategies to strengthen resilience in vulnerable Gulf Coast populations. The CODC is an academic-community partnership comprised of Tulane University, Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation, Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing, and the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI).

Workplace exposure to secondhand smoke among non-smoking hospitality employees.

Introduction: This article examines salivary cotinine concentrations to characterize secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among non-smoking hospitality employees (bar and casino employees and musicians who perform in bars) who are exposed to SHS in the workplace.

Methods: A pre-post test study design was implemented to assess SHS exposure in the workplace. The convenience sample of 41 non-smoking hospitality employees included 10 controls (non-smoking hospitality employees not exposed to SHS in the workplace).

Conflict and HIV: A framework for risk assessment to prevent HIV in conflict-affected settings in Africa.

In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS and violent conflict interact to shape population health and development in dramatic ways. HIV/AIDS can create conditions conducive to conflict. Conflict can affect the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS.