Impact of Housing and Infrastructure on handwashing in Peru.

Background: The metropolitan area of Lima, Peru has a third of the nation's population living in slum dwellings that are hypothesized to contribute to inefficient household hygienic practices. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess which living conditions have the greatest impact on handwashing practices.

Methods: A cross-sectional epidemiological design of participants ≥16 y of age from San Juan de Miraflores, a slum on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, was used.

Herbal Use and Medical Pluralism Among Latinos in Southern California.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is often used alongside conventional medical care, yet few patients disclose CAM use to medical doctors. Our objectives were to (1) assess Latino herbal use, (2) explore the most commonly used herbs for common ailments, and (3) examine patients' disclosure of herb use to their physicians. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 318 Latino patients seeking treatment at community health centers.

Low-income women's conceptualizations of food craving and food addiction.

Food craving and food addiction have been proposed as targets for obesity focused interventions. However, individuals' conceptualizations of these constructs are not well understood and no studies have employed a qualitative approach. Therefore, we sought to understand how women conceptualize food craving and food addiction.