Food Shopping Strategies Among a Diverse Sample of East Harlem Residents: A Qualitative Study.

Purpose: To inform food retail interventions, this study explored food shopping strategies employed by people constrained by limited budgets but residing in an urban environment offering numerous retail options.

Approach: Qualitative study incorporating semi-structured interviews and shop-alongs.

Setting: East Harlem, New York City.

"Come with us for a week, for a month, and see how much food lasts for you:" A Qualitative Exploration of Food Insecurity in East Harlem, New York City.

Background: Food insecurity refers to uncertain access to food on a consistent basis and the stress experienced by families who worry about having sufficient resources to provide balanced meals in their households. Food insecurity has a disproportionate influence on people of color. A robust body of evidence links food insecurity to poor health outcomes.

Changes to the littered cigarette pack environment in New York City between 2011 and 2015.

Introduction: Imposing policies that increase tobacco prices is a key strategy for reducing smoking prevalence, although it may result in more cigarette trafficking. In 2013, New York City (NYC) passed the Sensible Tobacco Enforcement (STE) law requiring cigarettes be sold for a minimum price of $10.50 per pack.

Smoking Social Norms Among Young Adults in New York City.

More than half of young adult (YA) (ages 18-26) smokers are non-daily smokers. While standard cessation methods are generally successful with adults and daily smokers, there is evidence that they are not as successful among non-daily smokers or young adults. Additionally, YA smokers are also in a transition period to regular smoking, making research on understanding how interpersonal and environmental factors affect this group of smokers critical.

Lessons learned from the development and implementation of a citywide stair prompt initiative.

Stair climbing is a readily available form of vigorous-intensity physical activity. Evidence indicates that placing stair prompt signs at points-of-decision (e.g.

An electromechanical, patient positioning system for head and neck radiotherapy.

In cancer treatment with radiation, accurate patient setup is critical for proper dose delivery. Improper arrangement can lead to disease recurrence, permanent organ damage, or lack of disease control. While current immobilization equipment often helps for patient positioning, manual adjustment is required, involving iterative, time-consuming steps.

Opportunities and Challenges in Precision Medicine: Improving Cancer Prevention and Treatment for Asian Americans.

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans, and cancer cases among Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans are expected to rise by 132% by 2050. Yet, little is known about biologic and environmental factors that contribute to these higher rates of disease in this population. Precision medicine has the potential to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of morbidity and mortality trends among Asian American subgroups and to reduce cancer-related health disparities by recognizing patients as individuals with unique genetic, environmental, and lifestyle characteristics; identifying ways in which these differences impact cancer expression; and developing tailored disease prevention and clinical treatment strategies to address them.

Development of Culturally Appropriate Support Strategies to Increase Uptake of Nicotine Replacement Therapy Among Russian- and Chinese-Speaking Smokers in New York City.

Approximately 80,000 New York City smokers are Chinese or Russian speakers. To increase utilization of smoking cessation services among these populations, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene developed linguistically and culturally tailored outreach strategies to promote and enhance its annual Nicotine Patch and Gum Program. In 2010, online web applications in Chinese and Russian were introduced.

Evaluation of the Farmers' Markets for Kids programme.

Objective: To assess the impact of Farmers' Markets for Kids, a farmers' market-based, child-oriented nutrition education programme, on attitudes and behaviours related to preparing and consuming produce among child participants and their caregivers in New York City (NYC).

Design: Retrospective pre-test/post-test cross-sectional survey with caregivers of children participating in Farmers' Markets for Kids classes.

Setting: Four NYC farmers' markets where Farmers' Markets for Kids classes are implemented; these markets serve low-income communities.

Point-of-Sale Tobacco Marketing to Youth in New York State.

Purpose: To assess youth exposure to menthol versus nonmenthol cigarette advertising, we examined whether menthol cigarette promotions are more likely in neighborhoods with relatively high youth populations.

Methods: We linked 2011 New York State Retail Advertising Tobacco Survey observational data with U.S.

A national survey of facilities for complainants of sexual assault.

In 2006, a national survey demonstrated wide disparities in services offered to sexual assault complainants in the UK, most marked between sexual assault referral centres and non-sexual assault referral centres (police victim examination suites). With national standards introduced in 2009 and the expansion of sexual assault referral centres, we aimed to evaluate the current situation. A questionnaire based on the original 2006 survey, collecting data on population covered, access, funding, personnel, medical care and clinical governance was sent to all 44 UK sexual assault referral centres open in 2012.

Commentary: Persistence and Health-Related Consequences of the Model Minority Stereotype for Asian Americans.

Fifty years ago, the term model minority was coined to describe the extraordinary ability of Asian Americans to overcome hardship to succeed in American society. Less well-known is how the model minority stereotype was cultivated within the context of Black-White race relations during the second half of the 20th century, and how this stereotype, in turn, has contributed to the understanding and prioritization of health disparities experienced by Asian Americans. The objectives of this article are to define the model minority stereotype, present its controversies, and provide examples of its social and health-related consequences (ie, implications for obesity and tobacco) across multiple levels of society and institutions.

Going tobacco-free on 24 New York City university campuses: A public health agency's partnership with a large urban public university system.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene partnered with the nation's largest university system, the City University of New York (CUNY), to provide technical assistance and resources to support the development and implementation of a system-wide tobacco-free policy. This effort formed one component of Healthy CUNY-a larger initiative to support health promotion and disease prevention across the university system and resulted in the successful introduction of a system-wide tobacco-free policy on all CUNY campuses. Glassman et al (J Am Coll Health.

Evaluation of the New York City Green Carts program.

Access to fresh fruits and vegetables is a concern, particularly among low-income populations. Mobile vending is one strategy to expand produce availability and access to increase consumption. In 2008, New York City launched a mobile vending initiative, Green Carts.

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a SNAP-Ed Farmers' Market-Based Nutrition Education Program.

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of the Stellar Farmers' Market program.

Design: Mixed methods including focus groups and a quasi-experiment comparing a control group of market shoppers who had never attended a class, participants attending 1 class, and participants attending ≥ 2 classes.

Setting: Eighteen farmers' markets in New York City.

Increasing access to fruits and vegetables: perspectives from the New York City experience.

Broad recognition now exists that price, availability, and other structural factors are meaningful barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly among low-income adults. Beginning in 2005, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene used the social-ecological model to develop a multifaceted effort to increase fruit and vegetable access citywide, with emphasis in low-income neighborhoods. Overall, the percentage of New York City adults who reported consuming no fruits and vegetables in the previous day decreased slightly over a 10-year period (2002: 14.

The impact of a temporary recurrent street closure on physical activity in New York City.

At least 70 US cities have now introduced ciclovías-large-scale street closures to promote physical activity-joining numerous other cities worldwide that have implemented ciclovías in efforts to improve population health. We assessed the impact of Summer Streets, a New York City program in which 6.9 contiguous miles of urban streets were closed to traffic and opened for walking, cycling, and group activities, such as dancing and yoga, on population physical activity levels.

Institution-to-institution mentoring to build capacity in 24 local US health departments: best practices and lessons learned.

Introduction: Institutional mentoring may be a useful capacity-building model to support local health departments facing public health challenges. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a qualitative evaluation of an institutional mentoring program designed to increase capacity of health departments seeking to address chronic disease prevention. The mentoring program included 2 program models, a one-to-one model and a collaborative model, developed and implemented for 24 Communities Putting Prevention to Work grantee communities nationwide.

Teen use of flavored tobacco products in new york city.

Introduction: Teen use of flavored tobacco products is a concern. Menthol cigarettes have been found to influence teen smoking; however, less is known about the association between teen use of other flavored tobacco products, such as cigars and dip, and cigarette smoking.

Methods: The New York City 2010 Special Communities Putting Prevention to Work Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (N = 1,800 aged 13-17 years) were analyzed to examine the association between ever trying flavored tobacco products and current smoking, after we adjusted for demographics and ever-use of menthol cigarettes.

Uptake of the HPV vaccination programme in England: a cross-sectional survey of young women attending sexual health services.

Objectives: The U.K. human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programme requires 80% uptake to have a significant impact on cervical cancer rates.

Developing built environment programs in local health departments: lessons learned from a nationwide mentoring program.

Local health departments (LHDs) have a key role to play in developing built environment policies and programs to encourage physical activity and combat obesity and related chronic diseases. However, information to guide LHDs' effective engagement in this arena is lacking. During 2011-2012, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) facilitated a built environment peer mentoring program for 14 LHDs nationwide.

Genitourinary Medicine trainees' experience and training needs in the management of patients disclosing sexual violence.

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) Sexual Violence group assessed the level of confidence of Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) trainees in managing patients disclosing sexual violence using an online survey. Twenty-eight percent of current UK GUM trainees responded. The results demonstrated wide variation in trainees' experience and confidence in managing these patients, which was dependent on the patient type, as well as the gender of the trainee and the number of years' experience the trainee had in the specialty.