PROMIS correlation with NDI and VAS measurements of physical function and pain in surgical patients with cervical disc herniations and radiculopathy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the patient-reported outcome measures Neck Disability Index (NDI) and visual analog scale (VAS) with the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical function (PF) and pain interference (PI) measures, respectively, and to determine their correlations in a surgical population longitudinally.Legacy outcome measures such as NDI and VAS are essential for analyzing treatments in spine surgery for cervical disc herniations with radiculopathy. Despite their usefulness, administrative burdens impose limits on completion of these measures.

Health claims and product endorsements on child-oriented beverages in Guatemala.

Objective: We sought to describe front-of-package marketing strategies and nutritional quality of child-oriented beverages in Guatemala.

Design: We purchased all child-oriented ready-to-drink fruit drinks, milks and carbonated beverages in three convenience stores and one supermarket in Guatemala City. Front-of-package marketing was defined as the presence of spokes-characters, cartoons, celebrities, or health-related images, words, claims or endorsements on beverage packaging.

A functional needs approach to emergency planning.

Objective: This study was conducted to test the ability of the St Louis County Department of Health to efficiently dispense medication to individuals with functional needs during a public health emergency and develop new guidelines for future emergency planning. Historically, people with functional needs have been vulnerable in emergency situations, and emergency planners are responsible for creating equal access for mass prophylaxis events.

Methods: Measures to create access for individuals with functional needs were tested in a countywide exercise in which 40 volunteers with functional needs walked through an open point of dispensing location to collect medication as if it were a real emergency.

Knowledge of health insurance terminology and details among the uninsured.

By 2014, uninsured adults will be eligible for health insurance through exchanges with multiple plan options. Choosing health insurance is challenging even for those who have engaged in the process previously. We examined 51 uninsured adults' health insurance knowledge and preferences through semistructured qualitative interviews.

Network influences on dissemination of evidence-based guidelines in state tobacco control programs.

Little is known regarding the social network relationships that influence dissemination of evidence-based public health practices and policies. In public health, it is critical that evidence-based guidelines, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, are effectively and efficiently disseminated to intended stakeholders. To determine the organizational and network predictors of dissemination among state tobacco control programs, interviews with members of tobacco control networks across eight states were conducted between August 2009 and September 2010.

The comparative effectiveness of prednisolone and dexamethasone for children with croup: a community-based randomized trial.

Background. Although common practice, evidence to support treatment of croup with prednisolone is scant. Methods.