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Partnership Pulse
| May/June 2014
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Is coffee good or bad for you? Should you take aspirin if you are at risk for a heart attack? Will eating more whole grains lower your blood pressure? Do vaccines cause autism? Controversies around what does and doesn't work in prevention continue, and no preventive strategy is immune to being challenged as new scientific evidence emerges. What matters is that our personal decisions around prevention - getting vaccinated, being screened for diseases and conditions, taking medications - are made based on the best available scientific evidence.
Many factors can lead to conflicting or confusing results among studies. What is important though, is that the scientific community quickly reviews and responds to new information. However, science in the United States is often viewed with skepticism. In fact, the very teaching of science in American schools is being challenged, as more states are deciding whether to adopt or reject new common science standards that emphasize controversial topics like global warming and evolution. A fundamental goal of the Next Generation Science Standards (developed by national science and education organizations for K-12 science education) is "a scientifically literate person who can understand the nature of scientific knowledge. Indeed, the only consistent characteristic of scientific knowledge across the disciplines is that scientific knowledge itself is open to revision in light of new evidence."
Partnership for Prevention is working in the field of prevention on many fronts, but the common theme across our efforts is the devotion to empirical evidence. Join us in the fight to keep anti-science movements from discouraging people from taking action to prevent disease and improve their health when those actions are based on the best available scientific evidence.
| Elissa Matulis Myers
President & CEO
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New Guide Empowers Consumers to Improve Their Sexual Health
| .jpg) In May, the National Coalition for Sexual Health (NCSH) released a guide that informs men and women of all ages about recommended preventive services, such as screenings, vaccines, and counseling, to help protect and improve sexual health. Take Charge of Your Sexual Health: What you need to know about preventive services, which was audience-tested with the public, includes action steps for achieving good sexual health, information about recommended sexual health services, tips on how to find and talk with a health care provider, and a list of additional sexual health resources.Visit www.ncshguide.org to download and print the full guide or its individual sections, or view the content online.
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Partnership to Unveil New Tool at NACCHO and NALBOH Annual Meetings
| .jpg) At the upcoming NACCHO and NALBOH Annual Meetings, Partnership for Prevention and longtime collaborator, HealthPartners Institute for Education and Research, will unveil and demonstrate a new online tool that helps public health leaders, decision-makers, advocates, and others reduce smoking and increase physical activity in their .jpg) community. The Community Health Advisor provides customizable information about potential health benefits and cost savings from implementing evidence-based policies and programs. If you're attending either of these annual meetings, plan to see the new tool in action!
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Aspirin: Partnership's Council on Aspirin for Health and Prevention (CAHP) issued a statement supporting aspirin use to prevent cardiovascular disease. In May, the Food and Drug Administration rejected Bayer HealthCare's petition to allow aspirin to be marketed for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The CAHP believes that many people at risk for a first heart attack and stroke can benefit from aspirin and should discuss with their provider if aspirin is right for them.
Sexual Health: Partnership submitted public comments to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force on two draft recommendation statements for sexual health services: Screening for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, and Behavioral Counseling Interventions to Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Tobacco: Partnership and 15 other organizations submitted public comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on proposed rules for payment systems pertaining to inpatient psychiatric facilities and acute and long-term care hospitals.
General: Partnership and more than 70 other organizations signed onto a letter supporting the nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy to Surgeon General.
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Policy Efforts to Curb Sugary Drink Consumption Increasing, But Face Stiff Opposition
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 Policies to reduce consumption of sugary drinks, the single largest source of added sugar in the American diet, are gaining momentum. California and New York City lead the way, but industry and political opposition, and most recently court rulings, have stymied their efforts. In addition to introducing excise taxes on sugary drinks, California considered a bill that would have placed a warning label on sugary drinks. The bill failed, but this novel policy approach will almost certainly be tried again. In 2012, New York City's board of health adopted a rule that limited the size of drinks able to be sold in city restaurants to 16 ounces. That regulation was overturned in 2013 and two lower appeals courts upheld that ruling. On June 26, the New York Court of Appeals failed to reinstate the regulation, citing that the board of health had overstepped its regulatory authority. Despite failing, these innovative policy approaches nonetheless increase awareness among the public and policymakers about how sugary drinks contribute to poor health and pave the way for future success.
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New Prevention Recommendations
| In May and June, the Community Preventive Services Task Force issued .jpg) recommendations for skin cancer, tobacco, and improving health equity.
Skin Cancer: The Task Force issued 5 recommendations for community-based approaches to preventing skin cancer.
- Outdoor occupational settings
- Outdoor recreational and tourism settings
- Primary and middle school settings
- Childcare settings
- Multi-component community-wide programs
Tobacco: The Task Force updated two previous recommendations:
- Smoke-free policies. This recommendation is based on strong evidence of effectiveness in reducing secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco use, and tobacco-related illness and death. These policies also significantly reduce healthcare costs while not adversely impacting businesses.
- Interventions to increase the unit price for tobacco products. This recommendation is based on strong evidence of effectiveness in increasing the number of people who quit and reducing tobacco use and tobacco-related illness and death. Increasing the unit price of tobacco products also greatly reduces health care costs and can decrease productivity losses.
Health Equity: The Task Force recommends full-day kindergarten programs to improve the health prospects of low-income and racial and ethnic minority children. This recommendation is based on strong evidence that these programs improve children's math and reading skills when compared to half-day kindergarten or full-day kindergarten on alternating days. 
In May and June, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a number of final and draft products. The USPSTF issued final research plans for screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using spirometry and screening for impaired vision in older adults. Final recommendation statements were issued for the following three services. Suicide: The USPSTF found insufficient evidence to recommend screening adolescents, adults, and older adults for suicide risk in primary care settings (I grade). Hepatitis B Virus: The USPSTF recommends screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in asymptomatic, non-pregnant people at high risk for infection (B grade). Those at high risk include people emigrating from countries with high prevalence of HBV infection, HIV+ persons, injection drug users, household contacts of those with HBV infection, and men who have sex with men. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA): The USPSTF recommends one-time screening for AAA in men aged 65-75 who have ever smoked (B grade). It recommends that clinicians selectively offer screening for AAA in men aged 65-75 who have never smoked (C grade). The USPSTF concludes there is insufficient evidence to recommend screening for AAA in women aged 65-75 who have ever smoked (I grade) and it recommends against screening in women who have never smoked (D grade).
The USPSTF also made the following draft documents available for public comment:
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CDC Releases New Toolkit to Increase Access to Drinking Water in Schools
| A new toolkit is available to help schools meet federal standards that  require schools participating in the national breakfast and lunch programs provide free drinking water during meal times. Water is essential to good health, yet children and teens often lack access to free drinking water during the school day despite federal standards that apply to most schools. The toolkit outlines key steps and includes resources to help schools plan and implement actions to provide the drinking water they need to stay hydrated.
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New Report Describes How Cigarettes Are More Addictive and Deadly by Design
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 Cigarettes today are deadlier and more addictive than those made 50 years ago, according to the most recent Surgeon General's report on tobacco. Tobacco manufacturers have changed the design of the cigarette to make it even more addictive than it already is. A new report by Campaign for Tobacco-Free kids (CTFK) describes those design changes and key ways that tobacco companies manipulate their products to attract new smokers, get them hooked, and make it more difficult for them to quit when they want to.
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Register Now for Webinar to Learn about STAR Community Rating System
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The STAR Community Rating System is the first national certification program to recognize sustainable communities. It helps communities identify and implement best practices to create a healthy environment, a strong economy, and a healthy populace. A one-hour webinar on July 18 from 2:00 - 3:00 pm (EDT) will explore how the STAR Community Rating System is being used to advance health outcomes and improve community wellness. Register here.
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Call for Proposals for 2015 Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference
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Proposals are being accepted for the 2015 Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference, to be held March 30 - April 3, 2015 in San Diego, CA. The deadline for Breakout Sessions has passed, but proposals are still being accepted for many other types of sessions, including Poster Presentations, Panel Discussions, and Activity Sessions. Learn more about these options for presenting and the respective deadlines for submitting a proposal here.
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Partnership for Prevention was founded in 1991 by leaders dedicated to making disease prevention and health promotion a national priority and America a healthier nation. Partnership seeks to increase understanding and use of clinical preventive services and population-based prevention to improve health. |
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