NEWS RELEASE July 29, 2004, 4 p.m. (ET)

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EMBARGOED UNTIL July 29, 2004, 4 PM (ET)
CONTACT: For copies of articles, call Natalie Raynor, (202) 777-2511 or natalie.raynor@apha.org. All articles are online at www.ajph.org after the embargo.

To view the preliminary table of contents, visit http://www.ajph.org/future/94.8.shtml

American Journal of Public Health August 2004 Highlights
· Condoms can protect women against recurrent pelvic inflammatory disease
· Many state employers don't adequately cover smoking cessation treatment
· Parental consent requirement for contraceptives may up teen pregnancy rates
· Nation's nurses are at increased risk for injury
· Gross-out approach is encouraging smokers to quit

The articles highlighted below appear in the August 2004 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the American Public Health Association.

Condoms can protect women against recurrent pelvic inflammatory disease
Women who have already suffered from pelvic inflammatory disease can protect themselves from a recurrence of that condition as well as pelvic pain and possibly even infertility by using condoms during intercourse, according to a recent study.
From 684 sexually active women with PID, researchers collected self-reported data on recurrent PID, pelvic pain and infertility. Consistent condom use at baseline by the women's sexual partners, which was defined as at least 60 percent of sexual encounters, reduced the risk of pelvic and infertility problems by 30 percent - 60 percent. Reported use during follow-up also reduced risk.
[From: "Condom Use and the Risk of Recurrent Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, Chronic Pelvic Pain, or Infertility Following an Episode of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease." Contact: Roberta B. Ness, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, repro@pitt.edu.]

Many state employers don't adequately cover smoking cessation treatment
Despite recommendations from federal public health experts that smoking cessation treatment should be provided to all smokers, state employers are failing to provide their employees with recommended smoking cessation treatment coverage.
According to a study of insurance coverage provided to the nation's 5 million state employees, only 29 of 45 states surveyed include any smoking cessation treatment in their insurance coverage for state employees. And a mere 17 of the 45 states provide the complete range of smoking cessation coverage recommended by the U. S. Public Health Service.
"Our results echo those of previous studies in other populations," the study's authors wrote. "The purchase and provision of insurance coverage for smoking cessation treatment remain uneven. States have yet to use fully their health care purchasing power to realize that promise."
[From: "Insurance Coverage of Smoking Cessation Treatment for State Employees." Contact: Marguerite E. Burns, MA, Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, University of Wisconsin Medical School, meburns@ctri.medicine.wisc.edu.]

Parental consent requirement for contraceptives may up teen pregnancy rates
Requiring minors to obtain parental consent to gain access to contraceptives appears to have actually raised the number of teen pregnancies in a study of such a program in Illinois. A researcher compared teenage pregnancies, births and abortions in McHenry County, Ill., where the only public health clinic instituted a parental consent requirement in 1998, to pregnancies, births and abortions in three nearby counties. In the two years after the parental consent requirement went into effect, the percentage of births and abortions to women and girls under age 20 rose by 0.76 percentage points relative to the nearby counties.
The study's author noted that a recent Planned Parenthood survey found 47 percent of Wisconsin minors said they would stop using all family planning clinic services if their parents found out they were seeking birth control pills or other contraceptives. The study urged further research into the issue.
[From: "Fertility and Parental Consent for Minors to Receive Contraceptives." Contact: Madeline Zavodny, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Ga., mzavodny@agnesscott.edu]

Nation's nurses are at increased risk for injury
Changes to the nation's health care system that have led to increased demand for skilled nursing care at the same time many hospitals and clinics have been forced to cut back their nursing staff are taking their toll on the country's nurses.
According to a study of more than 1,000 registered nurses, neck, shoulder and back injuries are on the rise, especially for those nurses who are expected to work longer shifts and provide more care to more patients than in the past. Almost one-third of nurses surveyed had suffered a back injury in the previous year, 20 percent reported a neck injury and 17 percent reported a shoulder injury. Such injuries were almost four times as likely among nurses who reported working under six or more health system changes, such as being asked to care for sicker patients and working longer hours. But the injuries could not all be attributed to increased physical job demands. Organizational changes have an impact independent of the effect of physical job demands. "Our finding that changes in health care services delivery compromises not only quality of care and patient safety but also nurses' health should provide further evidence of the need for a systematic approach to improving work conditions in the health care industry," the study's authors wrote.
[From: " Health Care System Changes and Reported Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Registered Nurses." Contact: Jane Lipscomb, PhD, RN, UMB, SON, University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Nursing, jlipscomb@son.umaryland.edu.]

Gross-out approach is encouraging smokers to quit
Graphic warning labels that have graced Canadian cigarette packages since 2000 are working in the fight against smoking, according to a study of 622 adult smokers living in southwestern Ontario.
At least one-fifth of the smokers surveyed said the warning labels, which feature color photographs of some of the negative health effects of smoking, have led them to cut down on smoking or quit altogether. The labels have come under criticism for being too graphic and having no effect on current smokers, but the recent study shows emotions such as fear and disgust lead to less smoking.
"Overall, the current research suggests that policy-makers should not be reluctant to introduce graphic cigarette warning labels based on potential adverse outcomes," the study's authors wrote. "Rather, short of exaggerating the risks of smoking or crossing the bounds of public decency, warning labels should adopt vivid and striking features that increase their salience among smokers."
[From: "Graphic Canadian Cigarette Warning Labels and Adverse Outcomes: Evidence from Canadian Smokers." Contact: David Hammond, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, dhammond@uwaterloo.ca.]

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly journal of the American Public Health Association, the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of public health-related books and periodicals promoting high scientific standards, action programs and policy for good health. More information is available at www.apha.org.

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