Can an evidence-based fall prevention program be translated for use in culturally diverse communities?

Older adult falls are a significant public health problem,but one that is amenable to preventive interventions.1,2 Despite the progress made in identifying risk factors,developing efficacious health-related interventions,and promoting evidencebased programs in the community,much work remains before these strategies are broadly available and effectively used to reduce fall-related injuries.3 As Newton and ScottFindlay4 have pointed out,the translation of basic scientific knowledge into clinical studies,and the transformation of clinical studies into improvements in health services and public health practices,remain major obstacles to widespread adoption.

Impact on dietary intake of a self-directed, gender-tailored diabetes prevention program in men

AIMTo investigate changes in dietary intake following a 6-mo randomised controlled trial of the self-directed, gender-tailored type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Prevention Using LifeStyle Education (PULSE) program in men. METHODSMen aged 18-65 years, with a body mass index (BMI) 25-40 kg/m2, and at high risk for developing T2DM were recruited from the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Eligible participants were randomised into one of two groups: (1) waitlist control; or (2) PULSE intervention. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline and immediately post-program using the Australian Eating Survey food frequency questionnaire and diet quality measured using the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS). RESULTSOne hundred and one participants (n = 48, control; n = 53, intervention, mean age 52.3 ± 9.7 years, BMI of 32.6 ± 3.3 kg/m2) commenced the study. Following the active phase, differences between groups were observed for proportion of total energy consumed from healthful (core) foods (+7.6%EI, P < 0.001), energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods (-7.6%EI, P < 0.001), sodium (-369 mg, P = 0.047), and diet quality (ARFS) (+4.3, P = 0.004), including sub-scales for fruit (+1.1, P = 0.03), meat (+0.9, P = 0.004) and non-meat protein (+0.5, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONThe PULSE prevention program’s nutrition messages led to significant improvements in dietary intake in men at risk of T2DM.

Hepatocellular carcinoma prevention:A worldwide emergence between the opulence of developed countries and the economic constraints of developing nations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common neoplasm, the major cause of death in patients with liver cirrhosis, and the third most common cause of cancer-related death in the world. The geographic distribution of HCC varies significantly and 80% of cases occur in developing countries (Far East and South Asia) where the prevalence of viral hepatitis is higher. The treatment of HCC is difficult because most patients are diagnosed when the tumour is in an advanced stage and is not amenable to potential curative therapy, thus prevention is the key to reducing HCC and its related morbidity and mortality. HCC is unique among cancers, occurring mostly in patients with a known risk factor. Ninety percent of HCCs develop in the context of chronic liver diseases and mainly in patients with cirrhosis. Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of HCC worldwide, followed by alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and other causes such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), genetic haemocromatosis (GH) and primary biliary cirrhosis in an advanced stage (Ⅲ- Ⅴ). In certain areas of the People’s Republic of China, exposure to aflatoxin and HBV infection are thought to be responsible for the extraordinary high risk of HCC. Substantial progresses in the prevention of virusl-related hepatitis (screening of blood units, use of disposable sanitary tools, HBV vaccination) have been achieved in developed countries, but in the same areas, alcohol- and dysmetabolism-related HCCs are emerging problems which require specific interventions in terms of public health measures. In developing countries, economic constraints limit the development of any program for the prevention of viral hepatitis transmission (including health education campaigns, healthcare politics, primary prevention and the improvement of hygienic and sanitary conditions). When viral liver disease is established, only a minority of patients are treated worldwide and benefit a possible preventive effect of medical treatment onHCC development. Thus the real contribution of medical treatment to HCC prevention in patients with chronic viral hepatitis is small. Great efforts are needed to identify more effective medical measures for primary and secondary prevention of HCC.

Physical exercises for preventing injuries among adult male football players:A systematic review

Background:Football is the most practised sport in the world and is associated with the risk of injuries in the players.Some studies have been published that identify injury prevention programs,but there is no review of the full body of evidence on injury prevention programs for use by football coaches.The aim of this article was to carry out a systematic review of published studies on injury prevention programs for adult male footballers,identify points of common understanding and establish recommendations that should be considered in the design of injury prevention strategies.Methods:PubMed and EMBASE databases were used to identify relevant published articles using the following keywords:"soccer"AND"injury"AND"prevention".Results:A total of 2512 studies were identified initially,but only 11 studies met the inclusion criteria,and their outcomes are presented.Results revealed that injury prevention programs in football have focused on strength training,proprioceptive training,multicomponent programs(balance,core stability,and functional strength and mobility),and warm-up programs.Conclusion:Based on results from the studies analyzed,football players can lower the incidence of match and training injuries by participating in dynamic warm-up programs that include preventive exercises before games or during training sessions,and by adding strength,balance,and mobility training to the training sessions.

French Insurance and Flood Risk: Assessing the Impact of Prevention Through the Rating of Action Programs for Flood Prevention

French insurance is part of a public-private partnership with the French State to compensate flood-related damages, and there is growing concern among insurers about damaging climatic events. To promote preventive actions as well as to take them into account in flood risk assessment, insurers have recently expressed the need to develop a rating system of preventive actions. This study identified Action Programs for Flood Prevention (Programme d’Action pour la Prévention des Inondations—PAPI) as the key French public policy instrument: they provide an overview of the diversity of actions that are conducted locally at the relevant risk basin scale. A database of all intended actions in the 145 launched PAPIs was constructed and the actions were coded (88 codes). The analysis consisted of two steps: (1) We conducted an expert valuation using the Analytic Network Process and the Analytic Hierarchy Process, aiming at creating an experimental national rating system. The results show the importance of implementing an integrated strategy that particularly emphasizes land use planning and urban planning. This appears even sounder as individual actions show relatively limited effectiveness. (2) The ratings of actions were applied to each PAPI according to their implemented actions. The resulting scores for individual PAPIs, as local risk coping capacity indicators, show great variance ranging from 8 to 324 points. This confirms the need to take prevention into account in flood risk assessment.

Software defect prevention based on human error theories

Software defect prevention is an important way to reduce the defect introduction rate.As the primary cause of software defects,human error can be the key to understanding and preventing software defects.This paper proposes a defect prevention approach based on human error mechanisms：DPe HE.The approach includes both knowledge and regulation training in human error prevention.Knowledge training provides programmers with explicit knowledge on why programmers commit errors,what kinds of errors tend to be committed under different circumstances,and how these errors can be prevented.Regulation training further helps programmers to promote the awareness and ability to prevent human errors through practice.The practice is facilitated by a problem solving checklist and a root cause identification checklist.This paper provides a systematic framework that integrates knowledge across disciplines,e.g.,cognitive science,software psychology and software engineering to defend against human errors in software development.Furthermore,we applied this approach in an international company at CMM Level 5 and a software development institution at CMM Level 1 in the Chinese Aviation Industry.The application cases show that the approach is feasible and effective in promoting developers＇ ability to prevent software defects,independent of process maturity levels.