BACKGROUND The dental visit is a unique opportunity for tobacco control. Despite evidence of effectiveness in dental settings, brief provider-delivered cessation advice is underutilized. OBJECTIVE To evaluate an Internet-delivered intervention designed to increase implementation of brief provider advice for tobacco cessation in dental practice settings. METHODS Dental practices (N = 190) we...

OBJECTIVE Intervention strategies are available for reducing the high global burden of hazardous alcohol use as a risk factor for disease, but little is known about their potential costs and effects at a population level. This study set out to estimate these costs and effects. METHOD Analyses were carried out for 12 epidemiological World Health Organization subregions of the world. A populati...

We describe our experiences developing a model of delivery and multidisciplinary training course for screening and brief advice on four lifestyle issues: alcohol, smoking, physical activity, and diet. The one-day, 6-hour training course was developed to equip a wide range of health, social care, and community practitioners with an understanding of basic principles of screening and brief advice ...

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco use are two major alarming global health issues that tend to be co-prevalent in many developing countries and various surveys have provided evidence on their entangled associations. Accordingly, it is strongly suggested that smoking cessation be incorporated in TB control programs. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two smoking cessatio...

BACKGROUND There is a widely held expectation that GPs will routinely use opportunities to provide opportunistic screening and brief intervention for alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse, a major cause of preventable death and morbidity. AIM To explore how opportunities arise for AOD discussion in GP consultations and how that advice is delivered. DESIGN Analysis of video-recorded primary car...

There is increasing interest in broadly inclusive public health interventions that involve low-cost, self-help materials and minimal support from professionals. Dental health care workers (DHCWs) are a largely untapped resource for providing advice and brief counseling to tobacco-using patients, and there are good reasons to believe that they can be effective in this role. The results of our ra...

OBJECTIVE Problem alcohol use among elderly persons can have a variety of health-related consequences, complicating management of chronic illnesses and increasing health care utilization and costs. This study evaluates the economic cost and benefits of brief intervention for at-risk drinking older adults. METHOD A controlled clinical trial with 24-month follow-up tested effectiveness of brief...

BACKGROUND The 5A's heuristic (Ask, Assess willingness to change, Advise, Assist, and Arrange followup) has been proposed as a general approach to brief health behavior advice. This study's purpose was to discover the extent to which the 5A's heuristic is used to discuss exercise, diet, and weight loss during adult primary care visits and to test if individuals with a greater body mass index (B...

This document provides further detail on the evidence used and the issues considered in developing the UK National Guideline on Safer Sex Advice. The objective of the Guideline document is to provide guidance for practitioners in Level 3 Genitourinary medicine (GUM) services (Tier 5 in Scotland) on safer sex advice provided in sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV management consultation...

In loving memory of my father, Dr. Suresh Kumar Kwatra, who has been my greatest inspiration in life ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to my advisor, Aaron Bobick, and co-advisor, Irfan Essa, for their exceptional support and guidance. They gave me the freedom to explore research ideas at will, but were always there to educate and guide me. I would also like to thank the rest of my committee membe...