March 2012

These are some of the ways research from Prevention Research Centers (PRC) have contributed to public health:

• Implementation of a policy to restrict sales of sugar-sweetened drinks in Boston public high schools was associated with a reduction in students' consumption of such drinks, according to a Harvard University PRC study.
• An innovative financing initiative in New Orleans awards loans to food stores in underserved neighborhoods to increase access to nutritious food, based on scientific guidance from the Tulane University PRC.
• We Run This City Youth Marathon Program, evaluated by the Case Western Reserve University PRC, teaches teens to set and achieve goals by preparing them to run in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.

• A Colon Cancer Test Saved My Life — Idaho's media campaign [PDF - 265KB]
• Nebraska's Stay in the Game campaign stars former Husker quarterback, Jerry Tagge, in television and radio ads to promote colorectal cancer screening.
• New Hampshire's Health Alert Network technology [PDF - 119KB] was used to remind providers that colorectal cancer can be prevented and detected early.

• Illinois hospitals collaborated [PDF-552KB] to reduce Clostridium difficile infections 15% to 26%; one strategy included engaging environmental service workers.
• Massachusetts' CDI Prevention Collaborative [PDF-547KB] reduced Clostridium difficile infections 25% by empowering frontline hospital staff on multidisciplinary teams.
• New York's Clostridium difficile Collaborative saves millions in hospital costs [PDF-676KB] using an evidence-based infection prevention bundle and standardized environmental cleaning protocols.

• Recreational designer drugs sold as "bath salts" have been legislatively banned in at least 30 states as of February 2012.
• The Michigan Department of Community Health used its chemical poisoning regulations to mandate statewide reporting by hospitals of possible new cases of "bath salts" intoxication.
• The Northern New England Poison Center offers free recorded webinars on bath salts and provides continuing education credits for some health care professionals.