Rates and correlates of medicine disposal program implementation at pharmacies in North Carolina: A longitudinal study, 2016-2021.

BACKGROUND: Unused prescription opioids from family and friends continue to be the primary access point to prescription opioids for nonmedical use among youth. Implementation of medicine disposal boxes at pharmacies is one approach to facilitate removal of unused prescription opioids from the home to prevent diversion. OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the implementation rates of disposal boxes at pharmacies in North Carolina from 2016 to 2021 and place-based health disparities in availability. METHODS: We identified pharmacies with a disposal box in 2016, 2018, and 2021 among licensed pharmacies in North Carolina in 2018 (N = 2587). We computed descriptive statistics to describe disposal box implementation rates over time and used geographic information systems to identify spatial trends. We used separate logistic regression models in 2018 and 2021 to assess the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and the likelihood of a pharmacy implementing a disposal box. RESULTS: We found an increase in disposal boxes over time with 43 pharmacies (1.7%) in 2016, 144 (5.6%) in 2018, and 350 (13.5%) in 2021 implementing a disposal box. In 2018, independent pharmacies were more likely than chains to have a disposal box. In 2021, medical-affiliated and pharmacies defined as "other" were less likely than chains to have a disposal box. In both 2018 and 2021, pharmacies in census tracts with a higher percentage of the population below the federal poverty line were more likely to have a disposal box. In 2021, pharmacies in tracts with a higher percentage of the population unemployed were less likely to have a disposal box. In 2018, pharmacies located in counties with a greater number of opioid overdose deaths were more likely to have a disposal box. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the growth of disposal boxes in North Carolina over time and the potential for continued expansion to provide opportunities to prevent prescription opioid diversion.

Histological estimates of ovariole number in honey bee queens, Apis mellifera, reveal lack of correlation with other queen quality measures.

Published estimates of the number of ovarioles found in the ovaries of honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queens range from 100 to 180 per ovary. Within the context of a large-scale study designed to assay the overall quality of queens obtained from various commercial sources, a simple histology-based method for accurate determination of ovariole number was developed and then applied to a sample of 75 queens. Although all 10 commercial sources evaluated provided queens with ovariole numbers within the expected range, ovariole number was found to vary significantly across sources. Overall, and within most of the individual samples, there was no correlation of ovariole number with other morphological attributes such as thoracic width, wing length, or wet weight. Queens from two of the sources, however, displayed a significant negative relationship between wet weight and ovariole number. This study provides baseline data on ovariole number in commercial honey bee queens in the United States at a time when honey bee populations are declining; the method described can be used in studies relating ovariole number in queens to egg production and behavior.

Implementing a prenatal oral health program through interprofessional collaboration.

Interprofessional collaboration has become a critical component of accreditation standards in dentistry and medicine. This article reports on implementation in an academic setting of a prenatal oral health program (pOHP) that addresses coordinated care, accreditation standards, and new clinical practice guidelines. The pOHP is an educational intervention for third-year medical students, residents, and faculty members to deliver preventive oral health information and referral to a dental home for pregnant women. At the same time, senior dental students and faculty members are introduced to prenatal oral health principles and delivery of comprehensive oral health care to pregnant women. A systems-based approach was used to guide the pOHP implementation during the 2012-13 academic year. Participants were 96 third-year medical students (50% of the total in an obstetrics and gynecology clerkship) and all 81 fourth-year dental students. During that academic year, 126 dental referrals were made to the School of Dentistry, and 55 women presented for care, resulting in 50% (n=40) of dental students participating in the clinical experience and delivery of simple to complex oral health procedures. The prenatal period is a frequently missed opportunity to address oral health care. The pOHP is an interprofessional collaboration model designed to educate dental and medical providers and provide a system of referral for comprehensive clinical care of pregnant patients, including educating women about their oral health and that of their children. Such programs can help meet interprofessional accreditation standards and encourage implementation of practice guidelines.

Las políticas de salud del Banco Mundial: una revisión crítica / Health politicy: a critic revision

Este artículo examina las recomendaciones sobre políticas sanmitarias del Banco Mundial presentadas en su Informe sobre el desarrollo Mundial 1993. Invertir en Salud. Luego de analizar una selección de las recomendaciones del informe tales como la privatización, descentralización, cuotas de recuperación, programas de nutrición y de medicamentos esenciales, concluímos que el enfoque del Banco Mundial sobre el sector salud corresponde a su modelo ideologico de desarrollo que favorece a las naciones del Norte a expensas de los pobres del Sur. Se indica que el índice años de vida ajustado en función de la discapacidad (AVAD) que pretende vender el Banco Mundial contiene serias fallas teóricas y se pronostica que en unos pocos años será relegado al olvido. Invertir en Salud es de escaso valor como guía par los que formulan políticas de salud y podría ser utilizado para denegar servicios esenciales de salud a los pobres del tercer mundo

Las políticas de salud del Banco Mundial: una revisión crítica / Health politicy: a critic revision

Este artículo examina las recomendaciones sobre políticas sanmitarias del Banco Mundial presentadas en su Informe sobre el desarrollo Mundial 1993. Invertir en Salud. Luego de analizar una selección de las recomendaciones del informe tales como la privatización, descentralización, cuotas de recuperación, programas de nutrición y de medicamentos esenciales, concluímos que el enfoque del Banco Mundial sobre el sector salud corresponde a su modelo ideologico de desarrollo que favorece a las naciones del Norte a expensas de los pobres del Sur. Se indica que el índice años de vida ajustado en función de la discapacidad (AVAD) que pretende vender el Banco Mundial contiene serias fallas teóricas y se pronostica que en unos pocos años será relegado al olvido. Invertir en Salud es de escaso valor como guía par los que formulan políticas de salud y podría ser utilizado para denegar servicios esenciales de salud a los pobres del tercer mundo(AU)