First Breath prenatal smoking cessation pilot study: preliminary findings.

Despite the many dangers associated with smoking during pregnancy, it remains a salient public health problem for Wisconsin women. The First Breath pilot program was developed in an attempt to reduce rates of smoking during pregnancy among low-income women. Preliminary results suggest that the First Breath counseling-based approach is effective, with a quit rate of 43.8% among First Breath enrollees at 1 month postpartum. Women receiving First Breath cessation counseling also had higher quit rates at every measurement period versus women in a comparison group who were receiving whatever cessation care was available in their county in the absence of First Breath. The First Breath pilot study has demonstrated success in helping pregnant women quit smoking and in creating a model for integration of cessation services into prenatal health care service provision. It is through this success that First Breath is expanding beyond the pilot study stage to a statewide program in 2003.

Regional variation in stroke mortality in Wisconsin, 1989-1998.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the regional variation in stroke mortality and determine the level of excess stroke mortality in Wisconsin over the period 1989-1998. METHODS: Wisconsin stroke mortality (ICD-9 430-438) data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC WONDER) were analyzed by county for the period 1989-1998 using indirect age standardization. RESULTS: Estimates of observed and excess number of deaths associated with cerebrovascular disease in Wisconsin varied considerably by county during the 10-year time frame studied. Twenty-five counties had an observed number of stroke deaths that were statistically significantly different from what was expected given the age structure of their population. Of these, 14 had significantly more deaths than expected while 11 had significantly fewer. DISCUSSION: There is substantial variation in stroke mortality between Wisconsin counties. Potential reasons for regional variation are unknown and warrant further research. This paper may give Wisconsin counties a benchmark of their progress in preventing stroke mortality to date and give direction for future public health efforts.

Forward for women's health: the state of women's health in Wisconsin.

Because of the magnitude of women's health issues within the larger context of public health and healthcare systems, this paper was written to help define the current status of women's health in Wisconsin. Utilizing critical women's health areas identified by the Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, 16 specific measures of women's health were chosen for this analysis. The most recent data available for each measure were collected with Wisconsin data being compared to national averages as well as to Healthy People 2010: Objectives for Improving Health targets. Wisconsin women fare better than national averages in nine of the selected health measures; however, there are still many improvements to be made in order to meet Healthy People 2010 targets. The areas where the most improvements are needed include binge drinking, tobacco use, diabetes, and stroke mortality. Other significant findings include the lack of uniformly collected data in the areas of domestic violence, osteoporosis, and mental illness.