The Power of Positive Deviance

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Positive deviance

Positive deviance is the observation that in most settings a few at risk individuals follow uncommon, beneficial practices and consequently experience better outcomes than their neighbours who share similar risks.14

 

Positive deviant behaviour is an uncommon practice that confers advantage to the people who practise it compared with the rest of the community. Such behaviours are likely to be affordable, acceptable, and sustainable because they are already practised by at risk people, they do not conflict with local culture, and they work.15 For example, in Egypt, contrary to custom, parents of poor but well nourished children were found to feed their children a diet that included eggs, beans, and green vegetables. Child nutrition programmes that provided opportunities to parents of malnourished children to follow this and other new behaviours, such as hand washing and hygienic food preparation, improved child growth.

Summary points

Even in the poorest communities, a few individuals or families achieve good health

Positive deviance is a quick, low cost method to identify the strategies used by these people and encourage the rest of the community to adopt them

The approach has been used successfully, mainly to improve child health

The potential for the approach to help communities to gain better health or other social benefits is vast and largely untapped

 

BMJ 2004; 329 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.329.7475.1177 (Published 11 November 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;329:1177

How One Colorado Town Is Tackling Suicide Prevention

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Eight of the top ten states with the highest suicide rates in the nation are in the rural mountain West, including Colorado. The region has been labeled “the suicide belt.” Even scenic mountain resort towns like Aspen and Durango, Colo., have reported upticks in suicide. Suicide is a problem everywhere in rural America though. More than half of those surveyed in a poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said they knew someone personally affected by suicide.

HT Kaiser. 

Link to source article.

 

Does Legal Marijuana Increase the Number of Car Accidents?

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Crashes are up by as much as 6 percent in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, compared with neighboring states that haven’t legalized marijuana for recreational use, new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows.

Source article.

Insurance Agent:

“Why do you need a marijuana questionnaire?”

Underwriter:

“Confidential medical information.  Besides, I’ve seen her driving record and you haven’t.”

Insurance agent:

Silence.

Apnea-Hypopnea Event Duration Predicts Mortality in Men and Women in the Sleep Heart Health Study

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This new study found that, in addition to how many breathing interruptions occur, how long each one lasts is also important. Patients with the shortest apneas were 31 percent more likely to die during the study’s decade of follow-up with participants. This held true for both male and female participants.

Source article.

Study abstract.

Increased Mortality of Patients with Childhood-onset Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Compared With the General Population

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The researchers identified patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease between the years 1964 and 2014 via the Swedish patient register. Using these data, they compared mortality rates in about 9,400 children who developed IBD with those of other children.

Their results show that children who developed IBD before the age of 18 have a three to five-fold higher mortality rate than people without IBD, both during childhood and into adulthood. This translates to a 2.2-year reduction in life expectancy in individuals monitored up to the age of 65.

Source article.

Study abstract.Study abstract.

No consistent evidence of a disproportionately low resting energy expenditure in long-term successful weight-loss maintainers

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Conclusions

We found no consistent evidence of a significantly lower REE than predicted in a sample of long-term WLMs based on predictive equations developed from NCs and OCs as well as 3 standard predictive equations. Results suggest that sustained weight loss may not always result in a substantial, disproportionately low REE.

Full abstract can be found here.

I feel so much better now.

 

Growing Up Surrounded by Books Could Have Powerful, Lasting Effect on the Mind

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The study, published recently in Social Science Research, assessed data from 160,000 adults from 31 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Japan and Chile. Participants filled out surveys with the Programme for the International Assessment of Competencies, which measures proficiency in three categories: literacy, numeracy (using mathematical concepts in everyday life) and information communication technology, (using digital technology to communicate with other people, and to gather and analyze information).

Respondents, who ranged in age from 25 to 65, were asked to estimate how many books were in their house when they were 16 years old. The research team was interested in this question because home library size can be a good indicator of what the study authors term “book-oriented socialization.” Participants were able to select from a given range of books that included everything from “10 or less” to “more than 500.”

The effects were most marked when it came to literacy. Growing up with few books in the home resulted in below average literacy levels. Being surrounded by 80 books boosted the levels to average, and literacy continued to improve until libraries reached about 350 books, at which point the literacy rates leveled off. The researchers observed similar trends when it came to numeracy; the effects were not as pronounced with information communication technology tests, but skills did improve with increased numbers of books.

Interesting research findings.  Read the source article here.

Only two percent of teens read newspaper, one-third have not read book for pleasure in last year.  We. Are. Doomed.

Whey Better

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While exercise buffs have long used protein supplements to gain muscle, new research from McMaster University suggests one protein source in particular, whey protein, is most effective for seniors struggling to rebuild muscle lost from inactivity associated with illness or long hospital stays.

Source article here.

Counterfeit Prescription Drugs Laced With Fentanyl Falling Into Unsuspecting Hands Thanks In Part To Social Media — Kaiser Health News

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People buying drugs like Xanax online are taking the pills, not realizing that they are fake and some are tainted with a potent opioid. The mistake can be fatal. 26 more words

via Counterfeit Prescription Drugs Laced With Fentanyl Falling Into Unsuspecting Hands Thanks In Part To Social Media — Kaiser Health News