I am pleased to announce the selection of“Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S.” by Brian A. Primack and colleagues as the AJPM2017 Article of the Year, which appeared in our July 2017 issue. The article investigates the relationship between young adults’ use of social media and perceptions of social isolation and found those who used social media more frequently were also more likely to experience feelings of social isolation compared to those used it less. The AJPM editors considered a number of selection criteria including online engagement, article downloads, scientific rigor, and potential contribution to the fields of preventive medicine and public health. The study received widespread attention and was covered by NPR, CNN, Forbes, and The Telegraph while also placing 73rd on the 2017 Altmetric Top 100 list among over 2 million research outputs tracked.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Brian Primack, is Professor and Dean at the University of Pittsburgh and appears in the video below in which he discusses his team’s work and the need for additional research on the links between social media use and social isolation.
We hope you enjoy AJPM's Article of Year and the many exceptional contributions found in our September issue.
Compared to 2001-2002, racial disparities in preventive dental care for children were no longer evident in 2013-2014, yet disparities for evidence-based preventive dental care use, such as dental sealants, persisted.
Mills BM, Nurius PS, Matsueda RL, Rivara FP, Rowhani-Rahbar A.
Intent-specific firearm injuries were found to be associated with a history of substance use, mental disorder, or arrest, although surprisingly, unintentional and self-inflicted firearm injuries had no association with a prior history of arrest.
