This month’s issue opens with a commentary by Krueger calling researchers to continue to refine our understanding of the relationship between the political functioning of states and population health. (page 666)

In speaker’s corner Porta and colleagues argue that there is a lack of sufficient evidence to generalise the use of human papillomavirus vaccination, especially given the uncertainty about its long-term effects. (page 667)

In a review of community-based participatory research (CBPR) aimed at addressing health disparities in environmental and occupational health in the USA, Cook shows that CBPR led to community-level action to improve the health and wellbeing of community members. Collaboration among government scientists, university researchers and community partners emerged as a new model of CBPR partnerships—one that effectively integrates research and action. (page 668)

In the glossary Millar and colleagues present terms relating to capture-recapture methods. Originally developed for estimating demographic parameters of animal populations, this methodology has been widely applied for prevalence estimation in epidemiology. (page 677 …