Theory-Based School and Community-Based HiV Prevention in Zimbabwe: A Prospective Study.

A ZJER article on school and community based HIV/AIDS prevention program.The overall goal for this proposed project is to conduct a pilot stud)> of a theory, school and community-based, HIV prevention programme for in and out of school adolescents and youths in Harare. The intervention will use a Reducing the Risk approach as well as incorporate a peer diffusion model into school interventions. It is expected that the proposed project will positively impact on adolescents and teenagers at risk for contracting HIV in Zimbabwe and will produce benefits that continue long after the project is concluded. The project will also empower teachers and health educators with the necessary information and training to successfully implement HIV school and community-based behavioral intervention studies in Zimbabwe that can continue long after the proposed project has concluded. This will be achieved through training, seminars, and on-going workshops for professionals and students during the entire research process

Session 2A: \u3cem\u3ePanel Discussion: Developing Post-Incident Risk Communication Guidelines for Intentional Water Contamination Events\u3c/em\u3e

This panel will discuss emerging findings from a US EPA-funded research project intended to improve risk communication for post-incident decontamination and clearance activities associated with intentional contamination of a water system. The session will center around Phase II of the study, which focuses on extending the Phase I case study findings that were presented at last year’s KWRRI Symposium, to identify ways in which disparate stakeholder groups in metropolitan areas differentially perceive risk and subsequent risk communication efforts

Session 2A: \u3cem\u3eDeveloping Post-Incident Risk Communication Guidelines for Intentional Water Contamination Events\u3c/em\u3e

This panel will discuss a US EPA-funded research project intended to improve risk communication for post-incident decontamination and clearance activities associated with intentional contamination of a water system. The study incorporates two complementary methods conducted in successive phases. The recently-completed first phase included robust case study analyses of risk communication related to recent and significant contamination incidents. The second phase, which is currently underway, will identify ways in which disparate stakeholder groups in a metropolitan area differentially perceive risk and subsequent risk communication efforts

Development and Implementation of Mass Media Campaigns to Delay Sexual Initiation Among African American and White Youth

Reducing new HIV/STD infections among at-risk adolescents requires developing and evaluating evidence-based health communication approaches. Research over-whelmingly supports the conclusion that early sexual initiation is associated with STDs and other negative outcomes in later years (e.g., unintended pregnancy). The authors’ research group secured funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop, implement, and rigorously evaluate televised mass media campaigns to delay initiation of sexual intercourse among African American and White adolescents in two cities in the Southeastern United States. The focus of the present study is on the development and implementation of the campaigns, including (a) rationale and theoretical underpinnings; (b) collection, screening, and assessment of existing public service announcements; (c) development of new public service announcements; (d) study design and campaign airing plan; and (e) message exposure achieved in the campaigns. Health communication campaigns hold much promise in reaching at-risk adolescent populations with targeted, timely, and relevant risk-reduction messages

Fluctuations in export productivity over the last century from sediments of a southern Chilean fjord (44°S)

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B. V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 65 (2005): 587-600, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2005.07.005.Here we present the first reconstruction of changes in surface primary production during the last century from the Puyuhuapi fjord in southern Chile, using a variety of parameters (diatoms, biogenic silica, total organic carbon, chlorins, and proteins) as productivity proxies. Two sediment cores from the head and the center of the fjord were analyzed and compared to gain insights on past changes in productivity in these two different depositional environments. Higher sedimentation rates found at the head of the fjord result from the combination of a shallower water column and a restricted circulation by the occurrence of a sill. Additionally, sediment mixing depths estimated from 210Pb data suggest that suboxic conditions may dominate the bottom water and the sediment-water interface in this location. Productivity of the Puyuhuapi fjord during the last century was characterized by a constant increase from the late 19th century to the early 1980s, then decreased until the late-1990s, and then rose again to present-day values. The influence of rainfall on productivity was most noticeable during periods of low rainfall, which coincided with decreased overall productivity within the Puyuhuapi fjord. Simultaneous variations in productivity and rainfall in the study area suggest that marine productivity could respond to atmospheric-oceanic interactions at a local scale. At a regional scale, marine productivity of the area may be related to other large-scale processes such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation.We are grateful to the Ministerio de Hacienda de Chile (Chilean Ministry of Treasury) and the National Oceanographic Committee (CONA) for financial support to carry out the Cimar-7 Fiordo Program (Grant C7F 01-10 to Silvio Pantoja), the FONDAP-COPAS Center, and Grant 200.031.085-1 (UdeC) for financial support. Sepúlveda was funded by a scholarship from the Graduate School of the University of Concepción and by the FONDAP-COPAS Center. Additional support was given by Fundación Andes through the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/University of Concepción agreement

Spirituality within the family and the prevention of health risk behavior among adolescents in Bangkok, Thailand

This study investigates the influences of a family's spiritual beliefs and practices on substance use and sexual risk behaviors among young adolescents 13-14 years old in Bangkok, Thailand. Independent predictor variables are the parents' and teens' spiritual beliefs and practices in Buddhism and parental monitoring behaviors. The study uses data from the 2007 Baseline Survey of the Thai Family Matters Project, which adapted a U.S. based family prevention program for Thai culture. A representative sample of 420 pairs of parents and teens from the Bangkok metropolitan area was recruited to participate in the study. Structural equation models indicate that positive direct and indirect associations of the spirituality of parents and teens within a family and the prevention of adolescent risk behaviors are significant and consistent.Thailand Buddhism Spirituality Adolescents Family Risk behavior Tobacco Alcohol Health behavior Sexual behavior

Development and Implementation of Mass Media Campaigns to Delay Sexual Initiation Among African American and White Youth

Reducing new HIV/STD infections among at-risk adolescents requires developing and evaluating evidence-based health communication approaches. Research over-whelmingly supports the conclusion that early sexual initiation is associated with STDs and other negative outcomes in later years (e.g., unintended pregnancy). The authors’ research group secured funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop, implement, and rigorously evaluate televised mass media campaigns to delay initiation of sexual intercourse among African American and White adolescents in two cities in the Southeastern United States. The focus of the present study is on the development and implementation of the campaigns, including (a) rationale and theoretical underpinnings; (b) collection, screening, and assessment of existing public service announcements; (c) development of new public service announcements; (d) study design and campaign airing plan; and (e) message exposure achieved in the campaigns. Health communication campaigns hold much promise in reaching at-risk adolescent populations with targeted, timely, and relevant risk-reduction messages