Perceptions of young Jordanian adults to proposed anti-tobacco pictorial warning labels

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In commitment to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), four new pictorial warnings are now being proposed for display on cigarette packages sold in Jordan. The aim of this study was to gauge the immediate perceptions of young Jordanian adults towards these new pictorials and compare these perceptions to those of the pictorial currently being used in the country.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a convenience sample of youth aged 17-26. The interviewer-administered survey gauged participants' perceptions of salience, fear elicitation, and gained information as well as participants' motivation to remain non-smokers or quit smoking after viewing each of the four proposed new pictorials as well as the current pictorial used in Jordan. Perceptions regarding each new pictorial were compared to the current pictorial.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 450 surveys were included in the analysis. The sample (mean age 20.9) was 51.6% female and 31.3% cigarette (regular or occasional) smokers. In smokers, only one proposed pictorial had significantly more smokers perceiving it as salient or adding to information when compared to the current pictorial. More smokers reported fear when observing the proposed pictorials compared with current pictorial, but overall proportions reporting fear were generally less than 50%. Furthermore, all new pictorials motivated significantly more smokers to consider quitting compared with the current pictorial; however, the overall proportion of smokers reporting motivation was < 25%. Among nonsmokers, significantly more respondents perceived the new pictorials as salient and fear-eliciting compared to the old pictorial, but there were no major differences in information added. Motivation to remain non-smokers was comparable between the old and new pictorials.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Given the variability of response across both smokers and nonsmokers, and across the three elements of perception (salience, added information, fear) for each pictorial, further testing of the pictorials in a more diverse sample of Jordanian young adults prior to launch is recommended.</p

Intuitive eating and the nutrition transition in Asia

Current models of the nutrition transition focus on demographic changes and economic development. A further influence may be the adoption of western-based perceptions of beauty that lead to potentially harmful eating behaviours which contribute to overweight, obesity, and eating disorders. This paper proposes a comprehensive model of the nutrition transition that includes western influences on perceived attractiveness and subsequent eating styles. An exploratory test of this model for Asian countries explores differences in intuitive eating as a function of economic development and the adoption of western standards of beauty. The intuitive eating scale (IES), a measure of food consumption that is primarily characterized by the satisfaction of physical hunger, was used to evaluate agreement with intuitive eating principles in the US and four Asian countries (Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and China). Although intuitive eating scores in the US and Thailand failed to follow predicted patterns on two of the four IES subscales, scores for the other two IES subscales and the total IES score followed predicted patterns for Asian countries. Intuitive eating appears to be a valid, measurable concept that is correlated with economic development and levels of western influence in Asian countries. The tentative findings of this exploratory study support further evaluation of cultural influences as an important component of the nutrition transition

Do Latino and non-Latino grocery stores differ in the availability and affordability of healthy food items in a low-income, metropolitan region?

Abstract available at publisher's website

HPV Vaccine Misperceptions Among Hispanics/Latinos in Southern California.

BackgroundCervical and other vaccine-preventable HPV-associated cancers disproportionately impact Hispanic/Latinos in the USA. HPV vaccine uptake may be impacted by community agreement with common HPV vaccine misperceptions. It is unknown whether Hispanics/Latinos have a greater agreement with these misperceptions relative to non-Hispanic whites.MethodsHPV vaccine misperceptions were assessed through a 12-item Likert scale included in a population health assessment mailed to households in the southwest United States. Linear regression models assessed the association between identifying as Hispanic/Latino and summed misperception score.ResultsAmong the 407 individuals in the analytic sample, 111 (27.3%) were Hispanic/Latino and 296 (72.7%) were non-Hispanic white. On average, Hispanics/Latinos had a 3.03-point higher HPV vaccine misperception sum score relative to non-Hispanic whites, indicating greater agreement with misperceptions (95% confidence interval: 1.16-4.88; p &lt; 0.01).DiscussionCulturally relevant interventions are needed to address HPV vaccine misperceptions among Hispanics/Latinos as part of efforts toward HPV-associated cancer health equity

A Cross-cultural Comparison of Health Promoting Behaviors Among College Students

Abstract English: The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) El &quot;Health-promoting Lifestyle Profile&quot;/HPLP ( &quot;Perfil del Estilo de Vida conducente a la Promocióón de la Salud&quot;) fuéé usado para comparar la prevalencia de los comportamientos seleccionados entre 594 estudiantes universitarios que viven en los Estados Unidos y 629 estudiantes que viven en Japóón. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las sub-escalas del manejo del estréés y relaciones inter-personales. Sinembargo, los estudiantes Japoneses tuvieron puntajes máás altos en las sub-escalas de nutricióón y responsabilidad hacia la salud, mientras que los estudiantes de los Estados Unidos tuvieron puntajes mayores en las escalas de crecimiento espiritual y ejercicio. Paradóójicamente, los estudiantes Japoneses reportaron unos niveles máás altos de dietas restrictivas y demostraro

A Cross-cultural Comparison of Health Promoting Behaviors Among College Students

Abstract English: The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) El &quot;Health-promoting Lifestyle Profile&quot;/HPLP ( &quot;Perfil del Estilo de Vida conducente a la Promocióón de la Salud&quot;) fuéé usado para comparar la prevalencia de los comportamientos seleccionados entre 594 estudiantes universitarios que viven en los Estados Unidos y 629 estudiantes que viven en Japóón. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las sub-escalas del manejo del estréés y relaciones inter-personales. Sinembargo, los estudiantes Japoneses tuvieron puntajes máás altos en las sub-escalas de nutricióón y responsabilidad hacia la salud, mientras que los estudiantes de los Estados Unidos tuvieron puntajes mayores en las escalas de crecimiento espiritual y ejercicio. Paradóójicamente, los estudiantes Japoneses reportaron unos niveles máás altos de dietas restrictivas y demostraro