RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND BEHAVIORS AS PREDICTORS OF SUBSTANCE USE IN FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Substance use is prevalent on college campuses (e.g., Douglas et al., 1997) and can create significant negative consequences (Kodjo & Klein, 2002; NIAAA, 2006). Research suggests that religious beliefs and religious behaviors interact to predict risky substance use in first-year undergraduate students, such that students with religious beliefs but no corresponding behaviors are at risk for significant alcohol use and related problems (Brechting et al., 2010; Cole et al., 2020). However, these studies have only been cross-sectional in nature. The current study assessed longitudinally if the interaction of religious beliefs/behaviors influenced first-year undergraduate student substance use across the early adjustment period to college. Additionally, the study explored if perceptions of parental religiosity and/or general parental support variables influenced student substance use and religiosity, given the influence of parental variables on student behaviors (e.g., Ewing et al., 2015). Undergraduate participants (N=157) at the University of Kentucky completed surveys at two time points during their first fall semester. Results indicated that students with higher religious beliefs but lower religious behaviors were the student religious grouping most at risk for substance use (p’s\u3c .01- .05). A direction of effect analysis indicated that substance use behaviors predicted a decline in religious behaviors over time (p’s\u3c .01-.05). Moreover, direction of effect analyses indicated that religious behaviors of mothers negatively predicted student alcohol-related problems over time (p\u3c .01), while fathers’ religious beliefs positively predicted student religious behaviors over time (p\u3c .01). Future interventions should consider these outcomes for helping first-semester college students reduce their risky substance use

Review of Current Research on the Health of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Ireland

This review of current research on refugees and asylum-seekers in Ireland was commissioned by the Northern Area Health Board (NAHB). The Health Services Research Centre at the Department of Psychology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland conducted the study. The study team comprised Ms.Sarah Delaney, (anthropologist and research officer) and Professor Hannah McGee (psychologist and Centre Director). The study aimed to provide a national review of recent and current health-related research on refugees and asylum-seekers in Ireland. The study also identified priority areas for future research, and made recommendations as to the most effective methods of addressing these priorities

Exercise-based interventions and health-related quality of life in intermittent claudication: a 20-year (1989-2008) review.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a chronic, progressive disease with significant cardiovascular risk. Symptoms include pain in leg muscles on walking, relieved by rest (intermittent claudication). Treatment aims to maintain or improve quality of life (QoL) by minimising ischaemic symptoms and preventing progression to vascular occlusion. Management strategies include exercise-based interventions. Research from 1989 to 2008 was systematically reviewed to identify the QoL impact of exercise-based interventions in patients with intermittent claudication. Twenty-three studies were identified. Five were randomized controlled trials. Studies were summarized in terms of exercise interventions, QoL measures used and QoL findings. The majority used a generic QoL instrument; most commonly the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Eleven studies reported beneficial effects on the SF-36 Physical Functioning scale. Some also reported positive effects on the scales of Bodily Pain, Role-Physical, Vitality, General Health and the Physical Component Score. In seven studies, a disease-specific measure was used. In six of these, both generic and disease-specific questionnaires were used. Disease-specific measures demonstrated greater improvements across a range of QoL domains. Greater use of disease-specific measures and an extended follow-up period may enable a more definitive picture to emerge regarding effects of exercise on QoL in intermittent claudication

Regret about the Timing of First Sexual Intercourse: The Role of Age and Context. ESRI WP217. November 2007

To examine how age at first vaginal intercourse is related to the circumstances of sex and specifically to the nature of the relationship between the partners, levels of autonomy, planning and regret. To quantify the contribution of age at first sex relative to the context and circumstances of sex

The Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships Sub-Report 1: Learning About Sex and First Sexual Experiences

The ISSHR was commissioned by the Department of Health and Children and the Crisis Pregnancy Agency in response to a recommendation by the National AIDS Strategy Committee. It is the largest nationally representative studyof sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviour ever undertaken in Ireland. International evidence indicates that aspects of sexual health, such as contraception, crisis pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, should be examined jointly. To this end, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the Department of Health and Children instigated the ISSHR project. The ISSHR findings have been outlined in a suite of reports – the Main Report, a Summary Report and three sub-reports; the latter provide detailed information in defined areas of interest. This, the first sub-report, focuses on the area of sexual learning and first sexual experiences. The Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) and the sexual-health sector in general need robust evidence in order to develop sexual-health policies, to plan strategies and to inform the effective promotion of sexual-health messages. The ISSHR findings will be invaluable not only to the work of the CPA in preventing crisis pregnancy, but also to that of other organisations concerned with promoting sexual health, providing sexual-health services, preventing sexually transmitted infections, and providing sex education for young people

Do Consultation Charges Deter General Practitioner Use Among Older People? A Natural Experiment. ESRI WP194. May 2007

Background: A change in the pricing of general practitioner care in the Republic of Ireland in 2001 provides a natural experiment of the influence of economic incentives on GP visiting. Methods: Social surveys (N=937 in 2000 & N=1053 in 2004) were carried out before and after the change in pricing arrangements. OLS and logistic regression were used to examine change in both the overall probability of attending the GP and the frequency of visiting in the previous year. Results: 93% in 2000 and 95% in 2004 visited their GP at least once. Where the proportion of those aged 65 to 69 visiting at least once fell by 1% between 2000 and 2004, the proportion aged 70 to 74 increased by 4.6%; those 75 to 79 increased by 6.3%; those aged 80 to 84 increased by 3.2%. Frequency of visiting remained stable at 5.3 visits per year but increased with age and worse health. Logistic regression models confirmed the increase in the probability of visiting for over 70s between 2000 and 2004

Renal dialysis services in the Eastern Regional Health Authority: a review of patient satisfaction across hospitals

Recent changes to the health services have initiated a consumer-oriented approach to health care. The current national health strategy in Ireland “Quality and fairness: a health service for you” emphasises the principles of equity and fairness, a peoplecentred service, clear accountability and quality of care (Department of Health and Children, 2001). A consequence of these changes is the consideration of patient views of their health care, and this is often evaluated in the form of patient satisfaction studies. There is a growing realisation that patient input can give a greater understanding of the quality of services and how best to improve them

Implementation of the 4th Joint Societies’ Task Force Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice. Evaluating implementation across 13 European countries. Main report

The Guidelines of the 4th Joint Societies Task Force on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice (4th JTF)* were issued in 2007, summarising and evaluating available evidence on reducing the incidence of atherosclerotic events arising from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease. The purpose of the guidelines is to assist physicians in selecting the best strategies for managing cardiovascular disease. They are an important agreed protocol across countries and professionals that have the ultimate aim of improving outcomes from the disease. The value of these guidelines depends on the extent to which they are used by physicians in daily practice. Introducing the guidelines, the 4th JTF authors stressed that ‘implementation programmes for new guidelines form an important component of the dissemination of knowledge’.1 Transferring guidelines from paper into practice has proven to be frustrating for the many who endeavour to standardise the management of cardiovascular disease across Europe. The EUROASPIRE I, II and III surveys, which audited the practice of preventive cardiology in patients with coronary heart disease over a decade, illustrated that patients were not being managed to the standards set by the ESC guidelines and that limited attention was given to prevention in patients with established heart disease. Evidence of the need for more effective lifestyle management was compelling: blood pressure management remained stubbornly unchanged, and lipid targets were not achieved in almost half of patients. Other studies report disappointing levels of guideline observance among physicians; they are often unaware of recommendations given in guidelines and, even when they are, many fail to consistently apply them in treating patients.2-3 Commonly cited barriers to guideline adherence among physicians include lack of time during consultations, financial constraints and lack of confidence in patients’ motivation to comply. Physicians also find that guideline documents are difficult to translate into practice. To address the gap between publication of guidelines and their use in practice, the ESC at a European level organises presentations at conferences for its member national societies and key opinion leaders. It works at a political level to promote the prevention agenda and to directly influence EU health policy, leading, for example, to the EU Commission endorsement of the European Heart Health Charter. However, such efforts must be paralleled by concerted strategies at a national level to realise implementation in the front line. The 4th JTF urged national societies to develop implementation programmes, starting with the translation of guidelines to the local language and their adaptation to the national context. It recommended that the guidelines issued by the 4th JTF be regarded as a framework from which national guidance ‘to suit local political, economic, social, and medical circumstances’ would be developed. The recalibration of the SCORE risk assessment charts to reflect mortality and risk factor distributions in individual countries as part of this adaptation was emphasised. The 4th JTF saw as vital the establishment a multidisciplinary alliance of experts from national professional organisations to oversee the adaptation and to drive implementation. It was necessary that alliances would have the support of national health authorities and work with other sectors such as the medical education and business communities to advance their aims. Other recommendations included: An information and education programme aimed at practising doctors that would include an audit of practices and feedback. The development of supplementary materials to the guidelines, specifically electronic versions for use in hand-held devices, such as PDAs, and of A4 sheet versions of risk algorithms and treatment recommendations. A population health approach addressing lifestyle risk factors in general. A public information campaign explaining the concept of multiple risk assessment and treatment and intervention thresholds, as well as describing how risk can be reduced

CPR 4 Schools Evaluation Study Report

CPR 4 Schools is an ambitious training programme developed by the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) to equip post-primary school students with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills. In the 2008–09 school year, a pilot of the programme was rolled out to 27,000 Transition Year students. The programme is one element of the IHF’s strategy to improve survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest, which causes an estimated 5,000 deaths in Ireland every year. Most of these deaths occur at home. If there is a witness, it is most often a relative

Quality of Life and Functional Capacity following Peripheral Arterial Disease Exercise Programme

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a manifestation of generalised atherosclerotic disease in which the arterial lumen becomes progressively narrowed by atherosclerotic plaques. This results in reduced blood flow to the tissues causing pain on exercise, relieved by rest (Intermittent Claudication [IC]). As PAD is a chronic, progressive disease with a significant cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk burden it has a considerable impact on functional capacity and quality of life (QOL). Current evidence suggests that 27 million people in Europe and North America have PAD1. The main aim of treatment is maintenance or improvement in quality of life by eliminating ischaemic symptoms and preventing progression to vascular occlusion. The use of patient-based measures of treatment effect including functional capacity and disease-specific quality of life questionnaires has been recommended