The Health Belief Model Applied to Understanding Diabetes Regimen Compliance

Inadequate adherence to prescribed treatment plans is perhaps the most serious obstacle to achieving success ful therapeutic outcomes, and non compliance by diabetic patients is no exception. This is partly based on pa tients' realization that compliance does not necessarily result in lack of illness. A psychosocial framework for under standing patient compliance is the Health Belief Model, which is based upon the value an individual places on the identified goal and the likelihood that compliance will achieve that goal. This Model has been useful to explain noncompliance, to make an "educa tional diagnosis," and for designing compliance-enhancing interventions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68410/2/10.1177_014572178501100108.pd

Smoking behavior, cessation techniques, and the health decision model

The magnitude of the problem of smoking challenges health providers to persuade patients of the Importance of trying to quit. Smoking behavior and cessation techniques are discussed in terms of the health decision model, a third-generation model combining health beliefs, decision analysis, and behavioral decision theory. This review suggests the need for physicians to emphasize factors such as health beliefs, self-efficacy, social support, and reduction of stress in smoking cessation efforts. Patients experiencing symptoms, particularly relating to the lungs or heart, may have stronger health beliefs and are clearly more likely to quit smoking. In the absence of a clear-cut advantage for any particular smoking cessation technique, physicians should provide advice about smoking as a regular part of every patient visit.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25691/1/0000245.pd

Effects of threatening communications and mothers' health beliefs on weight change in obese children

A field experiment was designed to test the effects on weight change in obese children of (1) communications varying in threat and (2) health beliefs of the child's mother, in terms of perceived vulnerability to health threats, the efficacy of taking actions, and barriers to acting. Treatments involved messages containing more or less threatening material regarding obesity, plus a control (no communication) condition. Beliefs were assessed by means of personal interviews. All mothers and children received dietary counseling and were scheduled for four follow-up visits, which included weighing. The 182 participants were from low-income areas served by a large hospital pediatric clinic. High-threat messages yielded the most consistent weight loss, followed by low threat and control. In addition, both general beliefs concerning health and specific beliefs about obesity and dieting predicted weight loss. Both messages and mothers' beliefs acted together on keeping appointments and making efforts to comply. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of threats and health belief-behavior linkages.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44808/1/10865_2004_Article_BF00846636.pd

Priorities for a global cassava research program to improve food security and incomes in developing countries: A survey of experts.

The resources available for implementing the CGIAR Research Program Roots, Tubers, and Bananas (CRP-RTB) are limited and have an opportunity cost in terms of foregone alternatives.There are many alternative research options that can be pursued to improve food security and incomes for resource-poor farmers in developing countries. This raises the need to identify how to best invest limited resources in order to generate the greatest impacts per dollar invested. The CRPRTB proposes a six stage process for setting priorities. As an initial step in this process, this study describes the perceptions of cassava research priorities by cassava researchers, development and extension specialists. These experts were asked to rank three top constraints on cassava production, transformation and commercialization and to rate the importance of 13 kinds of research options to reduce poverty and improve food security. The ranking was based on a five-point scale, between 5 as the most important and 1 as the least important research option. Results presented reflect perceptions of critical priorities for cassava research based on tallying of the response and provide the basis for further priority setting in the CRP-RTB

What Makes Some People Think Astrology Is Scientific?

Citizens in both North America and Europe are apt to read horoscope columns in newspapers and magazines. While some people read these casually and purely for entertainment, some believe that astrology has scientific status and can provide real insight into events and personality. Using data from a European survey, this article explores some of the reasons why some people think that astrology is scientific and how astrology is viewed in relation to other knowledge-producing practices. Three hypotheses in particular are tested. The first is that some Europeans lack the necessary scientific literacy to distinguish science from pseudoscience. The second is that people are confused about what astrology actually is. The third is derived from Adorno’s work on authoritarianism and the occult and postulates that those who adhere to authoritarian values are more likely to believe in astrological claims. Support is found for all three hypotheses. </jats:p

Evaluation of a minimal-contact smoking cessation program in a health care setting

A controlled evaluation of a minimal-contact smoking cessation intervention was conducted with 213 inpatients and outpatients at a Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC). The intervention had three components: Brief consultation from a health practitioner; administration of a selfhelp smoking cessation manual; and provision of an incentive to adhere to recommendations in the manual. Enrollment procedures differed from those of many other smoking-intervention trials in that, instead of enrolling only smokers who were motivated to quit, all patients who smoked and who would normally be considered eligible for a smoking-cessation intervention were included. The evaluation examined acceptability of the program to patients who smoked, overall effectiveness of the intervention, and efficacy of the intervention for specific patient demographic, social status, and health status groups.The program had a high degree of acceptance by patients who smoked, with over 60% agreeing to participate and take home the self-help smokingcessation manual. The program was effective in getting patients to reduce their daily smoking, and marginally effective in influencing smoking cessation, with some patient groups exhibiting higher cessation rates than others. Special problems to be considered when attempting to influence groups of smokers at high levels of psychological stress and with low levels of education and income - factors normally associated with high rates of smoking and failure in traditional smoking-cessation programs - are discussed in light of the results obtained.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25481/1/0000021.pd

Beliefs about control of smoking and smoking behavior: A comparison of different measures in different groups

This study investigated several measures of beliefs about controlling smoking as predictors of cessation and reduction at one and six months after a medically-based control program. Smokers (n = 250 total) attending general medicine clinics at University and Veterans Administration facilities received advice to quit from both physicians and nurses. Beliefs about difficulty resisting urges to smoke in 15 situations, their frequency of occurrence, and general level of difficulty were assessed at baseline. For the University group of patients, significant relationships were found between both general and specific indexes and both cessation and reduction at one month. Although a greater change in smoking was seen at six months, few belief measures remained predictive. At one month, global measures were as useful as specific ones, although difficulty in situations of negative emotion was a consistent and strong predictor. Marked differences between the two sites were found; virtually no measure of difficulty proved predictive for the VA group.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26910/1/0000476.pd

Cassava trait preferences of men and women farmers in Nigeria: implications for breeding

Nigeria is the world’s largest cassava producer, hosting a diverse array of cassava farmers and processors. Cassava breeding programs prioritize “common denominator” traits in setting breeding agendas, to impact the largest possible number of people through improved varieties. This approach has been successful, but cassava adoption rates are less than expected, with room for improvement by integrating traits in demand by farmers and processors. This paper aims to inform breeding priority setting, by examining trait and varietal preferences of men and women cassava farmer/processors. Men and women in eight communities in Southwest and Southeast Nigeria were consulted using mixed methods. Women and men had significantly different patterns of cassava use in the Southwest. Fifty-five variety names were recorded from the communities demonstrating high genetic diversity maintained by growers, especially in the Southeast. High yield, early maturity, and root size were most important traits across both regions, while traits women and men preferred followed gender roles: women prioritized product quality/cooking traits, while men placed higher priority on agronomic traits. Trait preference patterns differed significantly between the Southeast and Southwest, and showed differentiation based on gender. Patterns of access to stem sources were determined more by region and religion than gender