Health Behavior: Evolution of Two Paradigms

Public health nursing is a synthesis of professional nursing and public health science. To assist people effectively to determine and enhance their health capabilities, it is essential that public health nurses have a sound understanding of the behaviors that improve or jeopardize health. This concern arises from the profession's increased emphasis on health behavior and from nursing's stated goal of health promotion. To examine the topic from the perspectives of public health and professional nursing, we examine several issues related to the concept and its definition. We hope that the discussion will stimulate analysis both to clarify the concept and to contribute to the development of public health nursing science.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73194/1/j.1525-1446.1986.tb00474.x.pd

Really Underage Drinkers: Alcohol Use Among Elementary Students

Despite the current societal concern with underage drinking, little attention has been paid to alcohol use within the preadolescent population. This article presents the proceedings of a symposium held at the 2003 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that was organized and chaired by John E. Donovan. The intent of the symposium was to kick start research on alcohol use among elementary school children by reviewing what is known regarding drinking in childhood. Presentations included (1) The Epidemiology of Children's Alcohol Use, by John E. Donovan; (2) The Validity of Children's Self-Reports of Alcohol Use, by Sharon L. Leech; (3) Predicting Onset of Drinking From Behavior at Three Years of Age: Influence of Early Child Expectancies and Parental Alcohol Involvement Upon Early First Use, by Robert A. Zucker; and (4) Parent, Peer, and Child Risk Factors for Alcohol Use in Two Cohorts of Elementary School Children, by Carol J. Loveland-Cherry. Presentations indicated the need for better nationwide surveillance of children's experience with alcohol; suggested that children's reports of their use of alcohol tend to be reliable and valid; supported children's alcohol use schemas and parental drinking and alcoholism at child age three as independent predictors of early onset drinking; and showed that onset of drinking before fourth or fifth grade, peer pressure, and parental norms and monitoring predict elementary student alcohol use and misuse.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65944/1/01.ALC.0000113922.77569.4E.pd

Screening for Gonorrhea: Recommendation Statement

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that clinicians screen all sexually active women, including those who are pregnant, for gonorrhea infection if they are at increased risk for infection (that is, if they are young or have other individual or population risk factors; see Clinical Considerations for further discussion of risk factors). B recommendation

) 213 ➔ CMU

ABSTRACT This study was a part of the main study using an ecological context to develop instruments to measure factors influencing safe motorcycle driving behaviors among Thai adolescents. The study aimed to develop an instrument to specifically measure Thai adolescents' attitudes towards these behaviors. The participants were purposefully recruited from students studying in vocational certificate levels 1-3 from vocational and technical colleges in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The instrument development research design included two phases. The first phase was scale construction. The relevant terms and concepts were clarified and defined based on a literature review. Thirty six items with a 4-point Likert-type scale were generated using data obtained from focus group discussions and the literature. Content validity was assured by six experts. The items' CVI ranged between .83 to 1.00 and the scale's CVI was .90. Then the instrument was critiqued by six students to ensure clarity and readability. After the students' review, the revised scale consisted of 35 items with 6-point Likerttype scale. The second phase was a psychometric properties evaluation using 491 students. The construct validity was evaluated with exploratory factor analysis. Six dimensions were extracted from 25 items. The total explained variance was 58.94%. The scale's alpha coefficient was .89 and for each dimension the coefficient ranged between .72 and .83. These results indicate that the scale is valid and reliable and can be used to assess attitudes towards safe motorcycle driving behaviors among Thai adolescents. (National Health Foundation, 2007). Furthermore, the number of motorcycle accidents rises every year. The majority of motorcycle accidents occur among individuals aged 15-24 years and are typically males (Bohning and Na The high incidence of motorcycle accidents is also associated with both environmental and human factors. Environmental factors include road conditions, traffic management, traffic policy, traffic law and law enforcement Based on the literature review, the significance and complexity of factors that influence motorcycle driving behaviors such as attitudes should be examined in order to better understand the contributing factors of safe motorcycle driving behaviors. After these factors are determined then programs for motorcycle accident prevention can be developed. However, these factors inclusive of attitude cannot be studied because of the lack of pre-existing, valid and reliable measurement tools. A significant portion of this study's effort was directed to the development of instruments for measuring safe motorcycle driving behaviors and factors influencing safe motorcycle driving behaviors among Thai adolescents within an ecological context

Intervención para reducir riesgo en conductas sexuales de adolescentes: un ensayo aleatorizado y controlado Intervention to reduce adolescents’ sexual risk behaviors: a randomized controlled trial

OBJETIVO: Determinar la eficacia de una intervención conductual-educativa diseñada para disminuir las conductas sexuales de riesgo de VIH/SIDA y embarazos no planeados de adolescentes mexicanos. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Ensayo controlado aleatorizado con cuatro seguimientos en un año; 832 adolescentes reclutados de escuelas preparatorias, entre 14 y 17 años, se asignaron aleatoriamente al grupo experimental o al control. La intervención, de seis hrs. de duración, aplicó estrategias de aprendizaje activo. El estudio se realizó en Monterrey, México, de 2002 a 2005. RESULTADOS: De acuerdo al análisis GEE, no hubo diferencia en las intenciones de tener relaciones sexuales, pero sí mayor nivel de intenciones de usar condón y anticonceptivos (diferencia de medias 0.15 y 0.16, IC 95%) en el grupo experimental comparado con el control. Variables teoréticas como creencias sobre control fueron mediadoras de la intervención. CONCLUSIONES: La intervención conductual representa un importante esfuerzo en la promoción de conductas sexuales seguras en adolescentes mexicanos.<br>OBJECTIVE: To test the efficacy of a behavioral intervention designed to decrease risk sexual behaviors for HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancies in Mexican adolescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Randomized controlled trial with four follow ups; 832 adolescents recruited from high schools, age 14-17, were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The six hour intervention used active learning strategies, and was delivered in two sessions on two consecutive Saturdays. The study was carried out in Monterrey, Mexico, 2002-2005. RESULTS: GEE analysis indicated no differences in sexual relationships’ intentions between the two conditions, however, the experimental group had higher intentions to use condoms and contraceptives (mean differences 0.15 and 0.16, CI 95%) in the next three months, as compared with the control group. Theoretical variables, such as control beliefs, were significant mediators of the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The behavioral intervention represents an important effort in promoting safe sexual behaviors among Mexican adolescents

Integrating evidence-based clinical and community strategies to improve health

Multiple and diverse preventive strategies in clinical and community settings are necessary to improve health. This paper (1) introduces evidence-based recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Community Task Force sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2) examines, using a social-ecologic model, the evidence-based strategies for use in clinical and community settings to address preventable health-related problems such as tobacco use and obesity, and (3) advocates for prioritization and integration of clinical and community preventive strategies in the planning of programs and policy development, calling for additional research to develop the strategies and systems needed to integrate them