Perceived Benefits of a Designated Smoking Area Policy on a College Campus: Views of Smokers and Non-smokers

Designated smoking areas are meant to: (1) limit secondhand smoke exposure to non-smokers, and (2) reduce cigarettes consumption by smokers. One year after the implementation of a designated smoking area protocol on a college campus, students were intercepted and asked to complete a short Likert survey designed to assess its perceived benefits. Analysis of the data showed that both smokers and non-smokers consider a reduction in the number of cigarettes consumed by smokers to be an unlikely outcome, which is consistent with research conducted in a variety of setting showing that designated smoking areas typically do not lead to less smoking by smokers. However, whereas the non-smokers agreed that the policy resulted in lowering exposure to second-hand smoke, smokers were unwilling to endorse a statement indicating that this occurred. This suggests that it may be unrealistic to assume that appeals to empathy (i.e. pointing out the negative impact of second hand smoke) when promoting the benefits of a designated smoking area will result in an automatic buy-in

Perceived Benefits of a Designated Smoking Area Policy on a College Campus: Views of Smokers and Non-smokers

Designated smoking areas are meant to: (1) limit secondhand smoke exposure to non-smokers, and (2) reduce cigarettes consumption by smokers.  One year after the implementation of a designated smoking area protocol on a college campus, students were intercepted and asked to complete a short Likert survey designed to assess its perceived benefits.  Analysis of the data showed that both smokers and non-smokers consider a reduction in the number of cigarettes consumed by smokers to be an unlikely outcome, which is consistent with research conducted in a variety of setting showing that designated smoking areas typically do not lead to less smoking by smokers.  However, whereas the non-smokers agreed that the policy resulted in lowering exposure to second-hand smoke, smokers were unwilling to endorse a statement indicating that this occurred. This suggests that it may be unrealistic to assume that appeals to empathy (i.e. pointing out the negative impact of second hand smoke) when promoting the benefits of a designated smoking area  will  result in an automatic buy-in

Longitudinal Impact of Parental Catastrophizing on Child Functional Disability in Pediatric Amplified Pain

OBJECTIVE: Children with amplified musculoskeletal pain (AMPS) experience significant functional disability, with impairment in their ability to participate in age-appropriate activities of daily living. Parental factors play an important role in a child\u27s pain symptoms and treatment outcomes, with parental pain catastrophizing and protective behaviors linked to several maladaptive outcomes for children. Aims of the current study were to examine how parental pain catastrophizing, child pain catastrophizing, and parental protective behaviors longitudinally impacted functional disability for children with AMPS. METHODS: Archival data were examined from parent-child dyads presenting to a tertiary pain clinic for treatment of AMPS. Over 1 year, parents completed measures assessing the level of pain catastrophizing, common behavioral responses to child pain, and child functional disability. Children completed measures of pain catastrophizing and functional disability. Measures were collected at initial evaluation, 6-months, and 12-months. Latent growth models (LGM) were conducted to examine how to study variables longitudinally impacted the rate of change in child functional disability. RESULTS: Examining a comprehensive LGM of study variables, parental catastrophizing emerged as the sole contributing factor to slower improvement in functional disability. CONCLUSIONS: The strong influence of parental pain catastrophizing on functional disability may relate to parents limiting behaviors that promote adaptive coping in children with pain. As such, parents who catastrophize may benefit from specific interventions to increase their use of adaptive behavioral responses, such as redirecting children to complete functional activities and encouraging the use of positive coping skills for pain-related distress

Post-transplant adjustment--the later years.

As survival rates for pediatric solid organ transplantation have continued to improve, researchers and healthcare providers have increasingly focused on understanding and enhancing the HRQOL and psychosocial functioning of their patients. This manuscript reviews the psychosocial functioning of pediatric transplant recipients during the "later years," defined as more than three yr post-transplant, and focuses on the day-to-day impact of living with a transplant after the immediate period of adjustment and early years after surgery. Key topics reviewed include HRQOL, cognitive functioning, impact on the family, regimen adherence, and transition of responsibility for self-management tasks. Overall, pediatric transplant recipients evidence impairment in HRQOL, neuropsychological outcomes, and family functioning as compared to non-transplant recipients. However, the degree of impairment is influenced by a variety of factors including, disease severity, age, solid organ type, and study methodologies. Studies are limited by small samples, cross-sectional design, and the lack of universal assessment battery to allow for comparisons across solid organ populations. Areas for future research are discussed