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Health Promotion Efforts (health + promotion_effort)
Selected AbstractsSchool-based promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption in multiculturally diverse, urban schoolsPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 1 2008Jessica Blom-Hoffman Rates of childhood overweight, have reached epidemic proportions (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001), and schools have been called on to play a role in the prevention of this medical condition. This article describes a multiyear health promotion effort,the Athletes in Service fruit and vegetable (F&V) promotion program,which is based on social learning theory for urban, elementary school children in kindergarten through third grade. Children participate in the program for a period of 3 years. The goals of the program are to increase opportunities for children to be more physically active during the school day and to help students increase their F&V consumption. This article describes the F&V promotion components of the program that were implemented in year 1, including implementation integrity and treatment acceptability data. Year 1 evaluation data demonstrated that the program is acceptable from the perspective of school staff and was implemented by school staff with high levels of integrity. Hallmarks of the program's successful implementation and high acceptability include (a) having a school-based program champion; (b) designing the program to include low-cost, attractive, interactive materials; (c) including many school staff members to facilitate a culture of healthy eating in the school; and (d) spreading out implementation responsibilities among the multiple staff members so that each individual's involvement is time efficient. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Overheard in the Halls: What Adolescents Are Saying, and What Teachers Are Hearing, About Health IssuesJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 7 2007Alwyn T. Cohall MD ABSTRACT Background:, Schools have long been recognized as an excellent place to offer health education and supportive services. Teachers are among the most important influences in the lives of school-aged children and can provide valuable insight into the health issues important to adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential role general academic teachers may play in facilitating adolescent health promotion efforts. Methods:, To determine what teachers think about the role of health promotion in schools and what tools and topics they would find most helpful as critical advisers to students, we administered a 28-question survey at staff development meetings in 4 New York City schools. Results:, Teachers agreed that schools were an important venue for discussing and providing health messages. More than half of those surveyed reported having overheard student discussions about health once a week or more, and 70% stated that they had been actively approached by students 1-3 or more times per semester with reports of personal problems or health issues. Teachers expressed concern about their ability to handle student mental, behavioral, and reproductive health problems and desired additional staff development workshops to address these needs. Conclusions:, Teachers felt that schools were important places to promote dialogue about health and accept the importance of playing a broader role in the lives of youth beyond education. To enhance the prospect of health-promoting interactions between teachers and students, attention must be paid to developing the overall skill and comfort level of teachers with respect to adolescent health concerns. [source] Oral Sex and Condom Use Among Young People In the United KingdomPERSPECTIVES ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, Issue 1 2006Nicole Stone CONTEXT:: The development of UK national targets to reduce the transmission of HIV and other STDs has focused health promotion efforts on advocating the use of condoms during penetrative vaginal and anal sex. However, other behaviors that can facilitate STD transmission,such as oral sex and, in particular, fellatio,have received limited attention. METHODS:: Between 2003 and 2005, a sample of 1,373 full- and part-time students, primarily aged 16,18, completed questionnaires about their knowledge, attitudes and experiences related to sexual behavior and health. Chi-square tests were used to assess differences by sexual experience and gender. Supplementary data were obtained from sexual event diaries completed by 108 young people. RESULTS:: Fifty-six percent of survey respondents had experienced fellatio or cunnilingus, including 22% of those who had not yet engaged in penetrative intercourse. Of young people who had had vaginal intercourse, 70% had previously had oral sex. Among those who had experienced fellatio once, 17% had used a condom, but only 2% of respondents who had engaged in fellatio more than once reported consistent use. Reduced pleasure and lack of motivation, desire and forethought were reasons given for not using condoms during fellatio; hygiene, avoidance of the dilemma of whether to spit or swallow ejaculate, and taste were commonly cited as triggers for use. CONCLUSION:: Greater efforts are needed to publicize the risk of exposure to STDs that many young people face because of unprotected noncoital sexual activities before, as well as after, they enter into relationships involving intercourse. [source] Exercise and dietary change after diagnosis and cancer-related symptoms in long-term survivors of breast cancer: CALGB 79804PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Catherine M. Alfano Abstract Objective: Improving diet and exercise can reduce survivors' risk of cancer-related fatigue, poor physical functioning, and potential recurrence. A cancer diagnosis can represent a ,teachable moment', leading survivors to make positive changes in diet and exercise behaviors; however, little is known about how often this occurs or about factors that enhance or limit survivors' ability to make these changes. This cross-sectional descriptive study investigated both the prevalence and clustering of self-reported changes in diet and exercise and how these changes related to ongoing cancer-related symptoms, social support, and stressful life events among long-term breast cancer survivors. Methods: Survivors (n=227, response rate=72%) of a prior Cancer and Leukemia Group B treatment trial, on average 12 years post-diagnosis, completed a mailed survey assessing health behavior changes since diagnosis and current symptoms, social support, and stressful life events. Results: Over half of survivors reported making positive exercise or diet changes since diagnosis: over 25% reported making exercise and diet changes. Analyses of covariance models showed that survivors who reported increasing their exercise also reported lower fatigue. Trends were also found between increased fruit and vegetable intake and decreased fatigue and between increased exercise and increased social support. Conclusions: These results underscore the need for health promotion efforts among survivors. Exercise promotion is especially needed since more survivors attempted to change dietary behaviors than exercise on their own. Further, fatigue may limit survivors' ability to change their health behaviors; alternatively, survivors who increase their exercise may experience less fatigue. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Outcome Effectiveness of Community Health Workers: An Integrative Literature ReviewPUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 1 2002Susan M. Swider Ph.D. Community health workers (CHWs) are promoted as a mechanism to increase community involvement in health promotion efforts, despite little consensus about the role and its effectiveness. This article reviews the databased literature on CHW effectiveness, which indicates preliminary support for CHWs in increasing access to care, particularly in underserved populations. There are a smaller number of studies documenting outcomes in the areas of increased health knowledge, improved health status outcomes, and behavioral changes, with inconclusive results. Although CHWs show some promise as an intervention, the role can be doomed by overly high expectations, lack of a clear focus, and lack of documentation. Further research is required with an emphasis on stronger study design, documentation of CHW activities, and carefully defined target populations. [source] Dental neglect and dental health among 26-year-olds in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development StudyCOMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 6 2000W. Murray Thomson Abstract ,Objectives: To test a modification of a previously-reported six-item dental neglect scale and examine its association with dental health and service-use among young adults. Methods: Of the 980 26-year-old participants in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, 973 completed the scale and 930 underwent dental examination. Sociodemographic and dental service-use data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. Results: Factor analysis showed that five of the original six items loaded on the scale, and responses to those items were summed to give a dental neglect scale score for each participant. Scale scores were normally distributed (mean=13.0; SD=3.6; range 5 to 25), and a median split created higher and lower dental neglect groups. A higher proportion of the higher neglect group group: (i) were male; (ii) rated their dental health and dental appearance as below average; (iii) brushed their teeth infrequently; (iv) had extensive plaque deposits; (v) used dental services only when they had a problem; (vi) had not recently seen a dentist; (vii) had lost at least one permanent tooth because of caries, and (viii) had a greater number of decayed tooth surfaces. Conclusions: Although further examination of its validity and reliability is indicated, the dental neglect scale appears to hold promise for use in dental health promotion, not only in highlighting population groups or individuals who would benefit from intensive health promotion efforts, but also in the evaluation of health promotion interventions. [source] | ||||||||||