Perceived Benefits and Barriers of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Chinese American Women.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To explore the perceived benefits and barriers to cervical cancer screening among Chinese American women using stages of the Transtheoretical Model of Change.
. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design with self-report surveys. 
. SETTING: Chinese communities (e.g., churches, supermarkets, restaurants) in Northern California and Northern Nevada. 
. SAMPLE: 121 Chinese women aged 21-65 years living in Northern California and Northern Nevada. 
. METHODS: A snowball sampling technique using personal contacts was used.
. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Stages of change and perceived benefits and barriers to cervical cancer screening. 
. FINDINGS: Participants in the action/maintenance stage were most likely to believe that cervical cancer was treatable if caught early. Women in the contemplation/preparation stage were more likely to state that they worried about or feared screening, that it was too expensive, and that they would want to use Chinese medicine to cure an illness before trying Western medicine. Women in the precontemplation/relapse stage were most likely to report that they did not know where to get screened and that their partner would not want them to be screened.
. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived benefits and barriers to screening were differentially associated with the stages of change. Results may support culturally sensitive and theory-based programs to improve screening rates among Chinese American women. 
. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The results suggest the importance of cultural sensitivity among nursing providers when working with Chinese Americans to provide more relevant, holistic care.

A randomised study of the effects of massage therapy compared to guided relaxation on well-being and stress perception among older adults.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the effects of massage compared to guided relaxation on stress perception and well-being among older adults. DESIGN: A randomised pilot study enrolled adults ages 60 and older to receive 50 min, twice weekly massage therapy or guided relaxation sessions. Questionnaires were administered at pre-test (1 week before the first session) and post-test (after the last session). SETTING: Participants came to the University of South Carolina campus for sessions. Adults aged 60 and older were recruited from community venues and were briefly screened by telephone for contraindications. INTERVENTION: Participants (n=54) received 50 min massage or guided relaxation sessions twice weekly for 4 weeks. The massage included Swedish, neuromuscular, and myofascial techniques. For the relaxation group, an appropriately trained assistant read a script to guide the participant in using visualization and muscle relaxation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The General Well-being Schedule is an 18-item scale with subscales measuring anxiety, depression, positive well-being, self-control, vitality, and general health. The Perceived Stress Scale is a 14-item scale assessing the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful during the past month. RESULTS: Significant improvements were found for the anxiety, depression, vitality, general health, and positive well-being subscales of the General Well-being Schedule and for Perceived Stress among the massage participants compared to guided relaxation. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that massage therapy enhances positive well-being and reduces stress perception among community-dwelling older adults.

Availability of weight-loss supplements: Results of an audit of retail outlets in a southeastern city.

The sale of nonprescription weight-loss products accounts for millions of dollars spent by Americans trying to lose weight, yet there is little evidence for effectiveness and there are multiple safety concerns. The purpose of this study was to determine what products, and ingredients within products, were available at retail outlets in a metropolitan area. A purposive sampling strategy identified 73 retail outlets. An audit form was used to collect information from product labels. The audit identified 402 products containing 4,053 separate ingredients. The mean number of ingredients per product was 9.9+/-8.96 (range = 1 to 96). A database search was conducted regarding evidence for effectiveness, safety precautions, and side effects for the 10 ingredients that appeared most often across products. Modest evidence of effectiveness exists for green tea (Camellia sinensis), chromium picolinate, and ma huang (Ephedra major). For the remaining seven (ginger root [Zingiber officinale], guarana [Paullinia cupana], hydroxycitric acid [Garcinia cambogia], white willow [Salix alba], Siberian ginseng [Eleutherococcus senticosus], cayenne [Capsicum annuum], and bitter orange/zhi shi [Citrus aurantium]), inadequate or negative evidence exists. Although precautions and contraindications were found for all 10 ingredients, the strongest concerns in the literature appear for ma huang, bitter orange, and guarana. Our audit revealed numerous weight-loss products available to consumers, yet there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of the top 10 ingredients identified and many potential adverse reactions; therefore, food and nutrition professionals should discuss dietary supplement use with their clients.