Implementing a Graduate Certificate Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology: The Jackson Heart Study.

The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is committed to providing opportunities for expanding the understanding of the epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The JHS Graduate Training and Education Center (GTEC) has initiated the Daniel Hale Williams Scholar (DHWS) program where students are afforded the opportunity to interact with epidemiologists and other biomedical scientists to learn to identify, predict, and prevent cardiovascular disease using the Jackson Heart Study data. This study describes the structured programs developed by JHS GTEC seeking to alleviate the shortage of trained professionals in cardiovascular epidemiology by training graduate students while they complete their academic degrees. The DHWS program provides: (1) an enrichment curriculum; (2) a learning community; (3) quarterly seminars; and (4) a Summer Institute. Students attend enrichment activities comprising: (1) Applied Biostatistics; (2) Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology; (3) Social Epidemiology; (4) Emerging Topics; and (5) Research Writing. Training focuses on developing proficiency in cardiovascular health knowledge. The DHWS program is a unique strategy for incorporating rigorous academic and career-focused training to graduate students and has enabled the acquisition of competencies needed to impact cardiovascular disease management programs.

Newspaper content analysis in evaluation of a community-based participatory project to increase physical activity.

This study conducted a newspaper content analysis as part of an evaluation of a community-based participatory research project focused on increasing physical activity through policy and environmental changes, which included activities related to media advocacy and media-based community education. Daily papers (May 2003 to December 2005) from both the intervention and comparison counties were reviewed for topics related to physical activity and an active living environment (e.g. safety, policy, urban design, transportation and recreational resources). A total of 2681 articles from 1764 newspapers were analyzed. The intervention county had a greater proportion of articles on the selected topics. Specifically, the intervention county had a greater proportion of articles in topics related to safety, policy and community initiatives, as well as in sidewalks and recreational facilities; both priority areas for the intervention. Prominence of the articles was assessed using a composite index score. Generally, prominence of the topics analyzed was low. Articles in the sidewalks and recreational facilities topic category in the intervention county had higher prominence scores on average than the comparison county. The study demonstrates that media content analysis can be a valuable component in evaluating community-based interventions.

Using focus groups in the consumer research phase of a social marketing program to promote moderate-intensity physical activity and walking trail use in Sumter County, South Carolina.

INTRODUCTION: The use of social marketing approaches in public health practice is increasing. Using marketing concepts such as the "four Ps" (product, price, place, and promotion), social marketing borrows from the principles of commercial marketing but promotes beneficial health behaviors. Consumer research is used to segment the population and develop a strategy based on those marketing concepts. In a community-based participatory research study, 17 focus groups were used in consumer research to develop a social marketing program to promote walking and other moderate-intensity physical activities. METHODS: Two phases of focus groups were conducted. Phase 1 groups, which included both men and women, were asked to respond to questions that would guide the development of a social marketing program based on social marketing concepts. Phase 1 also determined the intervention's target audience, which was irregularly active women aged 35 to 54. Phase 2 groups, composed of members of the target audience, were asked to further define the product and discuss specific promotion strategies. RESULTS: Phase 1 participants determined that the program product, or target behavior, should be walking. In addition, they identified price, place, and promotion strategies. Phase 2 participants determined that moderate-intensity physical activity is best promoted using the term exercise and offered suggestions for marketing walking, or exercise, to the target audience. CONCLUSION: There have been few published studies of social marketing campaigns to promote physical activity. In this study, focus groups were key to understanding the target audience in a way that would not have been accomplished with quantitative data alone. The group discussions generated important insights into values and motivations that affect consumers' decisions to adopt a product or behavior. The focus group results guided the development of a social marketing program to promote physical activity in the target audience in Sumter County, South Carolina.

Physical activity trends in South Carolina, 1994-2000.

OBJECTIVES: During the 1990s, physical activity recommendations and surveillance methods were developed in an attempt to increase and monitor, respectively, regular physical activity prevalence rates. For this article, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data were analyzed to determine whether regular physical activity proportions in South Carolina adults changed from 1994 to 2000. The physical activity prevalence rates for South Carolina were compared with national rates and Healthy People 2000 goals to measure progress. The rate of physical activity counseling by physicians and other health professionals was also analyzed from 1998 to 1999. METHODS: Total subjects included 10,495 adults ages 18 years and older from South Carolina and 545,445 from the remainder of the United States. Using random-digit dialing procedures in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000, the two most frequent types of leisure-time physical activity performed in the past month were identified. For activities listed, the frequency (days/wk) and duration (minutes/d) were obtained. Linear regressions were performed on regular physical activity and inactivity for the total population and by gender, race, age, and body mass index (BMI). Data pertaining to whether or not a physician or other health professional had provided physical activity counseling were also obtained for 1998 and 1999. RESULTS: From 1994 to 2000, the proportion of South Carolina adults participating in regular leisure time physical activity significantly increased (10.8%). Interestingly, the prevalence of regular physical activity in the rest of the nation remained unchanged during this time. Although significant increases were observed in nearly all subgroups, physical activity prevalence rates for South Carolina adults lagged behind national levels and did not meet Healthy People 2000 goals. Physical activity counseling by physicians and other health professionals increased from 1998 (24.1%) to 1999 (30.4%). CONCLUSIONS: While it is not known what factors influenced regular physical activity from 1994 to 2000, they seem to have been equally effective in South Carolina adults of both genders, both races, regular and overweight status, and nearly all age groups. Despite these positive trends, additional efforts are needed to develop and implement effective community and primary care physical activity interventions that facilitate improvements among the nearly two-thirds of South Carolina adults who do not participate in sufficient physical activity to reap significant health benefits.