RESUMO
The purpose of this study was to compare total capillary, total venous, risk ratio, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein measures of cholesterol to determine whether total capillary cholesterol is a valid measure to use in cholesterol screening. An announcement and a registration form were distributed with employee paychecks announcing a cholesterol-screening programme. Capillary and venous samples were collected from screening participants (n=285). Results indicated false negatives in total capillary cholesterol in 17.21-34.4% of cases compared with other methods of cholesterol measurement. Due to the high number of misclassifications, health educators should not use total capillary cholesterol as a predictor of risk for heart disease, nor as a measure for referral during cholesterol screenings.
Assuntos
Hipercolesterolemia/diagnóstico , Adulto , HDL-Colesterol/sangue , LDL-Colesterol/sangue , Feminino , Promoção da Saúde , Humanos , Hipercolesterolemia/sangue , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Saúde Pública , Medição de Risco , Estados UnidosRESUMO
Jump Into Action, a school-based non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) prevention program, encourages students to eat low-fat foods and exercise regularly to reduce their risks for developing NIDDM. A study was conducted in a school district with a predominately Hispanic enrollment to assess the effectiveness of Jump Into Action in improving fifth-graders' knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors regarding NIDDM prevention. Jump Into Action was found effective in increasing knowledge and self-efficacy regarding NIDDM prevention and improving dietary and exercise-related behaviors. These gains were sustained from posttest to follow-up four weeks later.
Assuntos
Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2/prevenção & controle , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Obesidade/complicações , Serviços de Saúde Escolar/organização & administração , Criança , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2/etnologia , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2/etiologia , Dieta , Exercício Físico , Feminino , Hispânico ou Latino , Humanos , Masculino , Obesidade/prevenção & controle , Avaliação de Programas e Projetos de Saúde , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Fatores de Risco , Inquéritos e Questionários , Texas/epidemiologiaRESUMO
This study investigated the effects of social-cognitive group intervention on violence avoidance beliefs among at-risk adolescents. Fifty high school students were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The experimental group participated in ten, 2-hour weekly sessions of a social-cognitive intervention. Both groups were administered a questionnaire before, immediately following, and 3 months after the intervention. Findings showed that the social-cognitive intervention did not result in significant differences between the groups on violence avoidance beliefs at posttest or follow-up. In addition, drug/alcohol users and nonusers, fighters and nonfighters, and students threatened at school and those not threatened were compared. Students who used drugs/alcohol and fought in school had significantly lower scores (i.e., a greater belief in using violence as a coping technique) than did students who did not engage in those behaviors.
Assuntos
Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental , Psicoterapia de Grupo , Violência/prevenção & controle , Adolescente , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/epidemiologia , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/prevenção & controle , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Fatores de Risco , Comportamento Social , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/epidemiologia , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/prevenção & controle , Texas/epidemiologia , Violência/estatística & dados numéricosRESUMO
Students in randomly selected eighth and 10th grade English classrooms (n = 1,072) in central Texas schools were surveyed in fall 1994 regarding carrying weapons to school and associated risk factors. Students who carried a handgun to school one or more times during the preceding 12 months were compared to those who had not done so, using discriminant analysis and chi-square. Gun carrying at school increased 138% from seven years earlier in the same area using the same survey procedures. Most students reported they carried a gun out of fear or anger. Those who carried a gun at school had extremely elevated rates of repeated victimization of several types during the previous year: 589% higher for attack at school, 552% higher for attack outside school supervision, 576% higher for attempts to force sex at school, and 216% higher for rape. They also were more likely to enter dangerous situations repeatedly, were 17 times more likely to have used crack cocaine, had less instruction on preventing violence, less knowledge about means of avoiding fighting, and felt an obligation to fight under a wider variety of situations. Study variables accurately classified 78.4% of gun carriers as such. Researchers concluded that efforts at prevention of handgun violence in schools should include interventions to increase the safety of a select group of vulnerable students, while providing psychological counseling to assist them in overcoming emotional effects of victimization as part of larger violence prevention efforts.
Assuntos
Armas de Fogo/estatística & dados numéricos , Saúde da População Rural , Instituições Acadêmicas , Estudantes/estatística & dados numéricos , Adolescente , Distribuição de Qui-Quadrado , Comportamento Perigoso , Análise Discriminante , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Fatores de Risco , Estudantes/psicologia , Inquéritos e Questionários , Texas , ViolênciaRESUMO
Studies linking medical costs to behavioral risk and risk-lowering often use means for comparisons, although claims data are highly skewed. The result overestimates and obscures the case for work-site health promotion. In this study, high-cost analysis is illustrated in a sample of university employees. Five risk factors were examined: cholesterol, blood pressure, cardiovascular fitness, body fat, and smoking status. Screened employees who released their claims (n = 367) were examined against a random sample of employees (n = 587). Linear regression was used to determine the risk of having high claims costs within four gender-specific age groups. A formula was then applied to determine that more than 43% of the cost of medical claims was associated with elevated risk. High-cost analysis accounts for the skewness in claims data and presents a clear case for work-site health promotion.
Assuntos
Planos de Assistência de Saúde para Empregados/economia , Promoção da Saúde/economia , Saúde Ocupacional , Adulto , Análise Custo-Benefício , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Fatores de Risco , Texas , Universidades , Local de TrabalhoRESUMO
A Teachers as Facilitators (TAF) Program used classroom teachers as leaders of small groups that promoted social, emotional, and academic development of children at high risk of adopting potentially destructive substance abuse patterns. The program was intended to increase participating students' positive socialization experiences and academic achievement by successfully integrating these students into the school's social system. A longer-range goal was to increase students' sense of worth as it affects their attitudes toward relationships with other people and academic demands. Program results were: 1) school personnel were found capable of accurately identifying and referring to the TAF Program children who were at risk of substance usage and in need of assistance; 2) the TAF Program was effective in improving at-risk students' perceived academic self-concept, but was less effective in increasing students' perceived sense of social support; and 3) the program was endorsed by participating teachers, counselors, and administrators.
Assuntos
Promoção da Saúde/organização & administração , Instituições Acadêmicas , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/prevenção & controle , Ensino , Atitude Frente a Saúde , Criança , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Avaliação de Programas e Projetos de Saúde , Fatores de Risco , Autoimagem , Apoio SocialRESUMO
The relationships between violence, drug use, and victimization were examined in a representative sample of American adolescents. The commonly used illegal drugs (marijuana, amyl/butyl nitrites, psychedelics, amphetamines, and cocaine) and alcohol were considered. Drug users, compared to nonusers, fought more, took more risks which predisposed them to assault, and were assaulted more both at school and outside school supervision. Adolescents who were victims at school were also more likely to be victimized outside of school supervision. This study clearly demonstrates that the aggressor may also be the victim, and that illegal drug/alcohol use is related to victimization.
Assuntos
Comportamento do Adolescente , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/epidemiologia , Violência , Adolescente , Fatores Etários , Agressão , Alcoolismo/epidemiologia , Atitude Frente a Saúde , Feminino , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , Humanos , Relações Interpessoais , Masculino , Assunção de Riscos , Autorrevelação , Estudantes , Estados Unidos/epidemiologiaRESUMO
A sample of 1023 eighth and tenth grade students in small to medium-sized central Texas school districts was assessed to determine the amount of information they receive from ten sources about six categories of drugs. The amount of information males reported receiving about each drug category was significantly greater than what females reported, and the amount of information that eighth graders reported receiving about each drug category was significantly greater than what tenth graders reported. Television was the primary source of drug information for all categories of drugs except inhalants, for which friends and television were equally important sources. Parents and printed media (magazines or newspapers) were of secondary importance, followed by friends and teachers. Adolescents were less likely to receive drug-related information from experience, siblings, church, doctors, and police. The reliance on the mass media for drug information in smaller school districts is a pattern which has been previously observed in larger urban districts. This consistency suggests that mass media approaches to drug education are likely to be as effective in rural areas and smaller towns as they are among urban adolescents. Implications for television programming are discussed.
Assuntos
Educação em Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/prevenção & controle , Adolescente , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/prevenção & controle , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Meios de Comunicação de Massa , TexasRESUMO
A sample of 1,004 eighth and tenth grade students in twenty-three small Central/East Texas communities was assessed to determine 1) their perception of the number of their friends who use drugs, 2) the amount of information they received about drugs from their friends, and 3) the connection between those perceptions and drug use. A multiple regression model which included grade, gender, the degree to which friends are perceived to use drugs and the amount of information about drugs received from friends explained 39 percent of the variance in the degree to which rural adolescents were involved in drug use. An item specific analysis of the subcomponents of these composite variables explained 44 percent of the variance in the degree to which rural adolescents were involved in drug use. This same four-factor model accurately classified over 81 percent of non-drug-users and 67 percent of users using discriminant analysis. Students who perceived a higher degree of drug use among their friends and who received more information about drugs from their friends used drugs more frequently. Lower marijuana use in these rural areas as compared to the nation, both as a peer perception and as a fact, may protect these students to a degree from broader patterns of drug use. The findings of this study support the theory that peer pressure is related to drug abuse, even in rural areas.