Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jul 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialTobacco use measurement, prediction, and intervention in elementary schools in four states: the CATCH Study.
The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) is a multistate field trial examining the effects of school environment, classroom curricula, and family intervention components in promoting the cardiovascular health of elementary school students. The purpose of this paper is to describe the CATCH tobacco use intervention and measurement, including the adoption of tobacco-free school policies. ⋯ Future studies should examine the impact of parallel policy interventions that are ongoing at both school and state levels. Tobacco-free policies appear to be a crucial part of school-based interventions and must be tailored to political and regional factors affecting a given school district.
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Preventive medicine · May 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialThe effectiveness of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (project DARE): 5-year follow-up results.
This article reports the results of a 5-year, longitudinal evaluation of the effectiveness of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), a school-based primary drug prevention curriculum designed for introduction during the last year of elementary education. DARE is the most widely disseminated school-based prevention curriculum in the United States. ⋯ The findings of this 5-year prospective study are largely consonant with the results obtained from prior short-term evaluations of the DARE curriculum, which have reported limited effects of the program upon drug use, greater efficacy with respect to attitudes, social skills, and knowledge, but a general tendency for curriculum effects to decay over time. The results of this study underscore the need for more robust prevention programming targeted specifically at risk factors, the inclusion of booster sessions to sustain positive effects, and greater attention to interrelationships between developmental processes in adolescent substance use, individual level characteristics, and social context.
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Preventive medicine · Mar 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialReducing cancer risk among Native American adolescents.
This article discusses the development, implementation, and preliminary testing of an intervention to reduce cancer risks through tobacco use prevention and dietary modification among Native American youth in the Northeastern United States. ⋯ Data from this longitudinal study suggest the value of the FACETS curriculum for helping Native American youth reduce their risks for cancer associated with tobacco use and dietary preference and consumption patterns. In particular, results indicate the enhanced effects of the combined tobacco use prevention and dietary modification intervention for preventing tobacco use and for improving youths' knowledge and attitudes with regard to tobacco use and diet. Further, the study demonstrates the value of collaborating with Native American organizations to design a cancer risk-reducing curriculum and to implement tests of that curriculum.
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Preventive medicine · Sep 1995
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe tribal tobacco policy project: working with Northwest Indian tribes on smoking policies.
This article reports on the objectives, study design, intervention methods, baseline results, and process data from a trial involving 39 Northwest Indian tribes. ⋯ There is good potential for tobacco policy interventions with Indian tribes. Consultation processes and products, such as policy guidebooks, that are sensitive to traditional uses of tobacco and to differences among tribes can help to modify policies to reduce exposure of tribal members to environmental tobacco smoke.
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Preventive medicine · Jan 1995
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialA controlled evaluation of a fitness and nutrition intervention program on cardiovascular health in 10- to 12-year-old children.
Programs to improve cardiovascular health in schoolchildren need careful scientific evaluation. ⋯ Teacher-implemented health packages are feasible with minimal training but programs should differ between boys and girls. Fitness programs were more successful than nutrition education particularly in girls. Clearer nutrition messages should prevent reciprocal changes in sugar and fat. For girls, the 3 mm Hg reduction of diastolic blood pressure, less obesity, and increased fitness could translate into a substantial reduction in cardiovascular risk in adult life.