Health education research
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Health education research · Apr 2007
Psychosocial factors associated with non-smoking adolescents' intentions to smoke.
Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States. Most adult smokers began smoking during adolescence, making youth tobacco prevention an especially important public health goal. Guided by an extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examined the role of psychosocial factors in accounting for adolescents' smoking intentions. ⋯ Lastly, perceived difficulty to quit was related to smoking intentions, with higher confidence to quit significantly associated with intentions to smoke. Findings are consistent with the TPB--attitudes, normative factors and perceived behavioral control each helped account for non-smoking adolescents' intentions to smoke. Implications for theory and intervention building are discussed.
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This is an analysis of newspaper coverage of breast cancer topics during a community-based health promotion campaign. The 4-year campaign, called the Breast Cancer Screening Campaign (BCSC), was devoted to promoting mammography screening in a Midwestern state. ⋯ Findings showed that intervention was positively associated with local newspaper content about breast cancer, but the effects were confined to communities served by weekly newspapers. We discuss the implications of this study for future community-based health promotion campaigns.
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Health education research · Jun 2004
Comparative StudyA school-based survey of recurrent non-specific low-back pain prevalence and consequences in children.
The aim of this investigation was to provide evidence of the prevalence and consequences of recurrent low-back pain in children from Northwest England. A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving a standardized questionnaire with established reliability and validity. A cross-sectional sample of 500 boys (n = 249) and girls (n = 251) aged between 10 and 16 years participated in the study. ⋯ It was concluded that low-back pain is a common complaint during childhood, although most cases are acute episodes that represent little health consequence. In contrast, some children experience recurrent low-back pain that can lead to disabling consequences. Future research should focus on recurrent low-back pain cases since they often led to disabling consequences.
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Health education research · Apr 2004
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialFifteen-month follow-up results of a school-based life-skills approach to smoking prevention.
The life-skills approach to smoking prevention was tested in this study. In total, 1024 pupils (mean age 11.4 years, SD = 0.90) from Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg and Germany were recruited as an experimental group, and a sample of 834 matched pupils served as a control group. While the pupils from the control group received no specific intervention, the pupils in the experimental group participated in an intervention programme which was based on the life-skills approach and consisted of 21 sessions. ⋯ There was also an effect of the programme on smoking knowledge, on the social competences of the pupils as well as on the classroom climate. No effects were found on susceptibility to smoking among never-smokers, attitudes towards smoking and the perceived positive consequences of smoking. The results indicate that prevention programmes that are run for only a few months can have a positive impact on variables considered to be protective with regard to smoking uptake.