American journal of preventive medicine
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Aerobic fitness (VO(2)max) is a key component of youth fitness testing. Criterion-referenced (CR) assessments are used in FITNESSGRAM(®) to assess health risk. ⋯ The Quadratic Model and Linear Model 2 provide valid estimates of VO(2)max and compare favorably to previous models. The CR validity evidence for the Quadratic Model and Linear Models developed in this study was slightly better than for the other models examined.
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Research examining the association between environmental attributes and physical activity among youth is growing. An updated review of literature is needed to summarize the current evidence base, and to inform policies and environmental interventions to promote active lifestyles among young people. ⋯ Mode of measurement greatly influenced the consistency of associations between environmental attributes and youth physical activity. For both children and adolescents, the most consistent associations involved objectively measured environmental attributes and reported physical activity. The most supported correlates for children were walkability, traffic speed/volume, access/proximity to recreation facilities, land-use mix, and residential density. The most supported correlates for adolescents were land-use mix and residential density. These findings support several recommendations for policy and environmental change from such groups as the IOM and National Physical Activity Plan.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Telephone counseling and attendance in a national mammography-screening program a randomized controlled trial.
In Germany, a mammography-screening program (MSP) was implemented on a national level. It complies with all criteria of the European guidelines for quality assurance in screening mammography; however, the attendance rate is 54%, falling short of the target attendance rate of 70%. The aim of this study was to investigate whether additional telephone counseling improves attendance among nonresponders and the level of satisfaction with telephone counseling. ⋯ Individual telephone counseling for nonresponders to a national program for breast cancer screening was well accepted by participants and effective.
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This is one of six short papers that describe additional innovations to help integrate public health into medical education; these were featured in the "Patients and Populations: Public Health in Medical Education" conference. They represent relatively new endeavors or curricular components that had not been explored in prior publications. Although evaluation data are lacking, it was felt that sharing a description of a longitudinal curriculum focused on the development of basic advocacy skills through practical activities in community assessment and engagement combined with legislative advocacy at the University of New Mexico would be of value to medical educators.
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Public health situations faced by family physicians and other primary care practitioners, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and more recently H1N1, have resulted in an increased interest to identify the public health competencies relevant to family medicine. At present there is no agreed-on set of public health competencies delineating the knowledge and skills that family physicians should possess to effectively face diverse public health challenges. ⋯ These competencies will also be used to guide the development of a family medicine-public health primer and faculty development sessions to support family medicine faculty facilitating residents to achieve these competencies. Once more fully implemented, an evaluation will be initiated to determine the degree to which these public health competencies are being achieved by family medicine graduates, especially whether they attained the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to effectively face diverse public health situations-from common to emergent.