American journal of preventive medicine
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Comparative Study
Overweight and obesity in native-American adolescents: comparing nonreservation youths with African-American and Caucasian peers.
Previous studies have consistently shown that, compared to national standards, Native Americans across all age groups are disproportionately overweight or obese. Although most available data on rates of obesity in this group come from studies conducted on reservations, the proportion of Native Americans residing on reservation lands is rapidly declining. This study examines the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a population of Midwestern adolescents in public school settings and contrasts Caucasian and African-American adolescents with Native-American youths of the same age. ⋯ Age-specific BMI means for Native-American and Caucasian girls fell largely below the NHANES II reference data. We present several explanations for these results. Given the study limitations, further objective study of the weight status of Native-American children and adolescents in direct comparison with other ethnic groups is recommended.
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This study uses quantitative and qualitative information to examine the relationships between predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors from a health education planning model and levels of mammography screening, clinical breast exam (CBE), and breast self-exam (BSE) among African-American women. We analyzed data from a random sample household survey of African-American women in a Florida community (n = 281) and three age-homogenous focus groups from the same population. Two thirds of the random sample and all of the focus group participants had less than a high school education and household incomes below $10,000. ⋯ In addition, knowing mammography and BSE guidelines and having been taught BSE in a physician's office were significant predictors of breast-screening behavior for both low- and moderate-income women. Focus-group participants unanimously reported a willingness to listen to physician instructions regarding breast screening and to receive a mammogram if their physician recommended one. Both survey and focus group results emphasize the particular importance of physicians in promoting breast screening among African-American women regardless of their income.
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This study examined exposure to AIDS information from mass media and interpersonal communication among a nonprobability sample of Hispanic and Anglo lower middle-class adolescents. Subjects were drawn predominantly from community health clinics, word of mouth recruiting, public service announcements, churches, schools, and health fairs in San Diego County. Both Hispanic (n = 220) and Anglo (n = 159) youths reported substantial exposure to information about AIDS from both mass media and interpersonal communication. ⋯ Anglo youths had greater exposure to information about AIDS and condoms regardless of the medium of communication, while Hispanic adolescents had greater exposure to information on risks of IV drug use. Of the three main types of mass media, print and radio provided the most exposure to AIDS information. It is important for preventive medicine practitioners to exploit these differences in communication patterns when planning preventive intervention strategies that target specific adolescent populations.
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Cigarette smoking remains the most important preventable cause of death in the United States, and the burden is especially great for African Americans. A promising approach to better understanding smoking behavior involves the application of a stages-of-change model. The purpose of this study was to analyze the smoking behavior of a population-based sample of African Americans in two rural southern counties using this model. ⋯ This study provides support for applying a stages-of-change model to African Americans who smoke. Many of the predictors of the stage of change are the same as those found in other populations. In addition, finding an association between stages and both physician visits and believing stopping smoking can improve health has important implications for providing smoking cessation services in health care settings.