Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · Aug 2002
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialA minimal-contact intervention for cardiac inpatients: long-term effects on smoking cessation.
This study examined the 1-year effects of a minimal-contact smoking cessation intervention for cardiac inpatients. ⋯ While short-term effects were found, the minimal-contact intervention did not result in significant effects after 12 months, at least if patients lost to follow-up were treated as posttest smokers. Efforts should be made to improve the intervention, especially the aftercare.
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialImpact of skin cancer prevention on outdoor aquatics staff: the Pool Cool program in Hawaii and Massachusetts.
Aquatic staff, including lifeguards, are exposed to intense sunlight for many hours each day and are likely to be at a relatively high risk for developing skin cancer. However, no interventions have been specifically directed to staff at outdoor swimming pool sites. ⋯ The Pool Cool sun protection intervention had significant effects on lifeguards' sunburn rates and pool sun safety policies but did not improve reported sun protection behaviors. More intensive strategies may be needed to influence aquatics workers who have already begun to adopt skin cancer prevention practices.
-
Preventive medicine · Feb 2001
Multicenter StudyGender differences in the longitudinal predictors of adolescent dating violence.
Adolescent dating violence is a public health problem. The public health approach to prevention is to identify predictors of problem behaviors and develop interventions to eliminate or reduce those predictors with the intention of altering the chain of causation. Longitudinal data are preferred for identifying predictors of behavior but all dating violence studies have used cross-sectional data. We use longitudinal data to examine predictors of adolescent dating violence from several domains guided by an ecological perspective. ⋯ The findings suggest that intervention strategies should vary for males and females and that when basing interventions on cross-sectional findings, scarce resources may be stretched to address persons who may not truly be at risk of beginning to perpetrate dating violence.
-
Preventive medicine · Jan 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialCounselor and stimulus control enhancements of a stage-matched expert system intervention for smokers in a managed care setting.
Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of an interactive expert system intervention for smoking cessation for a general population. The intervention provides individualized feedback that guides participants through the stages of change for cessation. Enhancing the expert system by adding proactive telephone counseling or a stimulus control computer designed to produce nicotine fading could produce preventive programs with greater population impacts. ⋯ The enhanced conditions failed to outperform the expert system alone. The study also demonstrated the ability of the interactive expert system to produce significantly greater cessation in a population of smokers than assessment alone.
-
Preventive medicine · Oct 2000
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialSmokers ages 50+: who gets physician advice to quit?
Smoking-related morbidity and mortality, and benefits associated with quitting, extend across the life span. Health care provider interventions enhance quitting. The present study examined perceived influence of physician advice to quit and characteristics of subjects receiving this advice. ⋯ Midlife and older smokers reacted generally favorably to physician advice to quit. Physicians were more likely to advise patients with commonly recognized smoking-related diseases. Discrepancies were noted in advice given to sicker vs healthier patients. Additional physician training in less commonly recognized smoking-related illnesses, intervening with healthier patients to prevent disease, and enhancing patients' confidence in quitting may improve outcomes.