Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialReliability of assessment and circumstances of performance of thorough skin self-examination for the early detection of melanoma in the Check-It-Out Project.
Thorough skin self-examination (TSSE) has substantial potential to reduce melanoma mortality by early detection. ⋯ Estimates of TSSE performance vary substantially with the questions used to elicit this information. Partners, particularly spouses, appear to play a critical role in the conduct of TSSE, and wives appear more often and more effectively engaged in this process. Appropriate circumstances, such as availability of a wall mirror, are also important factors. These findings can be used to design interventions to increase TSSE performance with the ultimate aim of reducing melanoma mortality.
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Preventive medicine · May 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialSelf-efficacy partially mediates the effect of a school-based physical-activity intervention among adolescent girls.
This study evaluated the effects of the Lifestyle Education for Activity Program (LEAP), a comprehensive school-based intervention emphasizing changes in instruction and school environment, on variables derived from social-cognitive theory (SCT) as mediators of change in physical activity among black and white adolescent girls. ⋯ To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence from a randomized controlled trial that manipulation of self-efficacy results in increased physical activity among black and white adolescent girls. The results encourage the use of self-efficacy as a targeted, mediator variable in interventions designed to increase physical activity among girls.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialDesign, implementation, and quality control in the Pathways American-Indian multicenter trial.
Pathways was the first multicenter American-Indian school-based study to test the effectiveness of an obesity prevention program promoting healthy eating and physical activity. ⋯ The Pathways study results provide evidence demonstrating the role schools can play in public health promotion. Its study design and QC systems and procedures provide useful models for other similar school based multi- or single-site studies.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPathways curriculum and family interventions to promote healthful eating and physical activity in American Indian schoolchildren.
Pathways, a multisite school-based study aimed at promoting healthful eating and increasing physical activity, was a randomized field trial including 1704 American Indian third to fifth grade students from 41 schools (21 intervention, 20 controls) in seven American Indian communities. ⋯ A culturally appropriate school intervention can promote positive changes in knowledge, cultural identity, and self-reported healthful eating and physical activity in American Indian children and environmental change in school food service.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPredicting long-term maintenance of physical activity in older adults.
Considerable research has established that self-efficacy is a consistent correlate of physical activity. Additional factors, such as exercise-induced affect, social support, and value judgments, have also been identified as having the potential to influence adherence to activity. This study examined the utility of such variables in predicting the long-term exercise behavior of older adults. ⋯ This prospective study provides support for the inclusion of social cognitive variables in models of exercise adherence and highlights the pivotal role of self-efficacy in long-term exercise behavior. Subsequent trials are called for to replicate and extend these findings.