Kin Keeper

Abstract

Cancer mortality issues for African-American women are undeniably real. It is also apparent that to address the issue of this unequal burden, different intervention approaches are necessary. Employing a family systems approach for African-American women and their families holds benefits for both cancer prevention and cancer treatment. The Kin Keeper Modelis based on the premise that the natural ways African-American women communicate various health messages to females in their family can be used to influence their cancer prevention and screening behaviors. This paper reports empirical research that demonstrates significant familial influence on African-American women's cancer prevention screening behaviors. Findings indicated that family influence provides insight into the intersection of family altruism with cultural familial decision-making. In addition, the findings underscore the strong influence family has on African-American women's propensity to     

Primary versus secondary prevention messages: College students' perceptions of effectiveness by marijuana user status

Abstract

Objective: With medical and recreational marijuana legislation expanding throughout the country, the need to educate high-risk populations is evident. The purpose of this study was to assess college students’ perceptions of health communication messages comparing primary and secondary prevention messages concerning marijuana. Participants: Participants (n?=?487) included college students, ages 18–25, enrolled in a Midwestern University. Methods: Participants assessed messages based on likeability, creativity, believability, persuasiveness, relevance, and usefulness using an online questionnaire that also included open-end comments. Results: Rasch analyses indicate that nonmarijuana users rated primary prevention messages higher than secondary prevention messages, whereas marijuana users ranked secondary prevention messages more favorably than primary prevention messages. Conclusion: Interventions designed to address marijuana use among college students may be more effective if tailored toward user status. Specifically, primary prevention materials should be designed for abstainers, while secondary prevention messages that focus on harm reduction strategies should be used with marijuana users.     

Transferring a University-Led HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative to a Community Agency

Summary

Given the urgent need for HIV/AIDS interventions that will reverse current infection trends among urban minority youth, identifying effective and socially relevant approaches is of primary concern. HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives that are housed in, and led by, communities may address the limits of laboratory-based inquiry for this complex and socially-situated health issue. In this article, we describe the process of moving a researcherled, HIV/AIDS prevention research program—the Collaborative HIV/AIDS Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP)—from a university laboratory to a community mental health agency with the goal of strengthening program access, effectiveness, and sustainability over time. We outline the framework, timeline, and responsibilities involved in moving the program, research, and technology from its original university base to a local community agency. From the challenges faced and lessons learned during this complex transfer process, we hope to enhance understanding of ways in which we can narrow the gap between academic and community leadership of HIV/AIDS prevention research.     

Managing Helicobacter pylori in college health,with special considerations for international students

ABSTRACT

Objective: Helicobacter pylori infection is the major cause of dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. This paper will make specific recommendations for a diagnostic and treatment strategy tailored to the international student population. Participants/Methods: This paper is a case report and narrative review based on recent international epidemiologic studies and consensus conference recommendations identified in MEDLINE. Results: In the nations (mostly Asian) that send the largest number of students to the United States, the prevalence of H. pylori is generally 60% to 80%, whereas the prevalence in the United States is about 25%. The patterns of antibiotic resistance in those countries are also different than that in the general US population. Conclusions: Health care providers should have a higher index of suspicion for Helicobacter infection among international students with dyspepsia and need to use a different treatment regimen than is standard for the general US population.     

Potential Roles of Black Churches in HIV/AIDS Prevention

Abstract

This study examines the role of Black churches in AIDS/HIV prevention. This is a pilot survey study design administered to 11 churches represented by 11 ministers and one church member. The analysis is both qualitative and quantitative. The results showed that most of the ministers had spoken with their congregation on HIV/AIDS. A few ministers had previously sponsored or taken part in HIV/AIDS workshops and disseminated HIV/AIDS educational material in the African American community. None of the churches had an established HIV/AIDS prevention program. Most of the ministers were receptive to implementing an HIV/AIDS prevention program, provided that it did not violate the church doctrines. The findings in this study suggest that Black churches represent an important potential resource for HIV/AIDS prevention. For success, the initial strategy should involve the minister in the early planning stage. Future research should focus on expanding the scope of this study and improving communication between the church, community-based organizations, and health professionals.     

Objective and subjective conditions for the continuity of the Peruvian extractive development model

ABSTRACT

The Peruvian economy depends for its growth on the export of its mineral resources. The core of the current economic development model is the export of the country's commodities and a free and (relatively) unregulated functioning of the markets. We argue that the continuity of the country's extractive development model is the consequence of the interplay between the objective and subjective conditions of Peruvian capitalist development. The analysis of the objective conditions is focused on the role of the country in the international division of labour, the relation between this role and the country’s economic and business structure, and the functionality of the extractive development model for the Peruvian State. In the case of the subjective conditions, the strength of the political Left, the labour movement and the social movements against mining capital are analyzed     

Tuberculosis Screening for International Students

Abstract

Nonimmigrant, international students entering colleges in the United States are not required to undergo screening for tuberculosis (TB). Thirty-nine percent of active TB cases in the United States are in foreign-born individuals. In an effort to minimize the occurrence of active TB on a community campus with an increasing international student population, the college health service implemented a TB-screening policy for all newly enrolled international students. For the 1997/98 school year, 171 international students from 70 different countries enrolled in classes. Fifty-nine students (35%) screened for TB had a positive skin test (greater than 10 mm induration). Of those, 34 initiated isoniazid therapy, and 27 successfully completed the prescribed regimen under supervision of the campus health office.     

Gendered Economic,Social, and Cultural Challenges to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Intervention for Chinese Women

ABSTRACT

China is experiencing the most rapidly expanding HIV prevalence in the world, with the percentage of Chinese women living with HIV/AIDS also increasing significantly. Chinese women's risk of HIV infection is heavily influenced by patriarchal cultural beliefs, Confucian doctrines, and rapid social and economic changes in China. Chinese women generally have a low level of awareness of HIV/AIDS. With inherent inferior social status and economic disadvantage, their vulnerability to HIV infection is heightened by adverse impacts of massive rural-to-urban migration, explosion of the commercial sex industry, and prevalence of gender-based violence. In order to target HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs for Chinese women, their specific needs and gendered obstacles must be addressed and tackled. These include strategies that aim to fight against poverty, improve education, enhance HIV/AIDS awareness, facilitate new life-skills acquisition and behavior change, make available woman-centered services for testing and treatment of HIV, and eradicate gender-based discrimination and violence. There is also an urgent need to further develop various public health infrastructure in China, especially in remote and rural areas. The pool of gender experts in China should also be expanded to conduct a thorough gender analysis and design a national response to address the evolving HIV/AIDS epidemic in Chinese women.     

“Consent is Good,Joyous, Sexy”: A banner campaign to market consent to college students

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study assessed the recall of, reaction to, and understanding of a brief campus banner campaign promoting consent in sexual relationships, and determined whether campaign exposure was associated with subsequent engagement in activities related to sexual assault education, awareness, and prevention. Participants: A stratified random sample of 1,200 undergraduates was recruited during fall of 2010; 628 (52.3%) participated. Methods: To account for history and maturation, an experimental research design was employed with an online survey. Results: Direct and indirect campaign exposure was associated with increased action. Students expressed primarily positive reactions to and appeared to understand the consent message. The campaign appealed to and was associated with increased activity among a wide range of students with one exception: a negative effect was observed for business students. Conclusions: Colorful banners with pithy, upbeat messages hold promise for engaging undergraduates in conversations and proactive activities related to sexual assault prevention.     

An Evaluative Review of Outcome Research on Universal Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Programs for Higher Education Students

Abstract

Objective: This review is the first large-scale attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of universal promotion and prevention programs for higher education students on a range of adjustment outcomes. Participants/Methods: The current review examined 83 controlled interventions involving college, graduate, and professional students, with a focus on 3 main outcomes: social and emotional skills, self-perceptions, and emotional distress. Results/Conclusions: Skill-oriented programs that included supervised practice demonstrated the strongest benefits, thus showing promise as a successful mental health promotion and preventive intervention. In comparing different intervention strategies, mindfulness training and cognitive-behavioral techniques appear to be the most effective. Furthermore, interventions conducted as a class appear to be effective, suggesting the potential for exposing higher education students to skill training through routine curricula offerings. This review offers recommendations for improving the experimental rigor of future research, and implications for enhancing campus services to optimize student success in psychosocial—and thus ultimately academic—domains.     

Creating Culturally Grounded Videos for Substance Abuse Prevention

ABSTRACT

This article describes and critiques the pilot phase of a project in which an ethnically diverse group of students from a large southwestern urban high school created culturally based substance abuse prevention videos for urban middle school students. The rationale evolved from research that suggested that a peer-created, culturally-specific approach to drug abuse prevention would be more effective than would programming created by adults operating from a “so-called” culturally-neutral” perspective. The dual perspective of this article includes both the field experiment per se and the data collected, using a case study perspective. Overarching themes of culture and power are discussed, as are the elements of age and gender. Implications extending beyond the pilot offer insights for researchers and practitioners.     

Preventing violence in disadvantaged communities: Strategies for building collective efficacy and improving community health

ABSTRACT

Violence is a critical health issue that compromises the strength of communities and permanently damages the lives of individuals and families. The impact of violence on health and well-being is particularly devastating in disadvantaged and minority communities, leading to negative health outcomes, including premature death. However, research suggests that communities can prevent violence and negative health outcomes by developing collective efficacy, which happens when neighbors share norms and values, trust one another, and are willing to intervene to address problems. Despite the importance of collective efficacy in preventing violence and improving health, almost no research has investigated actionable strategies to build collective efficacy in disadvantaged neighborhoods. This article describes a theoretical and conceptual model that illustrates how collective efficacy impacts community violence and related health outcomes. We begin by reviewing other approaches to community violence prevention, including criminal justice and developmental approaches. We then discuss how collective efficacy works and why it matters, including theoretical and empirical research explaining collective efficacy and its impact on community violence and health. We then discuss a research-based intervention that social workers can use to facilitate collective efficacy, including our conceptual model and the key components of the intervention. Finally, we discuss implications for social workers who are working with communities to address violence and related health issues.     

Factors associated with emotional distress and suicide ideation among international college students

Abstract

Objective: To identify risk and protective factors associated with greater emotional distress and suicide ideation among international college students. Participants: International students (n?=?435) from two Midwestern and two Southeastern universities in the US. Methods: Online surveys were administered that measured emotional distress, past-year suicide ideation, entrapment, cultural stress, family conflict, perfectionism, ethnic discrimination, interpersonal needs, ethnic identity, and cultural sanctions against suicide. Results: In final linear regression analyses, higher levels of entrapment, unmet interpersonal needs, and ethnic discrimination were significantly associated with increased emotional distress. Only unmet interpersonal needs remained significantly associated with greater past-year suicide ideation in a multivariate regression analysis. Conclusions: Clinicians working with international students and prevention programmers targeting this population should address students’ perceptions of entrapment, ethnic discrimination, and especially unmet interpersonal needs in efforts to decrease or prevent students’ feelings of emotional distress and suicide ideation.     

A Model of Heterosexual Adaptive Relationship Functioning in South Africa: Implications for HIV Prevention Interventions

Abstract

Objectives: Couple-based HIV prevention efforts are an important HIV prevention strategy in South Africa but there is a lack of understanding as to what constitutes healthy relationships in South African sociodisadvantaged communities. Methods: To address this, 8 focus group discussions were conducted with 27 men and 23 Black African women living in a large disadvantaged community in Cape Town, South Africa. Results: A model of adaptive relationship functioning is put forth, which involves four primary relationship components that emerged as central to healthy relationships: active relationship building, emotional support/display, communication, and problem-solving. Conclusions: The results of this study can inform couple-based HIV prevention efforts.     

Institutional responsibilities: providing placement for international students

ABSTRACT

Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the number of international students studying health professional degrees such as social work in Australia and internationally. Research indicates that placement educators perceive that extra time and effort is required to support international students on placement due to, for example, language barriers and cultural and educational differences. This paper reports on findings from a nationwide study investigating the experiences and support needs of placement educators who supervise international social work students. The data consists of 15 in-depth interviews and 66 survey responses from placement educators across Australia. Findings reveal that placement educators feel pressure from education providers to supervise international students, yet they also feel they lack support from the education provider to do so adequately. Placement educators cite a need to increase contact and coordination between agencies and education providers, including clarity around the education providers’ expectations of their supervision. Placement educators want closer working relationships between agencies and education providers to ensure rewarding and enriching experiences for both students and placement educators. Such findings suggest that increased institutional support for, and collaboration with, placement educators is required to sustainably maintain quality placements for international students.     

The History of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: A Practitioner's Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article examines the history and current condition of child sexual abuse prevention efforts in the United States, emphasizing the perspective of those engaged in developing and working in such programs. The author argues that child sexual abuse prevention programs had built-in challenges given the topical area as well as the rapid growth of such programs combined with a paucity of resources and, initially, research, to support and inform its growth. Common criticisms of child sexual abuse prevention programs are examined and alternative explanations are postulated to explain certain weaknesses of programs. Finally, the author challenges researchers to broaden their research of sexual abuse prevention efforts beyond single population, single variable (such as knowledge gain) designs to understand more fully what is currently being done nationally to prevent the sexual abuse of children. Additionally, clear broad-based support for prevention in the wider field of child abuse is encouraged to build on the successes of prevention efforts.     

Mites and Wee Beasties

Abstract

The subtitle of this paper could be “Humans versus Arthropods.” Of the several classes of arthropods, Arachnida and Insecta are the most important from the public health standpoint. Arthropods are among man's most formidable competitors and they can affect the health of humans by being vectors of pathogenic microorganisms, by invading tissues, by inoculating poisonous substances, and by being pests.

A review is made of public health aspects of some arthropods that might be seen on a university or college campus. The diseases and infestations caused by mites (scabies), lice (pediculosis), bed bugs, fleas, and ticks are discussed.     

Suicide prevention on college campuses: What works and what are the existing gaps? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effects of universal and targeted suicide prevention programs on relevant outcomes in college campuses. Methods: College suicide prevention programs published from 2009 to 2018 were assessed on outcomes including knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviors. Effects of the interventions on outcome variables with sufficient studies to warrant meta-analysis (ie, knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy) were meta-analyzed. Studies reporting on the remaining outcomes (ie, suicidal ideation and behaviors) were systematically reviewed. Results: Significant increases in suicide prevention knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy were observed in universal prevention interventions that typically employed gatekeeper prevention strategies. Evidence of reductions in suicidal ideation and behaviors was observed across targeted suicide prevention programs for at-risk students. Conclusion: Prevention programs are beneficial for training those likely to come in contact with people endorsing suicidality, but further research is needed to show that suicide interventions can consistently have significant effects on suicidal students as well.