AGING OUT OF WOMEN INFANTS AND CHILDREN: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE COMPENSATION EFFECT OF PRIVATE NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

This paper is the first to address the causal relationship between an abrupt change in the availability of public nutrition assistance and low-income households' private nutrition assistance utilization. In particular, we examined the way in which loss of Women Infants and Children (WIC) benefits impacted a household's utilization of private food assistance. Using a regression discontinuity analysis framework, we found that households significantly increased utilization of private nutrition assistance following an abrupt loss in public nutrition assistance. Estimates indicated that some households might have been able to compensate from about half to more than 90% of their loss in public WIC nutrition assistance. (JEL I38, C36, D12)     

Improving ascertainment of risk factors for HIV infection: results of a group-randomized evaluation

To allow appropriate allocation of prevention and care funding, HIV/AIDS surveillance data must include risk factor information, currently available for less than 70% of cases reported in the United States. The authors evaluated an intervention consisting of provider training and materials to improve risk factor reporting. Facilities were matched prior to randomization to intervention or control, and generalized linear mixed models were used to test for an intervention effect. Twenty-one percent of cases from intervention facilities and 33.4% from control facilities (p = .09) were reported without any risk factor information. The pre-post difference (20.7% for intervention and 36.0% for control) was not significant among HIV cases (p = .11) nor among AIDS cases (p = .12; 21.3% for intervention and 31.1% for control). The methods the authors' evaluated may need to be combined with other approaches and/or alternative classification schemes to significantly reduce the percentage of cases reported to surveillance without risk factor information.     

A 'Rave' Review: Conceptual Interests and Analytical Shifts in Research on Rave Culture

Raves have historically referred to grassroots organized, antiestablishment and unlicensed all-night dance parties, featuring electronically produced dance music, such as techno, house, trance and drum and bass. Since their late-1980s origins in the UK, raves have gained widespread popularity and transformed dramatically. Consequently, their many cultural traits and behaviors have garnered much sociological interest, which mostly falls into two competing perspectives: cultural studies and public health. In this paper, we review what raves look like today compared to their high point in the 1990s. We then discuss how the cultural studies and public health perspectives define raves and have studied them over time, focusing on the 'pet' sociological concepts each has sought to advance. Our analysis of these literatures reveals important differences in rave research by country and over time. We end by discussing the politics associated with the shift in rave research.     

Examining Protective Factors for Dysthymia Among Individuals Attending Substance Abuse Treatment

ABSTRACT

Dysthymia affects millions of people and has been associated with impaired psychosocial and occupational functioning and poor clinical treatment outcomes. Yet few studies have examined protective factors that can be utilized to help individuals with dysthymia in clinical settings, particularly among individuals with comorbid substance use disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential protective quality of adult attachment dimensions, spirituality, and meaning in life among clients with and without dysthymia in treatment for addiction. Data were obtained from 305 self-report questionnaires administered to clients attending a residential substance abuse treatment center. Approximately 25% of the sample met criteria for dysthymia. Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that purpose and meaning in life and attachment anxiety were the most important protective factors against having dysthymia. These results suggest that mental health professionals may need to integrate these protective factors into the treatment of individuals with dysthymia and substance use disorders, which may enhance treatment outcomes and maximize treatment effectiveness. Future studies should continue to explore protective factors that can assist individuals who experience these comorbid conditions and consider replicating this study using an ethnically diverse sample and other clinical settings to determine the generalizability of the findings.     

A framework for evaluating eHealth research

Health care is in the midst of a consumer-oriented technology explosion. Individuals of all ages and backgrounds have discovered eHealth. But the challenges of implementing and evaluating eHealth are just beginning to surface, and, as technology changes, new challenges emerge. Evaluation is critical to the future of eHealth. This article addresses four dimensions of eHealth evaluation: (1) design and methodology issues; (2) challenges related to the technology itself; (3) environmental issues that are not specific to eHealth but pose special problems for eHealth researchers; and (4) logistic or administrative concerns of the evaluation methodology selected. We suggest that these four dimensions must be integrated to provide a holistic framework for designing and implementing eHealth research projects, as well as for understanding the totality of the eHealth intervention. The framework must be flexible enough to adapt to a variety of end users, regardless of whether the end user is a healthcare organization, a for-profit business, a community organization, or an individual. The framework is depicted as a puzzle with four interlocking pieces.