Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Equating Accelerometer Estimates Of Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity: In Search Of The Rosetta Stone, Daniel B. Bornstein, Michael W. Beets, Wonwoo Byun, Gregory J. Welk, Matteo Bottai, Marsha Dowda, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

Purpose - No universally accepted ActiGraph accelerometer cutpoints for quantifying moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) exist. Estimates of MVPA from one set of cutpoints cannot be directly compared to MVPA estimates using different cutpoints, even when the same outcome units are reported (MVPA min•d^-1). The purpose of this study was to illustrate the utility of an equating system that translates reported MVPA estimates from one set of cutpoints into another, to better inform public health policy.

Design - Secondary data analysis.

Methods - ActiGraph data from a large preschool project (N=419, 3-6yr-olds, CHAMPS) was used to conduct the analyses. …

The Association Between The Food Environment And Weight Status Among Eastern North Carolina Youth, Stephanie B. Jilcott, Scott Wade, Jared T. Mcguirt, Qiang Wu, Suzanne Lazorick, Justin B. Moore

Faculty Publications

Objective: To examine associations between various measures of the food environment and BMI percentile among youth.

Design: Cross-sectional, observational.

Setting: Pitt County, eastern North Carolina.

Subjects:We extracted the electronic medical records for youth receiving well child check-ups from January 2007 to June 2008. We obtained addresses for food venues from two secondary sources and ground-truthing. A geographic information systems database was constructed by geocoding home addresses of 744 youth and food venues. We quantified participants' accessibility to food venues by calculating 'coverage', number of food venues in buffers of 0●25, 0●5, 1 and 5 miles (0●4, 0●8, 1●6 and …

Associations Between Electronic Media Use And Involvement In Violence, Alcohol And Drug Use Among United States High School Students, Maxine M. Denniston, Monica H. Swahn, Marci Feldman Hertz, Lisa M. Romero

Public Health Faculty Publications

Objective: We identified associations between time spent watching television and time spent playing video or computer games or using computers and involvement in interpersonal violence, alcohol and drug use in a nationally representative sample of United States high school students.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2007 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Exposure variables were time spent watching television and time spent playing computer or video games or using computers (hereafter denoted as "computer/video game use") on an average school day; outcome variables included multiple measures assessing involvement in violence and alcohol or drug use. Chi-square tests were used to …

Physical Activity And Sedentary Activity Patterns Among Children And Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis Approach, Carrie D. Patnode, Leslie A. Lytle, Darin J. Erickson, John R. Sirard, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, Mary Story

Faculty Publications

Background: While much is known about the overall levels of physical activity and sedentary activity among youth, few studies have attempted to define clusters of such behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe unique classes of youth based on their perception in a variety of physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Methods: Latent class analysis was used to characterize segments of youth based on patterns of self-reported and accelerometer-measured participation in 12 behaviors. Children and adolescents (N =720) from 6th-11th grade were included in the analysis. Differences in class membership were examined using multinomial logistic …

Focus On Male Youths In Addressing Alcohol And Drug Abuse Risk In The Context Of Hiv Prevention Among Young People, Population Council

Reproductive Health

Research evidence shows that people who abuse alcohol are more likely to engage in behavior that puts them at risk of HIV infection, including having unprotected sex. In 2010, the Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project collaborated with the Support for Addictions Prevention and Treatment in Africa Centre in Kenya on research to identify factors associated with alcohol and drug use among out-of-school youth in Kibera, to identify specific factors contributing to HIV risk, and to assess the impact of an intervention to link youths with an alcohol and drug abuse problem to counseling and rehabilitation services. A key …

Ten Years Of The Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project: What Has Happened?, Humphres Evelia, Monica Wanjiru, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi

Reproductive Health

This evaluation by the Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project sought to find out whether the adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) and HIV/AIDS activities in Kenya had been sustained over a 10-year period when the project was replicated and scaled up to cover seven provinces in the country. The evaluation had three main objectives: 1) to determine the extent to which activities of the Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Program (KARHP) have continued at national, provincial, and district levels; 2) to determine whether desired sexual and reproductive health outcomes (knowledge, behavior, and practices) have been sustained among in- and …

Using Youth-Friendly Communication Approaches To Communicate Hiv/Aids With Young People Is Feasible And Acceptable, Population Council

Reproductive Health

HIV remains a major concern in Kenya among all segments of the population, including adolescents. New ways of delivering HIV information and services are therefore needed, especially to reach young people and encourage them to take up counselling and testing to know their sero-status. The APHIA II Operations Research Project collaborated with the Ministry of Education, Well Told Story, and the National AIDS and STD Control Programme to implement a project to enhance communication in schools about HIV and create demand for early counseling and testing. The project also sought to create a supportive environment in schools for young people …

Assessing Equity Of Access In Programs For Young People, Adam Weiner

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Young people aged 10–19 make up almost 20 percent of the population in less developed regions. This vast, highly diverse population faces a variety of threats that could disrupt their healthy transition to adulthood, including early marriage and childbearing, school leaving, violence, exploitation, unemployment, and HIV/AIDS. The majority of youth programs fail to reach the most vulnerable; most programs are only accessible to those with greater levels of social and human capital, such as an education or friendship networks. Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 28 describes how the Population Council, recognizing the need for generating …

Taking Programs For Vulnerable Adolescents To Scale: Experiences, Insights, And Evidence, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The international development community’s desire to alleviate poverty and improve health outcomes presents an extraordinary opportunity to transform the lives of young people, particularly girls. Cycles of illiteracy, poor job prospects, and social isolation can be broken but will require concerted efforts to reach large numbers of vulnerable adolescent girls with robust asset-building programs. Scaling-up effective pilot programs will be critical to achieving these goals. While there is an expanding body of research around scaling up health interventions, less is known or documented about scaling up cross-sectoral programs for adolescent girls. Bringing to scale programs directed toward poor, often invisible …

The Population Council's Approach: Promoting Healthy, Safe, And Productive Transitions To Adulthood, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood brief provides an overview of the Population Council’s focus on adolescents that began in the early 1990s. The focus has been accompanied by a commitment to move the field of adolescent research and programs from one often narrowly focused on sexuality, reproductive health, and behavior to the broader social and economic issues that underpin adolescent health and well-being. In 1998, with the publication of The Uncharted Passage—a benchmark review of the situation of adolescent girls in developing countries—the current program of work was launched. The Council’s approach has been characterized by …

Survey Of Young People In Egypt (Sype) 2009—Final Report, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document contains the Final Report for SYPE 2009. Responding to a dearth of data on youth in Egypt, the Population Council conducted a comprehensive situation analysis of Egyptian adolescents and young people: the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) 2009, which covered a nationally representative sample of 15,029 young people aged 10-29. SYPE collected data on the five key life transitions of education, work, family formation; health; and civic and political participation. SYPE follows up an earlier survey conducted by the Population Council in 1997, The Adolescence and Social Change in Egypt (ASCE) survey. SYPE updates the results …

Decrease Of Youth Participation In The Labor Market In The Palestinian Territories: Reasons And Determinants From Gender Prospects [Arabic], Ayman Abdul Majeed

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

It is widely acknowledged that Palestinian youths between the ages of 15–29 have a low participation rate in the labor force. Population Council research has shown that this age group faces many barriers and challenges that make it difficult to pursue work. The prevailing political, economic, social, cultural, and educational conditions are major contributors to the low work participation, in addition to a decreased sense of self-confidence and low self-esteem. The conclusions from the research were to propose practical solutions to help this generation to regain self-confidence and self-esteem and become more active participants in the labor force. There is …

Siyakha Nentsha: Building Economic, Health, And Social Capabilities Among Highly Vulnerable Adolescents In Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Young people growing up in South Africa face many challenges. HIV, orphanhood, early pregnancy, and limited employment prospects are some of the major obstacles to a healthy and productive adulthood. In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the province with the highest HIV prevalence rates, the impact of HIV and AIDS is felt especially strongly, and already-disadvantaged adolescents face the prospect of falling even further behind socially and economically because of the disruption of key relationships in their lives. The Isihlangu Health and Development Agency and the Population Council developed and piloted a life-orientation program, Siyakha Nentsha, to improve the lifelong skills and well-being …

Protecting Young People From Sex Without Consent, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Over the last decade, a growing body of evidence has laid to rest any illusion that the young are protected from unwanted sexual advances or forced sex both within and outside of marriage. Studies have established the prevalence of unwanted sex within marriage among young women and its risk factors; the association between poverty and forced sex among adolescent girls in South Africa; levels and correlates of forced sex reported by young people in Ethiopia and Kenya. Evidence has established that sex without consent among the young exists in every region of the world, and that girls, as well as …

Education During Humanitarian Emergencies: The Situation Of Displaced Children And Youth In Darfur, Sudan, Safaa El-Kogali

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

More than 39 million children and youth who live in conflict-affected fragile states do not have access to education. With an increase in the average duration of refugee displacement from 9 years in the early 1990s to 17 years today, whole generations of children have little chance to recoup the potential educational investment lost during their years living in the midst of a humanitarian emergency. The Population Council and the Women’s Refugee Commission launched a research project to identify the link between education and children’s protection and well-being in Darfur, Sudan. The objective was to document the educational environment in …

Calling Attention To Young Adolescents: Building The Evidence Base To Inform Policies And Programs, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Young adolescence is a critical life-cycle stage marked by a dynamic combination of opportunity and risk. During this time, children undergo tremendous physical, emotional, social, and cognitive changes as well as socialization into prevailing sexual and gender norms. For the majority, young adolescence is characterized by relatively good health and stable family circumstances, but it can also be a period of vulnerability due to a number of rapid transitions that force some young people into adult roles. Most young adolescents experience the onset of puberty (girls earlier than boys), which typically marks an abrupt life change. Some young adolescents will …

La Estrategia Del Population Council: Promoción De Transiciones A La Vida Adulta Sanas, Seguras Y Productivas, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Este informe sobre la “Promoción de transiciones a la edad adulta: Sanas, seguras y productivas” proporciona una visión general del enfoque del Population Council sobre los adolescentes que comenzó a principios de la década de 1990. El enfoque se ha visto acompañado por un compromiso de trasladar el campo de la investigación y los programas de adolescentes de uno que a menudo se enfoca en la sexualidad, la salud reproductiva y el comportamiento a uno que contemple los problemas sociales y económicos más amplios que constituyen la base de la salud y el bienestar de los adolescentes. En 1998, con …

La Démarche Du Population Council: Promouvoir La Santé, La Sécurité Et La Productivité Transitions Vers L'Âge Adulte, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Ce document “Promouvoir des transitions vers l’âge adulte saines, securisées et productives” donne un aperçu de l’attention du Population Council sur les adolescents qui a commencé au début des années 1990. L'accent a été accompagné d'un engagement à ouvrir le champ des études et des programmes consacrés aux adolescents en élargissant le simple domaine de la sexualité, de la santé génésique et des comportements aux grandes questions sociales et économiques qui sous-tendent la santé et le bien-être des adolescents. En 1998, avec la publication de The Uncharted Passage—un examen de référence de la situation des adolescentes dans les pays en …

Ampliación De Programas Para Adolescentes Vulnerables: Experiencias, Entendimientos Y Evidencia, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

El deseo de la comunidad de desarrollo internacional por aliviar la pobreza y mejorar los resultados de la salud presenta una oportunidad extraordinaria para transformar la vida de la gente joven, particularmente de las niñas. Ciclos de analfabetismo, escasas posibilidades de trabajo y aislamiento social pueden frenarse, pero requerirán de esfuerzos coordinados para alcanzar a una gran cantidad de niñas adolescentes vulnerables con programas sólidos construídos en base a los valores. El hecho de ampliar los programas piloto efectivos será crítico para lograr estos objetivos. A pesar de que hay un cuerpo de búsqueda en expansión alrededor de intervenciones de …

Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Young People In India: A Review Of Policies, Laws And Programmes, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, K.G. Santhya

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper synthesizes the key policies, laws, and programs in India that focus on or have implications for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people. It includes a summary of what is known about the sexual and reproductive health situation of young people, an assessment of the salient features of current policies, laws, and programs, and a discussion of the extent to which these policies, laws, and programs have responded to the sexual and reproductive health needs of young women and men. The review by the Population Council clearly shows that there is considerable recognition of the …

Survey Of Young People In Egypt (Sype) 2009—Final Report [Arabic], Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document contains the Final Report for SYPE 2009. Responding to a dearth of data on youth in Egypt, the Population Council conducted a comprehensive situation analysis of Egyptian adolescents and young people: the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) 2009, which covered a nationally representative sample of 15,029 young people aged 10-29. SYPE collected data on the five key life transitions of education, work, family formation; health; and civic and political participation. SYPE follows up an earlier survey conducted by the Population Council in 1997, The Adolescence and Social Change in Egypt (ASCE) survey. SYPE updates the results …

Prevalence And Socio-Demographic Correlates For Serious Injury Among Adolescents Participating In The Djibouti 2007 Global School-Based Health Survey, Adamson S. Muula, Seter Siziya, Emmanuel Rudatsikira

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

Mental health and injury are neglected public health issues especially in low-income nations. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates for serious injury in the last 12 months.

Findings

The study used data of the 2007 Djibouti Global School-based Health Survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to establish associations. Of the 1, 777 respondents, 61.1% (63.2% males and 57.8% females) reported having sustained serious injury (SSI). Compared to participants who were not bullied, those who reported being bullied 3-9 days per month were more likely to have sustained serious injury in the last …

Self-Reported Poor Oral Hygiene Among In-School Adolescents In Zambia, Seter Siziya, Adamson S. Muula, Emmanuel Rudatsikira

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

Dental health is a neglected aspect of adolescent health globally but more so in low-income countries. Secondary analysis using the 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey (GSHS) was conducted in which we estimated frequencies of relevant socio-demographic variables and explored associations between selected explanatory variables and self-reported poor oral hygiene (not cleaning or brushing teeth) within the last 30 days of the completion of questionnaire.

Findings

Most of the 2257 respondents were males (53.9%) and went hungry (82.5%). More than 4 in 10 respondents drank alcohol (42.2%) while 37.2% smoked cannabis. Overall 10.0% of the respondents reported to have …

Tobacco Companies Influence On Youth Smoking Prevalence In Spain (La Influencia De Las Tabaqueras En La Prevalencia De Tabaquismo Entre Los Jóvenes Españoles), Francisco Soto Mas

Francisco Soto Mas

Background: Tobacco companies’ strategies to promote tobacco use and undermine tobacco control policy are key in tobacco use among young people. The analysis of tobacco companies’ internal documents can be instrumental in identifying those strategies, improving social support for tobacco control policy, and planning public health interventions. The goal of this study was to identify and analyze internal documents related to the activities of tobacco companies during the 1980s and 90s aimed at promoting smoking in young Spaniards. Methods: Electronic search by key word of tobacco industry documents held at the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Results: More than 1,000 documents …

The Role Of Problem Orientation Cognitive Distortions In Depression And Anxiety Intervention For Young Adults., Coralie Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Interventions that aim to improve social problem-solving skills can significantly reduce the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms in young people. Anxious and depressed individuals often have a negative orientation to problem solution which acts as a barrier to implementing problem-solving skills. Research with older adults suggests that symptoms impair problem-solving abilities through cognitive processes associated with the development of anxiety and depression. In this study we extend previous investigations by assessing the extent to which specific cognitive distortions and symptoms of anxiety and depression are associated with negative problem orientation in a sample of 285 young adults aged 18 …

Early Access And Help Seeking: Practice Implications And New Initiatives., Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Seeking appropriate help for early signs and symptoms of psychological distress can reduce the long-term impact of many mental disorders. This article describes practice implications and new initiatives for promoting early access and help-seeking among young people. Relevant help-seeking research is reviewed, and prominent help-seeking barriers are discussed. Prominent barriers for young people include: incomplete mental health and emotional literacy, beliefs about having little need for help versus having a need for autonomy, and the process of help-negation for different symptoms of psychological distress. To improve early access to appropriate help and mental health services, barriers that can be reduced, …

The Effects Of Need For Autonomy And Preference For Seeking Help From Informal Sources On Emerging Adults’ Intentions To Access Mental Health Services For Common Mental Disorders And Suicidal Thoughts., Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Emerging or early adulthood is the life stage spanning 18-25 years of age. In Australia, anxiety and affective disorders (often classified as ‘common mental disorders’) are prevalent in this age group and suicide is also a concern. Professional mental health care can reduce the long-term impact of these mental health problems and protect against the development of severe forms of these disorders. However, up to three-quarters of young people with mental health needs do not seek professional help for their condition. This study aimed to examine the extent to which belief in the need for autonomy and intentions to seek …