Public Health Commons^™

Peer Education And Hiv/Aids: Past Experience, Future Directions, Deanna Kerrigan, Ellen Weiss

HIV and AIDS

Peer education typically involves training and supporting members of a given group to effect change among members of the same group. Peer education is often used to effect changes in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors at the individual level. However, peer education may also create change at the group or societal level by modifying norms and stimulating collective action that contributes to changes in policies and programs. Worldwide, peer education is one of the most widely used strategies to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This report presents findings from a project designed to identify components and principles that influence HIV/AIDS peer …

Genetic Variation In Pneumocystis Carinii Isolates From Different Geographic Regions: Implications For Transmission, Charles B. Beard, Jane L. Carter, Scott P. Keely, Laurence Huang, Norman J. Pieniazek, Iaci N. S. Moura, Jacquelin M. Roberts, Allen W. Hightower, Michelle S. Bens, Amanda R. Freeman, Sherline Lee, James R. Stringer, Jeffrey S. Duchin, Carlos Del Rio, David Rimland, Robert P. Baughman, Deborah A. Levy, Vance J. Dietz, Paul Simon, Thomas R. Navin

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

To study transmission patterns of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in persons with AIDS, we evaluated P. carinii isolates from patients in five U.S. cities for variation at two independent genetic loci, the mitochondrial large subunit rRNA and dihydropteroate synthase. Fourteen unique multilocus genotypes were observed in 191 isolates that were examined at both loci. Mixed infections, accounting for 17.8% of cases, were associated with primary PCP. Genotype frequency distribution patterns varied by patients' place of diagnosis but not by place of birth. Genetic variation at the two loci suggests three probable characteristics of transmission: that most cases of PCP do …

The Maine Healthy Families Program, Erin E. Oldham Phd, Tammy Richards, Anne B. Keith Rn, Drph, C-Pnp

Children, Youth, & Families

The process study focused on: (1) assessing how the program was implemented and administered, (2) assessing the quality and consistency of the intervention and (3) providing information for program improvement. We conducted community partner interviews, home visit observations, a parent survey and a staff survey. The Outcomes study followed 89 families during their experiences with the program.

Speech By Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening , Parris N. Glendening

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Demographics Of Firearm Injury: Implications For Medical Practice, Thomas M. Scalea, Sharon M. Henry

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

State Laws Forbidding Municipalities From Suing The Firearm Industry: Will Firearm Immunity Laws Close The Courthouse Door?, Jon S. Vernick, Julie Samia Mair

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

More Guns, Less Crime, By John R. Lott, Jr. , Kevin P. Latulip Jr.

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Web-Based System On Pregnancy - Giving Birth (Sistem Kehamilan - Kelahiran Anak), Hoi Yen Siow

Student Works (2000-2009)

From pregnancy until childbirth, it is always a process of tiring, joy and tribulations. Pregnancy women experience great changes in mentality and physically. They need to learn the related information to minimize their anxiety, to help them discover the danger signs earlier and to be well prepared for their baby's arrival. In Malaysia, pregnancy women tend to get the knowledge on pregnancy from their relatives, friends and books. An online system on pregnancy - giving birth could be developed as a good alternative of their information resources. The information could be delivered via World Wide Web (WWW). With the features …

Intimate Partner Violence And Cervical Neoplasia, Ann L. Coker, Maureen Sanderson, Mary Kay Fadden, Lucia Pirisi

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with a range of adverse physical health outcomes, including chronic and infectious diseases. An emerging literature suggests that partner violence and specifically sexual violence may be associated with an increased risk of cervical neoplasia. To assess the risk of preinvasive and invasive cervical cancer in a cross-sectional study of women screened for IPV by type, frequency and duration, 1152 women ages 18–65 were recruited from family practice clinics in 1997–1998. They were screened for IPV during a brief in-clinic interview, and health history and current status were assessed in a follow-up interview. Of 1152 …

Men's Health: How Men Understand The Concept Of Health And How This Understanding Shapes Actions, Craig T. Thompson

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this research was to explore how men understand the concept of health, and how this understanding shapes actions. This dissertation developed as a result of both working at a Community Health Centre, and having an awareness that in Australia, statistics indicate that men's health is steadily deteriorating. A theoretical framework implementing the concepts of health, socialisation (masculinity) and cognition was utilised to guide the research. The research involved interviewing six male participants, who were university students ranging in age from 20 to 40 years. Participants were questioned regarding their perceptions of health and health management. Interview transcripts …

Burkina Faso: Mejorar La Atención Postaborto Beneficia A Pacientes Y Proveedores, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Egypt: Family Planning Providers Should Encourage Clients To Discuss Sexual Problems, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

This 1999 study examined the feasibility and impact of introducing the discussion of sexuality during family planning (FP) consultations. Conducted by the Population Council in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), the study took place in four MOHP clinics and two affiliated private clinics. Nurses and physicians at all six clinics attended a two-day training session on contraceptives with an emphasis on barrier methods. Providers in the three clinics that had been randomly chosen as intervention sites also received three days of training on sexuality, gender, and counseling skills. To assess the acceptability of sexuality counseling …

Egypte: Les Ong Doivent Unir Leurs Forces Pour Éradiquer L'Excision, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Men As Supportive Partners In Reproductive Health: Moving From Rhetoric To Reality, Saraswati Raju, Ann Leonard

Reproductive Health

This book builds on presentations of the Workshop on Men as Supportive Partners in Reproductive and Sexual Health held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1998. By analyzing the experiences of nongovernmental organizations across India, this publication reviews important concerns that should inform the discourse on male partnership. The previous views of reaching men as contraceptive users and removing them as impediments to women’s efforts to control fertility are too limited. The argument is not whether men and women should use family planning, but rather the extent to which men can become supportive of women’s reproductive and sexual rights and actively take …

Sexual And Reproductive Health And Health Sector Reform In Latin America And The Caribbean: Challenges And Opportunities, Ana Langer, Gustavo Nigenda, Sandra G. Garcia, Rosario Valdez, Emanuel Orozco, Jennifer Catino

Reproductive Health

Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are at varying stages of a reform process to improve the response capacity of health systems by upgrading the effectiveness and sustainability of programs and services. Changes promoted by the reform focus on priority health needs and underprivileged society groups. Some problems, such as sexual and reproductive health (SRH), can be tackled with cost-effective technologies. Reform projects offer a unique opportunity to reconsider policies, programs, and services aimed at facing the issues encompassed in the term SRH. Nonetheless, the formulation of a strategy and the identification of concrete measures represent a …

Surveillance For Waterborne-Disease Outbreaks--United States, 1997-1998., Rachel S. Barwick, Deborah A. Levy, Gunther F. Craun, Michael J. Beach, Rebecca L. Calderon

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Since 1971, CDC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have maintained a collaborative surveillance system for collecting and periodically reporting data relating to occurrences and causes of waterborne-disease outbreaks (WBDOs).

REPORTING PERIOD COVERED: This summary includes data from January 1997 through December 1998 and a previously unreported outbreak in 1996.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM: The surveillance system includes data regarding outbreaks associated with drinking water and recreational water. State, territorial, and local public health departments are primarily responsible for detecting and investigating WBDOs and voluntarily reporting them to CDC on a standard form.

RESULTS: During 1997-1998, a total …

Speech By Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., J. Joseph Curran Jr.

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Violence In The Home - Pediatric And Parental Reports, Bonnie D. Kerker, Sarah Mccue Horwitz, John M. Leventhal, Stacey Plichta, Phillip J. Leaf

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objectives: To compare the rates of domestic violence reported by mothers with those identified by physicians, to compare the rates of harsh discipline practices reported by mothers with the rates of abuse identified by physicians, and to examine the relationship between reported domestic violence and harsh discipline practices.

Design: Interviews with parents and pediatricians to compare pediatric detection of domestic violence and child abuse with parental reports of domestic violence and harsh discipline practices.

Setting: Community-based pediatric practices in the 13-town greater New Haven, Conn, area.

Participants: Of the 23 practices invited, 19 agreed to participate. Of the 2006 parents …

Assessment Of Knowledge Regarding Three Popular Dietary Supplements: Chromium Picolinate, Creatine, And Androstenedione, Terry L. Williams Jr.

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Balancing Public Health Against Individual Liberty: The Ethics Of Smoking Regulations, Thaddeus Mason Pope

Faculty Scholarship

Ten years ago, philosopher Robert E. Goodin published "No Smoking: The Ethical Issues." Goodin argued that the liberty of smokers can be justifiably limited for two reasons: to prevent harm to third persons and to prevent harm to smokers themselves under circumstances which make their decision to smoke substantially non-autonomous. In this article Thaddeus Pope reexamines the harm principle and the soft paternalism principle in light of more recent legal developments, gives them additional content, and carefully demarcates the justificatory scope of each. Pope also defines and defends a third liberty-limiting principle, hard paternalism, arguing that the liberty of smokers …

Is Malnutrition Declining? An Analysis Of Changes In Levels Of Childhood Malnutrition Since 1980, Mercedes De Onis, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Monika Blo¨ Ssner

Faculty Publications

Nutritional status is the best global indicator of well-being in children. Although many surveys of children have been conducted since the 1970s, lack of comparability between them has made it difficult to monitor trends in child malnutrition.

Cross-sectional data from 241 nationally representative surveys were analysed in a standard way to produce comparable results of low height-for-age (stunting). Multilevel modelling was applied to estimate regional and global trends from 1980 to 2005.

The prevalence of stunting has fallen in developing countries from 47% in 1980 to 33% in 2000 (i.e. by 40 million), although progress has been uneven according to …

Moderate Intensity Exercise Training Improves Cardiorespiratory Fitness In Women, J. David Branch, Russell R. Pate, Sharon P. Bourque

Faculty Publications

Among women, there is an increased prevalence of sedentary lifestyle and less participation in physical activity at levels recommended by the Surgeon General. As a result, women have been identified as a target group in public health initiatives to increase physical activity. The health-related benefits of habitual, moderate intensity physical activity are well documented in the epidemiological literature, but less is known about the effect of such physical activity on cardiorespiratory fitness. Our hypothesis was that moderate and vigorous exercise training regimens of similar estimated energy expenditure would result in similar changes in cardiorespiratory fitness. Eighteen sedentary premenopausal women with …

Egipto: Los Proveedores De Servicios De Planificación Deben Motivar A Sus Clientas A Hablar De Sus Problemas De Sexualidad, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Critical Analysis Of Interventions Against Fgc In Egypt, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Sahar Hegazi

Reproductive Health

Community-based programs designed to discourage the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Egypt started as early as the 1920s, however, NGOs seldom document the implementation, strengths, and weaknesses of each approach; or difficulties faced in implementation or ways of overcoming those difficulties. The present meta-assessment was designed by the Population Council to address these issues. Recommendations proposed to increase the effectiveness of anti-FGC interventions in Egypt include: conducting formative research to assess the needs of individuals/communities; using more participatory learning techniques in awareness-raising seminars and training workshops; focusing messages not only on the health hazards of FGC, but also …

A Pilot Intervention To Increase Parent-Child Communication About Alcohol Avoidance, Joan M. Carlson, Michele Johnson Moore, Deborah M. Pappas, Chudley E. Werch, Graham F. Watts, Patricia A. Edgemon

Public Health Faculty Research and Scholarship

Enhancing parent-child communication regarding alcohol use through educational print correspondence is a potentially cost-effective tool in health promotion. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine whether a series of postcards addressing specific alcohol risk and protective factors, sent to the parents/guardians of preadolescents in two different school settings, influenced parent-child communication regarding alcohol use. Subjects for this study included parents of participating 6th grade students attending one neighborhood (N=262) and one magnet (bused) (N=388) inner-city school. Participating students were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Baseline data were collected from students, enabling the intervention to be …

A Comparative Analysis Of Anti-Trafficking Intervention Approaches In Nepal, Catrin Evans, Pankaja Bhattarai, Celine Daly, Vaishali Sharma Mahendra, Nick Langton

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report on current intervention models is part of a larger research study entitled “Intervention Needs for the Prevention of Trafficking and the Care and Support of Trafficked Persons in the Context of an Emerging HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Nepal.” The United States Agency for International Development supported this comprehensive study under the Population Council’s Horizons Program. The Population Council subcontracted the Asia Foundation in Kathmandu to conduct the research. This report documents and analyzes current intervention models for the prevention of trafficking and the care and support of trafficked persons in Nepal. Between August and September 2000, two researchers interviewed …

Women Street Vendors: The Road To Recognition, Monique Cohen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This issue of SEEDS explores the experience of women working and organizing as urban street vendors at a time when both the volume of demand and the number of vendors are expected to grow. As municipalities seek to change laws that affect how street vendors ply their trade, it is clear that vendors must have a seat at the table. Local-level organizational efforts need to be consolidated at the national level to cement vendors’ hard-earned gains as rights in national laws and policy. A 1995 meeting in Bellagio conceived an international alliance of street vendors—StreetNet—which aims to promote the exchange …

The Potential Role Of Contraception In Reducing Abortion, John Bongaarts, Charles F. Westoff

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Since the 1960s the proportion of couples practicing contraception has risen rapidly, particularly in the developing world, and the mix of methods is now dominated by modern methods. Despite these trends, the incidence of unintended pregnancy remains high mainly because the number of children desired has declined. Worldwide there are almost as many unintended as intended pregnancies each year (not counting miscarriages, which are excluded in this analysis) and more than half of these unintended pregnancies end in abortion. This study examines the potential role of further increases in contraceptive prevalence and effectiveness in reducing abortion rates. The model used …

Unmet Need For Family Planning In Developing Countries And Implications For Population Policy, John B. Casterline, Steven W. Sinding

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Unmet need for family planning has been a core concept in international population discourse for several decades. In this paper we reevaluate its utility. We review the history of unmet need and the development of increasingly refined methods of its empirical measurement. We then turn to the main questions that have been raised about unmet need during the past decade, some of which concern the validity of the concept and others its role in the post-ICPD environment. The discussion draws heavily on empirical research conducted during the 1990s, much of it localized, in-depth studies combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, that …

Socialization To Gender Roles And Marriage Among Egyptian Adolescents, Barbara Mensch, Barbara L. Ibrahim, Susan M. Lee, Omaima El-Gibaly

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Using nationally representative survey data, this paper explores gender role socialization and attitudes toward marriage among unmarried Egyptian adolescents aged 16-19 years. We examine the daily activities of adolescent boys and girls, views about age at marriage and desirable qualities in a spouse, and various indicators of gender role attitudes including opinions about whether wives should defer to husbands, about sharing household decisionmaking, and about responsibility for domestic tasks. Our findings reflect strong gender differentiation: girls have much less free time than boys, are much less mobile, are much less likely to participate in paid work, and have heavier domestic …