Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

African American Veterans Storytelling A Multisite Randomized Trial To Improve Hypertension, Thomas K. Houston, Gemmae M. Fix, Stephanie L. Shimada, Judith Long, Howard S. Gordon, Charlene Pope, Julie E. Volkman, Jeroan Allison, Kathryn Delaughter, Michelle Orner, Barbara G. Bokhour

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Background: Disparities in hypertension control persist for African American Veterans.

Objective: To enhance cultural relevance of hypertension control self-management education, in a multisite, stratified randomized trial, we tested an interactive Veteran-to-Veteran storytelling digital video disk (DVD) intervention created with Veteran partners, versus an education-only DVD comparison.

Methods: At 3 VA facilities, African American Veterans with uncontrolled hypertension were randomized to storytelling DVD intervention or didactic comparison DVD and followed for 6 months. We hypothesized that follow-up blood pressure (BP) would be lower among Veterans in the intervention group.

Results: African American Veterans (N=619) were 92% male, 39% over age 65, …

Health Information-Seeking On Behalf Of Others: Characteristics Of "Surrogate Seekers", Sarah L. Cutrona, Kathleen Mazor, Sana Vieux, Tana Luger, Julie E. Volkman, Lila J. Finner Rutten

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Understanding the behaviors of surrogate seekers (those who seek health information for others) may guide efforts to improve health information transmission. We used 2011-2012 data from the Health Information National Trends Survey to describe behaviors of online surrogate seekers. Respondents were asked about use of the Internet for surrogate-seeking over the prior 12 months. Data were weighted to calculate population estimates. Two thirds (66.6%) reported surrogate-seeking. Compared to those who sought health information online for only themselves, surrogate seekers were more likely to live in households with others (weighted percent 89.4 vs. 82.5% of self-seekers; p < 0.05); no significant differences in sex, race, income or education were observed. Surrogate seekers were more likely to report activities requiring user-generated content: email communication with healthcare providers; visits to social networking sites to read and share about medical topics and participation in online health support groups. On multivariate analysis, those who had looked online for healthcare providers were more likely to be surrogate seekers (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.08-2.59). In addition to seeking health information, surrogate seekers create and pass along communications that may influence medical care decisions. Research is needed to identify ways to facilitate transmission of accurate health information.

Smoking Status And Pain Intensity Among Oef/Oif/Ond Veterans, Julie E. Volkman, Eric C. Derycke, Mary A. Driscoll, William C. Becker, Cynthia A. Brandt, Kristin M. Mattocks, Sally G. Haskell, Harini Bathulapalli, Joseph L. Goulet, Lori A. Bastian

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Objective Pain and smoking are highly prevalent among Veterans. Studies in non-Veteran populations have reported higher pain intensity among current smokers compared with nonsmokers and former smokers. We examined the association of smoking status with reported pain intensity among Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND).

Design The sample consisted of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans who had at least one visit to Veterans Affairs (2001–2012) with information in the electronic medical record for concurrent smoking status and pain intensity. The primary outcome measure was current pain intensity, categorized as none to mild (0–3); moderate (4–6); or severe (≥7); …

Crowdsourced Peer- Versus Expert-Written Smoking-Cessation Messages, Heather L. Coley, Rajani S. Sadasivam, Jessica H. Williams, Julie E. Volkman, Yu-Mei Schoenberger, Connie L. Kohler, Heather Cobko, Midge N. Ray, Jeroan Allison, Daniel E. Ford, Gregg H. Gilbert, Thomas K. Houston

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Background Tailored, web-assisted interventions can reach many smokers. Content from other smokers (peers) through crowdsourcing could enhance relevance.

Purpose To evaluate whether peers can generate tailored messages encouraging other smokers to use a web-assisted tobacco intervention (Decide2Quit.org).

Methods Phase 1: In 2009, smokers wrote messages in response to scenarios for peer advice. These smoker-to-smoker (S2S) messages were coded to identify themes. Phase 2: resulting S2S messages, and comparison expert messages, were then e-mailed to newly registered smokers. In 2012, subsequent Decide2Quit.org visits following S2S or expert-written e-mails were compared.

Results Phase 1: a total of 39 smokers produced 2886 messages …

Veteran Internet Use And Engagement With Health Information Online, Thomas K. Houston, Julie E. Volkman, Hua Feng, Kim M. Nazi, Stephanie L. Shimada, Susannah Fox

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Veterans represent a unique population in need of accessing health services online. Data from a random-digit dialed survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project were used to assess differences in online use of health information among Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Veterans not in VA, and non-Veterans. This survey of 3,001 U.S. citizens oversampled lower-income households. Questions assessed Veteran status and use of VA health care services, self-reported Internet use and Internet searching for health-related information, and social engagement related to health online. Overall results …

Adolescent Females And Their Mothers, Julie E. Volkman, Kami Silk

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Recent research indicates environmental factors and personal behaviors are related to breast cancerrisk, but adopting a healthy lifestyle as early as adolescence can serve a protective function. Toinvestigate perceptions of breast cancer risk and the environment, 10 focus groups (N = 91) wereconducted with adolescent females (n = 55) and mothers (n = 36) across four counties in the Midwest,USA. The Uncertainty Management Theory provides a framework for discussing statements, andresults suggest that uncertainty is maintained through ambiguity about environmental risk factorsand breast cancer. Recommendations for prevention messages are presented.