Browsing by Subject "Health Education"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Community-based HCV screening: knowledge and attitudes in a high risk urban population.
    (BMC Infect Dis, 2014-02-10) Norton, Brianna L; Voils, Corrine I; Timberlake, Sarah H; Hecker, Emily J; Goswami, Neela D; Huffman, Kim M; Landgraf, Anneka; Naggie, Susanna; Stout, Jason E
    BACKGROUND: In an attempt to curtail the rising morbidity and mortality from undiagnosed HCV (hepatitis C virus) in the United States, screening guidelines have been expanded to high-risk individuals and persons born 1945-1965. Community-based screening may be one strategy in which to reach such persons; however, the acceptance of HCV testing, when many high-risk individuals may not have access to HCV specific medications, remains unknown. METHODS: We set out to assess attitudes about HCV screening and knowledge about HCV disease at several community-based testing sites that serve high-risk populations. This assessment was paired with a brief HCV educational intervention, followed by post-education evaluation. RESULTS: Participants (n = 140) were surveyed at five sites; two homeless shelters, two drug rehabilitation centers, and a women's "drop-in" center. Personal acceptance of HCV testing was almost unanimous, and 90% of participants reported that they would still want to be tested even if they were unable to receive HCV treatment. Baseline hepatitis C knowledge was poor; however, the brief educational intervention significantly improved knowledge and increased acceptability of testing when medical access issues were explicitly stated. CONCLUSIONS: Despite inconsistencies in access to care and treatment, high-risk communities want to know their HCV status. Though baseline HCV knowledge was poor in this population, a brief on-site educational intervention improved both knowledge and acceptability of HCV testing and care. These data support the establishment of programs that utilize community-based screening, and also provide initial evidence for acceptance of the implementation of the recently expanded screening guidelines among marginalized communities.
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    Men's knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer screening in Kenya.
    (BMC Womens Health, 2014-11-22) Rosser, Joelle I; Zakaras, Jennifer M; Hamisi, Sabina; Huchko, Megan J
    BACKGROUND: A number of studies have identified male involvement as an important factor affecting reproductive health outcomes, particularly in the areas of family planning, antenatal care, and HIV care. As access to cervical cancer screening programs improves in resource-poor settings, particularly through the integration of HIV and cervical cancer services, it is important to understand the role of male partner support in women's utilization of screening and treatment. METHODS: We administered an oral survey to 110 men in Western Kenya about their knowledge and attitudes regarding cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening. Men who had female partners eligible for cervical cancer screening were recruited from government health facilities where screening was offered free of charge. RESULTS: Specific knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors, prevention, and treatment was low. Only half of the men perceived their partners to be at risk for cervical cancer, and many reported that a positive screen would be emotionally upsetting. Nevertheless, all participants said they would encourage their partners to get screened. CONCLUSIONS: Future interventions should tailor cervical cancer educational opportunities towards men. Further research is needed among both men and couples to better understand barriers to male support for screening and treatment and to determine how to best involve men in cervical cancer prevention efforts.
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    Reduction in urinary arsenic levels in response to arsenic mitigation efforts in Araihazar, Bangladesh.
    (Environ Health Perspect, 2007-06) Chen, Yu; van Geen, Alexander; Graziano, Joseph H; Pfaff, Alexander; Madajewicz, Malgosia; Parvez, Faruque; Hussain, AZM Iftekhar; Slavkovich, Vesna; Islam, Tariqul; Ahsan, Habibul
    BACKGROUND: There is a need to identify and evaluate an effective mitigation program for arsenic exposure from drinking water in Bangladesh. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effectiveness of a multifaceted mitigation program to reduce As exposure among 11,746 individuals in a prospective cohort study initiated in 2000 in Araihazar, Bangladesh, by interviewing participants and measuring changes in urinary As levels. METHODS: The interventions included a) person-to-person reporting of well test results and health education; b) well labeling and village-level health education; and c) installations of 50 deep, low-As community wells in villages with the highest As exposure. RESULTS: Two years after these interventions, 58% of the 6,512 participants with unsafe wells (As >/=50 microg) at baseline had responded by switching to other wells. Well labeling and village-level health education was positively related to switching to safe wells (As < 50 mug/L) among participants with unsafe wells [rate ratio (RR) = 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.60-2.11] and inversely related to any well switching among those with safe wells (RR = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66-0.98). The urinary As level in participants who switched to a well identified as safe (< 50 microg As/L) dropped from an average of 375 microg As/g creatinine to 200 microg As/g creatinine, a 46% reduction toward the average urinary As content of 136 microg As/g creatinine for participants that used safe wells throughout. Urinary As reduction was positively related to educational attainment, body mass index, never-smoking, absence of skin lesions, and time since switching (p for trend < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that testing of wells and informing households of the consequences of As exposure, combined with installation of deep community wells where most needed, can effectively address the continuing public health emergency from arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh.
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    Steps to Health employee weight management randomized control trial: short-term follow-up results.
    (J Occup Environ Med, 2015-02) Østbye, Truls; Stroo, Marissa; Brouwer, Rebecca JN; Peterson, Bercedis L; Eisenstein, Eric L; Fuemmeler, Bernard F; Joyner, Julie; Gulley, Libby; Dement, John M
    OBJECTIVE: To present the short-term follow-up findings of the Steps to Health study, a randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of two employee weight management programs offered within Duke University and the Health System. METHODS: A total of 550 obese (body mass index, ≥30 kg/m2) employees were randomized 1:1 between January 2011 and June 2012 to the education-based Weight Management (WM) or the WM+ arm, which focused on behavior modification. Employees were contacted to complete a follow-up visit approximately 14 months after baseline. RESULTS: There were no clinically, or statistically, meaningful differences between arms, but there were modest reductions in body mass index, and positive, meaningful changes in diet and physical activity for both arms. CONCLUSIONS: The modest positive effects observed in this study may suggest that to achieve weight loss through the workplace more intensive interventions may be required.