Browsing by Subject "Health promotion"
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Item An assessment of health educators' likelihood of adopting genomic competencies for the public health workforce(2009-05-15) Chen, Lei-ShihAlthough the completion of the Human Genome Project helps develop efficient treatment/prevention programs, it will raise new and non-trivial public health issues. Many of these issues fall under the professional purview of health educators. Yet, no studies have evaluated if health educators (HEs) are ready to adopt genomic competencies into health promotion. This dissertation addresses this issue by examining three research questions in three separate studies: 1) Why must HEs develop genomic competencies? 2) What are HEs? knowledge of, and attitudes toward genomic competencies? And 3) what is HEs? likelihood of adopting genomic competencies into health promotion? The first theoretical study proposed five arguments supporting the need for HEs to develop their genomic competencies and integrate public health genomics into health promotion. These arguments touched on various dimensions of HEs? professional goals and ranged from professional responsibilities and competencies, to the availability of funding for genomic-related research or interventions and opportunities for future employment. For the second study, a web-based survey was developed and distributed to all members of four major health education organizations. A total of 1,925 HEs? completed the survey and 1,607 responses were utilized in the final analysis. This study indicated that participants had deficient knowledge and unfavorable attitudes toward the CDCproposed genomic competencies. In the third study, a theoretical model was developed to predict HEs? likelihood to incorporate genomic competencies into their practice. Using techniques from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the model was tested with the same data of the second study. Findings supported the proposed theoretical model. While genomic knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy were significantly associated with HEs? likelihood to incorporate genomic competencies into their practice, attitudes was the strongest predictor of likelihood. In summary, these studies indicated that participating HEs had deficient genomic knowledge, unfavorable attitudes toward a set of CDC-proposed genomic competencies, and low likelihood to adopt genomic competencies into health promotion. Relevant training should be developed and advocated. As the SEM analysis results indicated the survey findings supported the proposed theoretical model, which can be utilized to steer future training for HEs.Item Beyond obesity : historical, social change approaches to improve the fitness of Americans(2014-08) Harrell, Baker Christian; Todd, JanAmerica's growing concern about fatness during the twentieth century developed in parallel with a society that made it increasingly harder to live a healthy lifestyle. Since the 1970s, sweeping political, economic, cultural, and familial changes have occurred in the United States. Many researchers argue that these changes have created an "obesogenic" environment that has contributed to the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in America by favoring inactivity and the over consumption of highly-processed, calorie-dense foods and beverages. As a result, the field of public health has increasingly begun to recognize obesity as a "societal disease." In 2001, The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity categorized the number of overweight and obese Americans as reaching "nationwide epidemic proportions." Since that time, America has waged an all-out "war on obesity." Instead of a broader emphasis on health promotion, some public health researchers have suggested that this heightened focus on obesity is 1) guided by America's historically-rooted social disdain for fatness and 2) insufficient to improve the healthy lifestyles of Americans. In searching for a solution to the so-called "obesity epidemic," a growing number of researchers have begun to look to models of social change. After an introductory chapter describing the scope of the problem, this dissertation provides an historical analysis of two, relevant social change models. The first historical case study is an examination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's VERB social marketing campaign. The second study explores the model of social movements through the history of the aerobics "boom" of 1970s America. Based on these histories, this dissertation concludes by proposing a blended approach that harnesses the strengths of both models to organize and advance America's healthy living movement.Item Health promotion : predicting physical activity in normal weight and overweight rural adolecents(2014-05) McAdams, Cynthia Ann Brooks; Rew, Lynn; García, Alexandra Anne, 1964-; Brown, Adama; Brown, Sharon A; Walker, LorraineAdolescent obesity is ubiquitous and is often antecedent to adverse physical and psychosocial health outcomes. Physical activity is a leading modality for preventing and treating overweight and obesity. A modified resilience framework was used in this study to examine six empirically supported risk factors for physical inactivity and low activity (i.e., body mass index, media use, parental activity, Hispanic ethnicity, minority race, and female sex) along with moderating protective resources (i.e., sense of ethnic identity, health awareness, and social connectedness). The study sample consisted of 251 adolescents, in Grades 8 and 9, recruited from three rural and economically disadvantaged school districts in the southwestern U.S. Data were retrieved from the Longitudinal Health Risk Behaviors in Youth (LongHerby; Grade 8) and Developing Health Behaviors in Middle Adolescence (DHBMA; Grade 9) databases for this secondary analysis of extant longitudinal data. One parent of each participant contributed data used in the study. Demographic analysis revealed the sample was mostly of female sex (56%), White race (81%), and non-Hispanic ethnicity (55%). A descriptive, correlational design was used to examine relationships among variables. Data analysis included correlation, linear regression, and hierarchical multiple regression techniques. The findings showed the outcome of physical activity in Grade 8 was the most statistically significant predictor of physical activity in Grade 9, using two different measures for the outcome (i.e., the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Scale [YRBSS] and the Adolescent Lifestyle Questionnaire [ALQ]). Two hierarchical multiple regression models explained 20% (YRBSS) and 21% (ALQ) of the variances in adolescent physical activity practices with female sex (R2Δ = .101, p < .001; YRBSS) and health awareness (R2Δ = .114, p < .001; ALQ) contributing the largest proportion to the hierarchical variances. Body mass index percentiles were not correlated with physical activity (YRBSS or ALQ), but did show a small inverse correlation with female sex (r = -151, p = ≤ .005) and a small positive relationship with Hispanic ethnicity (r = .168, p = ≤ .001). Findings of this study are congruent with previous research and could be used in planning health promotion strategies to improve adolescent physical activity.Item Health promotion among young adult African American men with invisible disability(2013-05) Ricks, Tiffany Nicole; Harrison, Tracie C.The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of health promotion for a group of young adult African American men with invisible disabilities. This hermeneutic phenomenological study used a non-experimental, descriptive design. The purposive sample consisted of 11 young adult, English-speaking, non-institutionalized, African American men with invisible disability between the ages of 25 and 39 years of age living in the Central Texas metropolitan area. This study's research questions were answered using audio-taped, one-on-one qualitative interviews along with detailed fieldnotes. Participants were interviewed twice at a mutually decided upon location to ensure the privacy and comfort of participants. For these young men, an essential component of health promotion involved the reestablishment and reorganization of their bodies in the world while adjusting to living with disability. For them, the essential structure of health promotion was comprised of the following themes: Reconciling Perspectives of the Self, Embracing the Current Body, and Reorienting the Body in the World. Their lived experience of health promotion was reflected in the following themes: Risking the Body to Preserve the Self, Accepting the Evolving Body, and Seeking the Body's Redemption. For this group of young adult African American men, their health promotion experience required risking the body, putting the needs of the self before the needs of the body, and then accepting and valuing the resulting condition of the body.Item Preventing cervical cancer in rural Tanzania : a program model for health worker trainings(2015-12) Morrison, Peter Barclay; Weaver, Catherine, 1971-; Harrell, Melissa BlytheWith a focus on Northern Tanzania, this report seeks to demonstrate the need for increased resource allocation to cervical cancer interventions, examine best practices for cervical cancer screening promotion, and develop an intervention and program evaluation framework. The intervention is a training program designed for dispensary-level healthcare providers in the Northern Zone of Tanzania and aims to increase provider awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer, and build skills among providers to educate patients on cervical cancer prevention and screening and treatment resources. This report is purely a program design and planning tool; no new data was collected, nor interventions implemented in the development of report. The first objective of the report is to develop an intervention to be presented to Foundation for Cancer Care in Tanzania (FCCT) and the second is to develop an evaluation framework to be presented to FCCT. FCCT is a non-profit agency working to bring comprehensive cancer services to the region. The program will complement existing and planned services related to cervical cancer prevention and treatment in the Northern Zone of Tanzania, and will be considered for implementation by the Foundation for Cancer Care in Tanzania (FCCT). Part I of the report reviews published literature and data to demonstrate the need for increased resource allocation to cervical cancer interventions and the appropriateness of Northern Tanzania as a case selection. Part I also examines best practices for cervical cancer screening promotion in Northern Tanzania, providing evidence from the published literature to inform Part II, the intervention design and program evaluation framework. Included in the intervention design is a logic model for change, detailed training plans and curriculum, and guidelines for selecting trainers. The report recommends appointments to a local planning team and estimates a timeline and budget for the program. Additionally, the report designs a thorough program evaluation, the objective of which is to measure the effect of training and health education materials on dispensary-level healthcare providers’ awareness, knowledge, and skills regarding cervical cancer prevention.Item A process evaluation of a community-based health promotion program(2010-05) Henson, Elizabeth Lee, 1982-; Holahan, Carole K.; Kohl III, Harold W.This paper presents the process evaluation of the Community Challenge, a pilot community-based health promotion program targeting high-school students launched by the Austin, TX-based organization, ACTIVE Life. Aspects of the implementation evaluated include fidelity, program delivered, program received, reach, recruitment, and content. Recommendations are made for future implementation of the Community Challenge. Generally, these recommendations include website improvements and structural changes to the program.Item Promoting women's health in Texas: suggestions for maximizing the benefits of the Women's Health Program(2011-05) Bennett, Mary, M.A.; Drumwright, Minette E.; Mackert, MichaelThis thesis presents a collection of recommendations on how to increase participation in a Texas Medicaid family planning program, called the Texas Women’s Health Program, or WHP. Based on findings discovered during a series of thirteen elite interviews, these suggestions range from communications strategies, such as preferred media channels, to general policy and program implementation recommendations. A review of marketing and health communication literature was also employed as a means of supporting and complementing interview findings. Set in the bitter family planning climate of a Bible-belt state, this study provides an in-depth look at how public health policies and outreach efforts can be improved by taking a marketing approach.Item The Benefits of a Wellness Program for the Officers of the Sugar Land Police Department(Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), 2001) Womble, Angie