ABSTRACT
Background: The scope of this study is to evaluate information, behavior and attitude of antibiotics use of students in Golhisar Health Services Vocational School, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University.Methods: A questionnaire of 19 questions is applied to 701 students. In order to determine students’ attitude at antibiotics use; to evaluate attitude, subjective norm and intention, Likert scale consisting of multiple-choice questions were used.Results: Unattached sample test t showed that there is a significant difference in male and female students in subjective norm effecting antibiotic use and mean points of male students are higher than those of female students. It is found that antibiotic use due to attitude in 20 years and younger students than is significantly higher than 21 years old or older students. No significant difference determined among attitude, subjective norm and intention which effect use of antibiotics in terms of alcohol use, chronic disease and health insurance possession. As the programs that students are attending are evaluated, difference is observed only in attitude factor in this study. It is determined that attitude to antibiotic use of students of first and emergency aid program is lower than pharmacy services and child development programs.Conclusions: This study has shown that students are conscious about antibiotics use and their level of antibiotics use is low. Based on the results of the study, having individuals in the society educated about antibiotics use will substantially contribute to conscious use of antibiotics.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify effects of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control toward Human Papillomavirus (HPV) on HPV vaccination intention in female high school students. METHODS: Subjects of this study were female students aged 16 to 17 years, the optimal age group of HPV vaccination, arbitrarily selected from three high schools in B city. A total of 140 students agreed to participate in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control toward HPV were factors influencing HPV vaccination intention of subjects. Perceived behavior control toward HPV vaccination was the most influential factor. These factors accounted for 49% of HPV vaccination intention. CONCLUSION: These results suggest a need to increase perceived behavior control to increase HPV vaccination intention. The government needs to establish a national policy system such as financial support for HPV vaccines and free vaccinations so that students are aware that HPV vaccines can be easily inoculated.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Behavior Control , Financial Support , Intention , Papillomavirus Vaccines , VaccinationABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was done to examine differences in mammography screening according to breast cancer and social network characteristic. METHODS: Data were collected from 187 married women 35 years and older who were using public health centers, health promotion centers, cultural centers, obstetrics and gynecology hospitals or other relevant community sites. Data were collected between October 24 and December 4, 2008. Data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 15.0 program. RESULTS: The participation rate for mammography screening was 35.3%. The following general and breast cancer characteristics showed statistically significant differences: religion, family incomes, regular medical-care, general health examinations during past 2 years, and history of breast disease. The following social network characteristics showed statistically significant differences: social norms and subjective norms. Using logistic regression analysis, regular medical-care, breast cancer risk appraisal, social norm, and subjective norms were highly predictive of subsequent mammography. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that it is important to develop and provide tailored intervention programs through integrated socially mediated programs. By consciously including social network and support systems, breast cancer detection efforts would not end as a one-time event, but naturally build on network structure of adults women, thus facilitating regular mammography screening.
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Breast , Breast Diseases , Breast Neoplasms , Gynecology , Health Promotion , Logistic Models , Mammography , Mass Screening , Obstetrics , Public HealthABSTRACT
resumen está disponible en el texto completo
Summary The need of cost-effective drug abuse prevention programs has derived in a growing interest to develop scientific based alternatives. On this context, this study forms part of a project for the design and evaluation of a theoretical and empirically sustained intervention for illicit drug abuse prevention among Mexican junior high school students. Starting with the revision and assessment of different theoretical models that could be adapted to the conditions of the institutional context wherein the intervention will be developed, the Azjen and Fishbein's Theory of Planned Behavior was chosen. This theory includes proximal cognitive and attitude factors directly related to the initiation of drug use. In accordance with it, the experimental use of substances is a result of the intention of consuming them, which, in turn, depends on three elements: a) the attitude toward the drug use, b) the normative beliefs on this matter (subjective norm) and c) the perceived behavioral control regarding drug use or, in turn, confronting social pressure. In a first instance, several items were developed adapting the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior to the target population's characteristics. On this base, the reliability and validity of a self-applied questionnaire for the measurement of the variables of the model was proved. In this work are reported the findings of the evaluation of Theory of Planned Behavior's potential to predict both behavioral intention of using illicit drugs and consumption of substances among Mexican high school students, in order to set a precedent to apply the model later on in the design and evaluation of a preventive intervention directed to such population. Method: The study was carried on with an ex post facto, correlational design, and with a non-probabilistic sample of 1,019 subjects. Sample. The sample size was estimated considering the possibility of selecting a subsample of drug users and comparison subjects for a post-stratified analysis, assuring a statistical power of 80% and adequate sensibility and stability. Therefore, this work includes the performed analyses with a sample of 75 drug users and 75 non users, paired by gender, age, school grade and occupation. Instrument. The instrument was a self-applied questionnaire specially developed for the study, according to information obtained in previous focal groups interviews with high school students. The questionnaire showed a global realiability of 0.9154 and between 0.62 and 0.94 in each one of its scales, which included: behavioral beliefs (0.9121), attributed value to behavioral beliefs (0.7964), normative beliefs (0.6480), subject's disposition to adjust to normative expectations (0.8564), descriptive norm (0.6254), drug use opportunities (0.8129) and perceived behavioral control coping with such opportunity situations (0.9442). A factorial analysis of principal components yielded 16 factors of at least three items each, with factorial weights higher than 0.4, and closely attached to Theory of Planned Behavior's variables, with an explained variance of 59%. Analysis. Previous to data analysis, normality tests (Kolmogorov- Smirnov) were performed, indicating the necessity to apply nonparametric tests of differences and to transform the data to be adapted to the requirements of later parametric analyses. A correlation analysis was carried out to prove the association between behavioral intention and drug use, as well as between the different components of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Finally, linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the explicative potential of the model and the predictive weight of each variable on the model with regard to the behavioral intention and the consumption of drugs. Findings: According to the Mann-Whitney test, compared with students who had not used drugs, subjects that used them at least once in their life showed more favorable attitudes toward consumption (median= 6.9 vs. 3.9, z=-5.22, p=0.000), perceived more social tolerance (median=3.8 vs. 3.5, z=-2.27, p=0.023), were more willing to give in to social pressure for using substances (median=2.0 vs. 1.0, z=-5.598, p=0.000), perceived a higher number of users among their significant others, and less negative consequences Salud Mental, Vol. 30, No. 1, enero-febrero 2007 69 of drug use in themselves (median=16.3 vs. 7.1, z=-4.246, p=0.000), and felt less capable of behavioral control when coping with opportunities for consumption, which, in turn, are more frequent in their case (median=5.7 vs 1.8, z=-6.76, p=0.000). The correlation between the intention and the behavior of drug use (r=0.41, p<0.000) was allocated inside the range reported in other populations. Drug use intention correlated with attitude toward drug use at r=0.45 (p=0.000), with subjective norm, including additional components at r=0.48 (p=0.000), and with perceived behavioral control at r=0.59 (p=0.000). Drug use correlated with attitude at r=0.51 (p=0.000), with subjective norm at r=0.28 (p=0.001), and with perceived behavioral control at r=0.37 (p=0.000). Linear regression analysis yielded that the model explained 34% of the variance of drug use intention, which increased to 38% when adding personal and descriptive norm elements to the subjective norm construct. Behavioral control (measured on the basis of the product of exposition to drug use facilitating situations punctuations by perceived behavioral control to cope with these situations punctuations) was identified as the best predictor of drug use intention (B=0.32, p=0.001), followed by attitude toward drug use (B=0.24, p=0.004) and subjective norm, which originally showed a non-significant effect but increased its predictive weight when additional elements were added (B=0.24, p=0.004). According to the logistic regression analysis, behavioral control is also the best predictor of illicit drug use on the model (odds ratio= 1.42, p<0.000). On the contrary, subjective norm (including personal and descriptive norm) and attitude (odds ratio=1.144, p=0.06) were not significant predictors of drug use. Discussion: In general, this findings indicate that the Theory of Planned Behavior showed an acceptable predictive capacity (similar to that found in other populations), and can be taken as a valid theoretical ground to develop a preventive intervention directed to Mexican students of high school education. As is the case with other populations, the variable in the Planned Behavior Theory with more predictive weight was perceived behavioral control, followed by attitude to drug use and, in third place, by subjective norm. Despite it could be supposed that subjective norm would have a higher predictive weight in Mexican teenagers, findings probably reflected idiocentric and individualistic tendencies reported in other studies. Results also point out to the convenience of including it in the program of intervention informative components to produce an awareness effect and an impact in the intention of using drugs. Still, they indicate above all, the need to integrate components directed to the development and reinforcement of behavioral control abilities that have an effect in the use of drugs itself. Specifically, it is considered the convenience of including components for the development of group pressure resistance abilities and assertive communication, appropriate to the contexts in which young people face drug abuse risk situations.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify nicotine dependence, smoking-related attitude, and subjective norms across the stages of change for smoking cessation among adult smokers in a rural area. METHOD: The subjects were 276 current smokers (male=243, female=33). There were 3 stages of change for smoking cessation: pre-contemplation, contemplation, and preparation stage. Data was collected by an interview or self-reporting from February 12th to March 5th 2004, and analyzed with frequency, percentage, chi-square-test, Fisher's exact probability test, ANOVA, and Scheffe test using the SPSS-PC program. RESULT: According to the stages of change, 114(41.3%) current smokers were in pre-contemplation, 110(39.9%) in contemplation, and 52(18.8%) in the preparation stage. There was a higher percentage of males than females (chi-square=8.99, p=.011) in the preparation stage. The mean score of the smoking-related attitude (F=7.43, p=.001) and subjective norm(F=27.41, p=.001) were both lowest in the pre-contemplation stage and increased positively during the stages of change for smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: Based on these findings, the authors recommend that community-based smoking cessation programs should be developed by considering the intention or motives of current smokers and should be initiated in the preparation stage and primarily for male groups.