ABSTRACT
This study evaluates a youth subject-directed smoking prevention and cessation program titled Breathe Easy! The program was delivered at two sites and a control group was recruited from two additional sites. Surveys were administered prior to the program and either 1 month or 6 months after completion at the exposure sites. The same survey administration procedure was used as the control. After controlling for invalid responses and including only those that completed both surveys, 251 exposure subjects and 159 control subjects remained for analysis. At sites with 1-month follow-up, no significant difference was noted between intervention and control groups. At the sites with 6-month follow-up, prevalence dropped from 18.7% to 8.9%, which is statistically significant, while at the control site prevalence changed from 14.1% to 9.4%, which is not significant. Additional outcomes examined in the exposed group showed trends toward smoking cessation and prevention at higher rates than those of the unexposed group.
Subject(s)
Health Education , Internal-External Control , Smoking Cessation/methods , Smoking Prevention , Adolescent , Child , Female , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Problem-Based Learning , Smoking/adverse effectsABSTRACT
Numerous clinical challenges confront care providers in caring for adolescents regarding contraception and sexual health issues. Strong communication skills are an integral factor in dealing with the sexually active teen. The most common contraceptive options for adolescents include Norplant, Depo-Provera, oral contraception, and condoms. Providing contraceptive care for adolescents requires knowledge of these methods, including the new FDA guidelines that standardize instructions for oral contraceptive use. Nursing responsibilities include counseling the adolescent regarding the risks of sexual activity with multiple partners, exposure to HIV, STDS, and the correct use of condoms. Educational efforts should focus on improving adolescent communication skills and encouraging discussion by sexual partners about the issue of condom use.
PIP: Health care providers who work with sexually active female adolescents must ensure their patients privacy and confidentiality, counsel about age-appropriate sexual behavior and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and identify the most effective and suitable contraceptive method. The most popular forms of contraception for this age group are Norplant, Depo-Provera, oral contraceptives (OCs), and condoms. Norplant and Depo-Provera are often selected because their effectiveness is not dependent on patient compliance; however, acceptors must be counseled about likely problems with menstrual abnormalities. The newer low-dose combined OCs reduce many of the side effects associated with this method. Providers must be familiar with the Food and Drug Administration guidelines on OC counseling regarding start date, missed pills, and back-up contraception. A small supply of condoms can be provided with every OC prescription for protection against STDs. Some adolescents may need education to improve their skills regarding condom use negotiation. In all cases, counseling should be tailored to the adolescents' psychosexual developmental level.
Subject(s)
Contraception/methods , Sex Education/methods , Adolescent , Female , Humans , Nursing Assessment , Sex Education/standards , Sexually Transmitted Diseases/prevention & controlABSTRACT
Delegation is an essential skill in practicing effective management. Supervisors who desire to become better managers must not overlook the practice of this important skill.
