The association of alcohol consumption with tobacco use in Black and White college students.

This study explored the association of alcohol and tobacco use among college students. A survey was administered in 2004 to 2,189 Black and White students from the southeastern United States. The prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use, tobacco use characteristics according to level of alcohol consumed, and percentage of students using tobacco according to type of alcoholic beverages consumed were evaluated. The interaction of race and gender with alcohol and tobacco use was explored. Our findings extend prior investigations that have found alcohol use associated with smoking and suggest attention be paid to the relation of alcohol to other forms of tobacco. Racial and gender differences are highlighted. This study was funded by Mayo Clinic. The study's limitations were noted.

Differences among Black and White young adults on prior attempts and motivation to help a smoker quit.

This study assessed differences between Black and White young adults on prior attempts and motivation to help a smoker quit. A total of 1,621 undergraduates (912 Black, 709 White; 63% female) ages 18-24 years completed a cross-sectional survey. Overall, 54% reported they had previously tried to help someone else stop smoking (52% among Blacks vs. 58% among Whites, p=0.016). Among nonsmokers who indicated they were close to a smoker whom they thought should quit, Blacks were most often concerned about a family member whereas Whites endorsed concern most often for a friend (p<0.001). Blacks were more likely than Whites to indicate interest in learning ways to help this smoker to quit (p<0.001) but there was no significant differences on motivation level (46% of Blacks and 42% of Whites reported they were "very" or "extremely" motivated to help this person quit). After adjusting for gender, the results remained unchanged. Tobacco control efforts could focus on optimizing these supportive behaviors as well as expressed motivation and interest in helping a smoker to quit among young adult nonsmokers.

Human rights and undergraduate healthcare management education.

Consideration of the express linkages between health and human rights is an educational initiative of the 21st century. Most healthcare management students do not have a knowledge of human rights principles that apply across health settings worldwide. This lack of knowledge hinders students' ability to view health within a human rights framework and the possible ways in which the protection and promotion of human rights relate to health and wellbeing. With early exposure to human rights concerns, undergraduate students will learn to apply concepts of human dignity, equity, fairness, and justice in job and community experiences. Goals of students' human rights education include expanded world views, understanding of content, and practical skill acquisition. It is especially important for healthcare management students to learn about human rights because violations of human rights have a great impact on health. Human rights education may be offered as a stand-alone course or implemented as a module adaptable to the curriculum requirements of undergraduate healthcare management programs. For example, the health and human rights module may be integrated into bioethics, epidemiology, social issues, or health policy courses. To increase applicability, issues and experiential learning that are relevant to students' future practice should be emphasized.