ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated a community organization approach that emphasized involvement of audiences in program planning and implementation in promoting nonsmoking among African American residents of low-income neighborhoods. METHODS: The quasi-experimental design involved a 24-month intervention in 3 low-income, predominantly African American neighborhoods in St. Louis. Intervention neighborhoods were compared with comparable, untreated neighborhoods in Kansas City. RESULTS: The program was successful in engaging audience members in its governance and in instigating numerous and diverse neighborhood activities to promote nonsmoking. The prevalence of smoking declined from 34% to 27% in program neighborhoods but only from 34% to 33% in comparison neighborhoods. This difference was apparent within all demographically defined subsamples, indicating that observed changes were consistent and not attributable to confounding by demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: A community organization approach emphasizing local authority for program decisions and involvement of informal networks may have an appreciable impact on smoking among residents of low-income, African American neighborhoods.
Subject(s)
Black or African American/psychology , Community Participation , Health Promotion/organization & administration , Smoking Cessation/ethnology , Smoking Cessation/methods , Urban Health Services/organization & administration , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Decision Making, Organizational , Female , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Middle Aged , Missouri , Poverty , Prevalence , Program Development , Program Evaluation , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
To assess sociodemographic differences in beliefs about the health effects of cigarette smoking and passive smoke exposure, we recently surveyed 2092 adults in St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo. The percentages of respondents who knew that smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease were 76.7, 74.1, and 67.2, respectively. After multivariate adjustment, knowledge about smoking's health effects was generally lower among women, older respondents, those of lower education level, and current smokers. Blacks were generally less likely to appreciate the health effects of active smoking, but were more likely to acknowledge the health effects of passive smoking.
Subject(s)
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Smoking/adverse effects , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/adverse effects , Adolescent , Adult , Black or African American , Causality , Data Collection , Educational Status , Female , Health Status Indicators , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Missouri/epidemiology , Racial Groups , Smoking/epidemiology , Socioeconomic Factors , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
A quantitative comparison is given of aggressive play and aggression in terms of the duration and type of movement patterns employed, and the relationships between individuals. The mean length of contact in play was greater than in aggression, whereas chases tended to be longer in adult male aggression than in play, Linear hierarchies describing the overall direction of interactions between individuals were divisible into two sorts, according to the frequency with which roles were reversed. The regions of the body bitten and the proportions in which six types of movement pattern were used were related to the type of hierarchy involved. The results are discussed with reference to the possible functions of social play in the development of movement patterns and individual relationships.
