Subject(s)
Advertising/legislation & jurisprudence , Nicotiana , Plants, Toxic , Smoking Prevention , Adult , Child , Europe , Humans , International Cooperation , Smoking/legislation & jurisprudence , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/legislation & jurisprudence , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/prevention & controlABSTRACT
The enactment of an effective national tobacco control policy is a needed first step toward reducing smoking, controlling the tobacco industry, and significantly reducing tobacco-related disease and death. Dr. Seffrin, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society, outlines the critical public health measures that the ACS is working to see included in comprehensive federal tobacco control legislation.
Subject(s)
Smoking/legislation & jurisprudence , Tobacco Industry/legislation & jurisprudence , Adolescent , American Cancer Society , Child , Government , Humans , Nicotine , Politics , Public Health , Smoking/economics , Smoking Prevention , Substance-Related Disorders , Tobacco Industry/economics , United States , United States Food and Drug Administration/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
The cancer patient's perceptions about treatment, prognosis, and long-term care have emerged in the context of interaction with the changing healthcare system. A brief overview of cancer patients' perceptions regarding their disease and subsequent care is provided. The economic, organizational, and technological environment in which this care is provided and the patient's perceptions of that environment are discussed. In addition to economic pressures, the ever-increasing number of cancer patients, prolonged survival, and patients' perceptions have created changes in the healthcare system. These changes are mediated by important socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic characteristics of the cancer patient. Recommendations to address these changes are discussed.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Neoplasms/psychology , Neoplasms/therapy , Humans , Patient Education as Topic , Patient Participation , Physician-Patient Relations , Socioeconomic FactorsSubject(s)
Curriculum , Health Education , School Health Services/organization & administration , Diffusion of Innovation , Health Occupations/education , Health Services Research , Humans , Life Style , Organizational Objectives , Risk-Taking , School Health Services/standards , Student Dropouts , Teaching/methodsABSTRACT
Reviews indicate that multiple predisposing factors such as knowledge, attitudes, and values significantly influence health-related practices and lifestyle. Some predispositions, such as basic knowledge about and attitudes toward cancer, are conducive to change through education. This study has investigated the effects of cancer education on the knowledge, attitude, and behavior scores of students concerning cancer prevention. A quasiexperimental design using pretests and posttests was the design of choice. The undergraduate students served as the experimental group and enrolled in an elective course entitled "The Nature of Cancer." Another group of students enrolled in the elective course "Sex Education" and served as a control group for one semester. A battery of instruments consisting of cancer prevention attitudes, knowledge, and behavior was used to measure the dependent variables. The findings, using a split-plot model for repeated measure data, revealed significant improvements in attitude, knowledge, and behavior scores for the experimental group over the control group.
Subject(s)
Health Education/methods , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Neoplasms/prevention & control , Students/psychology , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Female , Humans , Male , United StatesABSTRACT
Attitudes and their measurement constitute important aspects of the study of human behavior regarding the use and abuse of alcoholic beverages. A Three Component Alcohol Attitude Scale was developed to measure three attitude components separately and in total. This study validated the scale utilizing a cross-cultural approach. Hypotheses were formulated on the assumption that, if the scale was valid, all 54 items in each of the instrument's three components, as well as the total scale, would discriminate significantly between a sample of US university students and their Egyptian counterparts in terms of their attitudes toward alcohol use and abuse. The scale was translated into Arabic, the English and Arabic scales then were administered to a sample of 400 university students at two comparable major universities in the US and Egypt. The data were subjected to Pearson's correlation, t-test, stepwise discriminate analysis, split-half, and Cronbach (alpha) reliability. Forty-nine of 54 items, each of the three components, and the total instrument discriminated significantly between US students and their Egyptian counterparts, confirming the previous validation of the scale.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking , Attitude , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Egypt , Female , Humans , Male , United StatesABSTRACT
A comprehensive evaluation of two American Cancer Society (ACS) curriculum programs, An Early Start to Good Health (grades K-3) and Health Network (grades four-six), was conducted to assess the impact of the materials on student health knowledge, attitude, and behavior and to determine procedures and practices employed by teachers in utilizing the materials. The materials were tested with 26 classroom teachers and 660 children in grades K-6, and the material utilization practices of an additional 356 teachers in 27 schools were examined. Findings from the evaluation suggest that the two programs are effective in promoting child health education, but questions were raised concerning the ACS requirements for teacher training and the Usage Report Card system of documentation.
