Subject(s)
Child Health Services/trends , Child , Child, Preschool , Family , Female , Forecasting , Health Status , Humans , Infant , Infant Mortality , Morbidity , Poverty , Pregnancy , Prenatal Care/economics , Socioeconomic Factors , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Eight educational activities based on social learning and social support theories were used as part of a comprehensive cardiovascular risk reduction program for families with children in the third to sixth grades. These activities focused on providing the children with skills in recognizing high-salt and high-saturated fat foods, preparing such foods, resisting pressures to each such foods, increasing aerobic activity and providing support to peers and family in attempting such changes. Data analyses revealed significantly greater decreases in high-salt and high-saturated, fat food consumption and perceived increases in aerobic activity, in the experimental than the control group. The participative, enjoyment and inexpensive aspects of these activities are emphasized to encourage their use in school health programs.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control , Health Education , Models, Theoretical , Teaching/methods , Child , Child Behavior , Diet , Humans , Physical Exertion , Social Behavior , Social SupportABSTRACT
The principles of family support and of social learning theories were applied to a feasibility study of working directly with family units in a health education program. Twenty-four Anglo, Black, and Mexican-American families of young elementary school children participated in a 3-month cardiovascular risk reduction education project which included eight weekly evening sessions designed to assist families to decrease the frequency of consumption of foods high in sodium and in saturated fats, and to increase the frequency of aerobic exercise. Statistically significant differences between randomly assigned treatment and control groups were noted for reported consumption of high sodium foods and of foods high in saturated fats. Experimental subjects gained more knowledge of factors influencing cardiovascular risk, even though the intervention was behaviorally, rather than cognitively, based. This method of health promotion is deserving of further study.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control , Health Education/organization & administration , Adolescent , Adult , Behavior Therapy , Cardiovascular Diseases/genetics , Child , Diet, Sodium-Restricted , Dietary Fats/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , Male , Physical Exertion , RiskABSTRACT
With the increase in single-parent families, questions have been raised concerning the adequacy of the access to care for children residing in these families. A year of visits to primary health care sources are compared for a random sample of elementary school children residing with one of two-parent families. Contrary to expectations concerning the medical disenfranchisement of single-parent children when socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and children and youth project enrollment are controlled, no differences are found in use/nonuse of facilities or range of visits. Further studies should take into account parental employment as a separate and possibly more important factor than number of parents in the home when studying use of pediatric services.
