The Efficacy of a Brief Nature Sound Intervention on Muscle Tension, Pulse Rate, and Self-Reported Stress: Nature Contact Micro-Break in an Office or Waiting Room.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing recognition that environmental design impacts health and well-being. Nature contact is a design feature or exposure that is especially important in public health and healthcare. To date, there are limited findings on the impact of nature sounds. OBJECTIVE: This experimental study was designed to examine the effect of nature sounds on physiological and psychological stress. METHODS: Participants were randomized into one of three groups-silence (n = 9), nature sound (n = 17), and classical music (n = 14)-and listened to the assigned sound for 15 min in an office or waiting room-like environment. Pre- and postdata were collected including muscle tension (electromyogram), pulse rate, and self-reported stress. RESULTS: With the exception of pulse rate, there were no statistical differences in baseline or demographics among groups. A paired t-test by group showed a decrease in muscle tension, pulse rate, and self-reported stress in the nature group and no significant differences in the control or the classical music groups. The significant reduction in muscle tension occurred at least by 7 min of listening to the nature sound. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the potential benefit of even very brief (less than 7 min) exposure to nature sounds. Brief nature sound "booster breaks" are a promising area for future research with important practical implications.

Assessing Specific Sexual Behavior: Instrument Development and Validation Techniques.

Through the use of multi-modal methods, the purpose of this study was to develop and assess measurement properties of an instrument evaluating specific sexual behaviors of college students and the role alcohol intoxication plays in one's intention to participate in these behaviors. A modified version of N. Krause's instrument development process was applied to create a behavior-specific instrument assessing oral, vaginal, and anal sex behaviors. The process included a review by expert scholars in relevant fields, cognitive interviews with the target population using screen-capture program Camtasia, piloting to assess measurement scales, and a formal investigation. The applied instrument development process employed screen capture software and web-based surveying in a cost-effective format suitable for mixed-method measurement development. The development and application of the instrument provides a clearer understanding of the relationship between alcohol use and sexual activity and aids in the development of effective public health interventions and policies.

Promising practices to eliminate tobacco disparities among Asian American, native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

Tobacco use continues to be the single most preventable cause of death for all groups in the United States, including Asian Americans (AAs) and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs). Despite efforts in tobacco control over the past two decades, tobacco-related health disparities remain in some priority population groups, including AAs and NHPIs. This special supplement features strategies and promising practices for addressing the critical problem of tobacco in the AA and NHPI communities.

Assess the impact of an online tobacco prevention training program on teachers and their students.

School-based tobacco prevention programs have been proven effective in reducing tobacco use. This evaluation aimed to assess the impact of an online tobacco prevention teacher training program on teachers and their students in Florida schools. A total of 344 teachers, including 72 K-3 grade teachers, 44 4th-5th grade teachers, and 228 6th-12th grade teachers completed the online training program and 323 (93.9%) were followed up to assess impacts on their 6,490 students. Results suggested that the online tobacco prevention education program for teachers was effective with high satisfaction and the impact on students was significant in improving knowledge and attitude about tobacco use and in increasing the proportion of 6-12th grade students who decided not to use tobacco. The evaluation study recommended the online education program be continued and expanded in the future.

Using an experience documentation opportunity to certify advanced-level health education specialists.

The worldwide burden of diseases, environmental threats, and injuries help establish the global context and need for credentialing in health education and promotion. To ensure effective practice by certified or credentialed individuals, it is critical that the global health education and promotion workforce identify, agree on, and establish core competencies grounded in knowledge, skills, and abilities to strengthen the global capacity to improve the practice of health education at the entry and advanced levels. Dialog regarding the development of Domains of Core Competency for global capacity in health promotion has occurred. One unique process for granting certification was how a U.S. certifying organization used an Experience Documentation Opportunity to validate advanced-level professional competency. In this article, a one-time, 6-month opportunity in certifying advanced-level health education specialists is documented, and the implications of these results on the Domains of Core Competency are discussed. The authors provide valuable insight for health education professionals worldwide on establishing a process for quality assurance and accountability and alignment with the current global competency discussion. The Experience Documentation Opportunity process also may be useful in international efforts to establish certification based on core competencies.

The Nature Contact Questionnaire: a measure of healthy workplace exposure.

UNLABELLED: Understanding and promoting healthy workplaces is an important and growing area of interest in occupational health. Nature contact is a central component to the study of and promotion of healthy places. Previous findings suggest that nature contact influences health via stress appraisal process. Currently, there are no known comprehensive valid and reliable measures of nature contact, which presents obstacles to research and worksite health promotion. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to develop and test an instrument to measure nature contact at work, entitled the Nature Contact Questionnaire (NCQ), 16-item self-reported checklist to measure actual exposure. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 503 (30% response rate) office staff completed the questionnaire. METHODS: Office staff were sent an email with a link to the electronic survey twice, two weeks apart. RESULTS: Content and construct validity (KMO=0.68), internal consistency (Alpha=0.64), and test-retest reliability (r=0.85, p<0.01) were established. CONCLUSIONS: The NCQ is the first known comprehensive, reliable and valid survey to measure nature contact, which allows research to compare forms of nature contact to best inform practice and design of healthy places.

Healthy workplaces: the effects of nature contact at work on employee stress and health.

OBJECTIVES: Cultivating healthy workplaces is a critical aspect of comprehensive worksite health promotion. The influence of healthy workplace exposures on employee health outcomes warrants research attention. To date, it is unknown if nature contact in the workplace is related to employee stress and health. This study was designed to examine the effects of nature contact experienced at work on employee stress and health. METHODS: Office staff at a southeastern university (n = 503, 30% response rate) participated in the cross-sectional study. We used a 16-item workplace environment questionnaire, the Nature Contact Questionnaire, to comprehensively measure, for the first time, nature contact at work. The Perceived Stress Questionnaire and 13 established health and behavioral items assessed the dependent variables, general perceived stress, stress-related health behaviors, and stress-related health outcomes. RESULTS: There was a significant, negative association between nature contact and stress and nature contact and general health complaints. The results indicate that as workday nature contact increased, perceived stress and generalized health complaints decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that nature contact is a healthy workplace exposure. Increasing nature contact at work may offer a simple population-based approach to enhance workplace health promotion efforts. Future researchers should test the efficacy of nature-contact workplace stress interventions.

Type of tobacco product used: are there differences between university and community college students?

This article describes and compares smoking prevalence, types of tobacco products used, and motivation to quit among college students at universities and community colleges. Data were collected using the Florida Annual College Tobacco Survey (FACTS). Nine universities and eight community colleges participated in the study (n = 4973). Most students (69%) experimented with tobacco. Cigarettes were used more often (57.4%), followed by Black 'N Mild (31.8%), cigars (30.1%), kreteks/bidis (24.1%), smokeless tobacco (13.9%), and pipe (8.9%). University students were more likely than community college students to have tried kreteks/bidis and cigars (p < .05). University students experimented at a significantly earlier age with cigarettes and pipes while community college experimented at a significantly earlier age with cigars and kreteks/bidis (p < .05). The majority of cigarette smokers (62%) were not interested in quitting. The implications for college tobacco education programs are discussed.

Psychometric testing of the Chinese version of the Decisional Balance Scale (CDBS).

The purpose of this study was to conduct psychometric testing on the Chinese version of the decisional balance scale (CDBS) with Taiwanese seventh, eighth,and ninth graders who were recruited from the Taipei metropolitan area. A random cluster sampling method was used with 554 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years. Factor analysis procedures showed two components, Pros and Cons, accounting for 74.32% of the total variances and contrasted group comparisons affirmed the construct validity of the Pros, the Cons, and the CDBS. Item-to-subtotal correlation coefficients for the two subscales, the Pros and Cons, were greater than .50 and their reliability was supported by Cronbach's alpha coefficients, .87 and .91, respectively. The validity and reliability of the CDBS suggested that the CDBS was applicable to and congruent with the culture of the Taiwanese adolescent's smoking behavior. Further validation of the CDBS scale with different populations and larger sample size is suggested.

Perceived problem solving, stress, and health among college students.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationships among perceived problem solving, stress, and physical health. METHODS: The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), Personal Problem solving Inventory (PSI), and a stress-related physical health symptoms checklist were used to measure perceived stress, problem solving, and health among undergraduate college students (N = 232). RESULTS: Perceived problem-solving ability predicted self-reported physical health symptoms (R2 = .12; P < .001) and perceived stress (R2 = .19; P < .001). CONCLUSION: Perceived problem solving was a stronger predictor of physical health and perceived stress than were physical activity, alcohol consumption, or social support. Implications for college health promotion are discussed.