Effects of a minimal intervention to increase physical activity in women: daily activity records.

BACKGROUND: Effective interventions to increase physical activity levels are critical in a nation where inactivity is a national public health problem. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study examined whether a minimal intervention (daily records of physical activity) increased activity levels in a community sample of working women. METHODS: In a longitudinal, pretest-posttest design, 49 working women were randomly assigned at the work site level to the control (n = 25) or intervention group (n = 24). At pretest and posttest, subjects completed self-report questionnaires that measured psychological, social-environmental, physical activity, and demographic variables. Subjects in the intervention group kept daily records of their physical activities during the 12-week study, while those in the control group kept no records. In order to compare activity in the two groups, all subjects wore pedometers daily that recorded number of steps. RESULTS: There was a significant difference between groups in the pedometer values (mean number of daily steps) at the end of the study period (mean difference +/- SE 2147 +/- 636, p = .022) (2000 steps = approximately 1 mile). Multiple regression analysis showed that only the intervention (p = .003) was a significant predictor of the pedometer values. Hierarchical data analysis was used to account for the intra-class correlation of 0.48 within work site. CONCLUSION: Results from this sample of 49 women indicated that mean activity was greater in the intervention group compared to the control group. Recording daily activity is a cost-effective and acceptable intervention that may increase activity levels in women. However, more research is recommended to study the dual role of activity records as a data collection method as well as a potential intervention to increase physical activity.

A food frequency questionnaire for youth: psychometric analysis and summary of eating habits in adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine the reliability and validity of the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) for adolescents and assess eating habits in the context of the Food Pyramid. METHODS: Subjects were 446 students (81.2% female) attending three middle schools (sixth to eighth grades). Over half (56.9%) were African-American. Reliability was assessed with 48-h and 2-week retests on two subsamples (n = 62) and validity was assessed by comparison with three 24-h recalls on an additional subsample (n = 24) and by factor analysis. The EHQ is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 83 food items and questions assessing food habits and food preparation style. RESULTS: Internal validity, determined with factor analysis, found that 10 factors explained 81.3% of the variance in eating habits. Overall perfect agreement between food groups reported on the 24-h recall and on the EHQ was 56%. Internal consistency, assessed by Cronbach alpha, ranged from .60 to .89. Test-retest correlations were highest at 48 h, ranging from .46 to .85 for the 10 factors. Adolescents ate more servings of fats and sugars (11.2) and meats (6.0) and fewer breads (5.2) and vegetables (1.6) than recommended in Food Pyramid guidelines. In addition, subjects consumed more high-fat protein than low-fat protein servings. CONCLUSIONS: The EHQ is a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire that has been tested with African-American and white adolescents in the Southeast. It showed that adolescents consume higher than recommended daily servings of fats, sweets, and meats and lower than recommended servings of vegetables and breads.

The Youth Health Survey: reliability and validity of an instrument for assessing cardiovascular health habits in adolescents.

The Youth Health Survey (YHS) was developed as part of a school-based longitudinal study (Cardiovascular Health in Children and Youth) to assess and track behavior and attitudes related to cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents. This paper reports the psychometric properties of each of the subscales of the YHS and the results of a pilot study with sixth, seventh and eighth grade students (n = 205) at two schools in the Southeast. The eight subscales of the YHS assess health habits and attitudes of the adolescent as well as selected peer and family influences on those health behaviors. Internal consistencies for seven of the eight subscales ranged from .74 to .89. Test-retest reliability for six of the eight subscales ranged from .67 to .89. Construct validity was established through factor analyses of four of six of the subscales. Findings support using the YHS with some minor revisions to assess behaviors, attitudes and influences which may lead to CVD in adulthood.

The effect of guided imagery upon first semester nursing students performing their first injections.

This study examined the effect of guided imagery upon the anxiety of baccalaureate nursing students learning to perform their first injections. The quasi-experimental post test design used a treatment (imagery) group and a control group of subjects who were first semester undergraduate students. Anxiety was measured by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Biodot stress dots, performance time, and performance score. Analyses of covariance were performed on the post treatment STAI scores, performance times, and performance scores. A Kruskal-Wallis was performed on post treatment Biodot stress dot reading. Results indicated statistically significant lower anxiety levels by self-report (STAI), p = .008, in the experimental group. No statistically significant differences were found in the Biodot stress dot readings, p = .6777, performance times, p = .130, or performance scores, p = .774. The significance of the findings is that if guided imagery reduces self-reported anxiety levels in nursing students, introduction of this teaching strategy early in the curriculum may be beneficial to students.