The health of female child care providers: implications for quality of care.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the health behaviors and perceived health status of child care providers. Health behaviors and health status were also examined in relation to caring for children and the providers' perceptions of quality child care. A researcher-developed questionnaire, adapted from Williams, Mason, and Wold (2001), was mailed to a random sample of 1,000 child care providers employed in 49 child care centers in Georgia. Results indicated that, overall, the sample was a healthy population with 86.8% rating their health as good to excellent. Seventy-three percent (73%) received a physical exam annually, and 70% reported having health insurance. Despite these ratings, participants reported that they were overweight, were emotionally strained, and did not engage in physical exercise at least 3 times per week. Although most performed breast self-exams, the majority did not fully understand breast health practices. Furthermore, the majority of the child care providers (78.7%) believed that their health does not impact the care that they provide to children. Last, their definitions of quality of care for children suggested a minimal standard of care or less. These findings provide information that can be useful in designing occupational health programs within community child care settings and in promoting healthy behaviors in women.

Teaching the public health core competency of policy development to baccalaureate student nurses.

Teaching the public health core competency of policy development to baccalaureate student nurses was the purpose of this project. This project was implemented through interdisciplinary collaboration of one innovative state health district and the faculty of a large, urban university. Through education in the core competency of policy development, attention to one county's assessed health needs was introduced to its county board of health with the goal of influencing health policy regarding those needs. Data obtained have continued to be used by this county in health planning and grant writing activities and have been built upon by other student groups.

CVD prevention strategies with urban and rural African American women.

Using Pender's Health Promotion Model, this study tested a work site cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor reduction intervention among low-income African American (LAAW) women. Individual CVD risk profiles were identified at the work site through (1) health risk appraisal, (2) blood pressure measurement, (3) body mass index calculation, (4) individual interviews about diet and exercise behaviors, and (5) total cholesterol analysis. Two LAAW groups, one urban and one rural, exhibited higher or similar pretest CVD relative risks (RR) when statistically compared with a national sample of African American women. The LAAW study samples were younger and more educated. Pretest cholesterol and fat intake for the rural women were higher than for the urban women (<.05). Posttest changes in cholesterol and fat intake risks were more significant in rural LAAW than in urban LAAW (<.05).