healthy people 2020 - Society for Public Health Education

✯ Poster Abstracts ✯
thursday – saturday | november 4-6
39. Combined Use of Research-based Methods and
Community Outreach Approaches to Improve Respiratory
Health in Preschool Children
Michael Shakarjian, PhD, New York Medical College; Deborah Viola,
PhD, New York Medical College; Jean Hudson, MD, MPH, Orange County
Commissioner of Health; Amy Ansehl, RN, BSN, FNPC, New York Medical
College; Allen Dozer, MD, Health Center of the Hudson Valley, New York
Medical College; Robert Amler, MD, New York Medical College,
Peter Arno, PhD, Diane Heck, PhD
There is a paucity of research examining the impact of ‘no idling’
ordinances on ambient air quality near schools. Vehicle exhaust is the
leading source of toxic air pollution for most communities in the Lower
Hudson Valley (LHV) of New York State, and a single vehicle used
to commute children to school contributes 3 pounds of air pollution
monthly. Studies demonstrate that initial incidents of asthma develop
before age 5, suggesting that preschool years mark the critical period for
development of the disease and that prevention be focused at this age
group. We hypothesize that parents, educators and community leaders
are not aware that automobile exhausts from delivering and retrieving
children have a significant impact on the quality of outdoor and indoor
ambient air at school facilities. We are analyzing the baseline levels of
asthma triggering contaminants of automobile and bus exhaust (sulfur
dioxides, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulates) at three preschool
facilities in Orange County, NY, to develop a community-based effort to
incorporate a ‘no idling’ policy as part of their environmental program.
This research is motivated from SPARCS data demonstrating high asthma
hospitalization rates for children in the LHV. For preschoolers, these
rates are higher in some counties (ex. 40.1/10,000 for Orange County)
than they are in NYC, and for the region are higher than Healthy People
2020 goals (25/10,000). The objectives of this research are threefold:
first, to document automobile and bus traffic and determine the levels of
asthma-triggering contaminants of exhaust at three preschools. Second,
we are raising awareness of the effects of car idling through advocacy. A
steering committee of school representatives and community leaders are
relying upon well-established local social networks to change behaviors
by presenting results of the baseline exhaust assessment. The framework
for action and change is based on theory developed by Everett M. Rogers
that diffusion of innovations spreads via channels of communication
developed by social members. Third, a no-idling resolution will be presented
to the local town board for approval. A follow-up study measures
changes in exhaust levels and community compliance as a result of the
no-idling policies at these three sites. Our goal is to incorporate translational
research components of moving population studies into the
community research process in the longer term. This effort will not only
contribute to the existing research, but will be available as a template for
other communities to apply towards reducing vehicle exhaust.
40. The Effects of Projectpower Diabetes Education
Program on Adult African American’s Diabetes Knowledge,
Empowerment, and Readiness to Change
Sherry Grover, PhD, Ashford University
The primary purpose of this study was to assess whether a faith-based
diabetes education program (ProjectPower) would significantly influence
African American’s knowledge, readiness to change, and feelings
of empowerment about diabetes care. The DHHS has outlined
17 diabetes-related objectives aimed at improving diabetes diagnosis
and care nationally. The first objective is to “increase the proportion
of persons with diabetes who receive formal diabetes education” from
48% in 1998 to 60% in 2010. A secondary purpose of this study was to
examine the ecological factors that would affect knowledge, readiness
to change, and feelings of empowerment about diabetes care. For this
presentation, only open-ended questions will be discussed. Open-ended
questions, rooted in the Ecological Model, were used to assess barriers
to diabetes care and behavior change. The Ecological Model proposes
that people are affected by intrapersonal, interpersonal, community and
policy influencers. Although the responses to the open-ended questions
were very brief, the intrapersonal influencers mainly guided the use
of the model and the thoughts of participants in this study. In order to
conduct the study, a volunteer convenience sample of 48 church members,
family and friends participated in the study. The inclusion criteria
were: African American male and females ages 18 years and older that
lived in Houston/Harris County, Texas and surrounding areas. Those
with or without diabetes participated. The majority of the participants
were female (79.2%), and 20.8% were males. Participants were, on average,
60 years of age (M = 60.52, SD = 15.00) and ranged from 18 years
to 82 years of age. The study used a pre-test/post-test survey design that
included both open-ended and closed-ended questions. Participants
were tested both before and after a three-module workshop. Participants
were also invited to participate in a one-month follow-up survey.
Data analyses included frequencies, ANOVA, and Pearson’s Product
Moment correlations. Results indicated that the diabetes knowledge test
scores were significantly higher at the time of post-test compared with
results at the time of pre-test, while neither the readiness-to-change
scores nor the diabetes empowerment change scores were significantly
different between the pre-test and post-test. One response related to the
interpersonal influencer and several positive comments regarding the
program itself were made.
41. Reliability and Validity of the Women’s Health Survey (WHS)
– a Tool Assessing American Indian (AI) Women’s Motivation to
Get a Screening Mammogram
Eleni Tolma, PhD, Health Promotion Sciences, University of Oklahoma
Health Science Center; Robert Hamm, PhD, University of Oklahoma
Health Science Center; Chasity Battertom, MHA, University of Oklahoma
Health Science Center, David Thompson, PhD, University of Oklahoma,
Health Science Center
background: Despite efforts to promote breast cancer screening, the
number of Oklahoman women who died from breast cancer during
the last two decades did not substantially change, and women of ethnic
minorities were disproportionally under-screened. This study describes
the development of an instrument designed to measure the motivation of
American Indian (AI) women to get a regular screening mammogram.
The study took place at a tribal clinic in Oklahoma.
theoretical framework: This consists of an expanded theoretical
framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with constructs relevant
to mammography screening (i.e. self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility
to breast cancer, fatalism) and to the (AI) culture (i.e. cultural norms).
hypothesis: No hypothesis is tested here. methods: The methodological
design consisted of 8 major steps: a) review of the published
literature to identify beliefs relevant to AI women’s mammography
behavior and to the constructs of the TPB; b) performance of 9 key
informant interviews with breast cancer survivors and clinic representatives;
c) performance of elicitation interviews with 24 women of the
priority population followed by 2 focus groups; d) transformation of the
elicitation beliefs into complete item statements and development of the
first draft of the Women’s Health Survey (WHS); e) review of the WHS
by a panel of 5 experts; f) qualitative review of the survey with 2 focus
group discussions (n=6); g) pilot-testing of the instrument with a repre-
sophe conference ✯ november 4-6, 2010 55