Youth development professionals (YDPs) working at community-based organizations (CBOs) can promote adolescent sexual health through programs. This study explored the programs and resources that youth access at CBOs and training YDPs receive. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with YDPs. Qualitative content analyses were conducted using NVivo. The study found that most YDPs described sexuality-related programs for youth. Many YDPs provided informal information and/or referrals for youth. Few YDPs were trained to address adolescent sexuality, but many sought outside resources. Also, YDPs have a unique opportunity to improve adolescent sexual health and sexuality. Five considerations for organizations that develop programs and training for CBOs are suggested.

Youth development professionals (YDPs) working at community-based organizations are in a unique position to interact with the adolescents because they are neither parents/guardians nor teachers. The objectives of this study were to explore qualitatively what sexual health issues adolescents discuss with YDPs and to describe those issues using the framework of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) comprehensive sexuality education guidelines. YDPs reported conversations with adolescents that included topics related to the SIECUS key concepts of human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, and sexual health.

Placebo and randomization are important concepts that must be understood before youth can safely participate in HIV vaccine studies or other biomedical trials for HIV prevention. These concepts are central to the phenomenon of preventive misconception that may be associated with an increase in risk behavior among study participants related to mistaken beliefs. Persuasive messaging, traditionally used in the field of marketing, could enhance educational efforts associated with randomized clinical trials. Two educational brochures were designed to increase knowledge about HIV vaccine clinical trials via one- and two-sided persuasive messaging. Through the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network, 120 youth were enrolled, administered a mock HIV vaccine trial consent, and then randomized to receive either no supplemental information or one of the two brochures. The two-sided brochure group in which common clinical trial misconceptions were acknowledged and then refuted had significantly higher scores on knowledge of randomization and interpretation of side effects than the consent-only control group, and the willingness to participate in an HIV vaccine trial was not decreased with the use of this brochure. Two-sided persuasive messaging improves understanding of the concepts of randomization and placebo among youth who would consider participating in an HIV vaccine trial. Further evaluation of this approach should be considered for at-risk youth participating in an actual trial of a biomedical intervention for HIV prevention.

The study examined willingness to engage in patient-delivered partner screening (PDPS) and preferences for expedited partner services (EPS). Forty urban U.S. sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic patients participated in individual mixed-methods interviews exploring EPS preferences and PDPS willingness. Most participants selected PDPS and PDPT together and uptake varied by patient–partner relationship closeness. For PDPS, several potentially important barriers and benefits were identified. Perceived benefits included improved sexual health for patients and their sexual partner(s) as well as convenience, privacy, and the potential to enhance trust between sexual partners. Perceived barriers included concerns about PDPS processes (e.g., time it would take to receive the result, risk of sample contamination), the accuracy of results, STI stigma and associated blame, lack of trust for a sexual partner, and the packaging/appearance of the screening kit. PDPS affords benefits and may overcome treatment barriers in some situations; however, it shares common PDPT barriers and has its own unique challenges. There are also concerns regarding how the offer of PDPS may interact with PDPT utilization.

Pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has grown exponentially and is suggested to increase perceived medication needs and patient drug requests. However, its impact on healthcare consumer safety is not well-understood. This effort sought to examine DTCA healthcare consumer effects and their public health and practical implications. During spring 2008, 2767 individuals were asked, through public intercept interviews, about pharmaceutical DTCA: recalled products, exposure frequency, exposure medium, and impact on a range of health-related behaviors and beliefs. Consumers report inundation with DTCA, with 8 of 10 respondents indicating exposure to messaging within the past 30 days. Television was the medium with the most noted impressions; direct mail, the least (although still >35%). Most impressions reported were for Viagra and Claritin. One of four participants reported cognitive or behavioral changes as a result of viewing DTCA: advertisements prompted people to believe they had an illness/condition, to seek more information, to schedule provider visits, and to ask providers about symptoms or medications during regular visits. Moreover, almost 1 in 5 reported an increased willingness to share their prescription medication with others if they saw it in DTCA, indicating that DTCA exposure may increase this risky behavior. DTCA are nearly ubiquitous yet consumers remained attuned to the message content. The effects of DTCA are complex and range from beneficial (e.g., information-seeking) to detrimental (e.g. medication-sharing). Interestingly, participants do not readily differentiate prescription versus over-the-counter DTCA. Increased attention to understanding DTCA appears worthwhile, perhaps targeting provider awareness of message effect, further regulation and modification of DTCA messaging, and enhancing DTCA media literacy as a component of health literacy. Human factors professionals have the right toolset to play an active role in these efforts.

AbstractHazard mitigation, including warning development, validation, and dissemination, is an important aspect of product safety and workplace and consumer protection. Understanding our audiences—workers and consumers—is an especially important, often overlooked, aspect of risk and harm reduction efforts. In this article, particular attention is paid to audience analysis in hazard communication and warning messaging, with a focus on the potential role of latent class analysis (LCA). We provide an example of using LCA to analyze a hazardous behavior: prescription medicine sharing and borrowing. Four distinct groups of people—ranging from abstainers to at‐risk sharers—are identified and discussed. Building better warnings and risk communication techniques is essential to promoting occupational and consumer safety. Audience analysis is a vital component of these efforts. LCA appears to be a worthwhile addition to our analytical toolbox by allowing risk reduction and hazard‐mitigation efforts to tailor interventions to a diverse target audience. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Little research addresses the role of anal sexuality and anal sexual behaviors as a widely practiced but relatively less frequent element of a heterosexual sexual repertoire. However, the importance of anal sex in sexual health is increasingly well-defined by epidemiological and clinical studies. This article reviews existing data on a range of heterosexual anal sex practices and provides conceptual and methodological recommendations for new research.

Several birth defects warning symbols identified as most successful in an earlier study (Mayhorn & Goldsworthy, 2007) were further modified and then evaluated within a nationally distributed field trial (n = 2773). A total of 11 warning labels were examined: 4 new symbols plus the existing baseline symbol, each in versions with and without text, plus a text-only condition. Participant interpretation accuracy and preferences were assessed. For symbol-only conditions, several candidate symbols outperformed the existing symbol, one substantially so. The effect of adding text to symbols varied significantly by symbol. Symbol+text and text-only conditions performed equivalently, generally exceeded symbol-only conditions, and often surpassed the ANSI benchmark of 85% accurate interpretation. Implications are drawn from the process and outcomes in relation to warning design, warning evaluation, and future research.

Objective. To determine whether prescription medication sharing, a common healthcare consumer behavior, leads to adverse outcomes, including inappropriate usage, delayed care, suboptimal patient-provider relationships, and exposure to side effects. Methods. Prevalence of medication loaning and borrowing and associated behaviors and consequences were assessed through one-on-one public approach surveys among 2773 individuals. Results. Borrowers are frequently bypassing instructions and warnings, are avoiding or delaying seeking care from health professionals, are not communicating their borrowing to their healthcare provider, and are experiencing allergic reactions or side effects when they borrow prescription medications. Conclusion. These results represent the first extensive assessment of prevalence of risk and risky behaviors associated with prescription medication borrowing and demonstrate that such borrowing affects patients' health and their healthcare experience. Efforts to increase awareness and mitigate risk appear merited.