Health Promotion Issues Research Articles

RESEARCH ABOUT THE SEXUAL LIFE OF CYPRIOTS STUDENTS

Abstract The paper present the results of a research about the sexual life of Cypriots students. Specifically focused on the practices who the young adults use in their sexual life, if they can recognize the risks they are exposed to, take precautions and behave rationally in order to prevent serious conditions that may lead to insurmountable problems decisive for their health. It endeavours to find out perceptions and attitudes of students on matters of health protection (sexually transmitted diseases, use of substances) as factors directly related to and influence their life on issues of health prevention and promotion. An important factor causing unwillingness to fill out the questionnaires was the very personal nature of the questions concerning the sexual behaviour of the participants, but also the large number of questions. Taking into consideration the large difference between men and women that reported to have sexual relations, as well as society’s tendency that encourages men to brag about their sexual conquests while almost stigmatizing women, overestimation for males and underestimation for females cannot be excluded. The interpretation of the research’s results shows that young adult students seem quite knowledgeable about their sexuality, protection measures and the risks at hand. At the same time though there are several deficiencies related to the source and transmission of correct knowledge which need to be covered. The fact that becomes clear about the information sources highlights the importance of both the accuracy and appropriateness of targeted information by specialists, as well as, possibly, of the limited influence of the sources that young people reported to use for getting information/learning. Keywords : sexually transmitted diseases, behavior, knowledge, attitudes, health protection

Association of household income and education with eating behaviors in Japanese adults: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundSocioeconomic inequalities as social determinants of health are important issues in public health and health promotion. However, the association between socioeconomic status and eating behaviors has been investigated poorly in Japanese adults. To fill this gap, the present study examines the association of eating behaviors with household income and education.MethodsThe sample comprised 3,137 Japanese adults (1,580 men and 1,557 women) aged 30 to 59 years who responded to an Internet-based cross-sectional survey in 2014. Data on the following eating behaviors were collected via self-report: “taking care of one’s diet for health,” “eating vegetables,” “frequency of eating breakfast,” “frequency of family breakfasts,” “frequency of family dinners,” “using the information on nutrition labels,” and “conversations with family or friends during meals.” Self-reported data on socioeconomic status (household income and education) and demographic variables (gender, age, district of residence, marital status, residence status, and employment status) were also collected. The associations between eating behaviors and household income or education were tested using binomial logistic regression analysis with eating behaviors as dependent variables and household income and education as independent variables. A trend P -value was calculated for three categories of household income (less than 3,000,000 JPY, 3,000,000–7,000,000 JPY, and over 7,000,000 JPY) and education (junior high/high school, 2-year college, and 4-year college/graduate school).ResultsHigher household income and education were significantly associated with higher rates of eating vegetables, using the information on nutrition labels, and conversation with family or friends during meals in Japanese men and women. Higher household incomes were significantly associated with lower rates of frequency of family breakfasts in Japanese men and lower rates of frequency of family dinners in Japanese men and women.ConclusionsHigher socioeconomic status as indicated by household income or education was associated with eating more vegetables and conversation with family or friends during meals in Japanese men and women. Socioeconomic status should be considered in health promotion and diet improvement.

Adapting and retesting evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs: a case study in Canada.

This special issue of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada is timely, as child maltreatment is a significant public health problem; globally, the number affected is at least in the hundreds of millions. One-quarter of adults report having been physically abused and over one-third emotionally abused as children; one in 5 women and one in 13 men report having been sexually abused. Recent national surveys of violence against children conducted in Africa and in other low- and middle-income countries reveal rates of childhood physical, sexual and emotional abuse even higher than the global rates.

Private troubles to public issue: empowering communities to reduce alcohol-related harm in Sabah, Malaysia

Alcohol is the number three contributor to the burden of disease worldwide so must remain a priority health promotion issue internationally. Malaysia is a Muslim country and alcohol-related harm was not seen as a priority until recently, because it only affects a minority of the population. Sabah has more than 30 different ethnic groups, and alcohol has a traditional role in the cultural practices of many of these groups. In 2009, the Intervention Group for Alcohol Misuse (IGAM) was formed, under the umbrella of Mercy Malaysia by a group of healthcare workers, academics, members of the Clergy and people who were previously alcohol-dependent concerned about the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption. IGAM in collaboration with other bodies have organized public seminars, visited villages and schools, encouraged the formation of a support group and trained healthcare professionals in health promotion intervention. The focus later changed to empowering communities to find solutions to alcohol-related harm in their community in a way which is sensitive to their culture. A standard tool-kit was developed using WHO materials as a guide. Village committees were formed and adapted the toolkit according to their needs. This strategy has been shown to be effective, in that 90% of the 20 committees formed are actively and successfully involved in health promotion to reduce alcohol-related harm in their communities.

Management and treatment of men affected by metastatic prostate cancer: evidence‐based recommendations for practice

ABSTRACTCurrently, 250 000 men are affected by prostate cancer in the UK. Clinical guidance is crucial for nurses involved in the care delivery for men with advanced prostate cancer and for their families to maximize their quality and quantity of life. It is essential that nurses understand how prostate cancer is diagnosed, can recognize signs of disease progression, are familiar with disease management, and can educate patients and manage any symptoms appropriately and effectively. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review current evidence‐based guidelines in relation to care delivery for men with metastatic prostate cancer in order to optimize best supportive care. A literature review was conducted in a range of electronic databases (DARE, Cochrane, MEDLINE, BNI, PsychINFO, EMBASE and CIHAHL) to identify studies employing qualitative and/or quantitative methods. National (UK) and European clinical guidelines were also reviewed. Methodological evaluation was conducted and the evidence‐based recommendations were integrated in a narrative synthesis. Supportive care is a person‐centred approach to the provision of the necessary services for those living with or affected by cancer to meet their informational, spiritual, emotional, social or physical needs during diagnosis, treatment or follow‐up phases including issues of health promotion, survivorship, palliation and bereavement. A multidisciplinary and proactive approach to the management of men with metastatic prostate cancer ensures safe and effective supportive care delivery. Nurses involved in the care delivery for this patient group need to be aware of the complex physical and psychological supportive care needs, and evidence‐based management care plans to ensure a personalized and tailored support to optimize quality of life.

Annual health promotion programmes in remote rural Sabah

Health promotion programmes in remote rural areas are conducted annually in Sabah, Malaysia by Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University Malaysia Sabah. *Objectives* - To understand the concepts and principles of health promotion, to acquire knowledge and skills relevant to the assessment of the community diagnosis by using qualitative and quantitative approaches, to identify the limitation and issues of health promotion and its solution, to formulate the strategic plan and able to conduct the health promotion programme, to empower the rural community to improve rural health through health promotion activities. *Targeted population* is remote rural community. *Stake holders engaged* are UMS, medical and nursing students, local health authorities and rural community. *Methods* - Students were trained by series of lectures for health promotion concepts, approaches and activities and exposed to rural areas in Sabah and conducted practical health promotion programs annually. Students helped empowering the local community to improve their health with multi-approaches Health promotion methods under supervision of a lecturer. Medical and nursing students conducted health promotion programme together in 2 weeks duration . Health and health related problems were identified in selected rural villages .Various types of health promotion activities were conducted in prevention of communicable disease and non-communicable diseases.*Sustainability* - By having sustainable financing , cooperation from stake holders and strong commitment from faculty leadership and team members ,the annual health promotion programmes are conducted effectively in the rural community in Sabah. Although the impact of these health promotion activities cannot be seen in short duration, health issues in the rural community were explained by the students and advise them with causes, risk factors and precautions which would be useful in reducing the occurrence of common health problems in the remote rural areas of Sabah.

Integrating Design Science Theory and Methods to Improve the Development and Evaluation of Health Communication Programs

Traditional communication theory and research methods provide valuable guidance about designing and evaluating health communication programs. However, efforts to use health communication programs to educate, motivate, and support people to adopt healthy behaviors often fail to meet the desired goals. One reason for this failure is that health promotion issues are complex, changeable, and highly related to the specific needs and contexts of the intended audiences. It is a daunting challenge to effectively influence health behaviors, particularly culturally learned and reinforced behaviors concerning lifestyle factors related to diet, exercise, and substance (such as alcohol and tobacco) use. Too often, program development and evaluation are not adequately linked to provide rapid feedback to health communication program developers so that important revisions can be made to design the most relevant and personally motivating health communication programs for specific audiences. Design science theory and methods commonly used in engineering, computer science, and other fields can address such program and evaluation weaknesses. Design science researchers study human-created programs using tightly connected build-and-evaluate loops in which they use intensive participatory methods to understand problems and develop solutions concurrently and throughout the duration of the program. Such thinking and strategies are especially relevant to address complex health communication issues. In this article, the authors explore the history, scientific foundation, methods, and applications of design science and its potential to enhance health communication programs and their evaluation.

Health promoting lifestyle behaviour in medical students: a multicentre study from Turkey.

The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of health promoting lifestyle behaviour among medical students attending seven of the medical schools in Turkey. This cross- sectional descriptive study was performed during the second semester of the first and last (sixth) years of study from March to May 2011. A questionnaire with two sections was specifically designed. The first section contained questions on demographic characteristics; the second consisted of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP) Scale. From a total of 2,309 medical students, 2,118 (response rate 91.7%) completed the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t, Anova, Tukey test and binary logistic regression analysis. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of Erciyes University. The mean age was 20.7±2.9 years and it was found that 55.1% were men, 62.3% were in the first year. The overall prevalence of smoking was 19.1%, and for drinking alcohol was 19.4%. HPLP point averages of the first year students were 129.2±17.7, and for last year 125.5±19.0. The overall mean score for the HPLP II was 2.5±0.4. They scored highest on the spiritual growth subscale (2.9±0.5), interpersonal relations (2.8±0.5), health responsibility subscale (2.3±0.5), nutrition subscale (2.3±0.5), stress management subscale (2.3±0.4), and the lowest subscale physical activity (2.0±0.5). It is established that student's grade, educational level of parents, economic status of family, marital status, smoking and general health perception of the students resulted in a significant difference in HPLP Scale total score average and the mean score of majority of subscales.There was no statistically significant difference between the total HPLP when evaluated for gender, chronic disease, alcohol drinking status and BMI. Based on these results, particularly in the curriculum of medical students in order to increase positive health behaviours including physical activity, health promotion issues, and giving more space to aim at behaviour change in these matters is recommended.

Health promotion is ethical

To the Editor: We are responding to the article 'Ethical issues in public health promotion', which misrepresents health promotion. Debate about health promotion ethics is important, as some practices may be coercive, e.g. using financial incentives to change behaviour. However, the article does not sufficiently address the balance between individual and collective rights, nor does it differentiate between evidence- and profit-driven communications. These two points are essential for any exploration of health promotion.

Oral hygiene practices among paramedical staff of a private dental institution in India

Health promotion in dentistry is targeted at the two most common oral diseases – dental caries and periodontal disease. The maintenance of good oral hygiene is considered to be a central issue in oral health promotion. Objective: To assess the oral hygiene practices among paramedical staff of a private dental institution in India. Material and methods: A cross sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 100 paramedical staff of a private dental institution in Mangalore, India. Data was collected by using self designed questionnaire. Results: About 49% of the subjects brushed thrice with soft toothbrush and 55% changed their tooth brush once in 3 months. About 77% of them cleaned their tongue either by tongue cleaner, toothbrush or finger and 82% of the subjects used tooth paste. About 56% of the subjects had never used dental floss. Majority of the subjects (56%) visited the dentist only when required. Conclusion: Oral hygiene practices among the paramedical staff were poor.

심미적 치료를 적용한 여대생의 외모관리 경험

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to describe the process of appearance management with esthetic treatment and for development of a substantive theory that explains lifestyle in female college students. Methods: The participants were seven students who had undergone a surgical procedure with LASEK, cosmetic, and wearing orthodontic brackets. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and analyzed using grounded theory in Strauss and Corbin (1998). Results: The core category, 'discovering factors of social opportunities' incorporated the relationship between and among all categories and explained the process. Theses processes were categorized acording to four stages: 'facing appearance stress', 'screening medical information', 'applying esthetic treatment', and 'restoring self-confidence'. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate an understanding and profound insight on the issue of psycho-social health promotion in young female.

Definition of supportive care: does the semantic matter?

'Supportive care' is a commonly used term in oncology; however, no consensus definition exists. This represents a barrier to communication in both the clinical and research settings. In this review, we propose a unifying conceptual framework for supportive care and discuss the proper use of this term in the clinical and research settings. A recent systematic review revealed several themes for supportive care: a focus on symptom management and improvement of quality of life, and care for patients on treatments and those with advanced stage disease. These findings are consistent with a broad definition for supportive care: 'the provision of the necessary services for those living with or affected by cancer to meet their informational, emotional, spiritual, social, or physical needs during their diagnostic, treatment, or follow-up phases encompassing issues of health promotion and prevention, survivorship, palliation, and bereavement.' Supportive care can be classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary based on the level of specialization. For example, palliative care teams provide secondary supportive care for patients with advanced cancer. Until a consensus definition is available for supportive care, this term should be clearly defined or cited whenever it is used.

Fachbeiträge: Gesundheit von PsychomotorikerInnen. Eine Befragung zur Gesundheit in Psychomotorik, Motopädie und Motologie

A survey on health in the areas of Psychomotricity, Motopädie and Motology German Psychomotricity deals increasingly with the issue of health promotion while the focus thus far has been exclusively on conceptualized health programs for clients. Health issues of psychomotricians at their workplace have not yet been addressed. Consequently this article deals with the health of professional educators and therapists in Psychomotricity, Motopädie and Motology. The results of a questionnaire-study are represented with inquiries about Psychomotrician’s job satisfaction, self-care, the body as a health-advisor, stress and protective factors.

Ethical issues in public health promotion

Health promotion is a key element of public health practice. Among strategies aiming to deal with public health problems, health promotion purports to help people achieve better health. Health promotion can significantly alter people’s lifestyles, and three main ethical issues relate to it: ( i ) what are the ultimate goals for public health practice, i.e. what ‘good’ should be achieved? ( ii ) how should this good be distributed in the population? and ( iii ) what means may we use to try to achieve and distribute this good? The last question is the subject of this article. Concerns raised about health promotion can be divided into two groups: ( i ) efficacy-based considerations – are they cost-effective or cost-ineffective? and ( ii ) autonomy-based concerns – (to what extent) do they interfere with free choice, i.e. do they attempt to direct social values and lifestyles? Ways in which an individual’s autonomy may be compromised by means of influencing behaviour change are considered. This article has been retracted: See RETRACTION NOTICE

An Exploration of Women Offenders' Health Literacy

In the past decade the sentencing of women in Canada to correctional detention has increased. Compared to the general population, women in conflict with the law tend to have higher rates of mortality and morbidity. This exploratory research investigated health promotion and health-literacy issues for women offenders. Semistructured interviews of 12 women serving probation orders were analyzed. Data analysis highlighted three overarching themes: (a) health information access, (b) networks of support, and (c) tailoring the health system. These findings have relevancy for health promotion practice with women offenders, and implications for correctional services community reintegration programs and community health sectors.

Riflessioni etiche sulla promozione della salute nel campo delle scienze infermieristiche: l'importanza delle scelte di salute individuali

Current discussion of health promotion is based on multidisciplinary understanding, where values as equity, participation and empowerment are focused. Health promotion can be seen as a combination of research and development, challenging also nursing science as a discipline. Despite to multileveled and societal action, the core issues in health promotion are related on the individual health choices. In this paper, individual health choices will be focused within the field of nursing science. The aim is to deepen the vision of health promotion, health choices in particular, in the field of nursing science. Health choices refer to the person’s decision or act on everyday life, and they have direct or indirect connection to health and health consequences. They are also performed within every individual context of person’s life and as in this article will be approached, impacted of the combination of person’s intersectional features. Nursing science is challenged to take account on research but also in practice individual health choices as a key factor to promote health equity and holistic understanding of human dignity.

The pursuit of political will: politicians' motivation and health promotion

The health promotion literature points out a significant gap between declared health promotion policy and practice. The common assumption is that one of the main obstacles to progress is "political will" and the intersectoral action necessary to create healthy environments. The concept of political will is most frequently invoked to explain a lack of action usually rooted in politicians' lack of personal courage or good sense. While stressing the fact that health and its promotion are profoundly political, we claim that the lack of political will is usually not because politicians have shown insufficient personal courage or good sense. Rather, we suggest that one of the reasons for the gap between the need for health promotion policies and political will derives from politicians' lack of attraction to several aspects associated with this policy area. In many cases, politicians are not attracted to the issue of health promotion because of the unique structural conditions usually associated with this policy domain. Using tools related to public policy theory, we suggest a conceptual framework that explains what those conditions are and answers the question of why politicians seem to lack the political will to undertake the design of health promotion policies.

Working in Australia's heat: health promotion concerns for health and productivity

This exploratory study describes the experiences arising from exposure to extreme summer heat, and the related health protection and promotion issues for working people in Australia. Twenty key informants representing different industry types and occupational groups or activities in Australia provided semi-structured interviews concerning: (i) perceptions of workplace heat exposure in the industry they represented, (ii) reported impacts on health and productivity, as well as (iii) actions taken to reduce exposure or effects of environmental heat exposure. All interviewees reported that excessive heat exposure presents a significant challenge for their industry or activity. People working in physically demanding jobs in temperatures>35°C frequently develop symptoms, and working beyond heat tolerance is common. To avoid potentially dangerous health impacts they must either slow down or change their work habits. Such health-preserving actions result in lost work capacity. Approximately one-third of baseline work productivity can be lost in physically demanding jobs when working at 40°C. Employers and workers consider that heat exposure is a 'natural hazard' in Australia that cannot easily be avoided and so must be accommodated or managed. Among participants in this study, the locus of responsibility for coping with heat lay with the individual, rather than the employer. Heat exposure during Australian summers commonly results in adverse health effects and productivity losses, although quantification studies are lacking. Lack of understanding of the hazardous nature of heat exposure exacerbates the serious risk of heat stress, as entrenched attitudinal barriers hamper amelioration or effective management of this increasing occupational health threat. Educational programmes and workplace heat guidelines are required. Without intervention, climate change in hot countries, such as Australia, can be expected to further exacerbate heat-related burden of disease and loss of productivity in many jobs. In light of projected continued global warming, and associated increase in heat waves, more attention needs to be given to environmental heat as a human health hazard in the Occupational Health and Safety arena. Without adoption of effective heat protective strategies economic output and fitness levels will diminish. Health protection and promotion activities should include strategies to reduce heat exposure, limit exposure duration, ensure access to hydration, and promote acclimatization and fitness programmes, and reorientate attitudes towards working in the heat.

Health Promotion Behaviors among Elderly in Nursing Home at Baghdad City

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the elderly health promotion behavior through use five domains of physical activities, nutrition patterns, drugs use, psychological well being, seeking of health care. And also to determine the relationship between health promotion behaviors and demographic characteristics (age, gender, and level of education. Methodology: non- experimental (descriptive study) conducted in nursing home at Baghdad city among elderly's' on A non-probability (purposive sample) of (N=80) person were matched with them of general population. The data were collected through the use of semi-structured interview by questionnaire, which consists of two parts (1) divide, section A. cover letter and B. Sociodemographic data which consists of 3-items, (2) health promotion behaviors questionnaire consists of 60-items distributed to four dimensions include, domains, physical activities, nutrition patterns, drugs use, psychological well being, and seeking of health care. Results: The findings of the present study indicate that most the elderly's' unable on practicing physical activity in nursing home residents The drug use domain is perfect for health promotion behaviors domains among elderly's' in nursing home residents, and demographic data no impact upon heath promotion behaviors. Recommendations: The study recommends that Implementation of health education programs by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to improve the elderly's' health promotion behaviors. The elderly of nursing home residents can be considered the target for programs to applying and reinforcing health promotion issues.

Determinants of life expectancy in eastern mediterranean region: a health production function.

Determinants of health or health production function in health economics literature constitute noticeable issues in health promotion. This study aimed at estimating a health production function for East Mediterranean Region (EMR) based on the Grossman theoretical model. This ecological study was performed using the econometric methods. The panel data model was used in order to determine the relationship between life expectancy and socioeconomic factors. The data for 21 EMR countries between 1995 and 2007 were used. Fixed-effect-model was employed to estimate the parameters based on Hausman test. In estimating the health production function, factors such as income per capita (β=0.05, P<0.001), education index (β=0.07, P<0.001), food availability (β=0.01, P<0.001), level of urbanisation (β=0.10, P<0.001), and employment ratio (β=0.11, P<0.001) were specified as determinants of health status, proxied by life expectancy at birth. A notable result was the elasticity of life expectancy with respect to the employment rate and its significance level was different between males (β=0.13, P<0.001) and females (β=0.08, P>0.001). In order to improve the health status in EMR countries, health policymakers should focus on the factors which lie outside the healthcare system. These factors are mainly associated with economic growth and development level. Thus, the economic stabilisation policies with the aim of increasing the productivity, economic growth, and reducing unemployment play significant roles in the health status of the people of the region.