Rural Teenagers Research Articles

Informal STEM Learning through First Response for Teens in Rural Maine

We describe the adaptation of an existing afterschool STEM program in order to make it more relevant and effective for rural teens. The award-winning Teen Science Cafe (TSC) program was modified to redirect focus away from traditional, academic STEM careers toward STEM in First Response, a field whose members are common and visible in rural areas. The program was implemented and organized by TSC Mentors, local adults who connect youth with out-of-school STEM resources and professionals. We found that attendance at multiple TSCs had a significant impact on how youth viewed First Response in their community, as well as STEM careers in general. This work demonstrates that it is possible to find professionals with robust and exciting STEM expertise in rural areas; to adapt existing STEM program models to connect these professionals to rural teens; and to use these adapted models to help teens become more aware of the STEM opportunities in their communities and increase their interest in STEM First Response careers.

JA:2021-13. Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Exposure, Safety Behaviors and Crash Experiences among Iowa FFA Members

ABSTRACT Purpose: Recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs) have become increasingly popular, but no studies have examined the safety issues and experiences of rural teens while operating ROVs. Methods: Attendees of the 2015 and 2016 Iowa FFA Leadership Conference were surveyed on ROV use frequency, the safety behaviors practiced, and the crashes and injuries experienced. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed. Results/Findings: 2075 surveys were analyzed. Most respondents were 15–18 years of age, and 55% were female. The residence of participants included on a farm (51%), in the country but not a farm (20%), and in town (29%). Over four-fifths had been on an ROV, and 66% and 81% reported riding an ROV in the past year for occupational and recreational purposes, respectively. Many were frequent riders, with 50% and 36% of those who rode for occupational and recreation purposes, respectively, being at least weekly riders. The most frequent work tasks performed by youth with ROVs included transportation, checking fields and livestock, and working on fences. Those reporting that their families owned an ROV (35% overall) varied by place of residence (Farm > Country Not Farm > Town, p < 0.001). Over 95% and over 75% of ROV riders reported traveling on unpaved and paved public roads, respectively, in the past year. Many were at least weekly riders on public roads. About 80% stated they never or almost never wore a helmet, and nearly half stated they never or almost never wore the seat belt/safety harness when riding an ROV. In the year prior to taking the survey, 14% of those riding for occupational purposes and 12% of those riding for recreational purposes were involved in at least one ROV crash. Collision with an object was the most common crash mechanism (~42%), followed by a rollover (~38%). About 15% of those having a crash in the past year sought medical attention for injuries. Practical Application: Iowa FFA members have high exposure to ROV riding, and both unsafe riding behaviors and crashes are very common. Interventions to increase ROV safety awareness and safe riding behaviors in children and adolescents are urgently needed, especially in rural areas.

MON-083 Childhood Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) in New-Onset and Established Patients in Central Illinois: Contributing Factors and Risk Stratification

Introduction: DKA is the leading cause of hospitalizations in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Although most cases are preventable, DKA continues to occur in established patients.Aim: To identify contributing factors and outcomes of DKA pediatric admissions in a tertiary referral center with a large rural catchment area to assess for actionable items to prevent DKA.Methods: A retrospective, single-center chart review assessing children ˂19 years old admitted in DKA from October 2014 to May 2018. DKA was defined as a pH of ≤7.3 or bicarbonate of ≤15. Demographic data included gender, age, zip code, insurance type and ethnicity. Admission measures included HbA1c, DKA group (new-onset “NT1” or “ET1” established T1DM diagnosis), DKA severity (severe pH <7.1, CO2 <5mEq/L), contact with clinic, home insulin delivery. Outcomes included length of stay (LOS), total admission costs (TAC) and reimbursements amounts (RA).Results: 272 patients were included (mean age 11.7 y, range 4.4-16; 60% female, 83% Caucasian, 14% African American). Of these, 33% were NT1 DKA. Compared to NT1 DKA, ET1 DKA patients were older (8.7 vs. 13.1 years, p < 0.001), more likely female (49% vs. 65%, p 0.034) with public insurance (55% vs 63%, p 0.028); 73% didn’t contact the diabetes team prior to admission and 52% used an insulin pump. There were no significant differences in HbA1c or DKA severity.LOS was similar between NT1 and ET1 DKA (p 0.051). Severe DKA was associated with longer LOS (RR 1.47, p < 0.0001). Public vs. private insurance was associated with 1.28 times longer LOS (p < 0.0001).While there was no difference in TAC between NT1 and ET1 DKA groups (p 0.877), costs were higher with public vs. private insurance (>$900, p 0.050) and severe DKA (RR 1.92; 95% CI 1.62-2.27; p <0.0001). TAC were different between regions within central Illinois (RR 1.39; 95% CI 1.08-1.80; p 0.002).Hospital RA was higher for NT1 vs. ET1 group (RR 1.26; 95%CI 1.03-1.54; p 0.0237) and higher DKA severity (RR 1.57; 95% CI 1.26-1.95; p <0.0001); but lower for public vs. private insurance (RR 0.43; 95% CI 0.35-0.52; p <0.0001).Discussion: Established DKA patients tended to be rural teenage females, poorly controlled and public health insured. Severity of DKA and LOS did not differ between the groups. While TAC were similar among the groups, TAC were higher with public insurance and severe DKA. Lower hospital RA were seen for recurrent cases and public insurance. This study provides valuable information about non-metropolitan at-risk population characteristics to inform targeted preventive interventions. These findings suggest a significant difference in hospitalization RA, providing incentive for health care facilities / providers to invest in early outpatient interventions and QI initiatives.

Factor Identification and Prediction for Teen Driver Crash Severity Using Machine Learning: A Case Study

Crashes among young and inexperienced drives are a major safety problem in the United States, especially in an area with large rural road networks, such as West Texas. Rural roads present many unique safety concerns that are not fully explored. This study presents a complete machine leaning pipeline to find the patterns of crashes involved with teen drivers no older than 20 on rural roads in West Texas, identify factors that affect injury levels, and build four machine learning predictive models on crash severity. The analysis indicates that the major causes of teen driver crashes in West Texas are teen drivers who failed to control speed or travel at an unsafe speed when they merged from rural roads to highways or approached intersections. They also failed to yield on the undivided roads with four or more lanes, leading to serious injuries. Road class, speed limit, and the first harmful event are the top three factors affecting crash severity. The predictive machine learning model, based on Label Encoder and XGBoost, seems the best option when considering both accuracy and computational cost. The results of this work should be useful to improve rural teen driver traffic safety in West Texas and other rural areas with similar issues.

The Russian rural school children of adolescent age as Internet users

In Russia, the society shares the opinion that children, adolescents and the youth are the main users of the Internet. However, the information impact of the Internet on the emerging consciousness, intelligence, life values of younger generation is ambiguous and requires comprehensive and in-depth study. Materials and methods. In 2016-2017, large-scale sample study of prevalence and peculiarities of Internet use in rural teenagers aged 15-17 years was carried out in Russia, covering 17 Oblasts from 6 Federal Okrugs of Russia. The sampling consisted of 18 222 rural teenagers (8 208 boys and 10 014 girls). The set of material (questionnaires), formation of databases and their statistical processing was carried out using software program "The Risk Factors". According to the data study, prevalence of Internet use among boys was 96.1 and among girls 97.2 out of 100 adolescents of the appropriate age and sex. Besides, 85.4% of boys and 90.0% of girls used the Internet on daily basis and 44.4% of boys and 60.4% of girls - 3 hours or more per day. Teenagers using the Internet every day during 3 hours or more constitute "risk group" since they have both social and psychological difficulties and high risk of developing Internet addiction. Despite the differences in the age of the respondent's gradations in frequency and duration of Internet using, the results of study correspond to data of studies carried out in different years by the Internet Development Fund and testify high level of prevalence of Internet use among schoolchildren. The results of the study revealed the emerging problems in rural schoolchildren of adolescent age due to long (3 hours or more per day) use of the Internet, as well as the need to teach them to appropriate, dosed and effective use of the Internet, which would broaden mind, increase academic performance and enrich leisure activities.

Особенности мотивации достижения и ценностных ориентаций у городских и сельских подростков

Особенности мотивации достижения и ценностных ориентаций у городских и сельских подростков

Family Functioning among Rural Teens and Caregivers: Interactive Influence on Teen Dating Violence.

Multi-informant assessment of family functioning is considered best practice in research and clinical settings. However, in the area of teen dating violence, multi-informant assessment of family functioning has received limited attention. The current study investigated whether and to what extent caregiver and adolescent perceptions of family functioning interact in their influence on adolescent dating violence. Participants were 493 adolescents and their primary caregivers from a rural southeastern community in the United States. As hypothesized, a paired-samples t test showed that adolescents' scores on the family functioning measure were significantly lower than their caregivers' scores. Logistic regressions revealed that adolescents' positive views of family functioning were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of dating violence victimization but not perpetration and that caregivers' views on family functioning moderated the impact of adolescent-reported family functioning on both dating violence outcomes. Post hoc analyses showed that adolescents with negative perceptions of family environment were most likely to be victims and perpetrators of dating violence when their parents also reported more negative views of family environment. The article concludes with a discussion of how these findings can: (a) advance our understanding of the impact of family functioning on teen dating relationships and (b) inform practical efforts aimed at preventing dating aggression among teens.

Use of Internet among Rural Teenagers: Pattern of Usages, Awareness and Associated Health Hazards

Internet has become an essential tool for communication, information, and entertainment and use of internet is increasing among the teenage group. This cross sectional study was conducted among 385 teenagers from rural area of Narayanganj district in Bangladesh to evaluate the practice of internet use, their awareness about the beneficial and harmful effects and associated physical and psychological health hazards. The study reached its various findings from the view point of rural area of our country. The study population was chosen purposively; data were collected using a semi structured questionnaire regarding their knowledge and various practice of internet use relating to the objectives. Most of the respondents were students and came from lower middle class family. Majority of the study people recently started to use internet and they were mostly light or moderate user in terms of time spending. Mobile phone was used as device by 84.7% people for their internet browsing. Teenagers used internet mainly for entertainment (42.1%) and social networking (35.6%) purpose and not much for learning or education. They were aware about the beneficial and the harmful effects of internet use especially abuses. Commonly experienced physical health hazards by them were headache (11.7%), straining of eyes or blurring of vision (10.7%) and skipping meals or change in eating behavior (9.1%), and among the psychological hazards, restlessness or agitation (8%) and depression (5.2%) were stated. It may be concluded that use of internet among teenagers of rural area of our country is at modest level associated with a few health hazards but the merits of internet based networking is yet to be revealed by them.&#x0D; Bangladesh Med J. 2017 Sep; 46 (3): 69-73

The main changes in the consumption of alcohol by rural teenagers of school age in Russia for 15 years

The article deals with the main changes in alcohol consumption by rural teenagers-schoolchildren in Russia 2016-2017 compared 2001-2002 according to all-Russia monitoring of psychoactive substances consumption among 15-17-year-old teenagers.

E-cigarette minimum legal sale age laws and traditional cigarette use among rural pregnant teenagers

Teenagers under 18 could legally purchase e-cigarettes until states passed minimum legal sale age laws. These laws may have curtailed teenagers' use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. We investigate the effect of e-cigarette minimum legal sale age laws on prenatal cigarette smoking and birth outcomes for underage rural teenagers using data on all births from 2010 to 2016 from 32 states. We find that the laws increased prenatal smoking by 0.6 percentage points (pp) overall. These effects were concentrated in prepregnancy smokers, with no effect on prepregnancy non-smokers. These results suggest that the laws reduced cigarette smoking cessation during pregnancy rather than causing new cigarette smoking initiation. Our results may indicate an unmet need for assistance with smoking cessation among pregnant teenagers.

Smokeless Tobacco and the Rural Teen: How Culture and Masculinity Contribute to Adolescent Use

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Smokeless tobacco (SLT) is primarily used by younger, rural males and often in the presence of other males. This formative study examined how hegemonic masculinity and male norms can lead to initiation and continued use of SLT by rural adolescent males and females. Survey data collected from high school sophomores in 4 rural high schools (n = 293) explores perceptions of masculinity and male norms’ contribution to SLT uptake and use. About 22.5% of total sample reported lifetime use (34.4% male, 13.7% female), 10.9% reported past-month use (20.0% male, 4.2% female). Logistic regressions show a one-unit increase in adherence to traditional perceptions of masculinity more than doubled the odds of ever using SLT and significantly increased odds of 30-day use. Having male household family members who uses SLT significantly increased the odds of lifetime and 30-day SLT use for both genders, while having male family members who smoke cigarettes was not a significant correlate. Recognition of health warnings on SLT packaging was negatively associated with SLT use for both genders. Implications for inclusion of masculinity and male role models in SLT prevention intervention strategies are discussed.

Prevalence of hookah smoking among rural teenage schoolchildren in the Russian Federation in 2016-2017

Prevalence of hookah smoking among rural teenage schoolchildren in the Russian Federation in 2016-2017

Abstract C02: The real cost. Preventing smokeless tobacco usage among rural adolescents and teens.

Abstract Smokeless tobacco use is woven into the culture of rural communities, particularly among white males aged 12 to 18. There are few, if any, sources in these areas providing a steady message about the dangers of smokeless tobacco use. Instead it is glorified and seen as a rite of passage for this particular demographic. The FDA's Center for Tobacco Products engaged the cross-cultural agency, Sensis, to establish and, in 2016, launch the first nationwide campaign to prevent smokeless tobacco use. The campaign targeted those most vulnerable to initiation of use: rural, white male youth. Sensis utilized its experienced researchers and campaign strategists to conduct formative research that would shape campaign strategy, test creative concepts, and develop all aspects of the campaign creative. The goals/objectives of The Real Cost Rural Smokeless Campaign set by Sensis were to: Educate the target audience by increasing awareness and understanding of the dangers of smokeless tobacco use. Create cognitive dissonance that prompts the audience to rethink their relationship with smokeless tobacco and decrease their intent to use. Those who attend this presentation can expect to learn: 1. The extent of the formative research conducted to learn about the target audience and their views of the product. 2. The tactics used to help change behaviors that had been culturally ingrained for decades, often passed through the generations. 3. How Sensis was able to educate about the potential dangers without attacking a cultural norm woven into the rural lifestyle. Citation Format: Sharon Carothers. The real cost. Preventing smokeless tobacco usage among rural adolescents and teens. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr C02.

Making plans for future success: a timeline tool feasibility study

ABSTRACTMany adolescents have hopes of college graduation, independent living, and satisfying careers. Career preparation is an important component that can facilitate these desires. However, many adolescents do not achieve these hopes in their desired timeframes due to interruptions, such as unplanned pregnancies. As illustrated by the Theory of Adolescent Sexual Decision-Making Influencing Teen Pregnancy (Weiss, 2012. Who will listen? Rural teen pregnancy reflections. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 8, 804–809. doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2012.02.028), desiring future success can promote low-risk decision-making. Based on this theory, a Getting Plans Started (GPS) Timeline Tool (GPS Timeline©) was developed to help adolescents plan for future success by using a time perspective and, thereby, avoid interruptions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the GPS Tool©, how it might be used, and a study to determine the feasibility of using the GPS Tool©. Thirty adolescents found the tool easy to use and effective in helping them plan for the future. Their responses indicated almost unanimous desires for college graduation and independence with strong confidence in achieving their plans, but their responses also indicated a need for more effective planning to achieve their desired goals.

131 - An Implementation Sciences Approach to Rural Teen Pregnancy Prevention

131 - An Implementation Sciences Approach to Rural Teen Pregnancy Prevention

The Impact of Teen Court on Rural Adolescents: Improved Social Relationships, Psychological Functioning, and School Experiences.

Teen Court is a prevention program aimed at diverting first time juvenile offenders from the traditional juvenile justice system and reintegrating them into the community. Few studies have examined if Teen Court impacts adolescent functioning. We examined how Teen Court participation impacted psychosocial functioning, social relationships, and school experiences in a sample of 392 rural Teen Court participants relative to two comparison samples, one from the same county as Teen Court (n=4276) and one from a neighboring county (n=3584). We found that Teen Court has the potential to decrease internalizing symptoms, externalizing behavior, violent behavior, parent-adolescent conflict, and delinquent friends, and increase self-esteem and school satisfaction.

Time Spending Pattern for Various Media Activities of Urban and Rural Teenagers of India

Sundry media activities have paramount role in the growing pattern of today's teenagers. Degree of influence and impact of these activities on teenagers largely depends on time duration given to these different media and non-media activities like optically canvassing television, surfing internet, playing video games, computer games, heedfully aurally perceiving musical compositions on FM radio, reading newspaper/magazines and playing alfresco games. Time duration spent on mass media activities is incrementing day by day. Today teenagers mostly prefer visually examining television, playing computer games and surfing on internet and less intrigued with playing alfresco games and participation in gregarious and cultural activities. Excess of media utilization and avoidance of gregarious and cultural activities may have negative impact on teenager's demeanor and their growing pattern. They are much active on Facebook and twitter, having hundreds of friends and processing information expeditiously but very less participative in authentic society. India is a diversified country. Here population is largely divided on the substratum of urban and rural substructure. There are lot of differences in urban and rural areas regarding infrastructure, communication, media activities, inculcative facilities, information technology, life style, fashion, victualing habits and many more. Main aim of this research paper was to ascertain time spending pattern of urban and rural teenagers discretely on sundry media and non-media activities and to find out are there any consequential differences? Study concluded that time spending pattern of urban and rural teenagers was significantly different which concludes that behavioral and growing pattern of these teenagers is withal different..

The prevalence and socio-economic determinants of HIV among teenagers aged 15-18 years who were participating in a mobile testing population based survey in 2013-2014 in Zambia.

BackgroundThe objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of HIV among teenagers in Zambia and determine whether age, sex, setting, educational level, marital and socioeconomic status were associated with being HIV positive.MethodsA cross sectional population based survey of the prevalence of HIV among teenagers aged 15–18 years old who were also participants in a national Tuberculosis (TB) prevalence survey. Consenting teenagers were counselled and tested for HIV. The HIV prevalence was estimated using a logistic regression model. Associations of social demographic characteristics with HIV were determined using univariate and multivariate.ResultsThe study involved 6,395 teenagers aged 15–18 years where 2,532 declined HIV testing, 44 tested positive and 3,806 tested negative. The HIV prevalence was estimated to be 1.1 % (95 % CI 0.71-1.60); in females the HIV prevalence was 1.6 % (95 % CI 0.99-2.20) whereas in males it was 0.58 % (95 % CI 0.10-1.10). The prevalence of HIV was twice as high among the urban (1.90 %; 95 % CI 0.99-2.90) than the rural teenagers (0.89 %; 95 % CI 0.46-1.30), and being divorced or widowed was associated with higher risk of HIV regardless of residence. The risk of HIV was lower among students or those who were in school compared to those who were unemployed and not in school.ConclusionHIV prevalence among teenagers was lower than the overall national level prevalence. The patterns of HIV risk among the young population will require further monitoring in order to identify appropriate tools for intervention.

Pilot Study of a Web-Delivered Multicomponent Intervention for Rural Teens with Poorly Controlled Type 1 Diabetes.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a web-delivered multicomponent behavioral and family-based intervention targeting self-regulation and self-monitoring of blood glucose levels (SMBG) and glycemic control (HbA1c) in teens with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) living in rural US. Methods. 15 teens with poorly controlled T1DM participated in a 25-week web-delivered intervention with two phases, active treatment (weekly treatment sessions and working memory training program) and maintenance treatment (fading of treatment sessions). Results. Almost all (13 of 15) participants completed at least 14 of 15 treatment sessions and at least 20 of 25 working memory training sessions. SMBG was increased significantly at end of active and maintenance treatment, and HbA1c was decreased at end of active treatment (p's ≤ 0.05). Executive functioning improved at end of maintenance treatment: performance on working memory and inhibitory control tasks significantly improved (p's ≤ 0.02) and parents reported fewer problems with executive functioning (p = 0.05). Improvement in inhibitory control was correlated with increases in SMBG and decreases in HbA1c. Conclusions. An innovative web-delivered and multicomponent intervention was feasible for teens with poorly controlled T1DM and their families living in rural US and associated with significant improvements in SMBG and HbA1c.

From the Editors

From the Editors