Search

A telephone survey was administered to residents of a historically conservative southern state to assess resident's level of support for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in schools and support for the availability of condoms and contraception to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Data were obtained from 841 residents and findings revealed that the majority of residents: (a) support CSE, (b) support access to birth control, and (c) support the availability of condoms. Data were analyzed to determine characteristics of those in support of these prevention strategies so that data could inform key stakeholders, policy makers and health promotion strategies.

Willingness to support funding for government programs, particularly social programs, has been a key difference between Democrats and Republicans since the New Deal era. In recent years, considerable research has pointed to increasing differences between partisans. The current research uses General Social Survey data from 1973 to 2014 to examine the extent to which differences between Democrats and Republicans on spending issues have increased over time, have been consistent across domains, or have fluctuated differentially during this period. The results demonstrate that while Democrats and Republicans have distinct and opposing views on questions of government spending, partisan differences in support for spending are not uniform across issue areas, with larger differences on social welfare issues than on issues that are seen as redistributive, but not entitlements. The changes in liberalism that have occurred among partisans on these issues vary across domains and fluctuate at various points during this 40-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In exploring the role that racism plays in voters’ evaluation of candidates, recent research has provided evidence that white voters do not discriminate against conservative minority candidates in high-profile general elections. In situations in which a candidate’s race and his or her party identification would seemingly lead voters in opposite directions, partisanship takes precedence over race in influencing the vote decision. The 2014 U.S. Senate election in South Carolina, in which both seats—one held by a white Republican, the other by a black Republican—were contested presented a unique opportunity to test this premise. In a hypothetical trial heat between similar white and black candidates, white voters did not appear to discriminate against a black Republican candidate. Moreover, white voters who scored high on a symbolic racism measure were no less likely to express support for a conservative black candidate than those with more tolerant racial attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Conducting studies in national practice-based research networks presents logistic and methodologic challenges. Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) has learned valuable lessons in implementing new strategies and adapting to challenges. We describe practical challenges and results of novel applied strategies in implementing and testing the Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure (CEASE) intervention as part of a national-level cluster-randomized controlled trial.Methods: In the trial, 20 PROS practices were randomized to either a CEASE intervention arm or a control arm. Parents of children seen in the office who indicated smoking in the past 7 days were asked to complete a postvisit enrollment interview and telephone interviews 3 and 12 months later. Identified challenges included (1) recruiting 20 practices serving a high percentage of parent smokers; (2) screening all parents bringing children for visits and enrolling eligible parents who smoked; and (3) achieving an acceptable 12-month telephone response rate.Results: A total of 47 interested practices completed the Practice Population Survey, of which 20 practices in 16 states completed parent enrollment. Thirty-two research assistants screened 18,607 parents and enrolled 1,980 of them. The initial telephone interview response rate was 56% at 12 months, with incorrect and disconnected numbers accounting for nearly 60% of nonresponses. The response rate rose to 67% after practices supplied 532 new contact numbers and 754 text messages were sent, with 389 parents completing interviews.Conclusion: The strategies we used to overcome methodologic barriers in conducting a national intervention trial allowed data collection to be completed in the office setting and increased the telephone interview response rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]