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Objectives. In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) commissioned an Evidence-Based Gaps Collaboration Group to consider whether past experience could help guide future efforts to educate and train public health workers in responding to emergencies and disasters. Methods. The Group searched the peer-reviewed literature for preparedness training articles meeting three criteria: publication during the period when CDC's Centers for Public Health Preparedness were fully operational, content relevant to emergency response operations, and content particular to the emergency response roles of public health professionals. Articles underwent both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Results. The search identified 163 articles covering the topics of leadership and command structure (18.4%), information and communications (14.1%), organizational systems (78.5%), and others (23.9%). The number of reports was substantial, but their usefulness for trainers and educators was rated only "fair" to "good." Thematic analysis of 137 articles found that organizational topics far outnumbered leadership, command structure, and communications topics. Disconnects among critical participants—including trainers, policy makers, and public health agencies—were noted. Generalizable evaluations were rare. Conclusions. Reviews of progress in preparedness training for the public health workforce should be repeated in the future. Governmental investment in training for preparedness should continue. Future training programs should be grounded in policy and practice needs, and evaluations should be based on performance improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of an effort to address shortages in the cancer workforce, C-Change developed competency standards and logic model-driven implementation tools for strengthening the cancer knowledge and skills of non-oncology health professionals. Testing of these standards and tools at four diverse pilot sites yielded very promising results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This article highlights the importance of health behavior change (HBC) theory, and its relevance to rehabilitation research and practice.Method. An extensive review of HBC-related literature pertinent to rehabilitation was conducted, focusing on the potential impact of these theories and models in enhancing long-term results of rehabilitation with regard to lifestyle change and health promotion, and outlining the benefits of incorporating HBC themes into rehabilitation practice. For our purposes, the HBC concept is based on initiation and maintenance of health behaviors, functioning, wellness, and self-management of chronic conditions or disabilities within an environmental context. While comparing and contrasting three widely known theories of HBC, the contributions of these theories to rehabilitation research and practice are discussed.Results. Three propositions are put forward: (1) HBC variables should regularly be used as outcome measures in evidence-based rehabilitation research; (2) there should be a better understanding of the role of the rehabilitation provider as a facilitator in eliciting healthy behaviors; and (3) there is a need to expand the HBC concept into a more comprehensive view encompassing a person's functioning within the environmental context.Conclusions. A conceptual merger between HBC theories and rehabilitation practice can have major implications for individuals with disabilities, their functioning, health, and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of the Internet to retrieve health information is increasingly common. The authors surveyed 743 undergraduate students at 2 academic institutions to examine their Internet use, health-seeking behaviors, and attitudes related to the use of the Internet to obtain health information. Fifty-three percent of the respondents indicated that they would like to get health information online, and 28% reported that they would like to attend a health program online. Overall, 74% of the students reported having ever received health information online, and more than 40% reported that they frequently searched the Internet for information. They used various search engines and multiple Web sites to find health information. Issues related to the credibility of the information on health Web sites were crucial considerations for students. The study found differences in Internet use for health information by gender and by level of Internet experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of breast-feeding attitudes, social norms, and prior experience on predicting breast-feeding intention utilizing the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. METHODS: Low-income pregnant women (n = 963) completed a theory-based questionnaire. RESULTS: Attitudes were more predictive of breast-feeding intention than were norms, regardless of parity or prior behavior. Among multiparous women, amount of prior breast-feeding experience contributed independently to predicting breast-feeding intention and rendered norms insignificant. CONCLUSION: Results support the theories. Breast-feeding promotions targeting low-income women should emphasize enhancing women's personal breast-feeding attitudes, and, among primiparous women, promoting positive breast-feeding attitudes among their significant others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the applicability of the transtheoretical model and a model derived from the theory of reasoned action for predicting breast-feeding intention among low-income pregnant women. Participants completed a 70-item self-report questionnaire assessing their breast-feeding attitudes, intentions, and support. A positive correlation existed between Stages of Change for breast-feeding and the number of Processes of Change used by respondents. A negative correlation existed between Stages of Change for breast-feeding and the number of negative breast-feeding beliefs held by respondents. Furthermore, women's normative beliefs and outcome beliefs were significantly correlated with breast-feeding intention in manners consistent with the model developed from the theory of reasoned action. After accounting for significant sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, the Processes of Change and outcome beliefs remained independently correlated with breast-feeding intention. These models are capable of predicting the intention to breast-feed and might offer an innovative approach for further breast-feeding research and intervention development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study which examined breastfeeding intention using transtheoretical model and the theory of reasoned action. Feasibility of using the two theories to explain breastfeeding intention; Inter-relationships between the two theories; Methodology; Results and discussion.

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between breastfeeding intention among socioeconomically disadvantaged pregnant women and maternal demographics, previous breastfeeding experience, and social support. Methods: A cross-sectional, convenience sampling strategy was employed for data collection. Low-income women (n = 1001) in a public hospital completed a six-page questionnaire about their infant feeding plans, demographics, and social support. Simple regression analyses were conducted to compare maternal breastfeeding intention with the hypothesized correlates. Results: Breastfeeding intention was positively correlated with older maternal age, higher education, more breastfeeding experience, Hispanic ethnicity, and hearing about breastfeeding benefits from family members, the baby's father, and lactation consultants, but not from other health professionals. Health professionals' attitudes were less influential on women's infant feeding decisions than the attitudes and beliefs of members of women's social support networks. When controlling for breastfeeding experience (none vs any), some findings varied, indicating a need for breastfeeding interventions tailored to women's level of experience. Conclusion: Use of peer counselors and lactation consultants, inclusion of a woman's family members in breastfeeding educational contacts, and creation of breastfeeding classes tailored to influential members of women's social support networks may improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women, especially those with no breastfeeding experience, more effectively than breastfeeding education to pregnant women that is solely conducted by health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 300-year history of the American academy outlines many of the contemporary pressures that are shaping the modern university. Faculty members need to balance the expectations of teaching, research, and service to amass a dossier that will lead to tenure. The academy needs to offer curricula that prepare graduates to enter the work force. Administrators need to encourage strong community ties to convince benefactors to invest in the renovation and expansion of university facilities. These pressures are especially acute in academic public health. The public health research agenda has extended from the study of infectious disease into behavioral risk and chronic disease. Schools of public health struggle to link curriculum, research, and service that will educate students, advance scholarship, and develop community interaction for the prevention of disease and the promotion of health. The Collaborative Evaluation Fellows Project provides a mechanism for the convergence and resolution of these pressures facing schools of public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]