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Objectives To better understand the relationship between perceived risk of falling and awareness and adoption of four specific precautions that older adults have taken to reduce this risk. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Data were collected in in-person interviews conducted in the homes of study participants. Interviews conducted between March 2011 and September 2013 and lasted an average of 60-90 minutes. Participants A stratified sampling strategy designed to enroll an equal number of homebound and nonhomebound participants was used. All participants (N = 164) were recruited from central North Carolina. Measurements Participants were asked about 1-year fall history, perceived risk of falling, restriction of activities because of fear of falling, awareness of four recommended fall prevention behaviors (exercise, annual medication review, bathroom grab bars, safe footwear), and current practice of these behaviors. Results In bivariate analyses, individuals who were aware of two behaviors recommended to reduce the risk of falling (exercise, use of safe footwear) and had adopted these behaviors perceived their risk of falling as lower than individuals who were aware of the recommended behaviors but had not adopted them. Moreover, in multivariate analyses, individuals who did not know that exercise is recommended to reduce the risk of falling perceived their risk of falling as lower than those who were aware of this recommendation and had adopted it. Individuals were least likely to be aware that medication reviews and exercise are recommended to reduce fall risk. Conclusion Awareness of behaviors recommended to reduce fall risk appears necessary for adoption of these behaviors to reduce perceived risk. Fall-prevention campaigns should emphasize behaviors where awareness is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the uptake and patterns of sexual partnerships of adolescent males reveals their risky behaviors that could persist into adulthood. Using venue-based sampling, we surveyed 671 male youth ages 15-19 from an urban Tanzanian neighborhood about their sexual partnerships during the past 6 months. The proportion of males who had ever had sex increased with age (21 % at age 15; 70 % at age 17; 94 % at age 19), as did the proportion who engaged in concurrency (5 % at age 15; 28 % at age 17; 44 % at age 19). Attendance at ≥2 social venues per day and meeting a sexual partner at a venue was associated with concurrency. Concurrency was associated with alcohol consumption before sex among 18-19 year olds and with not being in school among 15-17 year olds. We find that concurrency becomes normative over male adolescence. Venue-based sampling may reach youth vulnerable to developing risky sexual partnership patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]