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Physical inactivity and lack of nutritious diets increase children's risk of obesity, especially children from low-income and ethnic minority groups. To address this risk, the school-based TAKE 10! program was implemented to increase the physical activity and improve the nutrition of K-6th grade students in one public urban school serving a predominantly low-income, Hispanic population. In this study the researchers (a) evaluated the program outcomes using the physical activity and nutrition questionnaires provided with the TAKE 10! curriculum material, teacher surveys, observations, and interview data; (b) evaluated the questionnaires provided with the TAKE 10! curriculum material and provided suggestions for modification; and (c) described the experience of a positive partnership among school, university, and community agencies implementing the TAKE 10! curriculum. Based on the findings, recommendations are offered for successful physical activity and nutrition health promotion programs for these children. (Contains 4 tables.)

Thai adolescents are hesitant to openly talk to adults; however, they are avid users of the Internet. In 2002, faculty of the Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Nopparat Vajira, Thailand, established a webboard to reach out to high school students for questions and answers on adolescent health. Adolescents pose health questions, which are answered by nursing faculty and students. A total of 106 questions were selected for content analysis. Thai adolescent studies for the years 1992 to 2004 were identified from searches of CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases. The selection criteria required that chosen articles have a Thai adolescent health focus, be written in English, and be retrievable. Of the 68 citations identified, 23 studies met inclusion criteria. Content of the Thai adolescent webboard was compared with a content analysis of the retrieved Thai adolescent research. Physiological development, sexuality, and risky behaviors were common literature themes, whereas Thai adolescents expressed concerns about love and dating relationships. Parenting and parent-child relationships were discussed on the webboard but not in the literature. Analysis of the mental health revealed differences between the literature that covered psychosocial change, and the webboard questions concerned with body image, the need for emotional support, and satisfaction and conflicts of friendship. It is recommended that investigators consider incorporating adolescents as research team participants, particularly as they examine mental health promotion, adolescent and family relationships, and concerns of Thai adolescents.

A major shortcoming to the understanding and development of HIV/AIDS programs to mitigate social stigma is the paucity of research pertaining to how young people in sub-Saharan African countries perceive those infected with HIV, and how these stigmatizing attitudes are formed, projected and reinforced. The purpose of this study was to examine stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV/ AIDS among young people in Swaziland, southern Africa. A purposive convenience sampling provided urban and rural data for this cross-sectional survey. Participants included 941 secondary school students attending four co-educational public schools in Swaziland. Data were collected and analyzed on individual and environmental related factors with students' stigmatizing attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS as outcome variable. Findings from the study suggest that greater HIV/AIDS knowledge and increased peer influence were associated with lower stigmatizing attitudes. Perceived susceptibility was associated with increased stigma toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Both individual and environmental factors contributed to explaining the variance in social stigma; individual factors accounted for the largest amount. A better understanding of the factors associated with social stigma could assist healthcare and social workers to develop appropriate programs to reduce HIV/AIDS related Stigma. (Contains 3 tables.)

The Minority International Research Training Program pairs minority nursing students with faculty mentors at international sites for short-term research. A total of 26 undergraduate, 22 graduate, and 6 postdoctoral students have participated. Challenges include recruitment, orientation, and preparation of students; identification and preparation of sites and mentors; and ethical issues in global research. (Contains 19 references.) (SK)

Case studies depict dilemmas in nursing research involving protection of community rights and community informed consent. Outlines research guidelines derived from communitarian ethical frameworks that consider beneficence, justice, and respect for autonomy in the context of community. (Contains 58 references.) (SK)

Using primary health care and peer leadership models, U.S. nurses trained Lithuanian health professionals as community peer leaders in AIDS prevention. A national continuing education program is in place to sustain the initiative in Lithuania. (SK)

Primary health care (PHC) is a systems perspective for examining the provision of essential health care for all. A multidisciplinary collaborative approach to health care delivery is associated with effective delivery and care providers' enrichment. Yet data regarding multidisciplinary practice within PHC are limited. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative descriptive study was to better understand team-based PHC practice in the US. Aims included (a) describing nursing faculty involvement in PHC, (b) analyzing ways that multidisciplinary work was enacted, and (c) recommending strategies for multidisciplinary PHC practice. After institutional review board (IRB) protocol approval, data collection occurred by: (a) surveying faculty/staff in a Midwestern nursing college (N = 94) about their PHC practice, and (b) interviewing a purposive sample of nursing faculty/staff identified with PHC (n = 10) and their health professional collaborators (n = 10). Survey results (28% return rate) were summarized, interview notes were transcribed, and a systematic process of content analysis applied. Study findings show team practice is valued because health issues are complex, requiring different types of expertise: and because teams foster comprehensive care and improved resource use. Mission, membership attributes, and leadership influence teamwork. Though PHC is not a common term, nurses and their collaborators readily associated their practice with a PHC ethos. PHC practice requires understanding community complexity and engaging with community, family, and individual viewpoints. Though supports exist for PHC in the US, participants identified discord between their view of population needs and the health care system. The following interpretations arise from this study: PHC does not explicitly frame health care activity in the US, though some practitioners are committed to its ethics; and, teamwork within PHC is associated with better health care and rewarding professional experience. Nurses integrate PHC in multiple roles and are experts at aspects of PHC teamwork. Keywords: USA; Primary health care; Multidisciplinary; Teamwork; Nurses

Models for collegial networking as a means of increasing the participants' scholarly productivity are presented. A Midwestern historical methodology research interest group is described as an example of the long-term benefits of forming networks of scholars. (MSE)

Reports results from a survey of nine editors of nursing journals. Results indicate that two-thirds of the editors had previous editorial experience and had been on a review panel or editorial advisory board. There is also evidence that editors hold almost total control over what is and is not published. (CH)

The purpose of this study was to assess the level of anxiety and uncertainty in Korean mothers of children with febrile convulsion and to indentify factors associated with maternal anxiety. In general, febrile convulsions are harmless to the child, but parents perceive the convulsion as frightening. Previous authors of a few studies suggested that providing information was helpful for parents' knowledge, attitude and fear about a febrile convulsion. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey. The sample comprised 102 mothers whose children had been diagnosed with a febrile convulsion and admitted to paediatric wards in five general hospitals in South Korea. The researchers gave the questionnaires to nursing departments for distribution and collection by paediatric nurses. To test differences in anxiety and uncertainty by participants' characteristics, t-tests and were conducted. Linear regression was used to identify factors associated with maternal state anxiety. Statistical significance level was set at 0·05. A multiple linear regression of maternal anxiety showed that four statistically significant predictors explained 56% of the total variations of maternal anxiety. The significant predictors were uncertainty, frequency of febrile convulsion, income and information about febrile convulsion. Among the significant variables, uncertainty was the dominant contributing factor ( p < 0·001). Anxiety in mothers of children with febrile convulsion was especially related to uncertainty, so health care providers can reduce anxiety through decreasing uncertainty. For interventions to decrease maternal anxiety, provision of information and psychosocial support are needed for parents of hospitalised children with febrile convulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which found that globalization is changing the benchmarking of excellence from national to world class standards. A synthesis of literature regarding global leadership was used to guide interviews with 17 nurse leaders from 8 countries. The leaders showed leadership from early school years, learned from their mentors, had productive and sustained results in their work with peers and students, and realized their potential to become leaders in global health and nursing.

A peer group HIV prevention intervention based on social&ndashcognitive learning theory, gender inequality, and the primary health care model for community-based health promotion was developed for more than 300 urban employed women in Botswana. All women volunteered to participate in the intervention. To control for self-selection, matched workplaces were assigned to the intervention group or to the delayed control group. Compared with women in the delayed control group, women in the intervention group had significantly higher postintervention levels of knowledge of HIV transmission, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV prevention behaviors; positive condom attitudes and confidence in condom use; personal safer sex behaviors; and positive attitudes toward persons living with HIV/AIDS and community HIV/AIDS-related activities. The peer group leaders have sustained the program for more than 5 years after the end of research funding. Peer groups are a low-cost and sustainable intervention that can change HIV prevention knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors for ordinary urban employed women in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]