Search

The family environment is essential but underused for promoting sexual and reproductive health protective behaviors (SHPB). However, previous literature had no consistent findings regarding how families can efficiently provide sex education and what aspects of family communication may facilitate SHPB. Based on family communication patterns theory (FCPT) and new research that segments family conformity orientation into four sub-dimensions (i.e., respecting parental authority, experiencing parental control, adopting parents' values, and questioning parents' beliefs), we explored the roles that family communication patterns (FCP) and parents' (direct and indirect) sexual communication play in influencing adult daughters' intentions to engage in SHPB. Using survey data from 234 female participants, path analysis suggested that daughters' SHPB intentions were associated with more direct and indirect sexual communication, higher conversation orientation, higher parental control, and less adoption of parental values. Also, parents' direct sexual communication mediated the impact of conversation orientation on SHPB intentions. Additionally, parents' indirect sexual communication mediated the path from parental value adoption to SHPB intentions, mitigating the negative direct impact of parental value adoption. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how organizations may promote their employees' mental health in difficult times. Drawing from organizational crisis communication and organizational health promotion research, it proposed and tested a dual-process model that links leadership health support, an essential dimension of organizational health culture, with organizational leaders' crisis communication (i.e. use of ethical-base responses) and workers' self-care awareness and perceived stress in a crisis. Through a survey of 502 full-time U.S. employees conducted during COVID-19, we found that organizational leaders' use of ethical-base responses predicted employees' enhanced self-care awareness and decreased stress levels. Further, leadership health support provided a double-buffer effect to sustain employee mental health by directly bolstering employees' self-care awareness and organizational leaders' use of ethical-base responses. The findings of this study bridge the gaps in organizational health promotion and crisis communication literature and offer practical suggestions for organizations seeking to foster employees' mental health challenges during crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most detrimental side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the needed but not received care. Forgone health care affects the general public, but particularly children with special care needs. Previous research focused on non-modifiable factors, such as demographic background and insurance coverage. Based on Politi and Street's model of collaborative decision-making, we explored how two modifiable communication factors contributed to the prevention of forgone pediatric care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a nationally representative sample (n = 10845) from the 2020 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) survey, we found that health-care providers' family-centered communication and shared decision-making may reduce the possibility of forgone care through improved satisfaction with providers' communication. For children with mental health needs, providers' family-centered communication may also stimulate family's capacity to openly communicate, leading to better involvement in care and timely health care seeking. This helps to address COVID-related uncertainty, prevent higher health-care expenditures, and reduce negative health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective: This study explores how interpersonal communication environments (eg family, patient-provider, and online communication environments) affect college students’ mental help-seeking during COVID-19. Methods: Based on Social Cognitive Theory, we conducted a cross-sectional survey assessing participants’ mental help-seeking attitudes, self-stigma, self-efficacy, and readiness, as well as their communication experiences with their families, healthcare providers, and online environments. Four hundred fifty-six student participants were recruited. Structural equation modeling was used to explore relationships among the assessed variables. Results: About one-third of the participants (N = 137) had signs of mental distress, and most of them (N = 71) did not intend to seek help soon. Patient-centered communication experiences with healthcare providers were associated with reduced help-seeking stigma, whereas online and family communication predicted help-seeking readiness through changes in attitude, self-stigma, and self-efficacy. Conclusions: This study’s results help identify risk factors of help-seeking reluctance. It suggests that communicative environments affect help-seeking by influencing individual predictors. This study may inform interventions targeting college students’ use of mental health services during health crises like COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is the most effective way to prevent HPV-related cancers. Integrating provider vaccine counseling is crucial to improving HPV vaccine completion rates. Automating the counseling experience through a conversational agent could help improve HPV vaccine coverage and reduce the burden of vaccine counseling for providers. In a previous study, we tested a simulated conversational agent that provided HPV vaccine counseling for parents using the Wizard of OZ protocol. In the current study, we assessed the conversational agent among young college adults (n=24), a population that may have missed the HPV vaccine during their adolescence when vaccination is recommended. We also administered surveys for system and voice usability, and for health beliefs concerning the HPV vaccine. Participants perceived the agent to have high usability that is slightly better or equivalent to other voice interactive interfaces, and there is some evidence that the agent impacted their beliefs concerning the harms, uncertainty, and risk denials for the HPV vaccine. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential for conversational agents to be an impactful tool for health promotion endeavors., (©2020 AMIA - All rights reserved.)