Biomedical subjects

Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar

Publications and source records attributed to Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Alcohol outlets, gonorrhea, and the Los Angeles civil unrest: a longitudinal analysis.

This study tests the effect of neighborhood changes on gonorrhea rates. Prior studies that indicate gonorrhea rates are associated with alcohol outlet density and neighborhood deterioration have been cross-sectional and cannot establish causality. After the 1992 Civil Unrest in Los Angeles, 270 alcohol outlets surrendered their licenses due to arson and vandalism thus providing a natural experiment. We geocoded all reported gonorrhea cases from 1988 to 1996 in LA County, all annually licensed alcohol outlets, and all properties damaged as a result of the civil unrest. We ran individual growth models to examine the independent effects of changes in alcohol outlets and damaged buildings on gonorrhea. The individual growth model explained over 90% of the residual variance in census tract gonorrhea rates. After the civil unrest, a unit decrease in the number of alcohol outlets per mile of roadway was associated with 21 fewer gonorrhea cases per 100,000 (p<.01) in tracts affected by the Unrest compared to those not affected. Neighborhood alcohol outlets appear to be significantly associated with changes in gonorrhea rates. The findings suggest that efforts to control sexually transmitted diseases, including gonorrhea and HIV, should address contextual factors that facilitate high-risk behaviors and disease transmission.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign and school-based drug prevention: Evidence for a synergistic effect in ALERT Plus.

This analysis examined the possible synergistic effect of exposure to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign and a classroom-based drug prevention curriculum among 9th grade students participating in a randomized trial of ALERT Plus. A total of 45 South Dakota high schools and their middle-school feeder(s) were randomly assigned to an ALERT condition (basic prevention curriculum delivered in 7th and 8th grades), an ALERT Plus condition (basic curriculum with booster lessons added for 9th and 10th grades), or a control condition. Marijuana use in the past month was significantly less likely among ALERT Plus students reporting at least weekly exposure to anti-drug media messages. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign may have led to reductions in marijuana use among youth who simultaneously received school-based drug prevention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Developmental considerations for substance use interventions from middle school through college.

This article summarizes a symposium organized by Dr. Elizabeth D'Amico and presented at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Vancouver, Canada. The four presentations illustrate the importance of creating substance use interventions that are developmentally appropriate for youth. They represent innovative approaches to working with preteens, teenagers, and young adults. Dr. D'Amico's paper describes her research on the development of a voluntary brief intervention targeting alcohol use among middle school students. Findings indicated that by using school and community input, she was able to obtain a diverse a sample of youth across grades, sex, ethnicity, and substance use status. Dr. Ellickson's paper describes her research on Project ALERT, a school-based prevention program for middle school youth. Her findings indicate that Project ALERT worked for students at all levels of risk (low, moderate, and high) and for all students combined. Dr. Wagner's Teen Intervention Project was a randomized clinical trial to test the efficacy of a standardized Student Assistance Program for treating middle and high school students with alcohol and other drug problems. The study provided a unique opportunity to begin to examine how development may impact response to an alcohol or other drug intervention. Dr. Turrisi's paper examined processes underlying the nature of the effects of a parent intervention on college student drinking tendencies. Findings suggested that the parent intervention seems to have its impact on student drinking by reducing the influence of negative communications and decreasing the susceptibility of influences from closest friends. Dr. Kim Fromme provided concluding remarks.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

The interview mode effect on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale: an item response theory analysis.

BACKGROUND: Evidence of a mode effect has raised concerns about the comparability and validity of self- versus interviewer-administered versions of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Response anonymity has been proposed to explain this effect. However, the factors that contribute to this mode effect are not well understood. We used item response theory (IRT) to examine the nature of the CES-D mode effect. METHODS: A sample of depressed primary care patients from the Partners-in-Care Study were randomized to receive either a phone interview (N=139) or a mail survey (N=139) of the CES-D. We used likelihood ratio tests to identify differentially functioning items in the 2 groups. Category response curves are used to describe these effects. RESULTS: Twelve items manifested differential functioning. Category response curves consistently indicate that phone respondents had a lower probability of endorsing the third of 4 response categories than mail respondents, suggesting a possible cognitive effect. CONCLUSION: Although response anonymity could be important in mode effects observed in surveys of sensitive topics, cognitive factors appear more important to the mode effect in the CES-D.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Modifying pro-drug risk factors in adolescents: results from project ALERT.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a revised state-of-the-art drug prevention program, Project ALERT, on risk factors for drug use in mostly rural midwestern schools and communities. Fifty-five middle schools from South Dakota were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment-group students received 11 lessons in Grade 7 and 3 more in Grade 8. Effects for 4276 eighth graders were assessed 18 months after baseline. Results indicate that Project ALERT had statistically significant effects on all the targeted risk factors associated with cigarette and marijuana use and more modest gains with the pro-alcohol risk factors. The program helped adolescents at low, moderate, and high risk for future use, with the effect sizes typically stronger for the low- and moderate-risk groups. Thus, school-based drug prevention programs can lower risk factors that correlate with drug use, help low- to high-risk adolescents, and be effective in diverse school environments.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Factors associated with accurate self-reported adherence to HIV antiretrovirals.

The purpose of this study was to determine the conditions in which self-reports provide an accurate assessment of adherence to HIV antiretrovirals. In a sample of 58 participants, self-reported and electronically monitored adherence to antiretroviral therapy were compared over a three-day period. Of the 16 who reported missed doses, only six (38%) accurately reported the number of doses they took, although the electronic monitoring data confirmed that all but one (94%) did in fact miss at least one dose. In contrast, 25 (60%) of the 42 participants who reported no missed doses were accurate. Nearly all (96%) participants who actually did take all their doses accurately reported their adherence compared to only 20% of those who missed at least one dose (P<0.001). Cognitive functioning was marginally associated with self-report accuracy, but all other baseline factors were not associated with accuracy. Our findings highlight the need for more effective self-report methodology and a better understanding of the circumstances in which self-reports are valid measures of adherence.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

New inroads in preventing adolescent drug use: results from a large-scale trial of project ALERT in middle schools.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the revised Project ALERT drug prevention program across a wide variety of Midwestern schools and communities. METHODS: Fifty-five South Dakota middle schools were randomly assigned to program or control conditions. Treatment group students received 11 lessons in 7th grade and 3 more in 8th grade. Program effects for 4276 8th-graders were assessed 18 months after baseline. RESULTS: The revised Project ALERT curriculum curbed cigarette and marijuana use initiation, current and regular cigarette use, and alcohol misuse. Reductions ranged from 19% to 39%. Program effects were not significant for initial and current drinking or for current and regular marijuana use. CONCLUSIONS: School-based drug prevention programs can prevent occasional and more serious drug use, help low- to high-risk adolescents, and be effective in diverse school environments.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Electronic monitoring: adherence assessment or intervention?

PURPOSE: Electronic-monitored adherence is often used as the primary outcome measure for evaluating adherence interventions. However, electronic monitoring may not only measure adherence, but may also improve or impede adherence, making it difficult to assess the extent to which the observed effect size is attributed to the intervention versus electronic monitoring. This study examined whether electronic monitoring and patient diaries alter as well as measure adherence. METHOD: A sample of 180 patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were randomized to one of three adherence surveillance methods (electronic monitoring caps, patient medication diaries, no surveillance control group) for 4 weeks, with adherence measured by a structured interview at baseline and study endpoint; 173 (96%) participants completed the study. RESULTS: After controlling for baseline adherence, a univariate analyses of adherence at study endpoint revealed no significant differences across groups, F(2, 169) = 0.32, p =.73, with mean adherence rates of 91.4, 92.4, and 93.8 for the electronic monitoring, diaries, and control group, respectively. Similarly, the proportion of participants with good adherence (> or = 95%) did not differ significantly from baseline to week 4 among all three subgroups. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that electronic monitoring caps and medication diaries do not alter adherence and can be used as outcome measures of interventions without the need to adjust the observed effect size.

Adult↗