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Biomedical subjects

J A Mayer

Publications and source records attributed to J A Mayer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Misleading nutrition claims on cracker packages prior to and following implementation of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared patterns in selected health claims on snack cracker packaging and fat content prior to and following enforcement of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA). METHODS: Through observations at supermarkets in 1991 and 1995, the prevalence on packages of health claims that consumers associate with heart disease prevention was evaluated. The fat content of each product also was recorded. Criteria for potentially misleading claims were developed. RESULTS: Analysis of both cross-sectional data and products that were available in both years showed that fat content, as well as the number of products containing target claims, had significantly decreased by 1995. The prevalence of potentially misleading claims also declined significantly, from 77% in 1991 to 49% in 1995. CONCLUSIONS: Although the data regarding the changes from 1991 to 1995 are encouraging, the prevalence of potentially misleading health claims for this food category continues to be high.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Skin cancer prevention counseling by pharmacists: specific outcomes of an intervention trial.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an intervention on pharmacists' behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes related to skin cancer prevention counseling. Fifty-four pharmacy sites (N = 178 pharmacists) were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. Intervention consisted of video-based training, prompts installed in the pharmacy to promote pharmacist-patient discussions on the topic, and group-based feedback on previous week's counseling rates. Outcomes were measured using a mailed survey. The proportion of patients counseled at post-test was significantly higher among intervention subjects, adjusting for pretest values. Similar results were found for pharmacists' skin cancer knowledge and self-rated expertise, but not for counseling-related attitudes. The intervention was successful. If implemented on a wide scale, large segments of the U.S. population would be exposed to skin cancer prevention advice.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Solar protection behaviors among outdoor workers.

Due to the lack of information regarding how US workers protect themselves from ultraviolet radiation, this study explored solar protection behaviors among three groups of outdoor workers. This cross-sectional research involved two separate studies. Study 1 consisted of observations of 312 outdoor workers, and Study 2 was a paper and pencil survey (n = 240). For each data set, occupational groups were compared on ultraviolet radiation protection. Observational data indicated that 50.4% of the workers had adequate protection. Across occupational groups, the ranking from highest to lowest levels of protection was consistent for both data sets. Face and lower arms were consistently the least protected sites. The pattern of findings suggests the importance of assessing protection of individual body sites, as well as composite protection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Promoting skin cancer prevention counseling by pharmacists.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the effects of an intervention on rates of skin cancer prevention counseling by pharmacists. METHODS: Fifty-four pharmacies were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Intervention consisted of training, feedback, and prompts. Counseling rates before and after the intervention were obtained from study confederates. RESULTS: At pretest, the proportions of control and intervention sites providing counseling at least once were 7.4% and 0%, respectively (NS). At posttest, these proportions were 3.7% and 66.7%, respectively (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the intervention was successful and that pharmacists can play an important role in educating the public about skin cancer prevention strategies.

Counseling↗
PubMed1997

Preventive services in a Medicare managed care environment.

The results of a four year demonstration project of preventive services for Medicare managed care enrollees suggest that health promotion programs can impact health behaviors and outcomes. The study provided selected preventive services to 1,800 Medicare enrollees in a managed care environment. Participants were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups with the experimental group receiving an intervention service package and the control group usual care. The results included enhanced health behavior practices, lower depression, and higher immunization rates among those individuals in the experimental group. This study suggests that selected preventive services can be provided in a managed care environment to Medicare enrollees with likely positive health status and utilization outcomes.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Skin cancer prevention education: a national survey of YMCAs.

High skin cancer incidence and mortality rates have created a need for skin cancer prevention education. Children are an important target for this education, as overexposure to sun and sunburns at an early age have been linked to the development of skin cancer. This study identified the prevalence of skin cancer prevention education and the need for this education at YMCA swim classes. This study also assessed the feasibility of implementing Project SUNWISE, an existing skin cancer prevention curriculum, developed for YMCA swim classes. A 51-item survey was mailed to Aquatics Directors at all YMCAs with outdoor pools. Based on a 63% response rate (N = 208), only 28% of YMCAs thought the children in their swim classes were adequately protected from the sun, and only 28% offered skin protection or sun safety education in swim classes. Only 50% of YMCAs trained their swim instructors on skin cancer prevention. While 91% of YMCAs had one or more sun protection items near the pool (e.g., sunscreen, umbrella, covered area), 93% of YMCAs saw the need for additional protection. The majority of YMCAs (95%) were willing to incorporate a skin cancer prevention education curriculum, similar to Project SUNWISE, into their swim classes. This study emphasized the need for more skin cancer prevention education programs targeting children and examined the correlates of skin cancer prevention education at YMCAs. Geographic region, percent of possible sunshine, and ultraviolet radiation were significantly associated with the skin cancer prevention education program status at the YMCAs.

Administrative Personnel↗
PubMed1997

Assessing children's ultraviolet radiation exposure: the use of parental recall via telephone interviews.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the validity of a parental report measure of children's solar protection behaviors. METHODS: Fifty-eight children had skin color assessed twice with a colorimeter. Between measurement sessions, parents were interviewed by telephone to assess children's indoor-outdoor status and solar protection across 40 hourly intervals. RESULTS: Parental report of child's indoor-outdoor status was significantly correlated with the colorimeter values, whereas the use of sunscreen and protective clothing was not. CONCLUSIONS: This measure was feasible for assessing ultraviolet exposure in young children. The component that assessed the number of intervals spent outdoors evidenced predictive validity.

Child↗
PubMed1996

Educating the public about skin cancer prevention: a role for pharmacists.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of skin cancer is increasing at an alarming rate. This study aimed to assess pharmacists' willingness to counsel patients about skin cancer and factors which are predictive of this. METHODS: A 30 item survey assessing skin cancer prevention counselling attitudes and behaviours, personal skin cancer prevention behaviours, and willingness to counsel on skin cancer prevention, was mailed to 300 randomly selected San Diego County pharmacists. RESULTS: Data obtained from 128 pharmacists (43% response rate) indicated that the incidence of skin cancer prevention counselling was very low, with over one-third stating that they never counsel patients on this topic. Of those that did counsel, the percentage of patients counselled on skin cancer prevention was below 5%. Bivariate analyses indicated that pharmacists who counselled on this topic differed from those that did not on knowledge of skin cancer, attitudes and beliefs about counselling patients, pharmacy setting, services offered by their pharmacies, and their personal sun protective behaviours. Multivariate analysis indicated that two variables independently predicted skin cancer prevention counselling; whether the pharmacy where the respondent was employed offered this service, and attitude about counselling. Over 90% of respondents reported they were willing to counsel patients on skin cancer prevention and other health-related topics. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should focus on skin cancer prevention counselling barriers and environmental prompts encouraging this type of interaction between pharmacists and patients.

Communication Barriers↗
PubMed1996

Assessing children's ultraviolet radiation exposure: the potential usefulness of a colorimeter.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the colorimeter as an objective measure of children's ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure. METHODS: Fifty-eight children, ages 6 to 9 years, attended two summer measurement sessions, with 46 attending a subsequent winter session. RESULTS: Comparisons between summer sessions for the L* scale showed that only the upper arm significantly changed in the tanner direction, while b* scale values indicated significant tanning for all body sites. All exposed body sites changed significantly in the less tan direction between summer and winter measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Using colorimeters to objectively measure children's UV exposure has potential applications for skin cancer prevention programs.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Changes in health behaviors of older adults: the San Diego Medicare Preventive Health Project.

BACKGROUND: This study presents behavioral outcomes at 1-year follow-up from a preventive services intervention trial with Medicare beneficiaries. METHODS: The health promotion package consisted of goal setting and counseling based on a health risk appraisal and a series of eight educational sessions. All subjects completed a health risk appraisal questionnaire immediately prior to the intervention and 1 year later; this served as the dependent measure. RESULTS: Results indicated that there were significant, positive changes in intervention subjects in activity level and selected nutrition behaviors relative to control subjects. The strengths and weaknesses of a broad-based approach to intervention are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Breast self-examination: knowledge and practices of Hispanic women in two southwestern metropolitan areas.

The breast self-examination (BSE) practices of 1,453 Hispanic women in Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California were the focus of this study. Variables proposed as factors that influence the frequency and proficiency of BSE were demographic variables, particularly language and level of acculturation, having been taught BSE by a health professional, and experience with the disease. Results indicate that even though the majority of the women at both the Phoenix (78.1%) and San Diego (83.7%) sites had been taught BSE by a professional and most women in Phoenix (62.5%) and San Diego (63.4%) reported performing BSE within the past month, only 0.7% of the women at both sites were found to be proficient in the technique of BSE. Further, results indicate that language and acculturation were correlated with whether or not a woman performed BSE. These findings suggest that BSE education classes must provide information and techniques that promote proficiency in BSE, and must be designed to meet the unique needs of Hispanic women, particularly those of low acculturation levels.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1993

The effects of an instructional audiotape on breast self-examination proficiency.

This study evaluated the effects of a refresher instructional audiotape on breast self-examination (BSE) proficiency 6 months after BSE had been trained to criteria. Subjects (n = 54), who were undergraduate women, were trained in group sessions to perform BSE competently. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two "maintenance" groups: tape or no tape. Tape-group subjects received a BSE tape at the end of their training session. Subjects in both groups received monthly mailed prompts. At 6 months posttraining, subjects were videotaped in a clinic environment while performing BSE and 10 components of the exam subsequently were evaluated. The results indicated that tape-group subjects showed significantly better performance than controls on four components, including amount of breast area examined. The tape had no effect on BSE frequency. The tape strategy may be valuable in maintaining proficiency once BSE is trained.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Predictors of participation in a school-based anti-tobacco activism program.

This study investigated the predictors of participation in a school-based, anti-tobacco activism program. Subjects in this study consisted of 7th grade students participating in the intervention component of Project S.H.O.U.T., a tobacco use prevention program in San Diego County, California. In the activism component, a newsletter containing an activism contest was distributed to each student. Small prizes were awarded to contest winners at each school. "Activism" included letter and petition writing, anti-tobacco poster contests, merchant education, peer surveys and magazine subscription cards. A total of 170 students participated in the activities, with 81.1 percent participating two or more times. Of those who participated, 59 percent were female and 60 percent were White, non-Hispanic. Two sets of logistic analyses were conducted. Variables such as SES, gender, ethnicity, friends' tobacco use and parental tobacco use were used to predict participation in activism activities. The choice of variables was intended to provide information regarding activism participation in reference to known tobacco risk factors. Results of the first analysis indicated that students with a higher SES, and in an urban vs. rural location were more likely to participate in the activism activities. The second analysis used the same set of characteristics to predict "ever-use" of tobacco. Results of this analysis indicated that male gender, low grades, White, non-Hispanic ethnicity, friends' and parents' tobacco use were positively associated with tobacco experimentation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Mammography knowledge and intentions among insured women.

UNLABELLED: METHOD. A survey was conducted among 1,113 randomly selected insured state university employees to evaluate knowledge of the American Cancer Society mammography guidelines, awareness of insurance coverage for screening mammograms, previous guideline adherence, and future mammography intentions. RESULTS: The survey, which included two mailings with follow-up phone cells of nonresponders, had a refusal rate of 6%. Respondents were relatively more likely to know the guideline for older age groups; 77% knew the guidelines for women 50+. Over one-third of the responders were not aware that their insurance policy covered screening mammograms. For women who had never had a mammogram, insurance knowledge was significantly related to intentions to have a mammogram in the future. Previous screening adherence, as well as future intentions, was positively related to the age of the respondent. The results are contrasted with those of previous studies, and the implications for the content of future breast cancer screening campaigns are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Breast and cervical cancer screening in older women: the San Diego Medicare Preventive Health Project.

BACKGROUND. This study presents rates and correlates of cancer screening, including mammography, clinical breast exam, breast self-examination, and Pap tests, in older women. Age was the predictor of main interest. RESULTS. Among a sample of female Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 and older, who were members of a health maintenance organization, there was a significant, inverse relationship between age and mammography adherence, while controlling for health status, physician utilization, education, and income. The proportions of subjects ages 65-74 and 75+ never having had a mammogram were 17 and 32%, respectively, and the proportions having had annual mammograms were 40 and 28%, respectively. Pap test frequency showed a trend toward an inverse relationship with age, controlling for demographic and health-related variables. In the youngest age group (65-69), 52% had annual Pap tests, whereas in the oldest group (80+), only 36% had annual Pap tests. Age did not predict frequency of clinical breast exam, and the relationship of age to breast self-examination was inconclusive. The role of the physician in promoting cancer screening is discussed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Income allowance policies of state Medicaid agencies as work incentives or disincentives for ICF/MR residents.

Results of a survey of six Midwestern states demonstrated that although some state Medicaid agencies have had work incentive policies for ICF/MR residents for some time, others continue to utilize policies that are a disincentive to work. Policy changes toward employment incentives in state Medicaid agencies should improve work opportunities for workers with mental retardation at little expense to the government.

Adult↗