Biomedical subjects

J E Soet

Publications and source records attributed to J E Soet.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

An evaluation of a self-generated identification code.

We describe a self-generated coding form used in a study of HIV prevention practices of college students and provide information on the success rate of matching questionnaires over a 3-year period using the form. The data for this study were from a longitudinal study of HIV risk-reduction practices of college students. In order to match questionnaires over the 3-year study period while maintaining anonymity, participants were asked to complete a self-generated identification form at each data collection point. In the second year of the project, we were able to successfully match 74.3% of the questionnaires to those returned during the first year using 6 to 8 of the code elements on the form, and in the third year, we were able to match 73% of questionnaires to those returned in the second year. Participants for whom questionnaires matched were more likely than participants with unmatched questionnaires to be white students enrolled as underclassmen.

Abstracting and Indexing↗

PubMed2000

Correlates of safer sex communication among college students.

Correlates of safer sex communication among college students The purpose of this study was to examine factors that are thought to promote communication about safer sex and HIV among college students in the United States of America and to determine the extent to which communication about safer sex is important in the use of condoms. A better understanding of factors associated with safer sex communication can be helpful in developing HIV and STD prevention programmes for college students. Following approval from the institutional review boards of the six participating colleges and universities, researchers collected data from a random sample of students. The study included participant responses if participants were 18-25 years of age, single and sexually active. For the sample of 1349 participants, the mean age was 20.6 years. Sixty-three per cent of the sample was female, 50.5% white, 42.3% African-American, and the remainder of other ethnic groups. Over 50% of respondents reported frequent condom use, with 28% noting that they used a condom every time and 30.6% reporting condom use almost every time they had sex. Only 9.6% indicated that they never used a condom. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that the perception of quality of general communication with parents, the perception of a partner's attitude towards communication, communication self-efficacy, and communication outcome expectancies, were associated with safer sex communication. However, the association between safer sex communication and condom use was weak, suggesting that other factors excluded from this study are important in determining condom use for this sample of respondents. The findings provide some implications for HIV interventions. Interventions that enhance self-efficacy and positive outcome expectancies related to communication about safer sex are likely to foster discussion with a sexual partner. However, they might not lead to actual condom use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Women's self-reported condom use: intra and interpersonal factors.

In the past several years, the greatest proportionate increase in AIDS diagnoses has occurred among women. Yet, while the risk of HIV infection increases, female college students continue to report inconsistent HIV prevention behaviors. Past research on condom use among college women has focused on intrapersonal aspects of the behavior, and little is known about the influence of interpersonal factors on women's condom use. In this study we examined the relative salience of both intra and interpersonal factors on African American and white women's use of condoms. We found that interpersonal variables were particularly salient predictors of condom use. There were no ethnic differences in the effects of interpersonal variables; however, there were differences in the effects of self-efficacy on condom use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

The telephone as a communication medium for health education.

The telephone is being widely used by the private sector as a communication medium for understanding and influencing consumer behavior. Coinciding with the growth of telephone use in the private sector is the expansion of telephone use in health care to include complex health promotion and disease prevention interventions aimed at initiating and maintaining health-related behavioral changes. While several studies have evaluated the impact of telephone interventions on a wide range of health behaviors, no published reports synthesizing current knowledge about using the telephone as a communication medium for health education were identified. In this article, the authors therefore (1) examine recent applications of telephone use in health education by describing three example interventions, (2) outline key features and alternatives in conceptualizing and designing health education using the telephone, (3) review advantages and disadvantages of using the telephone for health education, and (4) discuss implications for health education practice and research.

Communication↗

PubMed1997

A comparison of AIDS-related sexual risk behaviors among African-American college students.

This article compares the sexual practices and risk-taking behaviors of African-American male and female college students (n = 649) attending 4-year institutions in a major southeastern metropolitan area. It is a descriptive study of the kinds of practices that put African-American college students at a high risk of contracting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Overall, the reported practices indicate that the college students studied are exposed to risk by certain sexual behaviors, with males reporting significantly higher frequency of risk behaviors than females. The percentages of male students reporting they engage in an array of risky sexual practices (including sex without condoms and anal intercourse) suggest the invulnerability to HIV apparently perceived by this group. Although the students overall adhere to some HIV-preventive behaviors, they also violate important HIV prevention practices. The findings illuminate the need for designing and conveying messages for African-American college students, and particularly for males, that impress the realities of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as an indiscriminant disease on this group.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗