Biomedical subjects

Jasmin A Tiro

Publications and source records attributed to Jasmin A Tiro.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Lessons learned from developing a tailored print intervention: a guide for practitioners and researchers new to tailoring.

Although some "how-to" guides have been written on tailored messaging, we found no reports on lessons learned from the process of developing a tailored intervention. Such lessons may be useful for practitioners and researchers who are new to tailored intervention development. The authors describe lessons gleaned from the process of developing a repeat mammography tailored print intervention. Lessons learned include the following: Selection of determinants appropriate for tailoring should be based on a theoretic framework and refined through assessment of the target population; researchers should anticipate threats to fidelity of intervention delivery because of incomplete or illogical survey data; fingerprinting enables assessment of intervention dose and how it relates to effectiveness of the tailored intervention; and a systematic process for conducting a systems test is needed to check for inconsistencies and errors before final tailored letter production. These lessons are discussed in the context of challenges and possible solutions for tailored health communication.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Test-retest reliability of self-reported mammography in women veterans.

BACKGROUND: Mammography self-report is used to monitor screening and evaluate intervention trends; however, few studies have examined reliability. METHODS: Reliability of self-reported lifetime number of mammograms, most recent mammogram date, and predictors of reliability were assessed using data from Project H.O.M.E. The study population was 2,494 women 52 years and over, listed in the U.S. National Registry of Women Veterans, with no history of breast cancer, who completed both baseline (2000-2002) and year 1 (2002-2003) surveys. RESULTS: Reliability of lifetime number of mammograms was 60.9% for exact consistency and 79.9% for consistency within one mammogram. Thirty-five percent was exactly consistent in reporting mammogram date; 55.6% was consistent within 3 months. Completing both surveys by mail and reporting fewer lifetime mammograms at baseline were positively associated with consistency of reporting lifetime number. White race/ethnicity, having a Bachelor's degree, reporting a health care provider's recommendation for a mammogram, having a screening mammogram, completing both surveys by mail, and being in the maintenance or action stages of change were associated with consistency in reporting date. CONCLUSIONS: Reliability varies with the measure of self-reported mammography. Likewise, predictors show different patterns of association with different definitions. Our findings call attention to the need for explicit definitions and measures of mammography use.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Validation of scales measuring attitudes and norms related to mammography screening in women veterans.

Validation of psychosocial measures for use in mammography screening research has been given inadequate attention in the literature. The authors report on the validation of 5 measures examining 4 attitudinal constructs (i.e., pros, cons, outcome expectations, and cancer worries) and 1 social influence construct (i.e., subjective norms) in a 22-item inventory. The study participants consisted of a national, randomly sampled population of women veterans (n = 2,910). After minor revision of scales, the authors found independent measures for 4 constructs: pros, cons, cancer worries, and subjective norms. The authors concluded that these scales have acceptable psychometric properties; support construct validity; and provide brief, reliable, and valid measures of attitudes toward and norms regarding mammography screening. These scales may be useful for intervention research.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2005

Factorial validity and invariance of a survey measuring psychosocial correlates of colorectal cancer screening among African Americans and Caucasians.

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial constructs are widely used to predict colorectal cancer screening and are targeted as intermediate outcomes in behavioral intervention studies. Reliable and valid instruments for measuring general colorectal cancer screening psychosocial constructs are needed; yet, few studies have conducted psychometric analyses. This study replicated a five-factor structure for 16 theory-based, general colorectal cancer screening items measuring salience and coherence, cancer worries, perceived susceptibility, response efficacy, and social influence. In addition, we examined factorial invariance across race and sex. METHODS: African American and Caucasian patients (n = 1,413) attending an urban, primary care clinic were included in this study. These individuals completed a baseline survey as part of a colorectal cancer screening intervention trial. Single and multigroup confirmatory factor analyses using maximum-likelihood estimation were done. RESULTS: The five-factor general colorectal cancer screening model provided excellent fit and was invariant across race-sex subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of invariance across sex and race subgroups support the use of these scales to measure group differences.

Black or African American↗

PubMed2004

Some methodologic lessons learned from cancer screening research.

Credible and useful methodologic evaluations are essential for increasing the uptake of effective cancer screening tests. In the current article, the authors discuss selected issues that are related to conducting behavior change interventions in cancer screening research and that may assist researchers in better designing future evaluations to increase the credibility and usefulness of such interventions. Selection and measurement of the primary outcome variable (i.e., cancer screening behavior) are discussed in detail. The report also addresses other aspects of study design and execution, including alternatives to the randomized controlled trial, indicators of study quality, and external validity. The authors conclude that the uptake of screening should be the main outcome when evaluating cancer screening strategies; that researchers should agree on definitions and measures of cancer screening behaviors and assess the reliability and validity of these definitions and measures in different populations and settings; and that the development of methods for increasing the external validity of randomized designs and reducing bias in nonrandomized studies is needed.

Biomedical Research↗

PubMed2002

Additive impact of childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse on suicide attempts among low-income African American women.

This study examines the association between exposures to multiple forms of childhood abuse (emotional, physical, sexual) and adult suicidal behavior in a sample of low-income, African American women. We hypothesized a linear relation between childhood abuse and risk for making a suicide attempt, such that the more forms of childhood abuse to which a woman was exposed, the greater her risk would be to make a suicide attempt. Logistic regression analyses revealed that, compared to women who did not report any experiences of childhood abuse, women who experienced one, two, or three forms of abuse were 1.83, 2.29, or 7.75 times more likely to attempt suicide, respectively (all statistically significant). Furthermore, compared to women who reported one or two types of abuse, women who reported all three types of abuse were statistically more likely to attempt suicide. These findings have implications for clinicians working with African American women who report either childhood abuse or exhibit suicidal behavior.

Adolescent↗