Biomedical subjects

Patricia J Kelly

Publications and source records attributed to Patricia J Kelly.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Girl World: a primary prevention program for Mexican American girls.

Theories about women's health have not traditionally been extended to include the healthy development of young women. This article applies a women's health perspective to the implementation and evaluation processes of a gender-specific primary prevention program that worked with 9- to 14-year-old Hispanic girls in a low-income community. Although community-based after-school programs can be an important venue for education and girls' development, long-term effects are elusive to evaluate. The authors used ethnographic techniques to learn more about girls and their interactions with the program and to assess short-term program impact. Three themes were found: Program environment can contribute to girls' expression and behavior, issues of struggling families can slide girls into early adulthood, and mentoring can benefit both girls and adult women. Community-based primary prevention programs, although an essential part of a social safety net available to low-income girls, provide researchers with a unique set of evaluation challenges.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Using the theory of reasoned action to explain physician intention to prescribe emergency contraception.

CONTEXT: Although research has examined providers' knowledge, attitudes and prescribing behaviors with regard to emergency contraception, none has used a theory-based approach to understanding the interplay of these factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 96 faculty physicians from one Southern and three Midwestern universities was conducted in 2004 to assess factors associated with intention to prescribe emergency contraception. The theory of reasoned action guided the study hypotheses and survey design. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the data. RESULTS: Only 42% of respondents strongly intended to prescribe emergency contraception for teenagers, but 65-77% intended to do so for all other specified groups (women who ask for the method, who have had a method problem, who have experienced rape or incest, and who have had unprotected sex). Consistent with the theory of reasoned action, high intention to prescribe emergency contraception was associated with positive attitudes toward doing so and with the perception that specific colleagues or professional groups support prescribing it; however, the perception of support by colleagues or professional groups in general did not predict intention. Also consistent with the theory, physicians' knowledge about emergency contraception and their demographic characteristics were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to encourage physicians to provide emergency contraception should take into account their attitudes toward the method and the components of those attitudes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Cameras and community health.

Photography projects are an alternative teaching method that can be easily integrated into community programs with adolescents and children. This article provides a brief review of the use of photography in documenting social and health issues. Two examples of community photography projects with easily ignored populations are described. These projects gave a voice to participants and allowed them to demonstrate their creativity with cameras. An implementation guide is presented to provide concrete suggestions for implementing community photography projects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection among adolescents in detention.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and correlates of hepatitis C virus infection in a sample of detained adolescents. DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional prevalence study with 10- to 18-year-old adolescents who were consecutively admitted to a juvenile detention center in San Antonio, Tex. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and associated risk factors. RESULTS: Of the 1002 participants, 75% were Hispanic and the mean age was 15 years. Twenty adolescents had laboratory data consistent with hepatitis C virus infection, giving an overall prevalence of 2.0% (95% confidence interval, 1.2-3.1). All adolescents infected with hepatitis C virus were Hispanic (13 boys and 7 girls). Although a high proportion of the participants reported having had intranasal drug use (55.6%), tattooing (50.5%), or body piercing (25.3%), the only factor significantly associated with hepatitis C virus infection was having a history of injection drug use. Injection drug use was reported by 5.3% of the participants but by 95% (19/20) of those infected with the hepatitis C virus. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that injection drug use was linked with the majority of hepatitis C virus infections in this population of detained adolescents, similar to findings in adults. These adolescents reported a high frequency of other behaviors that could potentially pose a risk for contracting bloodborne infections. Effective prevention and awareness programs in a detention setting need to be comprehensive and include screening, hepatitis A and B immunizations, and risk-reduction counseling.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Feminist perspectives and practice with young women.

Primary and secondary health interventions for adolescent girls target pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention, and also stress the risks and negative outcomes of girls' behaviors. Programs frequently neglect gender-specific issues, such as physical and social power imbalances, and overlook girls' strengths. Such omissions miss important opportunities for empowerment and development and ultimately shortchange girls. This article provides a feminist perspective on girls' development and suggests concrete ways for nurses in community programs to work with girls on gender-specific developmental tasks such as strengthening relationships with women and other girls, becoming comfortable with their bodies, and developing the ability to recognize and communicate their opinions.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The ABCs of Health Literacy.

A significant portion of the US population has serious problems with both literacy and understanding how to effectively use and understand health-related information. An understanding of the breadth and significance of this problem and its impact on health outcomes is now clear. Interventions and strategies for effectively working with patients with limited literacy must be developed and evaluated. An agenda for medical and public health workers, health educators, and researchers is suggested.

Educational Status↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Tailoring STI & HIV prevention programs for teens.

Successful HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention programs are not "one size fits all." To effectively meet the HIV/STI prevention needs of all adolescents, programs should be developmentally and gender specific, should integrate an understanding of racial/ethnic culture, and should be open to variations in sexual expression. Nurse researchers have demonstrated the importance of these differences in programs, and this article offers concrete suggestions for ways to apply this knowledge in community programs.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Practical suggestions for community interventions using participatory action research.

Advanced practice nurses and nurse researchers with experience in clinical settings may encounter challenges in the initial development and implementation of community-based projects. Participatory action research methodology, a user-friendly framework for community-based research activities, provides a way for researchers and community members to work together to define a problem, take action, and evaluate their work. This article attempts to bridge the theory-implementation gap by describing background steps that researchers can use when conceptualizing and initiating a research project with community partners. Suggestions for initial steps and the planning and review cycles are presented, along with examples from the literature.

Community Health Nursing↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Sexuality knowledge, attitudes, and practices of young women in the juvenile justice system.

Adolescents in the juvenile justice system have many risk behaviors that endanger their immediate and future health. They are a vulnerable and often overlooked population for whom pediatric nurses working in community settings can provide important prevention services. To develop an intervention targeted to the specific sexual risk behaviors of young women in a juvenile detention center, this study was designed to assess baseline levels of knowledge, values, and behaviors. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. A convenience sample of 100 adolescent girls (ages 13-17 years, mean 14.8) largely from Hispanic backgrounds (74%) who were detained in the juvenile justice system completed a simplified version of the Mathtech sexuality questionnaire. Correct answers and a brief educational program were provided at the completion of the questionnaire. Results suggest that the overwhelming majority of this population is sexually active (94%) and has inadequate knowledge of basic information on sexuality (mean knowledge score, 10.9 out of possible 18 points). While many young women indicated a belief in the importance of contraception (91%), fewer were comfortable going to a clinic for birth control (46%) or had used a reliable method in the past month (37%). Work that will help to increase knowledge, clarify values, and shape healthy behaviors is essential for this high-risk, vulnerable population.

Adolescent↗