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William DeJong

Publications and source records attributed to William DeJong.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Measuring college student drinking: illustrating the feasibility of a composite drinking scale.

This study explored the feasibility of a Composite Drinking Scale (CDS) designed to capture fully the phenomenon of problem drinking among college students while allowing easy public understanding. A survey conducted at 32 four-year U.S. colleges included four consumption measures: 30-day frequency; average number of drinks per week; number of drinks usually consumed when partying; and greatest number of drinks in one sitting in the past two weeks. Responses were normalized and added to create a continuous distribution, which was then subdivided into quartiles (CDS/Q1-Q4). The CDS is an easily understood scoring system, but compared to the simplistic "binge drinking" measure, it captures a broader range of relative risks and more clearly establishes the quadratic relationship between consumption and alcohol-related problems. Development of the CDS will require further exploring the best set of questions to include, establishing U.S. norms for the general population, and then transforming those scores to a simple measurement yardstick whose meaning can be easily communicated to the public.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

A multisite randomized trial of social norms marketing campaigns to reduce college student drinking.

OBJECTIVE: An 18-site randomized trial was conducted to determine the effectiveness of social norms marketing (SNM) campaigns in reducing college student drinking. The SNM campaigns are intended to correct misperceptions of subjective drinking norms and thereby drive down alcohol consumption. METHOD: Institutions of higher education were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. At the treatment group institutions, SNM campaigns delivered school-specific, data-driven messages through a mix of campus media venues. Cross-sectional student surveys were conducted by mail at baseline (n = 2,771) and at posttest 3 years later (n = 2,939). Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to examine multiple drinking outcomes, taking intraclass correlation into account. RESULTS: Controlling for other predictors, having an SNM campaign was significantly associated with lower perceptions of student drinking levels and lower alcohol consumption, as measured by a composite drinking scale, recent maximum consumption, blood alcohol concentration for recent maximum consumption, drinks consumed when partying, and drinks consumed per week. A moderate mediating effect of normative perceptions on student drinking was demonstrated by an attenuation of the Experimental Group x Time interaction, ranging from 16.4% to 39.5% across measures. Additional models that took into account the intensity of SNM campaign activity at the treatment institutions suggested that there was a dose-response relationship. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the most rigorous evaluation of SNM campaigns conducted to date. Analysis revealed that students attending institutions that implemented an SNM campaign had a lower relative risk of alcohol consumption than students attending control group institutions.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Skin self-examination practices in a convenience sample of U.S. university students.

BACKGROUND: Melanoma skin cancer affects many young adults, yet few practice skin self-examination (SSE). We collected detailed information about young adult SSE practices, which can be used to guide the development of SSE interventions that target this age group. METHODS: We surveyed 190 US university students to assess their SSE practices, including thoroughness of self-exams and reasons for not performing SSE. RESULTS: Just 33.2% of respondents had ever performed SSE, and only 5.8% had checked their entire body. The three most commonly cited reasons for failing to practice SSE were not knowing what to look for (55.9%), never thinking of it (54.3%), and not knowing it should be done (33.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to promote early melanoma detection must raise awareness about the importance of beginning SSE practice in young adulthood and conducting thorough self-exams. They should target all young adults, including those who already practice SSE.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Literacy demands of product information intended to supplement television direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows television direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements that do not fully disclose drug risks if the ads include "adequate provision" for dissemination of the drug's approved labeling. This requirement can be met in part by referring consumers to multiple text sources of product labeling. This study was designed to assess the materials to which consumers were referred in 23 DTC television advertisements. SMOG assessments showed that the average reading grade levels were in the high school range for the main body sections of the materials and college-level range for the brief summary sections. The Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) instrument identified specific difficulties with the materials, including content, graphics, layout, and typography features. Stronger plain language requirements are recommended. Health care providers should be aware that patients who ask about an advertised drug might not have the full information required to make an informed decision.

Advertising↗
PubMed2003

Student leadership in public health advocacy: lessons learned from the hepatitis B initiative.

Increasing hepatitis B vaccination rates for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is a priority. Laws requiring vaccination prior to school enrollment have helped, yet many youths remain unvaccinated. The Hepatitis B Initiative (HBI), launched in 1997 and operated by public health and medical school students, provides free screenings and vaccinations to Boston's Asian American/Pacific Islander community, with a focus on youths. By October 2002, 997 HBI patients from Boston's Chinatown had received free hepatitis B screenings. Of these, 384 patients (39%) were deemed susceptible to the hepatitis B virus and provided with free vaccination.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A typology for campus-based alcohol prevention: moving toward environmental management strategies.

OBJECTIVE: This article outlines a typology of programs and policies for preventing and treating campus-based alcohol-related problems, reviews recent case studies showing the promise of campus-based environmental management strategies and reports findings from a national survey of U.S. colleges and universities about available resources for pursuing environmentally focused prevention. METHOD: The typology is grounded in a social ecological framework, which recognizes that health-related behaviors are affected through multiple levels of influence: intrapersonal (individual) factors, interpersonal (group) processes, institutional factors, community factors and public policy. The survey on prevention resources and activities was mailed to senior administrators responsible for their school's institutional response to substance use problems. The study sample was an equal probability sample of 365 2- and 4-year U.S. campuses. The response rate was 76.9%. RESULTS: Recent case studies suggest the value of environmentally focused alcohol prevention approaches on campus, but more rigorous research is needed to establish their effectiveness. The administrators' survey showed that most U.S. colleges have not yet installed the basic infrastructure required for developing, implementing and evaluating environmental management strategies. CONCLUSIONS: The typology of campus-based prevention options can be used to categorize current efforts and to inform strategic planning of multilevel interventions. Additional colleges and universities should establish a permanent campus task force that reports directly to the president, participate actively in a campus-community coalition that seeks to change the availability of alcohol in the local community and join a state-level association that speaks out on state and federal policy issues.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2002

The role of mass media campaigns in reducing high-risk drinking among college students.

OBJECTIVE: This article categorizes and describes current media campaigns to reduce college student drinking, reviews key principles of campaign design and outlines recommendations for future campaigns. METHOD: The article describes three types of media campaigns on student drinking: information, social norms marketing, and advocacy. Key principles of campaign design are derived from work in commercial marketing, advertising, and public relations and from evaluations of past public health campaigns. RESULTS: Information campaigns on the dangers of high-risk drinking are common, but none has been rigorously evaluated. Quasi-experimental studies suggest that social norms marketing campaigns, which correct misperceptions of campus drinking norms, may be effective, but more rigorous research is needed. As of this writing, only one major media campaign has focused on policy advocacy to reduce college student drinking, but it is still being evaluated. Lessons for campaign design are organized as a series of steps for campaign development, implementation and assessment: launch a strategic planning process, select a strategic objective, select the target audience, develop a staged approach, define the key promise, avoid fear appeals, select the right message source, select a mix of media channels, maximize media exposure, conduct formative research, and conduct process and outcome evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: Future campaigns should integrate information, social norms marketing, and advocacy approaches to create a climate of support for institutional, community and policy changes that will alter the environment in which students make decisions about their alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2002

Television viewing and initiation of smoking among youth.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, and the risk of disease increases the earlier in life smoking begins. The prevalence of smoking among US adolescents has increased since 1991. Despite bans on television tobacco advertising, smoking on television remains widespread. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether youth with greater exposure to television viewing exhibit higher rates of smoking initiation. METHODS: We used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Child Cohort to examine longitudinally the association of television viewing in 1990 among youth ages 10 to 15 years with smoking initiation from 1990-1992. Television viewing was based on the average of youth and parent reports. We used multiple logistic regression, taking into account sampling weights, and controlled for ethnicity; maternal education, IQ, and work; household structure; number of children; household poverty; child gender; and child aptitude test scores. RESULTS: Among these youth, smoking increased from 4.8% in 1990 to 12.3% in 1992. Controlling for baseline characteristics, youth who watched 5 or more hours of TV per day were 5.99 times more likely to initiate smoking behaviors (95% confidence interval: 1.39-25.71) than those youth who watched <2 hours. Similarly, youth who watched >4 to 5 hours per day were 5.24 times more likely to initiate smoking than youth who watched <2 hours (95% confidence interval: 1.19-23.10). CONCLUSIONS: Television viewing is associated in a dose-response relationship with the initiation of youth smoking. Television viewing should be included in adolescent risk behavior research. Interventions to reduce television viewing may also reduce youth smoking initiation.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A content analysis of direct-to-consumer television prescription drug advertisements.

This article reports the results of a content analysis of 23 direct-to-consumer (DTC) product-specific television prescription drug advertisements broadcast during 2001. A majority of ads used both medical and lay terms to convey medical ideas. Most gave consumers somewhat more time to absorb facts about benefits than those about risks, which could have implications for the "fair balance" requirement. Complete references to additional product information were given only in text, casting doubt on whether these ads are making"adequate provision"for dissemination of detailed product information. Overall, our results call into question the potential of these ads to educate consumers.

Advertising↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The educational potential of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising allow broadcast advertisements with incomplete risk information if the ads refer consumers to physicians, pharmacists, and supplemental information sources. New research reveals several problems with both television advertisements and supplemental text materials that might compromise their ability to meet the FDA's requirement for "fair balance" in the presentation of risks and benefits. In response, we make several recommendations to improve the educational quality of DTC advertising, which can be implemented through either voluntary agreements or revised FDA regulations.

Advertising↗