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PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral research contributions and needs in cancer prevention and control: adherence to cancer screening advice.

BACKGROUND: Research has been critical in understanding human behavior related to the early detection of cancer. METHODS: Based on the literature and the author's experience, this paper reviews behavioral research accomplishments in the past decade and needs for the future. RESULTS: Accomplishments have included an improved understanding of the barriers to screening, methods to improve the provision of tests by practitioners, and progress in the development and application of community interventions. Outstanding needs are summarized in 12 areas that include a continued focus on underserved populations and an examination of the use of screening tests in the presence of incomplete evidence of efficacy, translational research that explores the behavioral consequences of genetic susceptibility testing, continued development and use of computer-based technologies in the delivery of preventive services, and studies of the potential negative consequences of screening. Critical changes in the delivery of health care in the era of managed care call for increased behavioral research in health services and health care policy. CONCLUSION: Although this review of research needs is not exhaustive, it is clear that the challenges and opportunities for behavioral research are substantial, and this effort will be a critical part of the overall national research agenda for cancer control.

Community-Institutional Relations↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Challenges to behavioral research in oncology.

PURPOSE: The difficulties encountered by investigators in conducting behavioral research with oncology patients have received little attention in the literature. This article provides a practical guide to problems that might be anticipated in the planning and conduct of behavioral research. OVERVIEW: Problems include subject accrual and retention, development of a multidisciplinary research team, control of confounding variables, psychosocial instrumentation issues, and acceptance of the need for behavioral research. Methodological and feasibility issues are examined. Strategies for addressing the issues are presented. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Successful behavioral research in oncology requires firm grounding in clinical practice. Clinicians can improve the quality of research and thus, the scientific base for practice by joining or facilitating multidisciplinary research efforts.

Behavioral Sciences↗
PubMed1982

Status of farm animal behavioral research in North America.

To evaluate the current status of farm animal behavioral research in North America, we searched and analyzed the scientific literature, consulted the national Agricultural Library and the Current Research Information System of the USDA and sought advice from several authorities. We than sent letters to 78 North American behavioral researchers, inviting them to supply information about their current projects and recently completed studies. A total of 218 efforts were identified. A quantitative and qualitative summary of current behavioral research and short reviews of selected references are provided to illustrate the broad range of current farm animal behavioral research in North America.

Agriculture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Foundations of health behavior research revisited.

This paper revisits the issue of assumptions behind the field of health behavior research. The understanding of constituents of health behaviors and what constitutes health, reasons for placing a value on health, the utility of health behavior research, and the role of the health behavior researcher are reviewed. Conscientiousness and dialectic theory are employed as concepts to provide one potential conceptual solution to participation in self-destructive behaviors.

Behavioral Research↗
PubMed1998

Animats: computer-simulated animals in behavioral research.

The term animat refers to a class of simulated animals. This article is intended as a nontechnical introduction to animat research. Animats can be robots interacting with the real world or computer simulations. In this article, the use of computer-generated animats is emphasized. The scientific use of animats has been pioneered by artificial intelligence and artificial life researchers. Behavior-based artificial intelligence uses animats capable of autonomous and adaptive activity as conceptual tools in the design of usefully intelligent systems. Artificial life proponents view some human artifacts, including informational structures that show adaptive behavior and self-replication, as animats may do, as analogous to biological organisms. Animat simulations may be used for rapid and inexpensive evaluation of new livestock environments or management techniques. The animat approach is a powerful heuristic for understanding the mechanisms that underlie behavior. The simple rules and capabilities of animat models generate emergent and sometimes unpredictable behavior. Adaptive variability in animat behavior may be exploited using artificial neural networks. These have computational properties similar to natural neurons and are capable of learning. Artificial neural networks can control behavior at all levels of an animat's functional organization. Improving the performance of animats often requires genetic programming. Genetic algorithms are computer programs that are capable of self-replication, simulating biological reproduction. Animats may thus evolve over generations. Selective forces may be provided by a human overseer or be part of the simulated environment. Animat techniques allow researchers to culture behavior outside the organism that usually produces it. This approach could contribute new insights in theoretical ethology on questions including the origins of social behavior and cooperation, adaptation, and the emergent nature of complex behavior. Animat studies applied to domestic animals have been few so far, and have involved simulations of space use by swine. I suggest other applications, including modeling animal movement during human handling and the effects of environmental enrichment on the satisfaction of behavioral needs. Appropriate use of animat models in a research program could result in savings of time and numbers of animals required. This approach may therefore come to be viewed as both ethically and economically advantageous.

Animal Welfare↗
PubMed2006

Adolescent and parent perceptions on youth participation in risk behavior research.

OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare parent and adolescent views on the importance of risk behavior research and the need for parental consent and to identify predictors of views. DESIGN: Confidential survey. SETTING: Adolescent, general pediatrics clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Adolescents aged 14 to 17 years presenting alone (solo) or with a parent or guardian (paired) and parents or guardians. Of 265 eligible pairs (199 solo adolescents), 134 (93) had useable surveys. The proportion of females in the parent or guardian, paired adolescent, and solo adolescent groups was 92%, 59%, and 75%, respectively; and the proportion of African Americans in these groups was 67%, 69%, and 91%, respectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Views on the importance of and requirement of parental consent for confidential risk behavior research. RESULTS: Most parents (98%), paired adolescents (99%), and solo adolescents (100%) believed confidential risk behavior research surveys with teenagers were important; greater than 90% of all groups believed surveys should be conducted. The proportion of parents, paired adolescents, and solo adolescents that endorsed requiring parental permission was 84%, 53%, and 19%, respectively. Parents were less likely to endorse requiring permission if they had confidential health concerns as teenagers and were more likely to endorse requiring permission if their child was younger or female, if they believed their child had sex, and if they were a parent vs a guardian. Adolescents were more likely to endorse requiring permission if they were younger, not African American, and had more educated parents. Adolescents presenting with parents were more likely to endorse requiring permission. CONCLUSIONS: Parents and adolescents believed risk behavior research with adolescents was important. Most parents believed parental permission is needed for participation. Compared with parents, fewer adolescents believed parental consent was necessary. It is not clear what effect requirement of parental permission would have on participation or validity. Further research is needed to elucidate views on adolescent risk behavior research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Behavioral research in breeding colonies of Old World monkeys.

The existence of an active behavioral research program using animals in primate breeding colonies was considered to be not only a compatable multiple use of animals, but a way of materially improving the management and efficiency of the breeding colonies. In colonies of monkeys specifically established for behavioral research programs directed at the examination of social relationships, incidental breeding resulted in levels of reproductive success equivalent to or greater than that normally experienced in colonies devoted entirely to breeding. Behavioral research revealed patterns of seasonality, fostering, kidnapping, and infant care which would otherwise have escaped notice and which would significantly influence culling and management choices in a breeding colony. Many young males and certain low ranking adult males actively contributed to reproduction. Females born and reared in the colonies were the most productive, exceeding wild born or other introduced females in reproductive efficiency. Specific recommendations for establishing, expanding and culling of nonhuman primate breeding colonies were derived from the behavioral research.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Four decades of music therapy behavioral research designs: a content analysis of Journal of music therapy articles.

This article updates previous content analyses of the Journal of Music Therapy (JMT) and presents information regarding the behavioral research approach to music therapy as reflected by published studies. JMT articles from 1964 through 1999 were examined to determine if the methodology included a behavioral research design (e.g., reversal, multiple baseline). Case studies not meeting the design criteria were excluded from the sample as were experimental group studies using a behavioral observation method or behavioral technique within a traditional statistical design. Experimental studies, however, in which behavioral research designs were included in treatment conditions and assigned to different groups were included. Articles meeting the behavioral research design criteria were analyzed to determine the type of design, the behavioral observation method and reliability report, the client population, and the music application. Of the 607 articles published in JMT, 96 or 15.8% included a behavioral research design. The lowest percentage occurred in the earliest volumes of JMT during the latter part of the 60s. An increase in behavioral research articles occurred during the 70s and 80s and continued throughout the 90s. Other findings include the following: (a) the most prevalent design was the reversal (ABA) with many variations; (b) the predominant observation methods were frequency counts and interval recording with an increase in observation reliability reports in the 80s and 90s; (c) studies published during the 80s and 90s included a wide variety of client populations compared to the 60s and 70s predominant applications with mental retardation and emotional disturbances; (d) the contingent application of music was highest during the 70s and 80s and virtually nonexistent during the 60s and 90s when other treatment conditions employed music as noncontingent background stimulus, an activity for structuring responses, and a cue for maintaining nonmusic responses. The increase in articles through the decades coupled with the increased diversity of populations suggests that behavioral research designs are flexible and applicable in music therapy practice today as much as they were during the initial phase during the 70s and 80s.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Informed-consent issues with adolescent health behavior research.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the informed-consent issues when conducting adolescent health behavior research. METHODS: A literature review was conducted across diverse academic fields about the informed-consent issues that were relevant to adolescent health behavior research. RESULTS: Issues included defining consent, assent and permission, minimal risk, risk assessment; legal issues; adolescent capacity to participate in research, and parental permission. CONCLUSIONS: Integrity in research means doing the right thing. Obtaining adolescent informed consent must be obtained every time data are collected. There seem to be occasions in which waiver of parental permission in some adolescent health behavior research is warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Childhood diabetes: behavioral research.

The major emphasis of behavioral research related to childhood diabetes has been on the child's physical and emotional outcomes, the family's response, and adherence issues. This research review focuses on adherence and related youth and family functioning. Descriptive and intervention studies are critiqued. Common conceptual and methodological issues are discussed with recommendations for future research.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Behavioral research and the double-blind placebo-controlled methodology: challenges in applying the biomedical standard to behavioral headache research.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experimental design has prevailed as the "gold standard" in biomedical research, intended to control potential bias in patient/group assignment, investigator allegiance, patient expectations, and nonspecific therapeutic effects. Properly executed, such designs ensure a study's internal validity and allow differential group outcomes to be attributed to the active treatment. These controlled trials generally yield more conservative outcomes than open trials and case reports and establish efficacy in pharmaceutical research. In meta-analytic reviews, studies are often assigned quality scores based in part on the degree to which they meet this scientific standard. Applying the biomedical research design standards for blinding and placebo control to clinical trials evaluating behavioral and other nonpharmacologic headache treatment nearly always is either infeasible or simply not possible. Only rarely is blinding meaningfully achievable in administration of behavioral or psychological therapies. Various "psychological placebo" control conditions have been forwarded in behavioral studies (eg, sham treatments, pseudomeditation), but these controls are incapable of emulating an inert control condition comparable to that of the pill placebo in pharmacologic research, and they are best reserved for studies examining the mechanisms whereby an intervention produces improvement. This article reviews the conceptual and procedural challenges in applying the standard pharmaceutical clinical trials research design to behavioral headache research as well as implications for meta-analyses across studies of various treatment modalities.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1981

Adoption of innovations from applied behavioral research: "Does anybody care?".

Applied behavioral researchers develop useful innovative technologies experimentally, and yet few of these technologies enjoy widespread adoption by our society. This paper analyzes several instances in which government agencies adopted behavioral technology, identifies 10 manipulable variables that could increase the rate of adoption of such technological innovations, and relates them to the field of knowledge diffusion. Unifying theory and experimental analysis are lacking in that field, yet an implicit technology may exist.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Parental consent and adolescent risk behavior research.

PURPOSE: To identify methodological issues related to the use of active or passive parental consent in school-based research on adolescent risk behavior research and to propose recommendations consistent with current legal and ethical standards in the United States. METHODS: Review and synthesis of the professional literature related to adolescents and parental consent, federal regulations and guidelines in the United States, and the author's experience presenting these arguments and issues to institutional review boards and funding agencies for over 10 years. FINDINGS: The procedures used for parental consent affect a study's participation rates, costs, and selection bias. When active parental consent is required, parental permission is typically obtained for only 30%-60% of students, compared to 93%-100% when passive consent is used. Extensive follow-up may result in 55%-100% of parents giving permission, but at significant cost (typically $20-$25 per student). Active consent results in the exclusion of minorities, students having problems in school, and students already engaged in or at risk for problem behaviors. Strong methodological reasons were identified for using passive parental consent procedures when possible. Current federal regulations include four areas for possible waiver or alterations in parental consent procedures, including the use of passive parental consent. CONCLUSIONS: Health researchers must understand the methodological, legal, and ethical issues related to parental consent to produce high-quality, valid research about adolescents and to provide evidence for laws, policies, and regulations.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral research to enhance adjustment and quality of life among adults with cancer.

The purpose of this article is to recommend future directions for behavioral research to enhance adjustment and quality of life for adults diagnosed with cancer. As context for the recommendations, the domain of behavioral research in psychosocial oncology is briefly described, the state of the science measuring quality of life is summarized, and research results from behavioral research on quality of life are reviewed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1975

Federal Aviation Administration's behavioral research program for defense against hijackings.

Behavioral research has been significant contributions to the government's successful program for defense against hijackers. Today's boarding gate defenses have a leading role in that program, but they were rejected until creation of the behavioral profile made selective search feasible. Metal detectors now make search of all travelers practical but with increasing involvement of boarding gate employees, so a behavioral program is used to monitor their performance. Experience shows that some persons have penetrated boarding gate defenses, so another requirement was in-flight defenses. Flightpersonnel had defeated some past hijackers, so a behavioral analysis of past hijackings was used to identify tactics for in-flight defense. These were incorporated into training programs and distributed to all U.S. airlines, many government organizations, and foreign carriers. Research continues for updating these and developing new courses for special needs, such as defense against gangs.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1979

The Oregon lesson: results of postelection research. Bureau of Economic and Behavioral Research.

Definite issues are involved in the denturism controversy, such as consumerism/economics, sympathy for the elderly population, freedom of choice, and acceptance of paraprofessionals. The dental profession must deal with these issues. Its concern for oral health and quality of training can only be presented (and accepted) if it is placed within the context of the issues as the public sees them.

American Dental Association↗