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At least 433 records · Page 24Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Multigenerational family structure in Japanese society: impacts on stress and health behaviors among women and men.

Rapid population aging in Japan has led to rising demands for informal care giving. Traditionally, care giving for aging parents has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of women living in multigenerational households. However, rising labor force participation by Japanese women, declining marriage and fertility rates, and women's changing expectations have combined to produce unprecedented strains on traditional multigenerational households where care giving to elders traditionally takes place. In this paper, we explored gender-specific relationships between family structure, stress and worries, and health behaviors, using linked data from two national surveys conducted in Japan: the 1995 Comprehensive Survey of the Living Conditions of People on Health and Welfare, and the 1995 National Nutrition Survey. We found that women in multigenerational households reported more care-giving worries, and also less future health and financial worries. Living with parents was associated with protective health behaviors (less smoking, less heavy drinking), but also more sedentary behavior among women, while men in "sandwich" families (i.e., living with both parents and children) reported heavier smoking. The association of family structure and health behavior was not mediated by worries. Living alone was associated with worse health for women. These findings suggest gender-specific patterns of worries and health behaviors that reflect both the health-protecting and health-damaging effects of living in multigenerational households.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Principles of changing health behavior.

Successful implementation of clinical preventive care programs is a shared responsibility of patients and health care professionals. The physician often laments patient failure to follow directions while the same patient complains that instructions were never given. Health care professionals should strive to "practice as they preach." They need to assure that their patients have clearly understood the recommendations and that patient concerns are assessed and addressed. Similarly, patients need to participate more actively in their own health care and to assume greater initiative in getting their questions answered and their concerns addressed. To increase the likelihood of these actions and their intended health behavior changes, a set of principles derived from theory and research can be followed. These principles represent a way to understand and influence the health behavior of physicians and patients. The principles are interactive and complementary and are based on the elements that appear to be associated with successful educational programs. Consideration of these principles in the conduct of educational diagnoses, interventions, and health education programs increases the incidence and durability of behavior change.

Health Behavior↗
PubMed2002

The influence of patient characteristics on ratings of managed behavioral health care.

Despite current emphasis on consumer-based performance measures, little is known about factors that influence consumer ratings of behavioral health care. This study examines the influence of patient characteristics, health care use, and insurance coverage on patients' ratings of their managed behavioral health care in both commercial and public plans. Older and healthier patients rated their behavioral health care and health plan more highly than did other patients. Patients with less education and those whose insurance paid all costs of care gave consistently higher plan ratings. Women and frequent users enrolled in commercial plans gave more positive care ratings. After adjusting for enrollee characteristics and coverage, there were no differences between ratings of patients in commercial and public plans. These results are consistent with other research that illustrates the importance of adjusting health care ratings for patient characteristics when comparing plans.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The Revised Health Hardiness Inventory (RRHI-24): psychometric properties and relationship with self-reported health and health behavior in two Dutch samples.

Our objective was to examine the psychometric properties of a Dutch translation of the Health Hardiness Inventory (HHI), and to determine relationships between health hardiness scales and self-reported health and preventive health behavior. Data from a cross-sectional study with two samples [a general population sample (n = 205) and a student sample (n = 286)] were analyzed. The Revised Health Hardiness Inventory (RHHI-24) was found to consist of four stable and reliable scales: (1) Health Value, (2) Internal Health Locus of Control, (3) External Health Locus of Control and (4) Perceived Health Competence. Women valued their health more than men, older individuals (> 45 years) valued their health more than younger individuals (< or = 45 years) and elderly people (> 65 years) were more externally orientated with respect to health locus of control. Preventive health behavior was related to a higher value placed on health, a lower external health locus of control and a higher perceived health competence. Better self-reported health was related to a higher perceived health competence and a more internally orientated health locus of control. We conclude that the RHHI-24 is a theoretically sound instrument for the measurement of health cognitions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Sociodemographic characteristics and individual health behaviors.

BACKGROUND: We examined individual demographics and socioeconomic status to learn how they were related to major health behavior (ie, exercise, smoking, and diet), and the sociodemographic predictors of healthy versus unhealthy behavior. METHODS: The study was based on data collected through the 1994 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) of South Carolina. More than 2,000 South Carolina adults who lived in households with telephones were randomly selected and interviewed by telephone to obtain the data. RESULTS: The current report confirms much of the literature on the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and health behavior. It also shows that controlling for sociodemographic influences, women, individuals with a college education, and the 18 to 24 and 65+ age groups were more likely to practice a cluster of healthy behaviors than men, individuals with less or no education, and the 25 to 44 age group. Race and marital status were not significantly associated with healthy behavior patterns. CONCLUSIONS: An important policy implication of the study is the need for targeted health promotion activities on the risk groups identified, namely men, individuals with little education, and the 25 to 44 age group.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The fundamentals of workforce competency: implications for behavioral health.

Increasing attention is being directed to the competency of those who deliver healthcare in the United States. In behavioral health, there is growing recognition of the need to define, teach, and assess essential competencies. Since attention to this issue in behavioral health is relatively recent, there is much to be gained by learning from the principles, definitions, and conceptual models of competency that have been developed in other fields. This article outlines the forces that drive the current focus on competency of the healthcare workforce. Relevant history, principles, definitions, and models that have evolved through research and application in business and industry are reviewed. From this analysis, recommendations are offered to guide future work on competencies in behavioral health.

Behavioral Medicine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Perceived and received support: effects on health behavior during pregnancy.

The effects of several measures of social support on three health behavior practices during pregnancy--abstinence from alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine--were explored. Both specificity of support and the distinction between perceived and received support were examined. The sample consisted of 529 pregnant women who completed written questionnaires and telephone interviews. Analyses showed that specific perceived and received support were significant and largely independent predictors of all three behaviors. General social support, however, was not a significant predictor of any of the behaviors. Although others have found perceived support rather than received support to be the critical component of social support in its stress-buffering effects on health, this study offers evidence that received support is also important for facilitating positive health behaviors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Association between exercise and other preventive health behaviors among diabetics.

Two hundred and seventy patients were studied to investigate the cross sectional association between exercise and other preventive health behaviors in a diabetic population. Patients included both insulin and noninsulin dependent diabetics and were recruited from the Family Practice and Pediatrics Clinics at Bowman Gray School of Medicine. During screening, patients underwent a physical examination as well as completing a survey to assess exercise and health behavior habits. Three exercise groups were compared: (a) patients who expended more than 600 kilocalories per week during exercise, (b) patients who expended 600 kilocalories or less, and (c) patients who did not exercise. The mean body weights of both exercise groups were found to be less than the nonexercise group, and the heavy exercise group also had a lower mean body mass index. Heavy exercisers reported greater caloric intakes than both moderate and nonexercisers. There were no differences found concerning the composition of their diets among groups. The heavy exercise group reported wearing their seatbelts a greater percentage of the time and visited the dentist more often compared with the sedentary group. There were no significant differences found among exercise groups concerning blood sugar monitoring, alcohol consumption, smoking, or in obtaining periodic health examinations. It was concluded that exercise was associated with several, but not a majority, of other healthful behaviors in a population of diabetics.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed2002

Neighborhood context and youth cardiovascular health behaviors.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the relationships between race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and cardiovascular health behaviors among youths and whether neighborhood characteristics are associated with such behaviors independently of individual characteristics. METHODS: Linear models determined the effects of individual and neighborhood characteristics (SES, social disorganization, racial/ethnic minority concentration, urbanization) on dietary habits, physical activity, and smoking among 8165 youths aged 12 to 21 years. RESULTS: Low SES was associated with poorer dietary habits, less physical activity, and higher odds of smoking. After adjustment for SES, Black race was associated with poorer dietary habits and lower odds of smoking. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with healthier dietary habits, lower levels of physical activity, and lower odds of smoking than non-Hispanic ethnicity. Low neighborhood SES and high neighborhood social disorganization were independently associated with poorer dietary habits, while high neighborhood Hispanic concentration and urbanicity were associated with healthier dietary habits. Neighborhood characteristics were not associated with physical activity or smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in neighborhood social structures and policies that reduce social inequalities may enhance cardiovascular health behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The association between health beliefs and health behavior change in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported weak relationships between health beliefs and behavior change; few studied elderly populations. METHODS: We examined the relation between self-reported behavior change and health-related beliefs among an educated, upper-middle-class population age 50 to 89 years. RESULTS: More women reported decreasing dietary salt and fat, changing diet, and reading self-help materials than men. Younger respondents (age 50 to 69 years) reported more positive health behavior changes in diet and exercise than did older respondents (age 70 to 89 years). Respondents who agreed that diet and exercise were important for optimal health and/or spent money on healthful items reported more positive behavior change than those who disagreed. Those who reported confusion about how to stay healthy or a lack of motivation to engage in healthful behaviors were less likely to make positive lifestyle changes. Older respondents reported a higher rate of confusion regarding which foods to eat (53% vs 39%) and how to stay healthy (29% vs 19%) than younger respondents, while younger respondents were more likely to report a problem with motivation (40% vs 34%). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that increasing age does not diminish the relation between health beliefs and health behaviors. Health promotion campaigns aimed at older adults should strive to reduce confusion to improve health behavior.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

Relationships between lifestyle and dental health behaviors in a rural population in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine associations of lifestyle with dental health behaviors such as tooth brushing frequency, use of extra cleaning devices, and regular dental visits to a dentist. METHODS: Data were collected from 1182 dentate residents 18 years of age or older who resided in a typical farming district. The data included data on the demographic factors, dental health behavior, and various aspects of lifestyle, i.e. mental condition, alcohol consumption, smoking habit, physical activity, social activity, dietary habits, and presence of systemic diseases. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that subjects in a younger group (18-39 years of age) and subjects who had never smoked brushed their teeth more frequently. Experience of social volunteer work and presence of systemic disease were correlated with use of extra cleaning devices. Associations of female gender with frequency of tooth brushing and use of extra cleaning devices were weakly positive. The subjects who considered dietary combination carefully and those who lived alone were predisposed to visit a dentist regularly. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that dental health behavior is associated with lifestyle as well as demographic factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Linking learning with health behaviors of high school adolescents.

The school is becoming an increasingly popular site for child health nursing. Whether or not practitioners are advanced practice nurses (APNs), school nurses, or graduate or undergraduate nursing students, they can provide effective health promotion and primary prevention in the schools. This article reports on the state of the science regarding cholesterol, nutrition, and exercise education with teens and describes a health promotion program about this topic with 23 high school biology students. Outcomes indicate that an adolescent population of high school biology students can be receptive to education about their health behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior.

Mortality rates are lower for married individuals than they are for unmarried individuals, and marriage seems to be even more beneficial to men than women in this regard. A theoretical model of social integration and social control is developed to explain why this may occur. Drawing from this model, I hypothesize that marriage may be beneficial to health because many spouses monitor and attempt to control their spouse's health behaviors. Furthermore, the provision, receipt, and consequences of these social control efforts may vary for men and women. These hypotheses are considered with analysis of a national panel survey conducted in 1986 (N = 3617) and 1989 (N = 2867). Results show that: (1) marriage is associated with receipt of substantially more efforts to control health for men than women, (2) those who attempt to control the health of others are more likely to be female than male, (3) there is some support for the social control and health behavior hypothesis among the married, and (4) the transition from married to unmarried status is associated with an increase in negative health behavior while the transition from unmarried to married status seems to have little effect on health behavior. A theoretical explanation is developed to explain these marital status differences.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

A systems model of health behavior change.

The modeling in this paper is at the level of the individual, in relation to the subsystem of health behavior. It integrates social, environmental, psychological, and physiological factors to describe the health behavior change process. It is not intended to be quantitatively predictive of behavior change, since further development of this model is needed to determine the mathematical form of the relationships between variables. The model is innovative in several ways. First, it includes health-related variables and a rich feedback structure. In contrast, attitude behavior change models often cannot explain health behavior adequately, because they do not incorporate physiological variables. Second, the model can be easily used by educators to help identify important variables for developing health education curricula. Consequently, program developers are helped in determining program intents, teaching strategies, and learning activities, and evaluative strategies which are congruent with the attitude behavior change process.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1992

Demographics, affect, and adolescents' health behaviors.

Considerable research has established that a relationship exists between demographics, emotions, and physical health complaints. Much less is known about the association between demographics, affect, and actual health behaviors, particularly in youngsters. Accordingly, this paper presents findings on the relationship between affect, demographics, and health-related lifestyle among 139 public high school students, a population generally believed to be at high risk for the development of detrimental health habits. Covariation between affect, health practices, and demographics was examined using stepwise multiple regression analyses which revealed distinctive demographic and affective correlates of different health behaviors. The implications of these results are discussed and directions for future research are noted.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Shared health behaviors among older Mexican American spouses.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of health behaviors among husbands and wives. METHODS: Cohort study of 553 Mexican American couples aged 65 years or older from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE). Multivariate regression analyses test the association of body mass index, smoking, and alcohol consumption among husbands and wives. RESULTS: Body mass index is positively associated among couples. Risk of smoking or drinking was higher if the partner had ever smoked or drank alcohol. CONCLUSION: Health behaviors are associated among older Mexican American couples. Intervention efforts should be directed at both spouses.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

[Study on oral health status and health behavior of workers at government office].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the oral health status and health behavior of the adult population in the workplace. In 1998, oral health examination of 388 workers (male: 287, female: 101) at a government office was performed. A questionnaire was administered to obtain data regarding oral symptoms and health behavior. The results were as follows: Overall, 48% needed treatment for dental caries, 44% needed calculus removal, and 23% needed treatment for periodontal disease. Although there were no oral health complaints, 20% had early caries, 40% had dental calculus, and 19% had periodontitis. Compared to males, more females brushed their teeth, had home dentists (44%) and received more regular dental health check-ups at least once a year (48%). For males, those with home dentists had higher FT and DMFT in the twenties and thirties. There was no relationship between oral health status and regular check-ups in both males and females. The results revealed that receiving regular dental check-ups from home dentists was not popular in Japan. Further, the role of home dentists is not preventive oriented. It was concluded that it is necessary to provide regular oral health examination and health promotion programs for adult population at the workplace in Japan.

Adult↗