Alec Ulasevich

News Media Tracking of Tobacco Control: A Review of Sampling Methodologies

ABSTRACT News media tracking can be used to understand the content of news coverage and quantify its influence on public opinion and the social environment. We hypothesize that a parsimonious sampling of public health news coverage can gather statistically equivalent information to capture a census of coverage. We tested two general approaches to sampling. First, we randomly selected articles within a timeframe. Second, we randomly selected dates during 2000. None of these strategies showed a substantial deviation from the 2000 census of articles. We conclude that sampling coverage can produce estimates statistically equivalent to a census. Researchers should utilize coverage sampling.

Adult and Group Influences on Participation in Youth Empowerment Programs

This study examined adult and group influences on youth participation in youth empowerment (YE) Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use programs. Adults provide individual guidance to youth groups and through existing tobacco control networks affect the social context in which YE programs are implemented. The authors tested hypotheses about the direct and indirect relationships between adults, groups, and youth collective participation. They used data from adults and youths to develop a measurement model of four higher order factors: adult involvement, group structure, group climate, and collective participation. They tested relationships between these factors in a structural equation model. Results showed that adult involvement did not have a meaningful direct effect on group factors or collective participation. Group factors mediated the relationship between adult involvement and collective participation. Further research is needed on how to measure adult involvement and its relationship to youth participation.

The involvement of physicians in VA home care: results from a national survey.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the role of physicians in the Veteran Affairs (VA) home‐based primary care (HBPC) program and to identify variables that predict whether physicians make home visits and volume of home visits made.

Home Medical Equipment Receipt in a Home Care Appropriate Population

Objectives:This study examines home medical equipment (HME) receipt for 1,040 veterans considered appropriate for home health services. Methods:HME receipt was monitored for 12 months using the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Prosthetics database. Results:Eighty-three percent received at least one item; averaging 7.4 items (SD= 6.8). The most common items included commodes/bath benches (9%), canes/walkers (7%), safety equipment (7%), liquid oxygen (6%), and wheelchairs (6%). Two functional status variables, home care use and race, correctly classified 69% of HME recipients. Logistic regressions were run for specific equipment; c-indices ranged from .64 to .75. Age, race, income, functional status, risk of hospital readmission, and home care use were significant predictors. Discussion:HME accounted for

Understanding Flu Vaccination in a Competitive Context: Influence of Alternative Flu Prevention Strategies on Flu Vaccine Uptake

4.5 billion in sales (16% of total) for medical products in 1996. As the HME market continues to expand, the characteristics of HME recipients are necessary to project future HME needs in a growing, elderly population.

Effectiveness of Team-Managed Home-Based Primary Care: A Randomized Multicenter Trial

The flu causes a significant number of largely vaccine-preventable hospitalizations and deaths each year. Previous studies show that efficacy beliefs about other flu prevention strategies may be barriers to flu vaccine uptake. The purpose of this study was to assess attitudes and behaviors regarding flu vaccination and other flu prevention strategies and to examine the decision to get a flu vaccine within a competitive context. Two independent surveys were administered in 2013 (general population, n = 1,158) and 2015 (millennial panel, n = 1,574) among adults in the United States, which generated propensity models to get flu vaccines. Compared to the vaccine, participants considered many strategies to be more effective at preventing seasonal flu, particularly behaviors related to maintaining a strong immune system. Propensity models demonstrate that perceived effectiveness of some alternative “healthy behaviors” in a competitive set were associated with a lower likelihood of vaccine uptake. Results suggest that adults’ engagement in alternative strategies may be at the expense of getting vaccinated. Social marketers should consider competition not just from unhealthy behaviors but from alternative healthy behaviors when designing programs and campaigns to ensure effectiveness of their messages.