Carl I. Fertman

Waterpipe and Cigarette Smoking Among College Athletes in the United States

PURPOSE Tobacco use using a waterpipe is an emerging trend among college students. Although cigarette smoking is low among college athletes, waterpipe tobacco smoking may appeal to this population. The purpose of this study was to compare cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoking in terms of their associations with organized sport participation. METHODS In the spring of 2008, we conducted an online survey of 8,745 college students at eight institutions as part of the revised National College Health Assessment. We used multivariable regression models to assess the associations between tobacco use (cigarette and waterpipe) and organized sports participation. RESULTS Participants reported participation in varsity (5.2%), club (11.9%), and intramural (24.9%) athletics. Varsity athletes and individuals who were not varsity athletes had similar rates of waterpipe tobacco smoking (27.6% vs. 29.5%, p=.41). However, other types of athletes were more likely than their counterparts to have smoked waterpipe tobacco (35.1% vs. 28.7%, p < .001 for club sports and 34.8% vs. 27.7%, p < .001 for intramural sports). In fully-adjusted multivariable models, sports participants of any type had lower odds of having smoked cigarettes, whereas participants who played intramural sports (odds ratio=1.15, 95% confidence interval=1.03, 1.29) or club sports (odds ratio=1.15, 95% confidence interval=1.001, 1.33) had significantly higher odds of having smoked waterpipe tobacco. CONCLUSIONS College athletes are susceptible to waterpipe tobacco use. In fact, compared with their nonathletic counterparts, club sports participants and intramural sports participants generally had higher odds of waterpipe tobacco smoking. Allure for waterpipe tobacco smoking may exist even for individuals who are traditionally considered at low risk for tobacco use.

Adolescents' Perceptions of Belonging in Their Families

The authors explore the differences between adolescents who have a sense of belonging in their families and adolescents who do not using six variables: self-esteem, locus of control, sense of belonging in school, sense of belonging in the community, time spent with family, and level of involvement in school and community activities. The two groups were found to be significantly different with respect to all six variables. The importance of this research for clinicians working with adolescents and families is discussed.

Character Education: An Essential Ingredient for Youth Leadership Development

Character education in schools involves formal instruction in honesty, trust, cooperation, respect, responsibility, hope, determination, and loyalty; it also lays the foundation for positive leadership development. The values mentioned are important to leaders regardless of their race, religion, economic status, or other defining characteristics, to promote a livable and workable society. For adolescents, positive leadership behavior is character education in action.

Evaluating Workforce Development: Perspectives, Processes, and Lessons Learned

Evaluating workforce development for public health is a high priority for federal funders, public health agencies, trainees, trainers, and academic researchers. But each of these stakeholders has a different set of interests. Thus, the evolving science of training evaluation in the public health sector is being pulled simultaneously in a number of different directions, each emphasizing different methods, indicators, data-collection instruments, and reporting priorities. We pilot-tested the evaluation of a 30-hour, competency-based training course in a large urban health department. The evaluation processes included strategic, baseline assessment of organizational capacity by the agency; demographic data on trainees as required by the funder; a pre- and posttraining inventory of beliefs and attitudes followed by a posttraining trainee satisfaction survey as required by the trainers and the agency; and a 9-month posttraining follow-up survey and discussion of learning usefulness and organizational impact as desired by the academic researchers and the trainers. Routinely requiring all of these processes in training programs would be overly burdensome, time-consuming, and expensive. This pilot experience offers some important practical lessons for training evaluations in the future.

Predicted and Actual Exercise Discomfort in Middle School Children

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to use a match-mismatch paradigm to examine childrens exercise discomfort during an aerobic shuttle run. METHODS Thirty-four middle school females (n = 18) and males (n = 16) aged 11-14 yr participated. An Exercise Discomfort Index (EDI) was calculated as a rating of perceived exertion for the overall body (Childrens OMNI Scale) x a rating of perceived muscle hurt (Childrens OMNI Muscle Hurt Scale). Measurements were obtained immediately before (i.e., predicted) and after (i.e., actual) performance of the nationally standardized Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) shuttle test of aerobic fitness. Self-report physical activity and sport participation history were obtained before PACER performance. RESULTS Two-way ANOVA (gender x assessment time point) showed a significant main effect for assessment time point: predicted EDI (means +/- SD = 25.9 +/- 20.1) was greater than actual EDI (means +/- SD = 19.4 +/- 17.8) for the total group (P = 0.021). However, neither the main effect of gender nor the gender x assessment time point interaction was significant. Idiographic analysis showed that overpredictors of discomfort reported less time (5.25 median h x wk(-1)) and engaged in less recreational activity than underpredictors (11.14 median h x wk(-1)). However, no significant relation (P = 0.508) was observed between PACER laps completed and exercise discomfort. CONCLUSIONS The sample of middle school children in this study predicted greater exercise discomfort than actually experienced when performing a PACER test. It is possible that a discomfort construct plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of childrens aerobic exercise, providing a basis for physical activity interventions.

Demographic factors, workplace factors and active transportation use in the USA: a secondary analysis of 2009 NHTS data

Background While active transportation has health, economic and environmental benefits, participation within the USA is low. The purpose of this study is to examine relationships of demographic and workplace factors with health-enhancing active transportation and commuting. Methods Participants in the 2009 National Household Travel Survey reported demographics, workplace factors (time/distance to work, flextime availability, option to work from home and work start time) and active transportation (for any purpose) or commuting (to and from work, workers only) as walking or biking (≥10 min bouts only). Multiple logistic regression examined cross-sectional relationships between demographics and workplace factors with active transportation and commuting. Results Among 152 573 participants, active transportation was reported by 1.11% by biking and 11.74% by walking. Among 111 808 working participants, active commuting was reported by 0.80% by biking and 2.76% by walking. Increased odds (p<0.05) of active commuting and transportation were associated with younger age, lower income, urban dwelling, and the highest and lowest education categories. Males had greater odds of commuting and transporting by bike but decreased odds of walk transporting. Inconsistent patterns were observed by race, but whites had greater odds of any biking (p<0.05). Odds of active commuting were higher with a flexible schedule (p<0.001), the option to work from home (p<0.05), shorter time and distance to work (both p<0.001), and work arrival time between 11:00 and 15:59 (walking only, p=0.001). Conclusions Active transportation differed across demographic and workplace factors. These relationships could inform infrastructure policy decisions and workplace wellness programming targeting increased active transportation.

A public health training center experience: professional continuing education at schools of public health.

The Public Health Training Center (PHTC) national program was first established at accredited schools of public health in 2000. The PHTC program used the US Health Resources and Services Administrations grants to build workforce development programs, attracting schools as training providers and the workforce as training clients. This article is a reflection on the experience of two schools, whose partnership supported one of the PHTCs, for the purpose of opening a conversation about the future of continuing education throughout schools and degree programs of public health. This partnership, the Pennsylvania & Ohio Public Health Training Center (POPHTC), concentrated its funding on more intensive training of public healthcare workers through a relatively narrow inventory of courses that were delivered typically in-person rather than by distance-learning technologies. This approach responded to the assessed needs and preferences of the POPHTCs workforce population. POPHTCs experience may not be typical among the PHTCs nationally, but the collective experience of all PHTCs is instructive to schools of public health as they work to meet an increasing demand for continuing education from the public health workforce.

Self-Efficacy and Enjoyment of Middle School Children Performing the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (Pacer)

Self-efficacy and enjoyment were examined among 34 middle school children (M age = 12.5 yr.) performing the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Exercise self-efficacy (running) and physical activity enjoyment were measured after viewing a video illustrating the PACER, and subsequently following a PACER test. Significantly greater pre- than post-exercise self-efficacy was reported; enjoyment scores did not differ. Ratings of self-efficacy were higher before exercise than after, but enjoyment scores were not significantly different. A significant correlation was found between post-exercise self-efficacy and enjoyment, but not between pre-exercise self-efficacy and enjoyment. Although positive correlations were found between PACER laps and pre-/post-exercise self-efficacy, correlations with ratings of enjoyment were not significant. Exercise self-efficacy was associated with childrens beliefs about the task-specific PACER aerobic exercise; however, exercise enjoyment was stable. Childrens self-efficacy and enjoyment beliefs should be considered when developing interventional strategies to promote aerobic exercise participation.

Elementary Student Self Efficacy Scale Development and Validation Focused on Student Learning, Peer Relations, and Resisting Drug Use

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of a child self efficacy scale for learning, peer interactions, and resisting pressure to use drugs, to use in an elementary school drug prevention education program based on social cognitive theory. A diverse cohort of 392 4th and 5th grade students completed the 20-item self efficacy scale and social support and social skills instruments. The results provide evidence for a valid and reliable 3-factor self efficacy scale. Subscale internal consistency reliability was good to excellent (Cronbachs alpha = 0.75, 0.83, 0.91). Construct validity was supported by correlations between each subscale and social skills, social support, and demographic data. The scale has potential as a tool to measure self efficacy in children related to learning, peer interactions, and resisting peer pressure to use drugs and to help shape drug education programs.

Developing an academic-community partnership in the context of Pennsylvania's State Health Improvement Plan.

Developing an Academic-Community Partnership in the Context of Pennsylvanias State Health Improvement Plan Author(s): Jeanette M. Trauth, Jan Jernigan, Susan M. Myers, Margaret Potter, Kim Fedor, Joan Procopio, M. A. LoPiccolo, Louise Platt-Schulhoff, Kristin Eshman, Allison Messina, Karen Peterson, Jere Gallagher, Carl Fertman Source: Public Health Reports (1974-), Vol. 118, No. 2 (Mar. Apr., 2003), pp. 169-174 Published by: Association of Schools of Public Health Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4598832 Accessed: 13/03/2009 15:44