Harry B. McGee

Physical activity patterns among walkers and compliance with public health recommendations

PURPOSE Walking is the most common leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) among U.S. adults. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of walking for physical activity and the proportion of walkers who met current public health physical activity recommendations. METHODS We analyzed data from the 1998 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a collection of state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone surveys of adults. Physical activity measures included the type, frequency, and duration of the two LTPAs in which respondents engaged most often during the previous month. We calculated the prevalence of walking and the prevalence of three physical activity patterns defined by combinations of walking duration and frequency. We also examined the effect on these patterns of participating in a second LTPA. RESULTS In 1998, an estimated 38.6% of U.S. adults walked for physical activity. Among walkers, 21.3% walked a minimum of 30 min five or more times per week. This approximates compliance with current physical activity recommendations. Compliance increased to 34.5% when the criteria were relaxed to include at least 150 min of walking per week accumulated over three or more occasions. Relaxing the criteria further to include a minimum of 150 min.wk(-1) regardless of frequency produced only a small increase in compliance (37.6%). However, compliance with each of these three activity patterns approximately doubled when a second LTPA was taken into account. CONCLUSIONS Less than 40% of walkers complied through walking with even our most liberal physical activity pattern (> or =150 min.wk(-1) regardless of frequency). For walkers to meet current public health recommendations, many need to walk more frequently and/or to engage in additional physical activities.

Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use: State-Specific Estimates From the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among adults in the United States is prevalent and increasing,1,2 although estimates vary as to the exact level of its use.3,4 The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an established system that provides timely, state-specific estimates of risk factors and healthful behaviors related to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. We investigated the feasibility of using this ongoing surveillance system to estimate the prevalence of CAM use among Michigan adults.

Proportion of trips made by walking: estimating a state-level baseline for Healthy People 2010 Objective 22-14.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the proportion of short trips made by walking among Michigan adults and barriers to walking for transportation. Methods. Four questions on walking for transportation were asked of 3808 respondents to the Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) between January and December 2001. Results. Three quarters (74.3%) of Michigan adults were estimated to have made at least one short trip (.25–1 mile) in the previous week; however, only 36.2% of them walked even one of these trips. The mean proportion of short trips walked was 21.4%; less than 10% of all respondents walked five or more trips per week. Discussion: Our results provide a Michigan-specific baseline for Healthy People 2010 Objective 22-14 (i.e., increase the proportion of trips made by walking) and suggest the potential for these questions to be used to monitor active transportation via the BRFSS.

Hepatitis B vaccination programs for hospital workers: Results of a statewide survey

To assess the implementation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination programs for hospital workers, we mailed questionnaires to all 229 licensed Michigan hospitals. The response rate was 96% (221/229); of these, 68% (150/221) had vaccination programs. Although multiple hospital characteristics were associated with the presence of a vaccination program, characteristics that independently predicted the presence of a program were medical school affiliation, nonpsychiatric specialty, and the existence of a hepatitis B immune globulin protocol. The most common reason given (56%, 40/71) for the absence of a program was insufficient worker risk of hepatitis B infection; this response was frequent in psychiatric (91%, 10/11) and rural hospitals (61%, 11/18). Among high-risk workers, attending physicians were less likely than other high-risk workers to be included in vaccination programs (68% vs. 95%, respectively). Fear of vaccine-associated acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was most frequently cited as the primary reason for vaccine refusal. We conclude that unwarranted fears about the vaccines safety need to be dispelled, that high-risk physicians should be included in vaccination programs, and that rural and psychiatric hospital policies reflect their perceived risk of occupational HBV infection.