James M. Eddy

Family and peer influences on smoking behavior among American adolescents: an age trend.

PURPOSE To study the age trend of family and peer influence on adolescent smoking behavior using a national sample. METHODS Adolescents (N = 6,900), ages 14 through 18 years, from the 1988-89 Teenage Attitudes and Practices Survey, were selected for analyses. Data collected included measures for smoking status of the adolescent and their family and peers. RESULTS Peer influence, such as the smoking status of best male/female friends, proved to be the most significant and consistent predictor across all ages, while parental influence had little effect on adolescent smoking status. Gender-specific effects were noted in the peer influence of adolescent smoking. CONCLUSIONS The peer influence on adolescent smoking, across ages 14 through 18 years, confirmed previous literature. However, no differential effect of family and peer influence on adolescent smoking was evident.

A primer on quality indicators of distance education

In the past decade, there has been an enormous growth of distance education courses and programs in higher education. The growth of distance education is particularly evident in the field of health education. However, the enormous potential of distance education is tempered by one overriding question: How does one ensure that distance education coursework and degrees are of high quality? To this end, the purpose of this study is twofold: to identify quality indicators of distance education and to provide implications of the identified quality indicators for health education researchers and practitioners. The results of the study reveal common benchmarks and quality indicators that all parties deem important in designing, implementing, and evaluating distance education courses and programs.

Development of an Instrument to Assess Student Opinions of the Quality of Distance Education Courses

The purpose of this study was to develop a culturally sensitive instrument to assess the quality of distance education courses offered at a university in the southern United States through evaluation of student attitudes, opinions, and perceptions of distance education. Quality indicators, identified in a systematic literature review, coupled with an ecological framework served as the theoretical foundation for the instrument development process. The process of test development, outlined in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (1999), was used and combined with Dillmans (2000) four stages of pretesting to construct the instrument. Results indicated that the model constructed from the quality indicators and ecological framework provided valid and reliable measures of student attitudes, opinions, and perceptions of quality of the distance education courses.

The impact of worksite-based safety belt programs: a review of the literature.

Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of the research that examines the effectiveness of worksite intervention programs designed to increase the use of safety belts by employees. Search methods. The literature search, which identified 14 research studies on worksite safety belt programs conducted between 1968 and 1994, originated as part of a larger review on the health impact of worksite health promotion programs that was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, the authors conducted an additional search in an effort to validate the CDC search, but found no additional research articles. Summary of Important Findings. The literature specific to the effectiveness of safety belt programs is limited to only 14 studies. The safety belt intervention most commonly evaluated used behavioral modification principles involving incentives. These and other interventions demonstrated effective increases in seat belt utilization that, upon withdrawal of the intervention, achieved a recidivism rate above baseline levels. However, the vast majority of studies failed to incorporate control groups into their research design, which caused significant threats to internal validity. Thus, a summary of findings is only suggestive at best. Major conclusions. Based on the literature, there appears to be an insufficient number of quality research studies from which to derive a clear view of the impact of worksite safety belt programs. While the evidence is suggestive of a positive impact on safety belt use, there is a clear need for new, well-designed research initiatives on the effectiveness of theory-based safety belt intervention programs.

Analysis of the Effectiveness of a Safety Belt Incentive Program at CIGNA Corporation.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans aged one to 34’ and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. ~ Unlike the other leading causes of death (cardiovascular diseases and cancer), trauma from motor vehicle accidents tends to have a more dramatic impact on society because trauma can occur at anytime across the life course. Sleet s believes that potential years of life lost is a powerful way of quantifying the impact of motor vehicle crashes. For example, if the average life expectancy in the United States is 72 years for males, the premature death of a valued employee at age 42 resulting from a motor vehicle accident equals 30 years of potential life lost. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of potential years of productive life lost for males.

Conceptual Areas of Death Education

The need for the inclusion of death education concepts into the curriculum at all levels has been expressed by numerous health educators. In order to effectively meet this need, it is imperative that teachers be adequately prepared to deal with the diverse and sometimes controversial topics encompassed by a death education course. Although there is a vast amount of information in the area of death and dying, there does not appear to be a consensus about the essential knowledge base which should be included in a professional preparation course in death education for health educators. As a result, death education courses vary tremendously in the scope and depth of topics covered. Current events, instructor biases, previous experiences, and departmental philosophy often determine the focus of a death education course.

Ranking of Doctoral Programs of Health Education

Abstract This study ranked doctoral programs of health education based on the productivity of the faculty and the scholarly activity of doctoral students. The methodology, unique to ranking studies, uses a multiple set of variables weighted by scholars and leaders in the field of health education. Variables were articles published, citations received, journal editorships, external funding for research, student activity, student/faculty ratio, mentoring and placement, and student support. An overall ranking is provided as well as the ranking for each of the eight individual variables. Twenty-eight of the 44 doctoral programs of health education participated in this study (a response rate of 64%). Twenty-six programs had at least one variable ranked in the top 10 programs, and all programs had at least two variables ranked in the top 20. Correlation analysis of the eight variables provided additional insights. Interestingly, the four variables related to the faculty were not related to the four student variables. Implications of the ranking for administrators, faculty, students, and the health education profession are provided.

Entrepreneurship in Health Education and Health Promotion: Five Cardinal Rules

The nature of health education and health promotion (HE/HP) offers a fertile ground for entrepreneurial activity. As primary prevention of chronic diseases becomes a more central component of the health and/ or medical care continuum, entrepreneurial opportunities for health educators will continue to expand. The process used to design, implement, and evaluate health promotion and disease prevention has clear articulation with entrepreneurial, marketing management, and other business processes. Thus, entrepreneurs in HE/HP must be able to utilize business process to facilitate creative, new HE/HP business ideas. The purpose of this article is to weave theory and practical application into a primer on entrepreneurial applications in HE/HP. More specifically, the authors meld their prospective experiences and expertise to provide background thoughts on entrepreneurship in HE/HP and develop a framework for establishing an entrepreneurial venture in HE/HP. Five Cardinal Rules for Entrepreneurs in HE/HP are proposed.

Health education and marketing processes: 2 related methods for achieving health behavior change

OBJECTIVE To make salient the striking similarities between the program planning processes used in both health education and contemporary marketing. METHOD Through a discussion of the analogous nature of both processes and a review of the literature, the authors (1) illustrate why marketing principles should be embraced and (2) suggest how marketing strategies can be integrated into health education needs assessments. RESULTS Core health-marketing concepts are proposed along with 4 recommendations for future marketing activities in health education. CONCLUSION To facilitate an advance in health education process and practice, scholars and practitioners should adopt a more consumer-centered, marketing mind-set.

Use and Impact of the Competencies for Entry-Level Health Educators on Professional Preparation Programs

Abstract The “Responsibilities and Competencies for Entry-Level Health Educators” (Competencies) document identifies the major responsibilities in which all entry-level health educators are expected to be proficient and serves as the basis of credentialing certified health education specialists (CHES). This study addresses several fundamental questions related to their use: (1) What are the characteristics of the units that have professional preparation programs that prepare entry-level health educators? (2) Are the faculty in those programs familiar with the Competencies? (3) Do the faculty use the Competencies when planning their curricula? (4) What has been the impact of the Competencies? (5) Would the administrators of undergraduate programs using the Competencies agree to inclusion in a voluntary registry of such programs? All departments (N = 214) listed in the most recently published American Association for Health Education Directory of Institutions Offering Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Progr...