Josephine Wilson

The PALS Prevention Program and Its Long-Term Impact on Student Intentions to Use Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana

A unique Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug (ATOD) prevention program called PALS (Prevention through Alternative Learning Styles) was implemented with middle school students with the goal of enhancing student knowledge of the harmful effects of ATOD, promoting the use of refusal skills and reducing intentions to use ATOD in the future. Intentions to use were measured at four points: pre-PALS, post-PALS, and at 1-year and 2-year follow-ups. Student survey responses were then matched and compared across the four time periods. This article reports on the long-term effectiveness of PALS on student intentions to use ATOD in high school. When follow-up surveys of PALS students were compared to students not exposed to PALS (comparison group), the PALS students had significantly lower intentions to use alcohol and tobacco, providing evidence that the PALS intervention did have a long-term impact on intentions to use these substances.

Community Stakeholders’ Perceptions of the Role of Family in HIV Prevention in Iringa, Tanzania

ABSTRACT Although HIV is identified as a family disease, the overall response to the global HIV epidemic continues to predominantly focus on individuals. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how the role of the family in HIV prevention is perceived by community-based stakeholders. Understanding the role of the family within the context of the HIV/AIDS is essential for community/public health nurses. In total, 34 stakeholders participated in the study. Three major categories were identified namely: fostering positive intra-familial relations, utilizing external resources, and barriers to family roles. The study findings have implications for community-based HIV family interventions.

Change in drawing placement: A measure of change in mood state reflective of hemispheric lateralization of emotion

HIGHLIGHTSPositive and negative affect preferentially activate left and right frontal cortex.Novel mood induction protocol of game and script used to alter affect from baseline.Mood change evaluated subjectively and objectively with PANAS and drawing placement.Winners’ drawings moved to the right and losers’ drawings moved to the left.Winners had decrease in negative affect and losers had decrease in positive affect. ABSTRACT The Valence Hypothesis of cerebral lateralization of emotion suggests greater right hemisphere activation during negative mood and greater left hemisphere activation during positive mood. This can manifest as visual field attentional bias. Here, study participants completed an assessment of current mood state (PANAS) and made a drawing (Drawing 1). To induce positive or negative mood, participants played a game; then, the winner read a script depicting a positive interpersonal interaction and the loser read a script depicting a negative interpersonal interaction. Participants then drew a second picture (Drawing 2) and completed the PANAS. We hypothesized that the game outcome would change current mood state and hemispheric activation, which would be reflected in drawing placement. The placement of Drawing 2 moved right for winners and left for losers. Winners experienced a greater increase in positive affect from Time 1 to Time 2 than losers and had decreased negative affect from Time 1. Losers had decreased positive affect from Time 1 and had a greater increase in negative affect from Time 1 to Time 2 than winners. Our results suggest that change in current mood state may be objectively observed by evaluating hemispatial bias reflective of brain hemispheric activation with drawings.

The Status of Technology-Enhanced Education and Service Delivery in Rehabilitation Counselor Education.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the upsurge of technology-enhanced rehabilitation education programs and telerehabilitation services, to provide examples of these advancements, and to discuss the implications of this technology for education and the field including the unique advantage to developing technological skills through participation in effective online coursework allowing rehabilitation graduates the requisite transferable skills for competent online service delivery. Method: The authors completed a thorough review of the available literature on online technology-enhanced education programs and online telerehabilitation services. Results: Rehabilitation counselor education and the delivery of rehabilitation services have capitalized on recent technological advancements and provide opportunities to reach students and consumers via the Internet. Conclusion: It is clear that technology-enhanced education and clinical services will have an expanding role in the future of rehabilitation counselor education and practice. There is a unique advantage for students to develop technological skills through participation in effective online coursework. The skills learned from completing online courses are transferable skills for competent online service delivery.

HIV risk in an urban American population

Investigations of specialized populations in the United States have revealed multiple risk behaviors for HIV infections. Identification of significant risk factors for specific populations enables tailoring interventions to populations. The present study examined risk behaviors in a general urban population in order to determine the need for HIV interventions in subgroups of the general population.