Judy Murnan

A qualitative study examining Latino functional health literacy levels and sources of health information.

The purpose of this study was to determine the health information sources used by Latinos in southwest Ohio, identify individual Latino residents’ functional health literacy levels, and identify any access barriers to those sources of health information. Results show almost two-thirds had low acculturation levels to US culture. Overall, the major source of health information is a medical setting, followed by media technology (which included the Internet). However, when it comes to being ill, the primary source becomes a media choice, then medical. The barriers to accessing health information included language and lack of confidence/knowledge. Participants reported moderate satisfaction with the sources of health information available, and had an ‘adequate’ health literacy level in Spanish. This study was important because it filled an existing information gap for the Latino community, a racial ethnic minority population in the southwest Ohio area. With the results of this study, health educators and other health care practitioners might be better able to understand the health care needs of the Latino community and could essentially create improved and culturally competent health communications.

Women’s Knowledge of HPV and Their Perceptions of Physician Educational Efforts Regarding HPV and Cervical Cancer

Human papillomavirus (HPV) was one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in women of child-bearing age in the US. It was estimated that nearly three out of every four American women between the ages of 15 and 49 would be infected with genital HPV over the course of their lifetime. Human papillomavirus was present in almost 100% of cervical cancers. Despite this growing epidemic, there was little knowledge and awareness of HPV among the general public. HPV was most often detected in abnormal Pap test results. However, women undergoing Pap tests lacked basic knowledge about HPV testing, abnormal results, and follow-up procedures. The purpose of this study was to determine women’s knowledge of HPV and their perceptions of the education they received from their physician regarding the reason for a Pap test, explanation of Pap test results, and how effectively the physician explained associations between HPV and cell abnormalities, cervical cancer, risk factors, and preventive measures. A survey containing 33 questions was completed by 109 primarily professional women. Based on the data collected in this study it seems that physicians were not routinely providing HPV information to their female patients. Women reported their physicians were not educating them on testing for HPV and cervical cancer, risk factors associated with contracting HPV, and preventive measures associated with HPV. Younger physicians were more likely to discuss these topics with women than older physicians. Single women also reported more discussion with their physician on these topics than married women.

Mail Survey Return Rates Published in Health Education Journals: An Issue of External Validity.

Abstract This study assessed mail survey return rates published in seven general health education journals for the 13-year period, 1990–2002: American Journal of Health Behavior, American Journal of Health Education, American Journal of Health Promotion, Health Education & Behavior, Health Education Research, Journal of American College Health, and the Journal of School Health. A significant difference in mail survey return rates across the seven journals was found. Also, published mail survey return rates significantly increased from 1990–1995 (M=61.8%) to 1997–2002 (M=65.5%). All of the journals had published a noteworthy percentage (10–26%) of their mailed survey research studies with return rates of less than 50%. Finally, there was not a significant association between sample size and return rates of published mail survey studies. Researchers reporting mail survey research results in health education journals should expect to have return rates of 60% or greater. Yet, such return rates may still be considered a significant threat to the external validity of the findings.

Development and pilot testing a social cognitive theory-based intervention to prevent childhood obesity among elementary students in rural Kentucky.

The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test a social cognitive theory-based intervention for children to prevent childhood obesity. Focus groups were conducted with 5th grade students and their parents on the behaviors of physical activity, watching television, and eating habits, specifically fruit and vegetable intake and water consumption. Results from the focus groups were used to develop a 12-week program which was pilot tested in 5th grade physical education classes. The 12-week intervention was conducted with 122 students at a rural elementary school in Kentucky. Significant findings from the intervention were the increase in expectations for drinking water (p = 0.049), increase in expectations for watching television (p = 0.002), and increase in the number of glasses of water consumed (p = 0.022) from pre-test to post-test. Recommendations have been offered for future obesity reduction programs that can be implemented in the elementary schools.

Predicting Childhood Obesity Prevention Behaviors Using Social Cognitive Theory: Children in China

Four commonly suggested public health strategies to combat childhood obesity are limiting television viewing, encouraging daily physical activity, increasing fruit and vegetable intake, and increasing water consumption. This study examined the extent to which selected social cognitive theory constructs can predict these four behaviors in upper elementary Chinese children. A 55-item valid and reliable scale was administered to 282 fifth-graders. Minutes of physical activity was predicted by self-efficacy to exercise and number of times taught at school (R2 = 0.198). Hours of TV watching was predicted by self-efficacy of watching less than two hours of TV (R2 = 0.155). Glasses of water consumed was predicted by self-efficacy for drinking water, gender, and number of times taught about physical activity at school (R2 = 0.100). Servings of fruits and vegetables consumed was predicted by self-efficacy of eating fruits and vegetables (R2 = 0.197). Social cognitive theory offers a useful framework for designing primary prevention interventions to reduce childhood obesity.

Networking for Career-Long Success: A Powerful Strategy for Health Education Professionals

Networking is a proven strategy to enhance professional recognition and skills while promoting career development. Through a variety of techniques and for a multitude of reasons, health educators can enrich their professional endeavors by interacting and engaging in formal and informal networking with others. Through networking, health education professionals can offer each other assistance and support while establishing long-lasting mutually beneficial relationships. This article provides an overview of the basics of networking, reasons that networking is important, persons who can benefit from networking, and strategies on how to network and how to develop, maintain, and nurture a network.

Referencing Style of Health Education Journals

Referencing, also known as citing of a source, means that the author is acknowledging the origin of information or ideas he/she has used in writing his/her manuscript. Referencing also indicates to readers the breadth of the author’s understanding of the relevant literature. By giving appropriate credit to others’ ideas, authors avoid plagiarism, or taking credit for the ideas of others. Authors sometimes are confused about how bibliographies differ from a list of references. A bibliography lists sources that the author may have read to help write the paper, but many, or all, are not cited in the manuscript. In contrast, references are only those works that have actually been cited in the manuscript. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their references. Editors and manuscript reviewers find it disconcerting to read a manuscript with careless referencing. It may reflect negatively on the entire manuscript. When using the American Medical Association (AMA) style of referencing, references are listed in numerical order at the end of the manuscript. Each reference must be cited in the text in numerical order by using superscript Arabic numerals. Superscript numerals are placed outside of periods and commas. When more than two references are cited at a point in the text, then a hyphen is used to connect the first and last numbers of series. Examples of numbering of references in the text: The finding has been supported in previous studies. The data has been used in other studies. Manuscripts not yet accepted for publication (i.e., under review) or personal communications are not acceptable in the list of references. Instead, these sources should be included in the text in parentheses. In addition, the AMA style of referencing does not use ibid or op cit. in the list of references. There are at least seven noteworthy referencing styles: AMA, American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Harvard style, Vancouver style, Turabian style, and Chicago style. For health education students, the college attended most likely determines the referencing style students are taught for theses and dissertations. Thus, when students graduate and attempt to publish their ideas in a health education journal, they may find they need to learn a new referencing style. Although this may seem like a minor issue, you might be surprised at the Figure 1. Referencing Style of General Health Education Journals

Strategies for Getting Published in the American Journal of Health Education

Health educators have various reasons for desiring to publish a journal article. They may want to publish simply to challenge themselves to see if they can do it. Some desire to make a contribution to the knowledge base of the profession. Others may be publishing simply for personal advancement; publications are usually the “coins of the realm” for promotion, tenure, and merit raises. Yet still others may be using publications as part of an educational experience for teaching graduate students the process of becoming an author. Publications will for some fill all of the above reasons simultaneously. Regardless of the reasons motivating a health educator to write, he or she can approach the process as an enjoyable challenge or as drudgery. The primary reasons explaining why faculty members may not publish are that they are not motivated to write; they do not know what to write about; claim they do not have enough time; find writing to be a chore; have low perceived self-efficacy regarding their writing abilities; or they are not willing to have their work criticized.