Regina Jones Johnson

Beliefs and Perceived Norms Concerning Body Image among African-American and Latino Teenagers

Focus groups, utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior, examined the beliefs and perceived norms regarding body image in a sample of urban African-American and Latino teenagers (N = 83, 18—19 years old) from Texas. Cultural eating (behavioral belief) explained the acceptance and tolerance of overweight. Popularity of hip-hop fashion and limited income explicated peer and familial normative beliefs, respectively. Thinness equated HIV infection in African-Americans (parental normative belief). Barriers to healthy eating and active living (control beliefs) included willpower, laziness, fast food, and excessive work. Findings can guide the development and implementation of culturally appropriate obesity interventions for African-American and Latino adolescents.

Advances in understanding and treating childhood sexual abuse: implications for research and policy

Childhood sexual abuse is a major public health problem affecting thousands of children and adolescents in the United States each year. For more than 20 years, researchers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers have had considerable disagreements about various aspects of child sexual abuse. Although everyone agrees that sexual abuse is a harmful thing for children to experience, there is a lack of consensus on a definition of sexual abuse, investigation of allegations, long-term consequences, what constitutes appropriate psychotherapy, and what public health policies should be developed to prevent sexual abuse. The purpose of this article is to explore advances that have been made in understanding and treating child sexual abuse, to look at the implications for further research, and to address the public health policies that exist for preventing child sexual abuse.

Improving Access to Health Care for Uninsured Elderly Patients

The purpose of this article is to explore the barriers that the uninsured elderly population encounter when accessing health care in the United States. These barriers include, but are not limited to lack of transportation, insurance, or family support; the daunting complexity of the health care system; poverty; culture; poor patient-health care provider communications; race/ethnicity; and lack of health care professionals such as nurses and doctors with adequate geriatric preparation, or generalists who are undereducated in geriatrics. The number of health care professionals currently available to treat elderly persons in the United States is inadequate. The Federal government should take steps to develop solutions to improve access to health care and decrease health disparities for older adults. As a nation, we should be proactive in addressing these concerns instead of waiting for new barriers to arise that further limit access to health care for elderly patients and their families. In this article, we provide an assessment of the barriers that limit access to health care in the uninsured elderly population and suggest recommendations and possible solutions to eliminate or reduce these barriers.

A History of Drug Use and Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Incarcerated Males in a County Jail

This study explored the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and drug use among incarcerated males. A retrospective, self-reported survey was administered over an 8-week period (September and October 2001) to a random sample of 100 men who were incarcerated in a county jail. The survey included questions about childhood sexual experiences before and after puberty, drug history and use, and sexual risk-taking behaviors. Overall, 59% of this sample of male inmates reported some form of childhood sexual abuse, and all such instances occurred before or at the age of 13. Statistically significant relationships were found between drug use and childhood sexual abuse, with those who experienced childhood sexual abuse reporting drug use at percentages as much as 30% higher than those denying histories of childhood sexual abuse.

Comparing the Validity of Self-Reported Recent Drug Use Between Adult and Juvenile Arrestees

Abstract A large body of literature has explored the validity of self-reported drug use among criminal populations. These works have typically revealed strong underreporting of recent illicit drug use. To date, however, no studies have compared the validity of self-reported drug-using behaviors between adult and juvenile offenders. The authors overcome this limitation by assessing the validity of self-reported recent drug use with data collected from 1,425 adult and 551 juvenile Los Angeles arrestees surveyed through the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program in 1997. Kappa statistics were computed and tests for specificity and sensitivity were conducted utilizing urinalysis as the reference standard. Results suggest that adult arrestees are more inclined to underreport their recent use of illicit drugs. Implications for drug use research are assessed in light of the current findings.

A study of school nurse job satisfaction.

This study explored job satisfaction and changes needed to help boost levels of job satisfaction. Self-reported job satisfaction data were collected from 71 school nurses employed in elementary, middle, and high school settings via interactive focus groups. The subjects participated in a 30- to 45-minute focus group session that was audiotaped and transcribed by the principal investigator. Beliefs about job satisfaction were identified and classified into exclusive categories or themes. While the majority of school nurses expressed contentment with their jobs, certain factors that would increase job satisfaction, such as salary and control issues, were discussed. Overall, 83% of school nurses in this study were satisfied in their present positions; however, issues of coping and role strain were identified as major contributors to low morale. Only 17% of the school nurses voiced job dissatisfaction, primarily attributed to low salaries and lack of trust and support from administration. As school nurses face a diverse community with complex needs, adaptation is needed for job satisfaction to be maintained. For this to occur, school nurses must take the initiative to educate administrators, parents, and communities about their role in the school setting.

Developing holistic nursing interventions to improve adolescent health.

Adolescents learn health behaviors in a sociocultural context of community, family, and peers. Although many adolescents engage in behaviors that protect and promote health, others engage in behaviors that threaten or compromise their health. The purpose of this review article is to provide an overview of health-risk behaviors and the morbidities and mortalities of adolescence that are related to these behaviors. Interventions that address these health behaviors and outcomes are presented along with suggestions for a holistic nursing response to this important public health concern.

Cocaine Use and Syphilis Trends: Findings from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program and Syphilis Epidemiology in Houston

There has been speculation that trends in syphilis have been fueled by crack cocaine use. This study examined the data on syphilis notifications and arrestee drug abuse monitoring (ADAM) to ascertain the relationships between syphilis and cocaine use trends in three racial/ethnic groups. Syphilis notifications and data from the ADAM project were compared in Houston/Harris County, Texas, from 1991-1998 using a linear regression equation. Data indicated significant relationships between the data for cocaine use and syphilis in African Americans but not Hispanics or non-Hispanic whites. For African Americans, 58% of the variance between cocaine use and syphilis was explained. When data limited to jail syphilis notifications and ADAM cocaine in African Americans were examined, the association was stronger for males than for females. For African Americans, cocaine (probably crack cocaine) use trends were significantly associated with syphilis trends in this population. These data suggest that control of crack cocaine may have an impact on syphilis rates and that there may be close relationships between some STDs and drug abuse.

The Link Between Recent Sexual Abuse and Drug Use Among African American Male College Students : It's Not Just a Female Problem in and Around Campus

Abstract This study examined the relationship between sexual abuse in or around campus and drug use among young African-American males in college. It offers cross-sectional analysis of data collected from the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Awareness and Use Study (ASAAUS). Data collection took place in October 2004 via a self-administered survey among 181 African-American male students. Males who reported past sexual abuse in or around campus were significantly more likely than nonsexuallyabused males to have used tobacco (41% v. 19%, p < .05), alcohol (82% v. 49%, p < .05), marijuana (59% v. 30%,p < .05), and cocaine (18% v. 2%, p < .05) in the 30 day preceding the interview. Logistic regression analyses indicated that sexual abuse history in or around campus was significantly associated with past year (OR = 9.8, p ≤ 0.001) and past 30 day (OR = 5.0, p ≤ 0.001) drug use.

Exploring benzodiazepine use among Houston arrestees.

Abstract While marijuana and cocaine are the two most prevalent drugs among arrestees, benzodiazepine use has surpassed that of opiates in several jurisdictions across the United States. Despite this proliferation, few scholarly works have focused on benzodiazepine use among individuals under criminal justice supervision. In the present study, the authors used Chi-square statistics and logistic regression to identify significant associations between recent benzodiazepine use (as measured by urinalysis), demographic characteristics, and alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among a sample of 1,572 adult Houston arrestees surveyed through the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program in 1999. Compared to nonusers, benzodiazepine-positive arrestees were more likely to be Black, less likely to have a high school diploma, and more likely to be arrested for a drug- or alcohol-related offense. Moreover, analyses indicated that recent barbiturate, heroin, PCP, and marijuana use, as measured by urinalysis, were the strongest predictors of recent benzodiazepine use. Policy implications are assessed in light of the current findings.