W. Scott Ford

Verbal Attitudes, Overt Acts, and the Influence of Social Constraint in Interracial Behavior

This paper studies racial attitudes as related to an indicated willingness to accept open occupancy in white residential neighborhoods. The study attempts to ascertain whether the predictability of the overt response of a given individual to a publicly salient issue can be increased by knowing the individuals personal attitudinal position toward Negroes in general, and the influence of certain of his significant reference groups with respect to the same issue. Results of a field study show that proportional reductions in error are greater in efforts to predict overt response to the open occupancy issue when both attitudinal position and reference group influence are employed than when either attitude or reference group are employed separately.

Health education and the primary care physician: The practitioner's perspective

Considering the attention given to health education and promotion, it is surprising that little research assesses the opinions and behavioral inclinations of physicians. Survey data collected in Florida address this issue. Responses of primary care private practitioners reveal that whereas MDs endorse health promotion and acknowledge a link between positive lifestyle and health, their outlook regarding the potential of community-based health education remains skeptical. A majority blame ineffective health education on public apathy. Nonetheless, a sizeable minority are willing to either begin or increase their involvement in health education programs. Multivariate analyses suggest that active or receptive MDs view the publics lifestyle knowledge as inadequate and select the MD as the health professional most suited to assume primary responsibility for health education. Clues for identifying practitioners who might engage in further health education are provided by examining age, specialty, patient load and community size. For example, GPs/FPs might more readily endorse an educational program if it allows for one-to-one physician-patient interaction; emphasizing this instructional mode appears less important in securing the cooperation of their more specialized primary care counterparts. Further, MDs with the larger caseloads are more likely to view health education as the physicians responsibility.