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Biomedical subjects

A K Lund

Publications and source records attributed to A K Lund.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Seat belt use laws and occupant crash protection in the United States.

Current federal rule-making requires restraints such as air bags or automatic seat belts in new cars starting with model year 1987 unless states with two-thirds of the United States population enact seat belt use laws meeting certain criteria. Belt use laws have been enacted by 26 states and the District of Columbia as of July 1, 1986. The first laws to go into effect increased use from less than 20 per cent to 50-70 per cent in the first month; in most cases rates subsequently dropped to below 50 per cent. Texas has been an exception to this trend because it has had much tougher enforcement of its seat belt law than other states. This pattern is similar to the experience of Canadian provinces that passed laws in the mid-1970s; enforcement/publicity programs in Canada have produced belt use rates that are currently greater than 60 per cent. An enforcement program in Elmira, New York also increased use rates sharply. New York, which had the first and one of the strongest and most successful laws so far, had an estimated fatality reduction of 9 per cent during the first nine months of the law. It is likely that a 10 per cent reduction in fatalities is the maximum that can be expected from belt use laws without special enforcement efforts. Provision of automatic restraints in combination with belt use laws would greatly increase crash protection.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1986

Drinking and driving among high school students.

A questionnaire survey of high school students conducted in 1983 provided information on their self-reported drinking and driving practices. By age 15 the majority reported drinking alcoholic beverages. By age 17 half or more of the males and one-third of the females reported driving after drinking at least once in the past month. About one-quarter of the students estimated that six or more cans of beer would be required to make someone an unsafe driver. Reported frequency of driving after drinking was associated with less time spent on homework and poorer academic performance, working part time, greater participation in social activities, less perceived parental influence regarding their travel, owning a car, driving high mileage, speeding, and having crashes and violations.

Achievement↗
PubMed1985

Teenage driver licensing in relation to state laws.

Previous studies have shown that delaying licensure reduces motor vehicle injuries. This study examined the relationship between licensing laws and the timing of obtaining drivers licenses. The states studied have various laws, including minimum licensing ages of 15, 16 and 17; minimum learners permit ages of 15 and 16; and teenage night driving curfews. A questionnaire survey of 52,304 students was conducted in 75 high schools during the spring of 1983. The schools were selected from Orange County, California; rural Colorado; and most or all of Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York. The results indicated that the minimum age of licensure has obvious strong effects in delaying licensure. Setting the learners permit age later also apparently delays licensure. The night driving curfew in New York State (9 p.m.-5 a.m.) is seen by students as a factor in their decisions to delay obtaining licenses; Louisiana's 11 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew has a much smaller effect, if any.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

A review of the literature evaluating the Defensive Driving Course.

The Defensive Driving Course (DDC), like other post-licensure driver training programs, is intended to reduce the rate of motor vehicle crashes among those who take the course. A review of the literature revealed 14 controlled studies of the effects of DDC. About a third of these studies provided methodologically strong tests of DDC, but the remainder had design flaws that made their findings questionable or inadequate as tests of DDC. Only among the flawed tests were there large, positive effects of DDC. In the methodologically strong tests, DDC had no consistent effect on crashes but did decrease the frequency of traffic violations by about 10%. The failure of violation reductions to be translated into crash reductions may indicate that the violation reduction is an artifact of traffic record procedures or that the changes in driver behavior, if real, were insufficient to modify individual crash likelihoods. In either event, the best available evidence does not support the hypothesis that DDC decreases the likelihood of motor vehicle crashes.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

Night driving curfews in New York and Louisiana: results of a questionnaire survey.

New York and Louisiana, two states having night driving curfews, were included in a questionnaire survey of high school students conducted in 1983. Most students in these states knew about their curfew law. In both states the majority of licensed drivers said they had violated the curfew, but the majority claimed to have violated the curfew no more than twice. Students do not believe that the police enforce curfew restrictions vigorously, but many parents require their children to obey the law. New York students were more knowledgeable than Louisiana students about the restrictions, and there was more evidence in New York than Louisiana of reduced driving resulting from the curfew. These findings are consistent with results of an earlier study that found curfews in both of these states reduced crashes but estimated crash reductions during curfew hours were greater in New York than in Louisiana.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

Driver licensing age and lifestyles of 16 year olds.

The relationship of driver licensure rate differences to 16 year old lifestyles was assessed by surveying 15 and 16 year olds in New York, Michigan, and New Jersey. Michigan 16 year olds reported the highest rates of licensure (56 per cent), whereas New York (14 per cent licensed) and New Jersey (2 per cent licensed) had much lower rates. Teenagers in Michigan reported greater decreases in use of bicycles and reliance on parents and relatives for transportation but, for the most part, the differences in 16 year old licensure and mobility were not reflected in lifestyle differences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Adolescents' health beliefs and acceptance of a novel preventive dental activity: a further note.

As part of two new school-based experiments, the dental health beliefs of adolescents were measured by questionnaires that emphasized personal and vicarious dental experiences. Premeasured beliefs showed zero order or negative relationships with adherence to at-home mouthrinsing in both a 1-year experiment and in the first year of a 2-year experiment; neither premeasured beliefs, nor new measures of beliefs obtained at the end of the first year, predicted adherence in the second year of the 2-year program. Behavior in the first year was inversely related to beliefs obtained at the end of that year. These new data, along with those collected as part of two earlier experiments which measured beliefs in a different manner, representing a total population of over 1500 subjects, cast doubt on the value of the Health Belief Model in either predicting or helping to explain behavior of adolescents in novel disease preventive programs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Rewards and adolescent health behavior.

Research has indicated that contingent rewards can increase students' acceptance of novel preventive health activities. In the current research on adolescents' use of a fluoride rinse over two school years, however, the rinse habit tended to end when reward contingencies were withdrawn. Although participation in the rinse program was higher with a saturated schedule of reward contingencies in effect, the comparison partial schedule of rewards showed less immediate attrition when the reward contingencies were withdrawn. As a result, the long-term effects of the two schedules were largely equivalent. Other major findings included higher participation levels for girls compared to boys and for urban compared to suburban students. Self-management instruction, a strategy intended to compensate for the withdrawal of tangible rewards, worked temporarily among urban students but at the same time resulted in lower levels of post-reward rinsing among suburban students. This study confirmed the efficacy of contingent rewards for initiating new health habits among adolescents, but neither a partial schedule of reward nor instruction in self-management was sufficient to establish long-term continuation of the behavior. Implications of these findings for health psychologists and public health professionals are discussed briefly.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Who volunteers for a breast self-examination program? Evaluating the bases for self-selection.

Interest in a free breast self-examination (BSE) teaching program offered to a patient population (n = 1590) was assessed, and a follow-up survey of refusers undertaken to determine difference between participants and refusers. Fifty-one percent of the known, eligible women patients expressed interest in the program and 24% ultimately had the teaching. Participants differed from refusers most notably in terms of less previous experience with BSE, more family history of cancer, a longer relationship with their physicians, and different health beliefs. They state more confidence in the effectiveness of breast cancer detection and treatment, less fear and embarrassment, and more personal and physician responsibility for health outcomes, as measured by the Health Locus of Control Scales. Self-selection thus seems rationally based on the kind of program and the needs of the women. Such self-selection can be cost-effective in delivering health education to the people most in need of it and most likely to benefit from it.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Differences in dental experiences, practices, and beliefs of inner-city and suburban adolescents.

Inner-city and suburban students' dental experiences, current practices, beliefs, and compliance with two school-based preventive programs were examined. Striking differences were found in the students' dental experiences, practices, and beliefs, but few in their compliance. These findings challenge the notion that inner-city students are poor compliers and suggest ways in which practitioners and public health officials might utilize the differing practices of these populations to plan preventive programs for adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Weight loss: long-term results in an ambulatory setting.

Maintenance of weight loss is an issue of interest to the dietetic practitioner. A series of 12 weight-loss classes was conducted using the behavioral approach. Mean weight loss of 11.1 lb. in this study compared favorably with weight losses in other studies reported in the literature. Continuous evaluation and updating of the program did not result in greater weight loss nor was it cost-effective. The participants who lost weight during the program tended to maintain weight loss over time. One-third of those participants attended additional weight-loss programs.

Adult↗