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Biomedical subjects

J A Mayer

Publications and source records attributed to J A Mayer.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Breast self-examination: knowledge and practices of Hispanic women in two southwestern metropolitan areas.

The breast self-examination (BSE) practices of 1,453 Hispanic women in Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California were the focus of this study. Variables proposed as factors that influence the frequency and proficiency of BSE were demographic variables, particularly language and level of acculturation, having been taught BSE by a health professional, and experience with the disease. Results indicate that even though the majority of the women at both the Phoenix (78.1%) and San Diego (83.7%) sites had been taught BSE by a professional and most women in Phoenix (62.5%) and San Diego (63.4%) reported performing BSE within the past month, only 0.7% of the women at both sites were found to be proficient in the technique of BSE. Further, results indicate that language and acculturation were correlated with whether or not a woman performed BSE. These findings suggest that BSE education classes must provide information and techniques that promote proficiency in BSE, and must be designed to meet the unique needs of Hispanic women, particularly those of low acculturation levels.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1994

Annual return rates to mammography facilities by women age 50 and older.

Data were collected at multiple mammography facilities to determine the use of inreach strategies for asymptomatic women age 50 and older and the annual return rates for screening by this age group. Interviews with 26 facility managers indicated that the majority use a reminder strategy. Using chart audits in a subset (n = 10) of the facilities of 475 randomly-selected patients, the return rate in 1991 (of patients seen in 1990) averaged 41% within 18 months after the 1990 appointment. Those data suggest that mammography providers, as well as the women they serve, could benefit from interventions to encourage annual mammograms.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

The effects of an instructional audiotape on breast self-examination proficiency.

This study evaluated the effects of a refresher instructional audiotape on breast self-examination (BSE) proficiency 6 months after BSE had been trained to criteria. Subjects (n = 54), who were undergraduate women, were trained in group sessions to perform BSE competently. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two "maintenance" groups: tape or no tape. Tape-group subjects received a BSE tape at the end of their training session. Subjects in both groups received monthly mailed prompts. At 6 months posttraining, subjects were videotaped in a clinic environment while performing BSE and 10 components of the exam subsequently were evaluated. The results indicated that tape-group subjects showed significantly better performance than controls on four components, including amount of breast area examined. The tape had no effect on BSE frequency. The tape strategy may be valuable in maintaining proficiency once BSE is trained.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Predictors of participation in a school-based anti-tobacco activism program.

This study investigated the predictors of participation in a school-based, anti-tobacco activism program. Subjects in this study consisted of 7th grade students participating in the intervention component of Project S.H.O.U.T., a tobacco use prevention program in San Diego County, California. In the activism component, a newsletter containing an activism contest was distributed to each student. Small prizes were awarded to contest winners at each school. "Activism" included letter and petition writing, anti-tobacco poster contests, merchant education, peer surveys and magazine subscription cards. A total of 170 students participated in the activities, with 81.1 percent participating two or more times. Of those who participated, 59 percent were female and 60 percent were White, non-Hispanic. Two sets of logistic analyses were conducted. Variables such as SES, gender, ethnicity, friends' tobacco use and parental tobacco use were used to predict participation in activism activities. The choice of variables was intended to provide information regarding activism participation in reference to known tobacco risk factors. Results of the first analysis indicated that students with a higher SES, and in an urban vs. rural location were more likely to participate in the activism activities. The second analysis used the same set of characteristics to predict "ever-use" of tobacco. Results of this analysis indicated that male gender, low grades, White, non-Hispanic ethnicity, friends' and parents' tobacco use were positively associated with tobacco experimentation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Mammography knowledge and intentions among insured women.

UNLABELLED: METHOD. A survey was conducted among 1,113 randomly selected insured state university employees to evaluate knowledge of the American Cancer Society mammography guidelines, awareness of insurance coverage for screening mammograms, previous guideline adherence, and future mammography intentions. RESULTS: The survey, which included two mailings with follow-up phone cells of nonresponders, had a refusal rate of 6%. Respondents were relatively more likely to know the guideline for older age groups; 77% knew the guidelines for women 50+. Over one-third of the responders were not aware that their insurance policy covered screening mammograms. For women who had never had a mammogram, insurance knowledge was significantly related to intentions to have a mammogram in the future. Previous screening adherence, as well as future intentions, was positively related to the age of the respondent. The results are contrasted with those of previous studies, and the implications for the content of future breast cancer screening campaigns are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Breast and cervical cancer screening in older women: the San Diego Medicare Preventive Health Project.

BACKGROUND. This study presents rates and correlates of cancer screening, including mammography, clinical breast exam, breast self-examination, and Pap tests, in older women. Age was the predictor of main interest. RESULTS. Among a sample of female Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 and older, who were members of a health maintenance organization, there was a significant, inverse relationship between age and mammography adherence, while controlling for health status, physician utilization, education, and income. The proportions of subjects ages 65-74 and 75+ never having had a mammogram were 17 and 32%, respectively, and the proportions having had annual mammograms were 40 and 28%, respectively. Pap test frequency showed a trend toward an inverse relationship with age, controlling for demographic and health-related variables. In the youngest age group (65-69), 52% had annual Pap tests, whereas in the oldest group (80+), only 36% had annual Pap tests. Age did not predict frequency of clinical breast exam, and the relationship of age to breast self-examination was inconclusive. The role of the physician in promoting cancer screening is discussed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Income allowance policies of state Medicaid agencies as work incentives or disincentives for ICF/MR residents.

Results of a survey of six Midwestern states demonstrated that although some state Medicaid agencies have had work incentive policies for ICF/MR residents for some time, others continue to utilize policies that are a disincentive to work. Policy changes toward employment incentives in state Medicaid agencies should improve work opportunities for workers with mental retardation at little expense to the government.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Effects of a peer-led AIDS intervention with university students.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a major health threat to university students. This study evaluated a peer-led AIDS intervention program with university students (1) increase knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission and infection; (2) change attitudes to reflect scientific information on AIDS-related facts; and (3) change behavioral intentions to correspond with safer sexual practices. Subjects were students (N = 142) from four undergraduate classes and were predominantly female (65%), white (82%), and sexually active (86%). A non-equivalent control group design was used, with two classes receiving the intervention and two classes receiving no information. For the intervention, peer educators presented AIDS-related information, modeled ways to use condoms safely and ways to discuss condom use with sexual partners, and led discussions on HIV infection and use with sexual partners, and led discussions on HIV infection and AIDS, relationships, sexuality, and condom use. A questionnaire was administered to assess differential changes in AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions between the intervention and control groups. The results showed significant improvements among intervention subjects on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions scales compared with the control group.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

The effects of social demand on breast self-examination self-report.

The measurement of breast self-examination (BSE) adherence typically relies on verbal self-report. These studies systematically manipulated social demand within a face-to-face interview and examined the effects on self-reported BSE frequency. In Study 1, subjects (n = 37) received either a high-demand or a low-demand preface prior to being asked about BSE practice over the past year. Study 2 (n = 89) was a replication, with the addition of a no-preface (control) condition. Results from Study 1 indicated that although the conditions were comparable on demographic and breast cancer/BSE knowledge variables, the high-demand condition reported a significantly higher number of BSEs than the low-demand condition. An attenuation of this pattern was found in Study 2, with the control condition reporting a frequency between the low demand's and the high demand's reported frequencies. The implications for BSE intervention and prevalence research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Long-term smoking status of cardiac patients following symptom-specific cessation advice.

Although physicians routinely advise postcardiac event patients to stop smoking, the effect of a modified advice format targeting specific health concerns has not been investigated. Also, no studies of cessation advice with cardiac patients have used biochemical verification of self-reported abstinence. The present study included 48 veterans with a history of smoking and cardiac problems; of these, 31 were smoking and 17 were abstinent at initial assessment. Alveolar carbon monoxide (COa) levels served to: (1) augment cessation advice by demonstrating smoking risks and cessation benefits specific to cardiac patients and (2) verify self-report. At 12 months followup, following cessation advice, 18% of the abstinent subjects had resumed smoking while none of the smokers had become abstinent. Those who maintained abstinence significantly increased their estimates of the contribution of smoking to their cardiac problems whereas those who continued to smoke showed no change.

Breath Tests↗
PubMed1989

Promoting mammography appointment making.

Compliance with screening mammography recommendations is low. Consequently, a community-wide program offering $50 mammograms at 29 radiology facilities was implemented. The program was promoted on a local TV news show and women 35 years and older were instructed to call a referral phone bank. If the caller met eligibility criteria, she received an information packet that assigned her to one of the facilities; it was her responsibility to schedule the appointment. At one facility, a strategy to increase compliance was piloted using a controlled design. Of the 96 subjects assigned to that clinic, 47 received an incentive coupon combined with a prompt in addition to the information packet and 49 received no coupon. The coupon was redeemable for a nutrition information kit when the subject appeared at her appointment. Results indicated that the incentive group had a significantly higher rate of appointment making than the control group (81 vs. 59%). Of subjects in both groups who made appointments, nearly 100% kept them. The intervention appeared to be cost-effective with a self-referred sample.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Community-based health promotion: a survey of churches, labor unions, supermarkets, and restaurants.

A telephone survey of randomly-sampled churches, labor unions, supermarkets and restaurants was conducted in San Diego, California to determine the level of health promotion activities offered for members and customers. Nearly two-thirds of the churches offered health promotion programs, the bulk of which were single educational sessions. A similar proportion of labor unions reported programs, and most of them consisted of the distribution of materials and single-session group meetings. About one-third of the supermarkets reported activities, with most of these being the distribution of brochures. Similarly, about one-third of restaurants reported programs, which primarily consisted of the enforcement of no-smoking regulations. Very few organizations evaluated programs or desired assistance from health professionals. It was concluded that while secular health promotion programs are common and are available to many people, their quality and effectiveness are unknown. These findings present a challenge for public health professionals and agencies.

California↗
PubMed1989

Promoting nutrition at the point of choice: a review.

The modification of dietary behaviors on a community-wide basis requires broad-based, multilevel approaches. Dietary interventions at the point of choice have the potential, as one approach, of reaching a large number of individuals at minimal cost. This article presents the potential advantages and limitations of point-of-choice interventions, and describes the controlled evaluations of their efficacy in restaurants/cafeterias and supermarkets. Discussion addresses the refinement and extension of successful restaurant-based strategies and the challenge of developing more powerful strategies for influencing supermarket purchases.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1987

Weight gain associated with decreases in smoking rate and nicotine intake.

The mechanisms involved in the weight gain associated with smoking cessation are not well known. This study employed a single-subject design to investigate changes in weight following systematic reductions in smoking rate and cigarette nicotine content. Although there were no changes in the subject's caloric intake or physical activity, a weight gain of 3.6 kg was observed after 4 months of reduced rate and nicotine intake. These results suggest that weight change during smoking reduction and cessation may be primarily due to changes in factors other than caloric intake or activity.

Body Weight↗
PubMed1986

Assessing breast self-examination compliance in the natural environment.

An indirect behavioral measure for measuring the frequency of breast self-examination (BSE) in the natural environment was developed and evaluated. BSE was performed using a lubricant (i.e., baby oil), and then a sheet of absorbent tissue was applied to the examined area. The tissue, which retained an oil stain, provided a trace measure of the exam. Results indicated that the measure remedied some of the weaknesses in verbal report, although for certain subjects it underestimated compliance.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Encouraging long-term compliance with breast self-examination: the evaluation of prompting strategies.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of two prompting interventions on promoting long-term compliance with breast self-examination (BSE). Subjects were 83 faculty and staff at a state university who volunteered to learn BSE at a 1-hr workshop. Following the workshop, subjects were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: phone-prompt group, mail-prompt group, or control group. Prompted subjects received BSE reminders twice a month for 7 months. Performance of BSE was assessed by an ongoing, indirect behavioral measure. Results indicated that the prompts, particularly those delivered by phone, were effective in encouraging initial performance of BSE. However, for all conditions, BSE decreased over the course of the study. The implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are presented.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Increasing handwashing in an intensive care unit.

The present study provides the first systematic evaluation of strategies for increasing handwashing of hospital staff. Nursing staff on two intensive care units (ICUs) were observed over a 3-month period. After baseline observations, two interventions were implemented on the experimental unit: changing to an emollient handwashing agent, and providing feedback to staff about the frequency of handwashing. Feedback focused on the previous day's handwashing following completed patient contacts, interrupted patient contacts, and critical procedures. No increase in handwashing was observed following introduction of the emollient soap. However, when feedback was provided on the experimental ICU, handwashing following completed patient contacts (the major dependent measure) increased to 92%, and was significantly higher than handwashing on the control unit. Follow-up observations suggested that compliance on the experimental unit appeared to return to baseline levels.

Cross Infection↗