Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Santelli

Publications and source records attributed to J Santelli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Abused boys, battered mothers, and male involvement in teen pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between boyhood exposure to physical abuse, sexual abuse, or to a battered mother and subsequent risk of impregnating a teenage girl has not previously been examined. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study set in a primary care clinic for adult members of a large health maintenance organization, questionnaire responses from 4127 men were analyzed. Respondents provided the age of the youngest female whom they had impregnated, their own ages at the time, and information regarding childhood exposure to physical or sexual abuse and battered mothers. We calculated the prevalence and adjusted odds ratio (OR) for having impregnated a teenage girl according to these 3 adverse childhood experiences, regardless of the male's age at the time of impregnation. Using logistic regression, ORs were adjusted for the male's age at time of survey, race, and education. RESULTS: Nineteen percent of the men reported that they had ever impregnated a teenage girl. During childhood, 32% of respondents had been physically abused, 15% sexually abused, and 11% had battered mothers. Compared with respondents reporting no abuse, frequent physical abuse or battering of mothers increased the risk of involvement in teen pregnancy by 70% (OR: 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-2.5) and 140% (OR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.1-5.0), respectively. Sexual abuse as a boy at age 10 years or younger increased the risk of impregnating a teenage girl by 80% (OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3-2.4); sexual abuse with violence increased the risk by 110% (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.2-3.4). We found a dose-response relationship between the number of types of exposures and the risk of impregnating a teenage girl; men who reported all 3 types of exposures were more than twice as likely to have been involved than those with no exposures (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.4-3.5). CONCLUSIONS: Boyhood exposure to physical or sexual abuse or to a battered mother is associated with an increased risk of involvement in a teen pregnancy-during both adolescence and adulthood. Because these exposures are common and interrelated, boys and adult men who have had these experiences should be identified via routine screening by pediatricians and other health care providers and counseled about sexual practices and contraception. Such efforts may prevent teen pregnancy and the intergenerational transmission of child abuse and domestic violence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Commentary

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Correlates of condom use stage of change: implications for intervention.

A telephone survey was used to collect data on attitudes, beliefs, and practices concerning condom use among 812 African Americans with regular sex partners and of reproductive age in Baltimore. Condom use was "staged" according to Prochaska's model of stage of behavioral change. Characteristics of the respondents' sexual relationships, peer characteristics, and demographic and psychosocial characteristics were examined for their association with the stage of condom use. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that a partner's reaction to condom use, condom use self-efficacy with the partner, condom use outcome expectancy with the partner, perceived partner risk, length of relationship, sterility, cohabitation, perceived vulnerability to HIV infection and perceived peer norms about condom use were each independently related to staged condom use. Gender differences in the relationship of these independent variables with stages of change were found. Implications for intervention include differential treatment by gender and stage of change. Couples should also be considered for intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Health status and service use. Comparison of adolescents at a school-based health clinic with homeless adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the health status, risk-taking behaviors, and access-to-care issues of shelter-based homeless adolescents compared with a domiciled adolescent population from the same large US city. SUBJECTS: The samples consisted of 109 youth (aged 12-17 years) in emergency shelters and 1010 youth using school-based inner-city clinics. INTERVENTIONS: Adolescents completed a health history, which was followed by a physical examination. RESULTS: Homeless youth began sexual activity at an earlier age (median, 12 vs 13 years for homeless vs school-based youth), were less likely to have used birth control at their first sexual experience, and were twice as likely to have ever been pregnant. Oral and anal sex, same-sex activities (boys only), multiple sex partners in the past 30 days, depression, and substance use behaviors were reported more often by the homeless sample. The homeless youth were twice as likely to have visited an emergency department in the past 12 months. After adjustment for other risk factors, homelessness was an independent predictor of depression (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 7.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.9-12.6), emergency department use in the past 12 months (adjusted OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2-2.7), and history of pregnancy (adjusted OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.3-5.2) in the final logistic regression models. CONCLUSION: This study confirms and extends past research indicating that homeless youth exhibit more risk-taking behaviors and suffer from poorer overall health than do nonhomeless youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Managed care, school health programs, and adolescent health services: opportunities for health promotion.

The rapid expansion of managed care creates opportunities and dilemmas for those involved in school health and adolescent health promotion. Managed care organizations (MCOs), public health agencies, and school and adolescent health providers share certain common goals and priorities including an emphasis on prevention, cost-effectiveness, and quality of care--and a willingness to explore innovative approaches to health promotion and disease prevention. However, MCOs often face conflicting challenges, balancing the goals of cost containment and investment in prevention. In considering support for school health programs, MCOs will be interested in evidence about the effectiveness of services in improving health and/or reducing medical expenditures. Mechanisms for improving prevention efforts within MCOs include quality assurance systems to monitor the performance of health plans, practice guidelines from professional organizations, and the contracting process between payers and health care providers. Development of partnerships between MCOs and schools will be a challenge given competing priorities, variation in managed care arrangements, structural differences between MCOs and schools, and variability in services provided by school health programs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Shelter-based homeless youth. Health and access to care.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the self-reported risk-taking behaviors, health status, and access to care issues of 2 samples of shelter-based homeless youth who had previously been street youth (youth on streets or doubling-up with friends or lovers) and systems youth (youth involved in foster care) and to examine information on the etiology of homelessness, including parent or family of origin risk factors for both samples. DESIGN: The study population consisted of 109 shelter-based homeless youth: 41 street youth and 68 systems youth. A chart audit was completed on all youth, noting documentation of past health problems, reasons for shelter placement, and parental risk factors. Adolescents from both samples completed a health history questionnaire followed by a physical examination. Differences between the 2 samples for behaviors and disease diagnoses were examined using chi 2 and 2-tailed t tests. RESULTS: The street youth exhibited greater risk-taking behaviors and suffered from poorer health status and access to care than did systems youth. The main differences were in substance using and high-risk sexual behaviors. The street youth were more likely to report previous exposure to violence and having been victims of forced sex. Self-reported risk behaviors, including sexual activity and substance abuse were corroborated by more objective information on these items from medical record information. The street youth were more likely to be medically uninsured, to have used an emergency department in the past year, and to have used an emergency department for their last care. CONCLUSIONS: There are important variations in health needs between samples of homeless youth, often overlooked in health planning for this population. Knowledge of parent or family of origin risk factors and causes of homelessness provides important contextual information for understanding the risk behaviors and health states of homeless youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Student attitudes toward school-based health centers.

PURPOSE: Little is known about student attitudes toward school-based health centers (SBHCs) or about factors that influence SBHC enrollment. METHODS: Students in 9 Baltimore schools with SBHCs and 4 schools without health centers were surveyed in May 1991, using an anonymous classroom questionnaire. SBHC enrollees, nonenrollees from health center schools, and students in schools without health centers were compared using bi-variate analyses. Logistic regression analyses identified predictors of enrollment. RESULTS: A total of 91% of enrollees supported having a SBHC compared with 89% of nonenrollees and 77% of students from non-health center schools (p < .001). Support for a variety of services (including contraceptive services) was significantly higher among enrollees and nonenrollees compared with students in non-SBHC schools. A total of 86% of enrollees rated the quality of care "satisfactory" to "excellent" and 79% rated privacy in the school health center as "satisfactory" to "excellent." The most common reason given for not enrolling was satisfaction with current provider. Independent predictors of student confidence in the privacy of SBHCs included prior SBHC use and enrollment of close peers. Predictors of enrollment included: one or more self-reported health problems; having medical assistance; attending one or more special education classes; enrollment of close peers; membership in a school club, sports team, or church organization; and being African-American. CONCLUSIONS: Students overwhelmingly supported school-based health centers. Personal experience and peer influences were important in shaping student attitudes. We found evidence of a "learning curve" gradient in student attitudes such that students with the greatest exposure to SBHCs (as measured by attending a SBHC school, enrolling in the SBHC, and using the health center) had the most favorable attitudes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

School-based health centers and adolescent use of primary care and hospital care.

PURPOSE: Little is known about the impact of school-based primary care on adolescents' use of hospital and emergency room care. METHODS: Students (grades 6-12) in nine Baltimore schools with school-based health centers and four schools without health centers were surveyed in May 1991 using an anonymous classroom questionnaire. Self-reported use of primary care services and emergency rooms and hospitalization were examined over the academic year. Logistic regression was used to assess factors influencing use of health care including the presence of a school health center. RESULTS: Students (n = 3,258) in health center schools and comparison schools reported similar rates of chronic health conditions. Students from schools with health centers were more likely to report seeing a social worker or counselor and more likely to report the use of certain health services in the past 4 years. Self-reported emergency room use (38%) and hospitalization (19%) were common. Students in schools with health centers were less likely to report hospitalization (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.66-0.98). Emergency room use was also lower but only for students attending the school with a health center for more than 1 year (OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.62-0.99). Significant predictors of hospital care included reporting one or more chronic health condition, having health insurance, being of African-American race, or older age, and lower grade. CONCLUSIONS: Access to school-based, primary health care for adolescents was associated with increased use of primary care, reduced use of emergency rooms, and fewer hospitalizations. These findings have implications for both access to primary care and funding of school-based primary care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

AIDS and behavioural risk factors in women in inner city Baltimore: a comparison of telephone and face to face surveys.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the influence the mode of administration of a questionnaire (telephone or face to face) on reports of sexual behaviour and attitudes of HIV risk among woman of reproductive age. DESIGN: Two cross sectional surveys--one, a modified random digit dialing telephone survey, the second, a face to face street sample--were carried out by the same interviewers using similar questionnaires in the same neighbourhoods. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Two socially deprived, inner city neighbourhoods of Baltimore City were assessed in early 1990 before a community health intervention was carried out in one of them. Women between 17 and 35 years were surveyed. MAIN RESULTS: Altogether 775 and 416 women in the target age group were interviewed by telephone and face to face methods: the response rates were 66.4% and 77% respectively. Telephone respondents tended to be older, had more education, were more often married, were less likely to live in subsidised housing, and were more likely to report HIV testing. The proportions of respondents who reported a previous abortion and had had a surgical sterilisation were higher among the telephone respondents (34.7% v 24.1% and 26.4% v 20.6%, respectively). With regard to sexual risk behaviour, the only statistically significant differences were found in the proportion who reported having used drugs (10.6% of the face to face v 2.4% of the telephone sample) or alcohol (30.5% v 16.3%) at last sexual intercourse. The observed method effect on these variables remained unchanged after adjusting for age, education, employment, and marital status. This effect was even stronger for a subgroup of face to face respondents who reported not having a telephone at home. The adjusted odds ratios for reporting alcohol consumption and use of drugs at the last sexual encounter in this group compared with the telephone respondents were 3.7 (2.1, 6.6) and 14.1 (5.7, 34.5) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the socioeconomic bias associated with the mode of data collection, there are only a few differences between the telephone and personal survey methods in reports of sexual behaviour. These differences are mostly concentrated in young women (under 20 years), and in a particularly socioeconomically deprived subgroup identified through telephone ownership.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Depressive symptoms and risk factors for HIV acquisition among black women attending urban health centers in Baltimore.

Blacks comprise 55% of all AIDS cases among women, and have 9 times the risk of white women of mortality from AIDS. Thus, prevention of HIV infection is critical among black women. Programs to prevent HIV infection have focused upon the adoption of behavioral strategies such as limiting the number of sexual partners, avoiding intercourse with i.v. drug users, and using condoms. However, such programs are dependent upon the ability of the woman to assume responsibility for her health and successfully adopt behavior changes. Generally overlooked in the development of health education interventions are those factors, such as depressive symptoms, which may make it very difficult for an individual to adopt healthy behaviors. In the present study, an analysis was conducted of the association between depressive symptoms and risk factors for the acquisition of HIV infection among black women using two urban health centers. Those women with higher levels of depressive symptoms were significantly more likely than other women to report more risk factors for HIV acquisition. The implications of these findings for the development of preventive interventions are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Bringing parents into school clinics: parent attitudes toward school clinics and contraception.

Prior to implementing a change in school clinic policy to allow dispensing of contraceptives, parents of school-based clinic (SBC) enrollees were surveyed regarding attitudes toward clinic quality of care, desired services, and contraceptive distribution. Telephone interviews were conducted with a systematic sample of 262 parents who normally are in charge of the adolescent's health care. Parental opinion was felt to be crucial in shaping Baltimore SBC contraception policy. Parents overwhelmingly endorsed current clinic services including family planning for sexually active teens, annual physicals, and drug and alcohol counseling. Most parents rated the SBC as excellent (25%) or very good (36%), although a substantial minority found it difficult to rate the clinics (27%, "don't know"). Parents with prior verbal contact (45%) were more likely to rate the clinic as excellent (35% versus 16%) and less likely to respond "don't know" (13% versus 38%, p less than 0.001). Parent attitudes toward contraception was context specific: 63% endorsed and 27-30% opposed prescribing and dispensing. If a boy (or girl) was already having sex, 76% (or 75%) of parents supported and 14% (or 17%) opposed providing birth control pills or condoms. With parental permission, 93% supported contraception and only 3% were opposed. No differences were found by age, race, gender, or grade of student. Prior verbal communication with the clinic did not affect parent attitudes toward contraception. Consideration of parent attitudes was critical to changing SBC contraceptive dispensing policy in Baltimore. Contraceptive distribution, after counseling and necessary medical care, was initiated in September 1990. The parent and community response has been very supportive.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Pediatric AIDS in the United States: epidemiological reality versus government policy.

Pediatric AIDS cases constitute approximately 2 percent of total AIDS cases in the United States, but HIV infection and AIDS among children pose a growing concern. Government policies have failed to match the epidemiological reality of the disease. The powerful shapers of public opinion have dedicated their energies to a handful of cases, involving the school attendance of primarily middle-class children. Unfortunately, coverage of school placement issues has overshadowed both the demographically more serious issue of perinatally transmitted AIDS cases and the growing concern over adolescent AIDS. Seventy-five percent of perinatal AIDS sufferers are poor, urban minorities: the disease is clearly related to other indicators of poor child health--urban poverty and oppressive social conditions. School-based prevention efforts for adolescents have been rendered impotent because of moralistic obstacles to explicit education. Prevention of perinatal and adolescent HIV transmission must be both sensitive and relevant to communities in which the greatest threat to survival is poverty, not AIDS. Ultimately, issues surrounding pediatric AIDS only reinforce the long-term position of child health advocates: the best investment a society can make is a sincere commitment of resources to improve the health, education, and welfare of its children.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗