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Biomedical subjects

M A Orlandi

Publications and source records attributed to M A Orlandi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

A self-help smoking cessation program for inner-city African Americans: results from the Harlem Health Connection Project.

The authors develop and test a culturally sensitive, low-intensity smoking cessation intervention for low-socioeconomic African Americans. African American adult smokers were randomly assigned to receive either a multicomponent smoking cessation intervention comprising a printed guide, a video, and a telephone booster call or health education materials not directly addressing tobacco use. The results of the study were mixed. Although no significant effects were observed for the entire treatment cohort, the results of post hoc analyses suggest that culturally sensitive self-help smoking cessation materials plus a single phone contact can produce short-term cessation rates similar to those reported for majority populations. This conclusion should be tempered by the low completion rate for the booster call and several design limitations of the study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Physician- and nurse-assisted smoking cessation in Harlem.

This study was designed to increase smoking cessation rates, quit attempts, and cutting down among low-income African Americans using brief clinician advice in conjunction with socioculturally appropriate self-help smoking cessation/relapse prevention materials. Physicians and nurses were instructed in the National Cancer Institute's smoking intervention at inservice sessions. Smokers interviewed in a Harlem, New York clinic waiting room were recontacted 7 months later by telephone or mail (77% response). Residents receiving the intervention reported a 21% cessation rate at follow-up. An additional 27% decreased cigarette intake by at least 50%. Those reporting follow-up abstinence were significantly more likely to designate a quit date at baseline. They were also more likely to be men, employed, and have a nonsmoking partner. Smokers who decreased their cigarette intake significantly were older, employed, less nicotine-dependent (eg, delayed their wake-up cigarette), and more likely to use project materials. Physician advice had a significant impact both on patients' cutting down at least 50% and patients' watching the project video. Designation of a quit date and using project materials had a significant impact on making serious quit attempts. Results corroborate large sample, randomized, controlled trials with noninner-city physicians. We conclude that clinician smoking advice for every patient is warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Smoking cessation factors among African Americans and whites. COMMIT Research Group.

OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to explore smoking patterns and attitudes that influence smoking cessation and relapse among African Americans. METHODS: Baseline data from eight Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) sites were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with Whites, African Americans who smoke less than 25 cigarettes per day were 1.6 times more likely to smoke within 10 minutes of awakening (a behavioral indicator of nicotine dependence), adjusting for education, age, and gender (OR = 1.2 for heavier smokers). African Americans reported a stronger desire to quit smoking and reported serious quit attempts in the past year. African Americans favored tobacco restrictions (they were 1.8 times more likely than Whites to view smoking as a serious community problem, 1.7 times more likely to favor restrictions on cigarette vending machines, and 2.1 times more likely to prohibit smoking in their car). African Americans were lighter/moderate, menthol smokers. CONCLUSIONS: African Americans find smoking socially unacceptable and are strongly motivated to quit, but their "wake-up" smoking may indicate high nicotine dependence, making abstinence difficult even for lighter smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The relationship between cognitive maturity and information about health problems among school age children.

This study of urban, multi-ethnic children was undertaken to explore the relationships between age, cognitive developmental capability (termed 'cognitive maturity') and accuracy of information about health problems. A total of 299 children in the first, second and third grades from six public and one private school in New York City were individually interviewed using an open-ended set of questions. Findings indicated that having accurate health information is not the same as comprehending the abstract internal nature of the 'facts'. Results supported Piaget's levels of cognitive development applied to the area of health. Findings also showed that age is a better predictor of children's accuracy about health information than their cognitive maturity. The findings underscore the need for those providing health education to place emphasis on the cognitive abilities of children and not to mistake recitation of factual information for understanding of conceptual elements of a health problem.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

Prediction of smoking behavior in Japanese young adults.

Eighty-eight second grade students of a senior high school in Saitama prefecture in Japan participated in a prospective study to predict cigarette smoking behavior 3.5 years later. Predictor variables include sex, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes toward smoking, previous smoking behavior, and smoking behavior of their families. Stepwise discriminant analyses revealed that 90% of the smokers and 65% of the non-smokers were correctly classified. In this model, previous smoking behavior proved to be the best predictor. Attitude toward adult male's smoking, sex and smoking behavior of subjects' families were also related. These four variables explained 35% of the variance in smoking behavior. As for stepwise discriminant analyses among those who had not smoked at baseline, 78% of the smokers and 76% of the non-smokers were correctly classified. Attitude toward adult male's smoking, sex, knowledge about long-term effects of cigarette smoking and smoking behavior of their families entered the model in this order. These four variables explained 37% of the variance. Implications of this study for smoking prevention programs in Japan are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Sexual behavior, attitudes toward safer sex, and gender among a cohort of 244 recovering i.v. drug users.

Heterosexual contact with drug users is a major route of AIDS transmission. This study of 135 male and 109 female methadone maintenance patients described subjects' sexual behavior, preventive practices and attitudes toward safer sex; explored ethnic-racial differences in high risk sexual behavior and attitudes; and examined the relationship between attitudes toward safer sex and frequency of condom use for men and women. Reported condom use was low, and it correlated with attitudes toward safer sex. Men tended to report higher rates of sexual risk-taking, although women reported more frequent sex with IV drug users. Study findings have implications for developing intervention strategies to reduce risk behavior associated with HIV transmission.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Computer-assisted strategies for substance abuse prevention: opportunities and barriers.

This article presents an analysis of the potential role that computer-assisted strategies could play in substance abuse prevention efforts in the future. Four primary areas are addressed. First, substance abuse prevention is discussed within the context of adolescent development. Second, computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is defined in terms of the opportunities it represents for substance abuse prevention. Third, a variety of barriers are described that must be addressed if the potential of CAI for enhancing substance abuse prevention efforts is ever to be realized. Finally, recommendations are made for coordinating research and development efforts, now and in the future, so that the potential of new technology for improving substance abuse prevention efforts will be adequately evaluated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

African-American and Hispanic-American adolescents, HIV infection, and preventive intervention.

This paper considers strategies for preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among African-American and Hispanic-American adolescents. We describe culturally sensitive interventions based on social learning theory. The interventions combine elements of cognitive-behavioral skills for problem solving, coping, and interpersonal communication with elements of ethnic pride and HIV facts. The paper discusses the strengths and limitations of skills intervention for AIDS prevention and concludes with directions for research.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

On the measurement of tobacco use by adolescents. Validity of self-reports of smokeless tobacco use and validity of cotinine as an indicator of cigarette smoking.

This study assessed the validity of self-reports of smokeless tobacco use by adolescents and the validity of cotinine as a measure of adolescent cigarette smoking. For a sample of 1,854 persons aged 12-14 years living in the southeastern United States in 1985, a combination of three biochemical measures (salivary cotinine, salivary thiocyanate, and alveolar carbon monoxide) and self-reports of cigarette smoking were used to identify subjects who used only smokeless tobacco and subjects who did not use smokeless tobacco. The sensitivity and specificity of self-reports of smokeless tobacco use were 40.8% and 97.9%, respectively. It was determined that of the 175 subjects who ordinarily would be considered smokers because they had salivary cotinine levels greater than or equal to 10 ng/ml, 43.4% used only smokeless tobacco.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Implementation of a pilot school-site cholesterol reduction intervention.

A school-based cholesterol reduction intervention was offered to primary grade students in two New York City public schools. Subjects were participating in the "Know Your Body" school health program which includes an annual cholesterol screening for all students. Students with total serum cholesterol values greater than 170 mg/dl were eligible for a workshop designed to teach students to identify the amount and type of fat and fiber in various foods and to recognize the negative health consequences of eating a diet high in cholesterol and saturated fat as well as the benefits of eating a diet high in complex carbohydrate and fiber. Thirty-four students completed the five-session behavioral group intervention. Following the workshop, mean total cholesterol for the 34 intervention participants fell 9.0% from baseline (196.9 mg/dl to 179.1 mg/dl). Cholesterol levels decreased 6.6% for a matched sample of comparison subjects (n = 118) participating only in the "Know Your Body" program. While several methodological limitations existed in this pilot study, the results suggest school-site cholesterol reduction interventions for high-risk individuals are feasible, cost-effective, and potentially efficacious.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Smokeless tobacco use among adolescents: a theoretical overview.

Prevalence data that are currently available indicate that smokeless tobacco use among youths in various parts of the United States is a significant and growing problem. Although relatively little is known about the factors that contribute to the initiation and maintenance of this behavior, previous research focusing on other substance use provides a valuable framework for both a study of smokeless tobacco use and the design of effective interventions for its prevention. The papers presented in this monograph address many of the gaps in our current knowledge and provide an accurate overview of research efforts in this area to date.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Psychosocial approaches to substance abuse prevention: theoretical foundations and empirical findings.

Substance abuse continues to be a major public health problem and a central policy issue throughout the United States. Interventions developed to reduce or prevent substance use have taken many forms including school-based education programs, mass media campaigns, and community-based movements. The extant research literature indicates that these interventions have frequently increased knowledge and awareness, and they have occasionally had an impact on attitudes and other substance use-related variables. However, rarely have any of these interventions had a measurable impact on actual substance use. A major exception is a class of school-based primary-prevention approaches that focus on the key psychosocial factors promoting adolescent substance use. These approaches include either resistance skills training alone or in combination with broader competence-enhancement interventions. The development of these intervention approaches and the evidence supporting their efficacy is an encouraging advance in a field replete with failures. Still, it is important to recognize the limitations of these approaches in their current form and the need to develop more comprehensive approaches combining school-based interventions with those impacting on the family, social institutions, and the larger community.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Promoting health and preventing disease in health care settings: an analysis of barriers.

Changes in lifestyle that promote health-enhancing behaviors and inhibit health-compromising behaviors have been recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General as an integral component of our general strategy for improving the health of the nation. A variety of innovations including new knowledge, new products, and new services have been developed with this recommendation in mind, and a major objective of these efforts is to identify settings for the effective diffusion and adoption of these new approaches into population groups that can make use of them. Health care settings such as hospitals, clinics, community health centers, health maintenance organizations, and private physicians' offices offer unique possibilities in this regard. Though opportunities exist for promoting health and preventing disease in other settings like schools and worksites, the primary objectives of such organizations are unrelated to health. Despite the obvious potential, however, our health care system has, in general, retained as its primary emphasis the treatment of disease rather than the enhancement of health. This article reviews the opportunities for health promotion and disease prevention in health care settings and identifies a range of barriers to such efforts. These barriers are discussed within a framework that focuses on dissemination and implementation as critical steps in the knowledge transfer process. Strategies for overcoming these barriers are described within the context of general linkage theory.

Adolescent↗