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Guidelines for school programs to prevent skin cancer.

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. Since 1973, new cases of the most serious form of skin cancer, melanoma, have increased approximately 150%. During the same period, deaths from melanoma have increased approximately 44%. Approximately 65%-90% of melanomas are caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. More than one half of a persons lifetime UV exposure occurs during childhood and adolescence because of more opportunities and time for exposure. Exposure to UV radiation during childhood plays a role in the future development of skin cancer. Persons with a history of > or = 1 blistering sunburns during childhood or adolescence are two times as likely to develop melanoma than those who did not have such exposures. Studies indicate that protection from UV exposure during childhood and adolescence reduces the risk for skin cancer. These studies support the need to protect young persons from the sun beginning at an early age. School staff can play a major role in protecting children and adolescents from UV exposure and the future development of skin cancer by instituting policies, environmental changes, and educational programs that can reduce skin cancer risks among young persons. This report reviews scientific literature regarding the rates, trends, causes, and prevention of skin cancer and presents guidelines for schools to implement a comprehensive approach to preventing skin cancer. Based on a review of research, theory, and current practice, these guidelines were developed by CDC in collaboration with specialists in dermatology, pediatrics, public health, and education; national, federal, state, and voluntary agencies; schools; and other organizations. Recommendations are included for schools to reduce skin cancer risks through policies; creation of physical, social, and organizational environments that facilitate protection from UV rays; education of young persons; professional development of staff involvement of families; health services; and program evaluation.

Adolescent↗

Investigating the nature of formal social support provision for young mothers in a city in the North West of England.

Young mothers often require support to remain socially 'included' after becoming pregnant and this, in its turn, could protect their health. In this context, new policy initiatives aimed at tackling social exclusion, such as those implemented under the National Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, could be working to build social support mechanisms. The present paper addresses the issue of whether statutory services do in fact deliver 'social inclusion', through the provision of appropriate social support for young mothers. Data are drawn from semistructured interviews with service providers from a variety of different settings. The questionnaire was structured around an established model of social support, developed by M. Barrera, called the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviours. The study took place in a deprived inner city in North West England. Eleven participants were interviewed from seven separate organisations. The findings indicate that there were well-developed referral systems between services, with services adopting a social model of health. Much informational and emotional support was provided. What was less clear is how services are enabling social support to be developed amongst peer groups accessing the services particularly at community level. It is questionable to what extent services are able to foster the development of social support through social activities and support groups, and even whether it is appropriate to expect them to do so. In some sense, services go some way to delivering social inclusion, in that they are providing advice about income, housing and other opportunities. However, services appear to be missing an opportunity to foster social inclusion through the lack of development of supportive networks amongst groups of peers, which may have implications for the health of young mothers.

Adolescent↗

Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and psychological adaptation of the nurses in a structured SARS caring unit during outbreak: a prospective and periodic assessment study in Taiwan.

To assess the rapidly changing psychological status of nurses during the acute phase of the 2003 SARS outbreak, we conducted a prospective and periodic evaluation of psychiatric morbidity and psychological adaptation among nurses in SARS units and non-SARS units. Nurse participants were from two SARS units (regular SARS [N=44] and SARS ICU [N=26]) and two non-SARS units (Neurology [N=15] and CCU [N=17]). Participants periodically self-evaluated their depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, sleep disturbance, attitude towards SARS and family support. Results showed that depression (38.5% vs. 3.1%) and insomnia (37% vs. 9.7%) were, respectively, greater in the SARS unit nurses than the non-SARS unit nurses. No difference between these two groups was found in the prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms (33% vs. 18.7%), yet, three unit subjects (SARS ICU, SARS regular and Neurology) had significantly higher rate than those in CCU (29.7% vs. 11.8%, respectively) (p<0.05). For the SARS unit nurses, significant reduction in mood ratings, insomnia rate and perceived negative feelings as well as increasing knowledge and understanding of SARS at the end of the study (all p<0.001) indicated that a gradual psychological adaptation had occurred. The adjustment of nurses in the more structured SARS ICU environment, where nurses care for even more severely ill patients, may have been as good or better than that of nurses in the regular SARS unit. Occurrence of psychiatric symptoms was linked to direct exposure to SARS patient care, previous mood disorder history, younger age and perceived negative feelings. Positive coping attitude and strong social and family support may have protected against acute stress. In conclusion, the psychological impact on the caring staffs facing future bio-disaster will be minimized with lowered risk factors and a safer and more structured work environment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Reproductive health risk and protective factors among youth in Lusaka, Zambia.

PURPOSE: To: (a) identify risk and protective factors for behaviors that expose Zambian youth to risk of HIV infection and, (b) assess whether research findings from the United States concerning protective factors in "high-risk" environments might apply to other settings. METHODS: A community-based sample of 2328 youth ages 10-24 years residing in Lusaka, Zambia was interviewed. Multivariate statistical methods were used to isolate risk and protective factors for selected sexual and contraceptive behaviors. Seven categories of factors were considered: sociodemographic factors, sexual-reproductive health knowledge and perceptions, nonsexual risk behaviors, peer influence, connections with parents and social institutions, and communication with sexual partners. RESULTS: A sizeable number of factors were associated with each outcome. Only two factors, school attendance and knowledge of AIDS, were associated with both lower levels of sexual activity and consistent use of condoms, and only engaging in higher-risk social activities with close friends was a risk factor for both. The effects of the other factors considered varied by outcome and gender. As in prior research, strong influences of peers were observed, but connections with parents and social institutions unexpectedly did not emerge as protective. CONCLUSION: Because of the number and diverse nature of factors influencing adolescent behaviors, it is unlikely that a single intervention will be found to immediately change sexual risk-taking behaviors in Zambia.

Adolescent↗

Social support and psychiatric sickness absence: a prospective study of British civil servants.

BACKGROUND: Studies on the direct and buffering effects of social support have not examined psychiatric sickness absence and few studies have considered support both at home and at work. This study addresses prospectively the effects of chronic stressors and social supports, at home and at work, on psychiatric sickness absence rates. METHODS: Sociodemographic factors, health and social support were measured at baseline, and short and long spells of sickness absence were measured prospectively over a 5-year period. The participants were a subsample of 4202 male and female civil servants, aged 35-55 years at baseline, from an occupational cohort, the Whitehall II Study, who completed detailed social support questions. RESULTS: Support from colleagues and supervisors at work is related to lower risk of short spells of psychiatric sickness absence, particularly for those also receiving high levels of negative aspects of close relationships from their closest person outside work. Negative aspects of close relationships from the closest person increase the risk of taking long spells of psychiatric sickness absence in men. High levels of material problems increase the risk of short spells of sickness absence. CONCLUSIONS: Negative aspects of close relationships may have an aetiological role in non-psychotic psychiatric disorder. Social support at work appears to protect against short spells of psychiatric sickness absence. This potentially implies that levels of short spells of absence might be reduced by increasing support at work. Conversely, emotional support at home may influenced absence-related behaviour and encourage a person to take absence at a time of illness.

Absenteeism↗

Physical activity reduces the risk of subsequent depression for older adults.

Previous studies assessing protective effects of physical activity on depression have had conflicting results; one recent study argued that excluding disabled subjects attenuated any observed effects. The authors' objective was to compare the effects of higher levels of physical activity on prevalent and incident depression with and without exclusion of disabled subjects. Participants were 1,947 community-dwelling adults from the Alameda County Study aged 50-94 years at baseline in 1994 with 5 years of follow-up. Depression was measured using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Physical activity was measured with an eight-point scale; odds ratios are based upon a one-point increase on the scale. Even with adjustments for age, sex, ethnicity, financial strain, chronic conditions, disability, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking, and social relations, greater physical activity was protective for both prevalent depression (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.79, 1.01) and incident depression (adjusted OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.96) over 5 years. Exclusion of disabled subjects did not attenuate the incidence results (adjusted OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.92). Findings support the protective effects of physical activity on depression for older adults and argue against excluding disabled subjects from similar studies.

Aged↗

Is there a difference between family caregiving of institutionalized elders with or without dementia?

Based on the stress and coping model of Lazarus and Folkman, the aim of this comparative study was to determine whether the caregiving experience of the caregivers of an institutionalized demented relative is different from the one of the caregivers whose relative does not suffer from dementia. Five dimensions of the caregiving experience were considered: stressors, cognitive appraisal of the stressors, social support, coping strategies and well-being. The sample consisted of primary caregivers of a demented and a nondemented relative. Results revealed that the caregivers of a demented relative were exposed to more stressors than the caregivers of a nondemented relative. Functional impairment as well as depressive behaviors were appraised as more disturbing. According to MANCOVA analysis, formal and informal social support seems to play a protective role in the psychological distress of the caregivers of a demented relative. There was no difference between the two groups with regard to their coping strategies. Overall, the caregivers of a demented relative seemed to experience some dimensions of caregiving in a different way compared with their counterparts, and the nature of dementia in itself helps to explain this difference.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Reducing out-of-home placements of abused children: two controlled field studies.

This study presents the outcome data on the effectiveness of social learning treatments in reducing out-of-home placements of abused children. Noteworthy are that true experimental designs used in both studies and their being conducted in a natural field setting, child protection services agencies. The results indicate that this model of family intervention is an effective alternative to out-of-home placements with this population for approximately 50% of typical child protection services caseloads. The cost benefits of social learning treatments are discussed along with potentially useful clinical and research directions.

Child↗

[Infantile malnutrition: social cost of respiratory and digestive pathology].

Information from the hospital records of 1,660 children under two years of age admitted to the Hospital Roberto del Río (Northern District of Santiago) during 1979, allowed carrying out an analysis of the effect of malnutrition upon the admission rate and length of stay for diarrhea and respiratory infections. The following indexes were calculated and related to nutritional status: a) Admission rate for the total population of children under two years of age from the Northern District of Santiago; b) frequency of associated and intercurrent pathology, and c) length of stay. The three indexes evidenced a clear relationship with nutritional status (P much less than 0.01), showing a progressive deterioration as the relationship weight/age became impaired. The admission rate for diarrhea was nine times higher, and the length of stay 16.9% higher (P less than 0.001) in children with mild malnutrition as compared with normal patients. For respiratory infections the rates were 2.4 and 24.7% higher (P less than 0.001) in malnourished patients than in normals. The excess of admission rate for diarrhea and respiratory pathology, conditioned by malnutrition in the Northern District of Santiago, was estimated as the cost equivalent to 10,609 extra days of stay, with an annual cost above US$300,000. The investment of such an amount of money in health promotion and protection activities would certainly increase its social cost-effectiveness.

Diarrhea, Infantile↗

Involvement of cholecystokininergic systems in anxiety-induced hyperalgesia in male rats: behavioral and biochemical studies.

Keeping in mind the increased pain complaints reported in anxious or depressive patients, our goal was to investigate in rats the consequences of an experimentally provoked state of anxiety/depression on pain behavior and on its underlying mechanisms. We therefore used a model of social defeat consisting of a 30 min protected confrontation followed by a 15 min physical confrontation, repeated during 4 d, that elicited symptoms close to those observed in humans with anxiety or depression. Indeed, 5 d later, animals subjected to social-defeat confrontation were characterized by a decrease of sweet-water consumption and of body weight, and a hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, suggesting that the social-defeat procedure induced a prolonged state of anxiety. Rats subjected to the social-defeat procedure showed an enhanced nociceptive behavior to the subcutaneous administration of formalin, 5 d after the last confrontation session. Because chronic treatment with the established anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide (10 mg.kg(-1).d(-1)) prevented hyperalgesia, this strongly suggested that this experimental procedure might be a suitable animal model of "anxiety-induced hyperalgesia." Hyperalgesia associated with anxiety not only was related to a significant increase of CCKLM [cholecystokinin (CCK)-like material] in frontal cortex microdialysates but also was prevented by a CCK-B receptor antagonist [4-[[2-[[3-(1H-indol-3-yl)-2-methyl-1-oxo-2[[(tricyclo[3.3[12,17]dec-2-yloxy)-carbonyl]amino]-propyl]amino]-1-phenyethyl]amino]-4-oxo-[R-(R*, R*)]-butanoate N-methyl-D-glucamine (CI-988)] (2 mg/kg), strongly supporting the involvement of central CCKergic systems in these phenomena. Finally, combined treatments with CI-988 and morphine completely suppressed pain-related behavior, supporting the idea that the association of both compounds might represent a new therapeutic approach to reduce the increase of pain complaints highly prevalent among anxious or depressive patients.

Animals↗

Combating child homicide: preventive policing for the new millennium.

High-profile media coverage of crimes against children has heightened public awareness of critical child safety needs and issues. However, numerous research studies in the area of child homicide have illustrated the importance of the power of science to correct false perceptions and misinformation, improving how to best serve and protect our children. Age-based analyses of childhood crime patterns have vastly improved how law enforcement and social service practitioners identify, investigate, and resolve child victimization cases. Future protective efforts must involve multiagency and multidisciplinary collaboration. Law enforcement, social service clinicians, educators, and academicians should jointly develop and implement pragmatic and effective prevention, detection, and resolution programs and policies.

Child↗

Religiosity and depression: ten-year follow-up of depressed mothers and offspring.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines maternal religiosity as a protective factor against depression in offspring. METHOD: Sixty mothers and 151 offspring were independently assessed over the course of a 10-year follow-up. Maternal and offspring religiosity were assessed on the basis of self-report of the importance of religion, the frequency of attendance of religious services, and religious denomination. Depression was assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders-Lifetime version. Maternal bonding style was assessed through offspring report on the Parental Bonding Instrument. A series of logistic regressions were run to predict offspring depression status, taking into account maternal religiosity, offspring religiosity, and mother-offspring concordance of religiosity. RESULTS: Maternal religiosity and mother-offspring concordance of religiosity were shown to be protective against offspring depression, independent of maternal parental bonding, maternal social functioning, and maternal demographics. CONCLUSION: Maternal religiosity and offspring concordance with it may protect against depression in offspring.

Adult↗

Risk assessment and management of occupational exposure to pesticides in agriculture.

Nearly 50% of the world labour force is employed in agriculture. Over the last 50 years, agriculture has deeply changed with a massive utilisation of pesticides and fertilisers to enhance crop protection and production, food quality and food preservation. Pesticides are also increasingly employed for public health purposes and for domestic use. Pesticide are unique chemicals as they are intrinsically toxic for several biological targets, are deliberately spread into the environment, and their toxicity has a limited species selectivity. Pesticide toxicity depends on the compound family and is generally greater for the older compounds; in humans, they are responsible for acute poisonings as well as for long term health effects, including cancer and adverse effects on reproduction. Due to their intrinsic toxicity, in most countries a specific and complex legislation prescribes a thorough risk assessment process for pesticides prior to their entrance to the market (pre-marketing risk assessment). The post-marketing risk assessment takes place during the use of pesticides and aims at assessing the risk for exposed operators. The results of the risk assessment are the base for the health surveillance of exposed workers. Occupational exposure to pesticides in agriculture concerns product distributors, mixers and loaders, applicators, bystanders, and rural workers re-entering the fields shortly after treatment. Assessing and managing the occupational health risks posed by the use of pesticides in agriculture is a complex but essential task for occupational health specialists and toxicologists. In spite of the economic and social importance of agriculture, the health protection of agricultural workforce has been overlooked for too many years, causing an heavy tribute paid in terms of avoidable diseases, human sufferance, and economic losses. Particularly in the developing countries, where agricultural work is one of the predominant job, a sustainable model of development calls for more attention to occupational risks in agriculture. The experience of many countries has shown that prevention of health risk caused by pesticides is technically feasible and economically rewarding for the individuals and the whole community. A proper risk assessment and management of pesticide use is an essential component of this preventative

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗

Association between maternal education and infant diarrhea in different household and community environments of Cebu, Philippines.

Maternal education is one of the strongest determinants of infant survival in developing countries, however, questions remain regarding the extent to which its effects vary as a function of contextual variables. In this study, a multi-level interactive model is used to assess whether the protective effect of maternal education on the risk of infant diarrhea is modified by three aspects of the mother's familial and community environment: household assets, community economic resources and the availability of mothers' clubs. 2484 study participants were interviewed in 1984 as part of the Cebu Longitudinal Infant Health and Nutrition Study. The findings suggest that the protective effect of maternal education on infant diarrhea varies according to the socio-economic environment in which the mother lives: maternal education protects against infant diarrhea in the more economically and socially advantaged communities but has no effect in the more disadvantaged communities. The results also indicate that the protective effect of maternal education is smaller in the wealthier households. These data suggest that improvement in maternal education level, alone, may not always have the expected beneficial effects on infant health. Corollary measures to improve access of mothers and children to basic community resources and efforts to help mothers be more effective in their various social roles may be necessary preconditions for higher levels of maternal education to result in improved infant health.

Adult↗

The history and future of accelerator radiological protection.

The development of accelerator radiological protection from the mid-1930s, just after the invention of the cyclotron, to the present day is described. Three major themes--physics, personalities and politics--are developed. In the sections describing physics the development of shielding design though measurement, radiation transport calculations, the impact of accelerators on the environment and dosimetry in accelerator radiation fields are described. The discussion is limited to high-energy, high-intensity electron and proton accelerators. The impact of notable personalities on the development of both the basic science and on the accelerator health physics profession itself is described. The important role played by scholars and teachers is discussed. In the final section. which discusses the future of accelerator radiological protection, some emphasis is given to the social and political aspects that must he faced in the years ahead.

History, 20th Century↗

Groups as gatekeepers to genomic research: conceptually confusing, morally hazardous, and practically useless.

Some argue that human groups have a stake in the outcome of population-genomics research and that the decision to participate in such research should therefore be subject to group permission. It is not possible, however, to obtain prior group permission, because the actual human groups under study, human demes, are unidentifiable before research begins. Moreover, they lack moral standing. If identifiable social groups with moral standing are used as proxies for demes, group approval could be sought, but at the expense of unfairly exposing these surrogates to risks from which prior group approval is powerless to protect them. Unless population genomics can proceed without targeting socially defined groups, or can find other ways of protecting them, it may fall to individuals to protect the interests of the groups they care about, and to scientists to warn their subjects of the need to do so.

Cultural Diversity↗

Racial socialization and racial identity: can they promote resiliency for African American adolescents?

Although there is a rich body of research on resiliency, much of the literature fails to include minority youths or does not take into consideration their distinctive racial and environmental circumstances. Additionally, limited attention has been given to protective factors that are unique to nonmajority populations. This article posits that racial socialization and racial identity protect urban African American adolescents against some of the harmful effects of a discriminatory environment. These factors are hypothesized to influence academic achievement-an indicator of resiliency that has been used in many studies. A theoretical framework is provided that combines character development in a hostile environment, bicultural identity, and urban stress models. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

National call to action: Working toward the elimination of child maltreatment. The economics.

No reliable estimates exist of the overall costs to society of child maltreatment that will withstand serious examination. Arguably some of the most important human costs of maltreatment are unquantifiable. Moreover, in many cases it is difficult if not impossible to separate the economics of child abuse and neglect from the economics of a host of other problems facing families. Still, even conservative estimates of government spending on behalf of abused and neglected children and their families illustrate that child maltreatment costs society a great deal, with much of that expense going for deep-end intervention rather than family support and prevention. Government expenditures directed at this social problem have grown rapidly since the rediscovery of child abuse in the 1960s and now exceed spending for a number of essential supports for children and families. Moreover, the new era of continuing commitment to child protection in the context of a revised social contract with the nation's poor raises serious questions about the economics of child maltreatment in the future.

Child↗