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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Health attitudes, health cognitions, and health behaviors among Internet health information seekers: population-based survey.

BACKGROUND: Using a functional theory of media use, this paper examines the process of health-information seeking in different domains of Internet use. OBJECTIVE: Based on an analysis of the 1999 HealthStyles data, this study was designed to demonstrate that people who gather information on the Internet are more health-oriented than non-users of Internet health information. METHODS: The Porter Novelli HealthStyles database, collected annually since 1995, is based on the results of nationally representative postal mail surveys. In 1999, 2636 respondents provided usable data for the HealthStyles database. Independent sample t-tests and logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The results showed that individuals who searched for health information on the Internet were indeed more likely to be health-oriented than those who did not. Consumers who sought out medical information on the Internet reported higher levels of health-information orientation and healthy activities, as well as stronger health beliefs than those who did not search for medical news on the Internet. It was observed that those who reported searching for information about drugs and medications on the Internet held stronger health beliefs than the non-searchers. Comparison of individuals who reported seeking out information about specific diseases on the Internet with individuals who did not showed those who sought out disease-specific information on the Internet to be more health-oriented. Finally, consumers who sought out healthy lifestyle information on the Internet were more health conscious and more health-information oriented than those who did not. They were also more likely to hold stronger health-oriented beliefs and to engage in healthy activities. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the functional theory of Internet use. Internet searchers who used the Internet for a wide range of health purposes were typically more health oriented than non-searchers.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2004

Primary sources of health information: comparisons in the domain of health attitudes, health cognitions, and health behaviors.

The recent growth in consumer autonomy in health care accompanied by the surge in the use of new media for health information gathering has led to an increasing scholarly interest in understanding the consumer health information search construct. This article explores consumer health information seeking in the realm of the primary sources of health information used by consumers. Based on an analysis of the 1999 HealthStyles data, the paper demonstrates that active communication channels such as interpersonal communication, print readership, and Internet communication serve as primary health information sources for health-conscious, health-information oriented individuals with strong health beliefs, and commitment to healthy activities. On the other hand, passive consumption channels such as television and radio serve as primary health information resources for individuals who are not health-oriented. Media planning implications are drawn from the results, suggesting that broadcast outlets with an entertainment orientation are better suited for prevention campaigns. Such channels provide suitable sites for entertainment-education. On the other hand, print media, interpersonal networks, and the Internet are better suited for communicating about health issues to the health-active consumer segment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Life events and their impact on health attitudes and health behavior.

A representative sample of non-institutionalized elderly persons between 65 and 74 years living in Stockholm county, Sweden responded to a self-report health questionnaire. Special life events and their subsequent effects were examined in the context of health attitudes and health behavior. Of the 370 respondents, 128 reported experiencing a special life event. The resulting effects of life events were categorized into one of six groups: smoking, alcohol, diet, restricted mobility, existential circumstances and a miscellaneous group. Positive associations between life events and health attitudes and health behavior were discovered. This was particularly evident in the diet and the restricted mobility group. The findings suggest that the occurrence of life events and subsequent effects can contribute to health promotive behavior despite the potential worries, poor health and diseases which may also be associated with them.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Relationship between cross-cultural health attitudes and community health indicators.

Improving health standards both nationally and cross-culturally is a goal for all community health nurses. Previous research has supported links between health attitudes and behavior. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between attitudes toward health and indexes of community health using a cross-cultural data set. Concepts selected from the data set were I (myself), body, sickness, disease, life, doctor, health, medicine, hospital, nurse, death, and insane. Community health indicators were male and female life expectancy, infant mortality, economic and public health expenditures, and net social progress. The original sample included 1200 high school males within each of 30 language and cultural communities. Data were derived from students' ratings of the dimensions of evaluation, potency, and activity for each concept. The results supported the association between attitudes and objective community health indicators. Unexpected negative correlations were found between attitudes toward medicine and nurse attitudes toward body and life, perhaps indicating that extended contact with health care providers may result in negative attitudes toward them. Positive relationships were found between public health expenditures and nurses, indicating that in countries with more expenditures for community and public health, attitudes toward nurses were more positive.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of oral health attitude of mothers on the gingival health of their school age children.

We investigated the influence of mothers' oral health attitudes on their children's gingival health level, in 257 pairs of mothers and children from an elementary school in Hiroshima. The Oral Rating Index for Children (ORI-C) was used for the gingival health examination, and the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI) was used to assess the oral health attitude of each mother. Subjects in mother and child pairs were divided into a lower grade group (L-group) (grades 1-3), and upper grade group (U-group) (grades 4-6). Gingival health i L-group children was 3.42 times higher in those whose mothers noticed plaque, and 2.68 times higher in those who received dental check-ups. However, ORI-C scores were not correlated to HU-DBI scores in the U-group. We concluded that the gingival health of children could be significantly influenced by the oral health attitude of their mothers up to approximately ten years of age.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1998

Sex differences in health attitudes and choice of health behaviors.

College students (82 men, 166 women) were assessed on a variety of physical fitness measures and completed questionnaires regarding health behaviors and attitudes. The men's health behaviors focused on physical activity while women's focused on dietary changes for better health.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A systematic review of associations among religiosity/spirituality and adolescent health attitudes and behaviors.

PURPOSE: To systematically review and synthesize literature concerning the relationships among religiosity, spirituality, health attitudes, and health behaviors in adolescents. METHODS: Forty-three studies between 1998 and 2003 were systematically reviewed to (a) determine if the studies were based on conceptual or theoretical frameworks, (b) identify the types of religiosity and spirituality measures used as well as their effects on health attitudes and behaviors, (c) evaluate the quality of these measures, (d) determine categories and frequency of measures of health attitudes and behaviors, (e) evaluate the quality of the research designs, and (f) determine the effects of religiosity or spirituality on adolescent health attitudes and behaviors. RESULTS: Over half (n = 26) the studies were atheoretical or had an unclear framework and the other half were based on a wide variety of conceptual and theoretical models. A total of 37 distinct religiosity/spirituality variables were identified and varied in specificity. Less than half (n = 21) reported reliability of the measures and only seven contained information about validity of the measures. All 43 studies included measures of health-risk behaviors and/or attitudes but only seven addressed health-promoting behaviors. Most studies (84%) showed that measures of religiosity/spirituality had positive effects on health attitudes and behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The variety of studies and measures indicate that religiosity and spirituality may be important correlates of adolescent health attitudes and behaviors. Although the majority of the studies reviewed were well designed, there was no consistency in the theoretical bases and operational definitions of religiosity/spirituality phenomena.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Health attitudes of school teachers.

OBJECTIVE: Teachers' health attitudes are usually a reflection of their knowledge, beliefs and perceptions on health. Such attitudes could be disseminated from teachers to their pupils, who represent the fastest growing segment of the population. Health promotion in society will depend, among other factors, on this segment. School teachers therefore, should have proper attitudes and be knowledgeable with regards to health issues. The purpose of this study was to assess school teachers' health attitudes and perceptions. METHODS: This study was conducted in Bahrain during 1997 through to 1998. A random sample of 49 schools were selected and all the teachers (N=1140) serving in those schools were chosen. Information regarding their health attitudes was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. RESULTS: One thousand one hundred and forty teachers with age ranging from 20-58-years responded to the questionnaire. Results indicated that teachers in Bahrain lack appropriate health attitudes and knowledge. CONCLUSION: There is a need for an in service training of teachers in order to promote their health attitudes, that can reflect on the attitude of their pupils.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

A study of preventive health attitudes and behaviors in a family practice setting.

Preventive health care has been identified as a major function of the family physician. The ability of the family physician to significantly affect the preventive health status of a patient and his/her family is largely dependent on the preventive health attitudes and health care practices of the patient. This preliminary study identifies some of the attitudes towards preventive health and reported health care practices of a sample of patients in a model family practice unit. The authors found that social position was significantly associated with assessment of personal health, attitudes towards preventive health practices, and attitudes toward the preventive function of the physician. While the majority of the study population was willing to spend time to obtain preventive health care services, the same population was almost evenly divided about their willingness to spend extra money to obtain these services. The physician was cited as the most frequent source of health care information by respondents in this study.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Attitudes and ischaemic heart disease in the Caerphilly Study: the Health Attitude Inventory.

BACKGROUND: The Health Attitude Inventory (HAI) is developed to assess attitudes, beliefs and values towards coronary-related behaviour in epidemiological studies. It comprises a 76-item self-administered questionnaire which can be completed in under 10 minutes by most adults. METHODS: The HAI was administered to 2100 men aged 50-64 years along with measures of ischaemic heart disease risk factors, including the following coronary-related behaviours: smoking, exercise, type A behaviour and the consumption of fried food, dairy produce, wholemeal bread and vegetables. RESULTS: Cross-sectional analyses using linear regression showed attitudes, beliefs and values to explain between 8% and 27% of the variance in the dietary coronary-related behaviour. For exercise 13% of the variance was explained, and for type A behaviour 18%. Similar analysis for smoking using logistic regression (non-smoker versus current smoker) showed a predictive concordance of 95%. CONCLUSIONS: The HAI has demonstrated the assessment of attitudes, beliefs and values in an epidemiological setting to show associations with a range of coronary risk behaviours. This finding has potential public health as well as aetiological application in that influential attitudes, values and beliefs can be identified to aid increasing healthy as well as reducing risky coronary-related behaviour.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1992

Multiple influences on the acquisition and socialization of children's health attitudes and behavior: an integrative review.

An overview and synthesis of the literature documenting various influences on the socialization and acquisition of children's health attitudes and behavior is the focus of this review. Cognitive-developmental approaches to understanding children's health attitudes are presented, followed by an exploration of an individual differences perspective on children's acquisition of health attitudes and behavior. The influence of various socialization agents, including families, peers, schools, and the media, on children's acquisition of health attitudes and behavior is considered. Implications of these findings for social policy, future research, and modeling of child health attitudes and behavior are examined.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2006

A descriptive study comparing health attitudes of urban and rural oncology patients.

INTRODUCTION: Rural patients have poor outcomes in cancer management. Previous studies have shown different health beliefs and values in rural populations with high levels of stoicism and fatalism, leading to later presentation and diagnosis, with subsequent poorer prognosis and survival. This study explores the relationship between urban or rural background and health attitudes of newly diagnosed oncology patients, attending one oncology unit in north Queensland, during a 5 month period. This study is a forerunner to a planned larger project to explore the research question: do oncology patients from rural backgrounds differ in their health attitudes and hope levels compared with those from urban backgrounds? The aim of this study was to determine the utility of the selected validated instruments, newly diagnosed patients' willingness and ability to complete the composite survey instrument, and to identify likely issues for inclusion and/or greater focus in the larger project. As pilot studies are also used to develop or refine research questions and hypotheses, this article also considers some research questions for the planned large scale study. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaire survey of 47 patients newly referred to the Medical Oncology Department in The Townsville Cancer Centre. Scales used were: the EORTC QLQ-C30 to assess symptom burden and quality of life; the Duke UNS Functional Social Support Questionnaire to assess social support; the Herth Hope Index to assess hope; and the Multi-Dimensional Health Locus of Control to assess health beliefs. Data were collated and transformed according to the various scales' scoring manuals. Rurality was ascertained using the RRMA classification and patient self-assessment. Uni-variate analyses were conducted as small numbers precluded multi-variate analysis. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used where data were skewed, or categorical. Monte-Carlo estimations of p-values were generated. RESULTS: In all, 28 of 47 patients classified as rural, 27 were suitable for curative treatment, and 31 were male. Median age was 56 years. Some respondents (17%) identified as 'rural', although they had an urban residence, and vice versa. Health attitude scores were not affected by global health scores or by intent of treatment (palliative/curative). Males scored significantly higher for belief in chance. Rural patients scored significantly higher for internal belief and belief in chance. No statistically significant differences were evident between rural/urban patients by gender, nor social support scores. Hope levels were generally high with no significant difference between urban and rural patients, regardless of treatment intent. DISCUSSION: The study does reveal differences in health attitudes between urban and rural populations; however, there are several confounding factors which may contribute to this, especially gender. In this study women were under-represented. People with fatalistic beliefs (high belief in chance) tend to have poor initiative in health matters which may cause delay in seeking treatment, or poor compliance with treatment. Analysis is limited by small numbers of patients. This study is a pilot to a larger project to investigate health attitudes and decisions by oncology patients in northern Queensland. The questionnaire was well received by patients, but the need for a dedicated recruitment person was evident. There is a need to determine how patients identify in terms of rurality over and above their actual place of residence.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Prevention of coronary heart disease: health knowledge, health attitude and fat consumption in a random sample of Belgian physicians.

Health knowledge, health attitude and fat consumption has been explored in a random sample of 2150 Belgian physicians below age 71; the response rate was 60.7%. Health knowledge, health attitude and fat consumption are significantly intercorrelated. Comparing general practitioners (G.Ps) to specialists, non significant differences were observed in terms of health knowledge whereas health attitude was more positive in G.Ps who, on the other hand, had a lower saturated fat intake score. Dutch speaking physicians had a higher health knowledge score whereas their fat intake score was significantly lower (less saturated fats) compared to their French counterparts. Differences in eating patterns between the French and Dutch speaking Belgian population are also observed in Belgian physicians.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Dental esthetics, orthodontic treatment, and oral-health attitudes in young adults.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate whether young adults with varying dental esthetics and histories of orthodontic treatment also differ in oral-health attitudes, preventive behaviors, and self-perceived oral health. METHODS: The sample comprised 298 young adults, 18 to 30 years old, with at least 13 years of primary and secondary school education. The subjects were asked to complete questionnaires dealing with various measures related to oral-health attitudes, preventive behaviors, and perceptions of oral health. Dental esthetics were assessed by means of the aesthetic component of the index of orthodontic treatment need. Dental plaque accumulation was assessed in a subsample of respondents. RESULTS: Subjects with high dental-esthetics scores reported more favorable oral-health attitudes, such as internal control, dental awareness, value of occlusion, and preventive behavior expectations than subjects with lower scores. Subjects with previous orthodontic treatment showed greater internal control and dental awareness than those who had not previously been treated. Subjects ranking high in dental esthetics and those with previous orthodontic treatment reported stricter oral-hygiene adherence than others. Self-perceived oral health was better in high scorers on dental esthetics. Less plaque accumulation was found in subjects with higher dental esthetic scores and in those with previous orthodontic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that favorable dental esthetics and previous orthodontic treatment might be important variables in explaining individual differences in oral-health attitudes and behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alternate forms of health attitude scale.

OBJECTIVES: To develop valid and reliable alternate forms to measure college students' attitudes toward health. METHODS: Final scale, composed of 2 different but equivalent 15-item forms, was administered to 2 sets of college students. The mixed format of 30 items was administered to one sample of college students whereas a pre-post format was administered to another set of students. RESULTS: Item analysis showed adequate internal consistency of each subscale for both forms. Equivalent form reliability coefficients were .91 and .88. Factor analyses confirmed the 3 underlying constructs of the scale. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical analyses demonstrated the comparability of the alternate forms.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Oral health attitudes and behaviour among patients in a tertiary hospital.

Oral health attitude and behaviour among patients in a Nigerian tertiary Hospital was investigated. About 177 patients participated via a self-administered questionnaire which was completed anonymously within 5 minutes. No patient had any fore knowledge of the questions. About 63.2% have visited dental office, 53.4% visited only when in ache, 65.6% brushed more frequently, 28.8% have gum bleeding on brushing and 6.8% smoked cigarette. More females (35.5%) than males (23.7%) live with their families. About 37.9% (females) compared to 25.4% (males) visit dental office, while 36.2% of females visit when in ache against males (19.2%). Males (26%) brush less frequently than females (39.5%). Also, while more females (30.5%) are satisfied with their teeth appearance than males (19.2%), more males (5.1%) smoked than females (1.7%). Within the limitations of the study, generally males oral health attitude and behaviour are poorer and therefore, oral health campaign should be adopted for the population with special attention to the male gender.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1984

Health attitudes and psychological distress in patients attending a lithium clinic.

Health attitudes and psychological distress were investigated in 50 patients attending a lithium clinic and in 50 normal controls. Patients receiving lithium treatment did not report more worry about illness, hypochondriacal attitudes, concern about pain, disease phobia and bodily preoccupations than normals, even though they took fewer precautions about their health and exhibited more self-rated psychological distress. Since most of the psychiatric patients were found to display more fears about illness and death than controls in other studies, this preliminary report may suggest that normal health attitudes are associated with lithium compliance in affective illness.

Adult↗