The impact of an organ donation registration information program for high school students in the Netherlands.

In 1998, a new organ donor registration system was implemented in the Netherlands to increase the number of potential donors. A high school education program was developed to prepare adolescents to make an informed decision about organ donation. A post-test only randomised controlled trial was conducted in 39 high schools including 2868 students.

Unplanned smoking initiation: new insights and implications for interventions.

Despite intensive efforts, most smoking prevention interventions have had disappointing results. In the present paper, the assumption underlying these efforts that smoking initiation is the result of a rational decision or plan, is questioned. The process of adolescent smoking initiation is described, based on a recently conducted series of studies.

Neighbourhood inequalities in physical inactivity: the role of neighbourhood attractiveness, proximity to local facilities and safety in the Netherlands.

We investigated the association between the neighbourhood socioeconomic environment and physical inactivity, and explored the contribution of neighbourhood characteristics to this association. Data were analysed of 20-69 years old participants of the Dutch GLOBE study who lived in 78 neighbourhoods of Eindhoven (n = 8.767).

Acceptability and feasibility of an interactive computer-tailored fat intake intervention in Belgium.

In order to reduce the risk of chronic diseases health authorities recommend restricting fat intake to 30% of the total energy uptake. However, fat intake in Belgium is much higher warranting interventions aimed at reducing fat intake. Tailored interventions have shown to be promising; however, studies on effectiveness of interactive computer-tailored systems are needed.

SARS risk perception, knowledge, precautions, and information sources, the Netherlands.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related risk perceptions, knowledge, precautionary actions, and information sources were studied in the Netherlands during the 2003 SARS outbreak. Although respondents were highly aware of the SARS outbreak, the outbreak did not result in unnecessary precautionary actions or fears.

The positive effect on determinants of physical activity of a tailored, general practice-based physical activity intervention.

PACE (Physician-based Assessment and Counseling for Exercise) is an individualized theory-based minimal intervention strategy aimed at the enhancement of regular physical activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a PACE intervention applied by general practitioners (GPs) on potential determinants of physical activity. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 29 general practices with the following inclusion criteria for patients: aged between 18 and 70 years, diagnosed with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and/or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and not in maintenance stage for regular physical activity.

Determinants of forward stage transitions: a Delphi study.

Insight into stage transition determinants is necessary to develop and evaluate stage-tailored health-promoting interventions. A three-round Delphi study among stages of change researchers was conducted to make an inventory of opinions and examine agreement on determinants of forward transitions between Transtheoretical stages of change. In the first round, 10 experts completed an electronic questionnaire with open-ended questions about potential determinants for each stage transition.

The Dutch Heart Health Community Intervention 'Hartslag Limburg': effects on smoking behaviour.

Background And Methods: A pretest-posttest control group design with two posttests was used to evaluate the effects of a regional Dutch Heart Health Community Intervention on smoking behaviour and its determinants. At baseline, a cohort research population of 1,200 smokers was recruited in the intervention region and in a control region. Data was gathered by means of short structured telephone interviews.

The Dutch Heart Health Community Intervention 'Hartslag Limburg': design and results of a process study.

In 1998, a regional cardiovascular diseases prevention program was started in The Netherlands. This paper presents the design and results of a process study on the community intervention. The main purpose of the study was to gain insight into the reasons why expected effects were or were not achieved.

The impact and evaluation of two school-based interventions on intention to register an organ donation preference.

The present paper describes the impact and evaluation of two intervention components-a video with group discussion and an interactive computer-tailored program-in order to encourage adolescents to register their organ donation preference. Studies were conducted in school during regular school hours. The video with group discussion in class had a positive impact on the intention to register an organ donation preference as well as on the intention to register as a posthumous organ donor.

Process evaluation of a school-based education program about organ donation and registration, and the intention for continuance.

This paper describes the process evaluation of an organ donation education program for high school students aged 15-18 years of which the effectiveness was established. The program consisted of three components: a video with group discussion, an interactive computer-tailored program and a registration training session. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 50 teachers who had recently worked with the program.

Explaining fruit and vegetable consumption: the theory of planned behaviour and misconception of personal intake levels.

The influence of individuals' misconceptions in assessing fruit and vegetable consumption on the ability of the theory of planned behaviour to explain variance in the consumption of these foods was studied. Dutch women (mean age 41, n=159) completed a questionnaire assessing the theory's constructs with regard to the daily consumption of at least two pieces of fruit and 200 gram of vegetables. Consumption was assessed using a self-rated measure and more objectively with a food-frequency questionnaire.

Dietary change, nutrition education and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent and serious condition. Nutrition might play a role in COPD prevention and is definitely important in COPD management. There are some indications from epidemiological studies that dietary factors such as ample consumption of fruit and fish may decrease COPD risk.

The Dutch Heart Health community intervention 'Hartslag Limburg': results of an effect study at individual level.

'Hartslag Limburg' (Dutch for Heartbeat Limburg), a regional cardiovascular diseases (CVD) prevention program, integrates a community strategy and a high-risk strategy to reduce CVD risk behaviors. The present paper focuses on the effects of the community intervention on fat intake and physical activity. The project was based on community organization principles and health education theories and methods.

Intervention mapping: protocol for applying health psychology theory to prevention programmes.

Evidence-based health promotion programmes are based on empirical data and theory. While a broad range of social and behavioural science theories are available, the actual application of these theories in programme design remains a real challenge for health promotion planners. Intervention Mapping describes a protocol for the development of theory- and evidence-based health promotion programmes.

Exploring the occurrence and nature of comparison of one's own perceived dietary fat intake to that of self-selected others.

Lack of awareness of personal dietary fat intake is associated with a low motivation to change to a diet lower in fat. An optimistic bias in the comparison of one's own fat intake to that of others is associated with this lack of awareness. Insight into the way people make interpersonal comparisons related to fat intake may contribute to a better understanding of dietary intake and its determinants.

Parenting style and adolescent fruit consumption.

The importance of the social environment for dietary behaviour has been highlighted in the past decade. A type of environmental influence that has received increasing research attention in recent years is the influence that parents can have on their children's dietary behaviour through food-related parenting practices. Much of the work done so far, however, has reported inconsistent findings and poorly understood mechanisms of influence.

The (ir)relevance of framing nutrition education messages.

Persuasive health education messages can either stress the positive consequences of performing a healthy behaviour (gain-frame) or the negative consequences of not performing a healthy behaviour (loss-frame). Based on studies on topics such as sun protection and breast self-examination there is evidence that messages in different action frames may differ in persuasive effects. Three randomised controlled trials were conducted to test framing effects in nutrition education on specific nutrition-related attitudes and intentions.

Why do diabetic patients not attend appointments with their dietitian?

Purpose: Determining the prevalence of and possible reasons for nonattendance of diabetic nutritional care clinics.

Methods: Data were collected by means of a telephone survey and a review of patient records among 293 (166 attendees and 127 nonattendees) patients undergoing outpatient treatment at a university hospital. The t-tests, chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were used to identify potential determinants of nonattendance.

Past, present, and future of computer-tailored nutrition education.

Computer-tailored nutrition education is an innovative and promising tool to motivate people to make healthy dietary changes. It provides respondents with individualized feedback about their dietary behaviors, motivations, attitudes, norms, and skills and mimics the process of "person-to-person" dietary counseling. The available evidence indicates that computer-tailored nutrition education is more effective in motivating people to make dietary changes than general nutrition information, especially for reduction of dietary fat.

Feedback strategies to raise awareness of personal dietary intake: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Feedback is a strategy that can be used to influence awareness of dietary habits. Feedback was applied in an interactive computer-tailored intervention and in printed self-test forms.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial with a 3 (study groups) x 2 (higher vs.

Differences in impact between a family- versus an individual-based tailored intervention to reduce fat intake.

The present study investigates the impact of a tailored nutrition intervention on the reduction of fat intake and on psychosocial determinants of fat intake. Furthermore, differences in impact between a family-based intervention (tailoring two family members, one adult and one child, simultaneously) and an individual-based intervention (tailoring one family member, one adult or one child) were studied. Analyses were conducted among 180 respondents, comparing 44 adolescents in the family condition with 50 adolescents in the individual condition and 44 parents in the family condition with 40 parents in the individual condition.

A short dutch questionnaire to measure fruit and vegetable intake: relative validity among adults and adolescents.

A short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake was validated. Forty-nine adults and fifty-one adolescents (12-18 years old) completed the FFQ at home, and subsequently kept diet records for seven successive days. Mean daily intake of F&V was overestimated by the FFQ as compared to the 7-day diet records.

Framing of nutrition education messages in persuading consumers of the advantages of a healthy diet.

Background: Educational dietary messages can stress either the positive consequences of performing a recommended dietary behaviour (positive frame) or the negative consequences of not performing a recommended dietary behaviour (negative frame). From studies on other health behaviours, there is evidence that positive frames have a stronger impact in encouraging preventive behaviours than negative frames. The main hypothesis of the present study was therefore that positively framed messages on eating a low-fat diet and eating enough fruit and vegetables (F & V) are more persuasive than negatively framed messages.