Urban American Indian Adolescent Girls: Framing Sexual Risk Behavior.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore factors that influence urban adolescent American Indian (AI) girls' sexual risk behavior.

Design: A qualitative study was conducted with grounded theory methodology to reveal factors and processes that influence sexual risk behavior.

Method: Talking circles, individual interviews, and event history calendars were used with 20 urban AI 15- to 19-year-old girls to explore influences on sexual risk behavior.

Family Support and Colorectal Cancer Screening among Urban African Americans.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death among African Americans. Less than 50% of African Americans have had CRC screening. This study examined the relationships between family support and influence, cultural identity, CRC beliefs, and a screening informed decision among 129 urban African Americans.

Influences on neighborhood walking in older adults.

The purpose of this cross-sectional survey study was to examine the influence of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and environment on neighborhood walking in older adults with (n = 163, mean age = 78.7, SD = 7.96 years) and without (n = 163, mean age = 73.

Cross-cultural variations in adolescents' perceived maternal expectancy and sexual initiation.

Purpose: This study built on previous findings and compared the effects of maternal influences on adolescents' sexual initiation among four racial and ethnic groups: Asian American Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Caucasians.

Design: An exploratory, comparative secondary analysis of longitudinal data from 433 Asian American Pacific Islanders, 1,367 African Americans, 1,241 Hispanic Americans, and 4,567 Caucasian adolescents between the ages of 15 and 17 years at Wave 1 was conducted using structural equation modeling. Bronfenbrenner's Social Ecological Model guided the modeling and analyses.

Sociocultural differences and colorectal cancer screening among African American men and women.

Purpose/objectives: To examine sociocultural factors that influence an informed decision about colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among African American men and women.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional.

Setting: A medical center, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, and various social organizations and barbershops in a midwestern city of the United States.

Private practice rates among pediatric subspecialists.

Objective: Historically, most pediatric subspecialists have conducted their clinical work in academic health centers. However, increases in the absolute numbers of pediatric subspecialists in past decades, combined with greater concentrations of children in urban and suburban settings, might result in more opportunities for pediatric subspecialists to enter private practice. Our goal was to assess the proportions of subspecialists in private practice.

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants employed by general and subspecialty pediatricians.

Objective: There is little nationally representative information describing the current manner in which nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) work in pediatric practices and their professional activities. To understand better the current NP and PA workforce in pediatric primary and subspecialty care, we conducted a national survey of pediatricians.

Methods: A survey study of a random national sample of 498 pediatric generalists and 1696 subspecialists in the United States was performed by using a structured questionnaire administered by mail.

Testing the Efficacy of a Computer-Based Parent-Adolescent Sexual Communication Intervention for Latino Parents.

The efficacy of a computer-based intervention to increase parent-adolescent communication among Latino parents and adolescents was tested in a randomized controlled trial. Parents assigned to receive the 2-session intervention reported greater general communication, sexual communication, and comfort with communication at 3 month follow-up than did parents assigned to the wait-list control condition. Adolescents, whose parents received the intervention, reported higher sexual communication than did adolescents whose parents were in the wait-list control condition.

Maternal Influences on Asian American-Pacific Islander Adolescents' Perceived Maternal Sexual Expectations and Their Sexual Initiation.

Maternal influences on adolescents' sexual initiation have been examined over two time points in 433 Asian American-Pacific Islander (AAPI) adolescents in a secondary analysis of the Add Health data set using structural equation modeling. A longitudinal model built on a preliminary qualitative study is used to examine the fit between data and model. Maternal perceived connectedness and adolescents' perceived maternal sexual expectations in sexual timing are found to be protective for delaying AAPI adolescents' sexual initiation.

Pediatric nurse practitioners: roles and scope of practice.

Background: There are ∼ 13,000 pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) in the United States. PNPs have been suggested as professionals who could provide care to the growing cadre of children with chronic illnesses and expand the pool of subspecialty care providers. Little is known about current roles of PNPs in primary or subspecialty care.

Family nurse practitioners: roles and scope of practice in the care of pediatric patients.

Objective: The goal was to characterize the pediatric role and scope of practice of family nurse practitioners (FNPs).

Methods: A mail survey of a random national sample of 1000 FNPs, stratified according to states that license nurse practitioners to practice independently, was performed. Frequencies were calculated and bivariate analyses were performed to determine the level of association between practice characteristics and practice state, practice location (urban versus rural), and type of care provided (primary versus specialty).

Neonatal nurse practitioners: distribution, roles and scope of practice.

Objective: We sought to determine the distribution and scope of practice of the neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) workforce across the United States.

Methods: To determine distribution, we used counts of certified NNPs from the National Certification Corp (Chicago, IL). We calculated state NNP/child population ratios as the number of NNPs divided by the state population 0 to 17 years of age.

Acculturation influences on AAPI adolescent-mother interactions and adolescents' sexual initiation.

The purpose of this secondary analysis of data is to examine relationships among Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) adolescents' level of acculturation, maternal influences, and age of sexual initiation. Selected predictive variables are based on the theoretical frameworks and literature review. The results indicate that for these adolescents speaking English at home was positively associated with maternal sexual discussion, mothers' perceptions of connectedness with their adolescents, adolescents' perceived maternal sexual expectations, and later sexual initiation at Wave 1.

Pediatric nurse practitioners in the United States: current distribution and recent trends in training.

Objective: To assess the current distribution and training patterns of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs).

Study Design: Secondary data analysis from the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and the 2008 US Census Bureau were used to estimate the distribution of PNPs per 100,000 children. Data on nurse practitioner (NP) graduation and specialty education programs were obtained from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: an evidence-based prevention resource for nurse practitioners.

Purpose: To describe the work of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and to encourage nurse practitioners (NPs) to use its evidence-based recommendations for clinical preventive services.

Mexican adolescents' alcohol use, family intimacy, and parent-adolescent communication.

Despite widespread adolescent alcohol use, research on individual and contextual factors among Mexican adolescents is limited. This study describes the relationship between adolescent risk/protective factors, parent-adolescent communication, and their effects on alcohol use of 14- to 17-year-old adolescents living in Mexico (N = 829; 458 girls, 371 boys). In this study, adolescents reported that 55% ever used alcohol, 24% used alcohol in the past 30 days, and 10% reported binge drinking.

A parent-adolescent intervention to increase sexual risk communication: results of a randomized controlled trial.

This article reports results of a randomized controlled trial designed to test an intervention to increase parent-adolescent sexual risk communication among Mexican parents. Data were analyzed from parents (n = 791) randomly assigned to an HIV risk reduction or health promotion intervention. Measures were administered at pretest, posttest, and 6- and 12-month follow-ups.

[Intervention to reduce adolescents sexual risk behaviors: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To test the efficacy of a behavioral intervention designed to decrease risk sexual behaviors for HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancies in Mexican adolescents.

Material And Methods: Randomized controlled trial with four follow ups; 832 adolescents recruited from high schools, age 14-17, were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The six hour intervention used active learning strategies, and was delivered in two sessions on two consecutive Saturdays.

Development and testing of the Diabetes Self-management Instrument: a confirmatory analysis.

The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically test a new instrument for measuring self-management of adults with type 2 diabetes. Data were collected from 634 diabetic adults recruited from three teaching hospitals in Taiwan. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

An intergenerational approach to understanding Taiwanese American adolescent girls' and their mothers' perceptions about sexual health.

Taiwan-born mothers' perceptions of sexual health affect their Taiwanese American girls' sexual perceptions. Taiwanese American girls grow up balancing two different cultural influences (Taiwanese and American) while living in the majority society. The process of balancing two different cultures is called bi-cultural straddling.

Integrating evidence-based clinical and community strategies to improve health.

Multiple and diverse preventive strategies in clinical and community settings are necessary to improve health. This paper (1) introduces evidence-based recommendations from the U.S.

Alcohol, children, and adolescents.

Alcohol use in children and adolescents continues to be a major health concern. There is a rich literature on correlates and antecedents of alcohol use in children and adolescents, and concerted efforts have been made to develop, implement, and evaluate intervention strategies. This chapter provides a review of the intervention studies to prevent alcohol use in these groups.