Is religious orientation associated with fat and fruit/vegetable intake?

We explored associations of religious orientation with dietary behavior among participants in the Eating for a Healthy Life Study (EHL), a randomized low-fat, high-fruit/vegetable dietary intervention trial in religious organizations. Data in this report are from baseline telephone surveys of 2,375 people, which assessed dietary behaviors (Fat- and Fiber-Related Diet Behavior Questionnaire) and religiosity (Allport-Ross Religious Orientation Scale). After adjusting for demographic characteristics, higher extrinsic (socially motivated) religious orientation was positively associated with low-fat dietary fat behaviors (P=.

Optimism, perceived risk of breast cancer, and cancer worry among a community-based sample of women.

Optimism is frequently inversely associated with distress; however, less is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Optimism can be defined as having a generalized positive expectancy about the future. The authors hypothesized that a specific expectancy might mediate the relationship between optimism and distress.

The feasibility of partnering with African-American barbershops to provide prostate cancer education.

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of partnering with barbershops to implement a community-based prostate cancer preparatory educational decision aid for African-American men. We used African-American newspapers to compile a list of barbershops in King County, Washington, that predominantly serve African-American men. Trained research interviewers conducted proprietor surveys and client surveys.

Breast cancer risk counseling improves women's functioning.

Helping people cope with health risks is an important area for research and practice. Counseling offers people the opportunity to relieve their distress and improve the ways in which they manage their health issues. This study was a randomized test of two different counseling methods, genetic and psychosocial counseling, compared to a control group.

Current research promises and challenges in behavioral oncology: report from the American Society of Preventive Oncology annual meeting, 2002.

The Behavioral Oncology Interest Group of the American Society of Preventive Oncology held a Roundtable session on March 10, 2002, at the American Society of Preventive Oncology annual meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, to discuss the current state-of-the-science in behavioral approaches to cancer prevention and control and to delineate priorities for additional research. Four key areas were considered: (a) behavioral approaches to cancer genetic risk assessment and testing; (b) biological mechanisms of psychosocial effects on cancer; (c) the role of risk perceptions in cancer screening adherence; and (d) the impact of tailored and targeted interventions on cancer prevention and control research. The evidence reviewed indicates that behavioral approaches have made significant contributions to cancer prevention and control research.

Measures and correlates of resilience.

Objective: We collected data on several aspects of resilience and related them to personal perceptions of breast cancer risk and worry about cancer.

Methods: As part of an ongoing series of studies to examine women's needs for and responses to breast cancer risk counseling, women with a family history of breast cancer (n = 357) completed questionnaires as part of their ongoing follow-up for counseling interventions. The questionnaire contained several measures of resilience: Optimism, the Life Attitude Profile-Revised, and single item scales measuring the worst to best possible life for past, present and future time periods.

Evaluation of strategies used by family food preparers to influence healthy eating.

The family may exert powerful influence on family members' eating habits, though there is very little conclusive literature regarding the specific mechanisms. The authors investigated how often family food preparers use particular strategies to encourage their families to eat more healthily and then related these strategies to healthy eating outcomes in children. We identified significant differences in strategy use between family age subgroups, and we included strategy types in multiple linear regression models to predict differences in families with children.

Reliability and validity of the Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale.

The reliability and construct validity of the 5-item Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale (WHIIRS) were evaluated in 2 studies. In Study 1, using a sample of 66,269 postmenopausal women, validity of the WHIIRS was assessed by examining its relationship to other measures known to be related to sleep quality. Reliability of the WHIIRS was estimated using a resampling approach; the mean alpha coefficient was .

Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale.

As part of the Women's Health Initiative Study, the 5-item Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale (WHIIRS) was developed. This article summarizes the development of the scale through the use of responses from 66,269 postmenopausal women (mean age = 62.07 years, SD = 7.

Hospice patients' attitudes regarding spiritual discussions with their doctors.

The purpose of this study was to assess hospice patients' attitudes regarding the discussion of spiritual issues with their physicians. We conducted in-depth interviews using open-ended questions on living with illness, spirituality and religion, and physician-patient relationships. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed for dominant themes.

Jewish identity and intentions to obtain breast cancer screening.

This study explored the associations between 2 dimensions of Jewish identity (cultural identification and religious practice) and intentions to perform breast cancer screening. Ashkenazi Jewish women (N = 220) completed surveys as part of an ongoing study of breast cancer risk counseling. Multiple regressions examined the relationships between the 2 identity measures and intention to follow routine recommendations for mammography, intention to perform monthly breast self-exam, and interest in genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility.

Correlations in perceived food use between the family food preparer and their spouses and children.

Previous research has demonstrated that family members' eating habits are similar. We hypothesized that family members' eating habits would be predicted by the eating habits of the person who prepares the majority of the family's meals and the number of meals the family shares. Participants were 282 members of religious organizations who identified themselves as family food preparers (FFPs), and provided information about their own and their family members' eating habits.

Changes in diet, physical activity, and supplement use among adults diagnosed with cancer.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and predictors of changes in diet, physical activity, and dietary supplement use among cancer patients. Design/subjects Telephone interviews of a population-based sample of 126 breast, 114 prostate, and 116 colorectal cancer patients from the state of Washington.

Analysis: Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio as a measure of the association of participant characteristics with lifestyle changes in the 12 months before the interview.

Achieving utility with family history: colorectal cancer risk.

Family history of chronic disease is rapidly becoming a research tool for targeting participants at increased risk. Its current usefulness in clinical practice remains unknown. This paper details the possible utility and complications in using family history in a primary care setting, using colorectal cancer risk as the health issue.

Family history of diabetes as a potential public health tool.

Given the substantial morbidity and mortality associated with type 2 diabetes, it is important that public health seek ways to delay or prevent the onset of this condition. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes are well established and include underlying genetic susceptibility. Despite this knowledge, as well as significant advances in understanding the human genome, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to rise at an alarming rate.

Stopping the active intervention: CARET.

The Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) was a large, multicenter randomized chemoprevention trial designed to test a combined lung cancer prevention agent in heavy smokers and workers exposed to asbestos. In January 1996, the CARET Steering Committee decided to stop the intervention due to an adverse effect. This paper describes the decision process used to apply the stopping rules and the activities engaged in by CARET participants and staff to implement the decision.

Early Experience with a Web-based Intervention to Inform Risk of Breast Cancer.

The Internet might transform the way in which health information is communicated to patient and general populations. Understanding differences in usage patterns will be critically important to ensuring the successful distribution of health information. The present study presents early data on the use patterns and predictors of use of a Web-based intervention in a population-based subsample of women aged 18-74 in King County, WA.

Effects of risk counseling on interest in breast cancer genetic testing for lower risk women.

Purpose: A randomized trial was conducted to test the effects of two counseling methods (genetic counseling and group counseling) against a control no-intervention condition on interest in genetic testing in lower risk women.

Methods: After completing baseline surveys, women (N = 357) were randomized to one of three conditions: to receive individual genetic risk counseling, to receive a group psychosocial group counseling, or to serve as a control group. Participants completed follow-up questionnaires 6 months after randomization.

Types of alternative medicine used by patients with breast, colon, or prostate cancer: predictors, motives, and costs.

Objective: Assess predictors and costs of various types of alternative medicine used by adult patients with cancer. DESIGN, LOCATION, SUBJECTS: Telephone survey of 356 patients with colon, breast, or prostate cancer identified from the population-based Cancer Surveillance System of western Washington.

Results: Overall, 70.

Patient preferences of decision-making in the context of genetic testing for breast cancer risk.

Purpose: We conducted a study on women's preferred physician involvement in the decision to obtain genetic testing for breast cancer risk.

Methods: Women from a primary care physician network completed a telephone survey and a written baseline questionnaire.

Results: The majority preferred to make up their own minds.

The effects of physical and emotional status on adherence to a low-fat dietary pattern in the Women's Health Initiative.

Objective: To examine whether the effects of physical and emotional status on adherance to a low-fat (20% energy) dietary pattern are mediated by participation in an intervention program (attending sessions and self-monitoring).

Design: The Baron and Kenny mediator model, a series of 4 regression analyses, was used to evaluate whether: a) physical and emotional status predicted program participation, b) program participation predicted dietary adherence, c) physical and emotional status factors predicted dietary adherence, and, ultimately d) the effects of physical and emotional status on dietary adherence were mediated by program participation.

Subjects/setting: Data from 13,277 postmenopausal women randomly assigned to the low-fat intervention arm of the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial.

Dietary interventions to prevent disease.

Changing dietary behaviors to prevent chronic disease has been an important research focus for the last 25 years. Here we present a review of published articles on the results of research to identify methods to change key dietary habits: fat intake, fiber intake, and consumption of fruits and vegetables. We divided the research reviewed into sections, based on the channel through which the intervention activities were delivered.

Information women receive about heart attacks and how it affects their knowledge, beliefs, and intentions to act in a cardiac emergency.

In this study we investigate (a) what information women receive on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) from different information sources, (b) how women evaluate this information, and (c) how information acquisition is related to women's knowledge of AMI, personal risk perceptions, and behavioral intentions regarding a cardiac emergency. A random sample of 844 women 50 years and over were telephoned in the state of Washington. Repeated measures regression analyses showed that women receive most of their information on AMI from the mass media, even though they evaluated the media as less believable, less useful, less clear, and making less of an impression than information received from health care providers.