Immigrants vs. non-immigrants: attitudes toward and practices of non-therapeutic male circumcision in the United States of America.

Objectives: To explore and compare attitudes toward and practices of non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC) between immigrants and non-immigrants.

Study Design: We conducted 8 focus groups involving 44 participants of the lay public (21 immigrants and 23 non-immigrants) and 14 extended interviews with physicians (9 family physicians and 5 pediatricians).

Results: Four themes regarding NTMC were identified: knowledge and awareness, benefits and drawbacks, Medicaid and American Academy of Pediatrics practices and recommendations, and medical and cultural competence issues.

Knowing who your partners are: terrorism-preparedness training for nurses.

Continuing education events addressing terrorism preparedness must be evaluated to measure their impact on knowledge acquisition and to assess changes in perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs. The purpose of this focus group study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a terrorism-preparedness training program. The majority of participants thought the training content was extensive, detailed, informative, and practical.

Evaluation of interdisciplinary terrorism preparedness programs: a pilot focus group study.

Many terrorism preparedness trainings occur throughout the United States, yet few qualitatively examine trainees' needs and interests, reactions to training, or suggestions for training improvement. Eleven posttraining focus groups were conducted with 31 training participants at six sites. Participants were stratified by health profession discipline, and discipline-specific moderators conducted each session to better understand and probe for feedback.

Patient understanding and use of oral contraceptive pills in a southern public health family planning clinic.

Objective: To assess patient understanding and use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and determine if these are associated with literacy.

Methods: Four hundred OCP users from a southern public health family planning clinic were orally tested post visit for literacy, demographics, contraceptive knowledge, OCP use, side effects, and adherence.

Results: Patients were predominately African American (86%); 78% had completed high school and 42% read below a 9th grade level.

Vaccine risk/benefit communication: effect of an educational package for public health nurses.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an in-service for public health nurses (PHNs) and accompanying educational materials could improve vaccine risk/benefit communication. The content and timing of vaccine communication were recorded during 246 pre-and 217 postintervention visits in two public health immunization clinics. Pre-/postintervention comparisons showed PHN communication of severe side effects (13% vs.

Optimal design features for surveying low-income populations.

Improving Medicaid program effectiveness for underserved populations is hampered by low survey response rates. This study determined how to maximize Medicaid consumer satisfaction survey response rates to the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study (CAHPS) survey. In a public immunization clinic, 8 focus groups and 15 extended interviews were used to assess consumer-preferred survey design features and incentives.

Quantitative evaluation of "Can It Happen in Kansas: Response to Terrorism and Emerging Infections".

Purpose: This study describes the evaluation of a 2-year plan to train 10 percent of Kansas' multidisciplinary health professionals for response to terrorism and emerging infections. This project was part of a national effort covering 19 states funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2003.

Methods: The initial training occurred in six 2-day workshops.

Chronic disease medication administration rates in a public school system.

Anecdotal reports suggest school nurses and staff treat increasing numbers of public school students with chronic diseases. However, professionals know little about actual disease burden in schools. This study measured prevalence of chronic disease medication administration rates in a large, urban midwestern school district.

Childhood immunization refusal: provider and parent perceptions.

Background And Objectives: Parental concerns may contribute to immunization refusals and low infant immunization rates. Little knowledge is available about how often and why parents refuse immunizations for their children. This study was conducted to estimate, based on reports from health care providers and parents, the frequency of and reasons for immunization refusal.

Childhood vaccine risk/benefit communication among public health clinics: a time-motion study.

United States law requires that immunization providers use Centers for Disease Control Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) and inform parents about vaccine risks and benefits prior to every childhood immunization. A recent national survey found that public health clinics (PHCs) reported high compliance with this law. To further investigate these findings, we conducted an immunization time-motion study in two PHCs in Kansas and Louisiana.

Understanding frequent emergency room use by Medicaid-insured children with asthma: a combined quantitative and qualitative study.

Background: Medicaid-insured asthmatic children frequently use emergency rooms (ERs). The reasons are unclear and have predominantly been studied in inner-city populations.

Methods: We used billing data and focus groups to clarify reasons for frequent ER use by Medicaid-insured children with asthma living in rural areas and 23 towns in Kansas.

Improving vaccine risk/benefit communication with an immunization education package: a pilot study.

Introduction: The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) requires that physicians distribute the appropriate Vaccine Information Statements (VIS) at each immunization visit and discuss the risks/benefits of every vaccine given. In a national study, 31% of pediatricians reported not using the VIS and 56% indicated that time was a barrier to vaccine risk/benefit communication. Parents, however, indicated they want their primary providers to personally tell them about risks/benefits.