Ultrasound feedback and motivational interviewing targeting smoking cessation in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Introduction: Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with poor maternal and child health outcomes. Effective interventions to increase smoking cessation rates are needed particularly for pregnant women unable to quit in their first trimester. Real-time ultrasound feedback focused on potential effects of smoking on the fetus may be an effective treatment adjunct, improving smoking outcomes.

Relationship between English language use and preferences for involvement in medical care among Hispanic women.

Objective: To assess how English language use by Hispanic women affects their preferences for participating in decision making and information seeking regarding medical care.

Methods: The study included 235 Hispanic women aged 35-61 years participating in a larger multicenter study, the Ethnicity, Needs, and Decisions of Women (ENDOW) Project. Participants were recruited from community settings and primary care public health clinics.

Secondary prevention of intimate partner violence: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Despite the recognition of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women as a global health issue associated with significant morbidity and mortality, evidence-based treatment strategies for primary care settings are lacking.

Objective: To assess the comparative safety behaviors, use of community resources, and extent of violence following two levels of intervention.

Methods: A randomized, two-arm, clinical trial was completed in urban public primary care clinics with 360 abused women who assessed positive for physical or sexual abuse within the preceding 12 months.

Behaviors of children following a randomized controlled treatment program for their abused mothers.

Objective: To determine if a treatment program offered to abused mothers positively affects the behaviors of their children.

Methods: A randomized, two-arm, clinical trial was used to measure child behavior at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months following the application of two levels of abuse treatment services to abused mothers: (1) abuse assessment and receipt of a wallet-size referral card, or (2) abuse assessment, receipt of a wallet-size referral card, and nurse case management sessions. The setting was public primary care clinics.

Prevalence of partner violence against 7,443 African American, White, and Hispanic women receiving care at urban public primary care clinics.

Given inconclusive findings regarding racial/ethnic differences in risk for intimate partner violence (IPV), this study will estimate annual prevalence and severity of IPV and associated risk factors of homicide among a multiethnic population of English- and Spanish-speaking African American, White, and Hispanic women receiving public primary health care. A personal interview survey was conducted using three measurement instruments including a brief two-question screen. The sample consisted of 7,443 women, aged 18-44 years, receiving care at urban, primary health care clinics in southern Texas.

Behaviors of children exposed to intimate partner violence before and 1 year after a treatment program for their mother.

Children exposed to intimate partner violence against their mothers are at increased risk for emotional, behavior, physiological, cognitive, and social problems. To compare the behavioral functioning of children exposed to intimate partner violence before and 1 year after their mother received treatment, 206 Black, White, and Hispanic children, age 18 months to 18 years, were administered the Child Behavior Checklist. Behavior problems of all children significantly improved 1 year following treatment of their mother.

Implementation of a smoking cessation counseling module in a preceptorship program.

Background: Family medicine preceptorships are underused opportunities for learning smoking cessation counseling skills. To prepare students for their future roles in preventing health problems in patients who use tobacco, we implemented a patient-centered instructional module within the elective Texas Statewide Family Practice Preceptorship Program.

Methods: Seventy-eight preclinical medical students learned to screen for tobacco use and perform smoking cessation counseling using brief motivational methods.

Behaviors of children who are exposed and not exposed to intimate partner violence: an analysis of 330 black, white, and Hispanic children.

Objective: To compare the behaviors of black, white, and Hispanic children who were 18 months to 18 years of age and exposed to intimate partner violence with an age- and ethnically similar sample of children who were not exposed to violence and to compare both exposed and nonexposed children to normative samples.

Methods: As part of a study on treatments for abused women in primary care public health clinics and Women, Infants and Children clinics in a large urban area, 258 abused mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) on 1 of their randomly selected children between the ages of 18 months and 18 years. An ethnically similar sample of 72 nonabused mothers also completed the CBCL.

Perceptions of hormone replacement therapy among African American women.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is commonly prescribed for women to relieve symptoms associated with menopause. The medical community does not uniformly recommend HRT, and ethnic and cultural differences may influence a woman's decision to request and adhere to it. Thirty-eight African American women were enrolled in a qualitative study to investigate beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge about HRT.

Family medicine month in a university-based program: establishing a family medicine identity.

"Family Medicine Month," a rotation forfirst-year residents, was developed to clarifyfirst-year residents'new roles as family physicians. The rotation explored the meaning and history of the specialty, as well as teaching core family medicine clinical and behavioral skills. Twenty residents who participated in the rotation in 1999 and 2000 indicated satisfaction with the rotation and endorsed its usefulness.