Factors Influencing Regular Exercise Habits of Women in Taiwan.

This study employed Taiwanese women aged ≥18 years as the population and investigated their exercise habits, as well as the behavioral factors affecting such habits. In research on exercise, the relationship between exercise and sex is a crucial topic, and this relationship affects exercise promotion. Women's exercise habits are influenced by traditional gender ideology, and women have long been excluded and treated unfairly in the realm of exercise.

An Assessment of Factors Related to Ocean Literacy Based on Gender-Invariance Measurement.

This study sought to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how the factors of parental education level and student attitude toward the ocean influence the ocean literacy of students in Taiwan after establishing measurement invariance across genders. The analyzed data were collected from self-reported questionnaires filled out by students aged 16-18 years old. The students' ocean literacy was used as the outcome variable, while parental education level and student attitude toward the ocean were employed as the independent variables.

Factors influencing interest in recreational sports participation and its rural-urban disparity.

Objectives: Recreational sports are important leisure activities. However, most studies investigating barrier factors and motivation for participation in recreational sports have been limited to specific areas (e.g.

Influence of Socioeconomic Factors, Gender and Indigenous Status on Smoking in Taiwan.

The indigenous Austronesian minority of Taiwan is heavily affected by health disparities which may include suffering from a greater burden of the tobacco epidemic. While a lack of representative data has historically precluded an investigation of the differences in smoking between Taiwanese ethnicities, these data have recently become available through an annual population-based telephone survey conducted by the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare (previously known as the Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP), Department of Health). We used the BHP monitoring data to observe the prevalence of smoking and environmental tobacco smoke exposure among indigenous and non-indigenous Taiwanese surrounding a tobacco welfare tax increase in 2006, investigate ethnic differences in smoking prevalence and environmental tobacco smoke exposure each year between 2005 and 2008, and perform multiple logistic regression to estimate measures of association between potential risk factors and smoking status.

Gender differences in recreational sports participation among Taiwanese adults.

This study examines the gender differences in the enjoyment of recreational sports participation among Taiwanese adults. Data were obtained using the 2007 Taiwan Social Change Survey. The questionnaire included a topical module of the International Social Survey Program regarding leisure time and sports.

Female media use behavior and agreement with publicly promoted agenda-specific health messages.

This study set out to explore the relationship between female media use behavior and agreement with agenda-specific publicly promoted health messages. A random digit dial telephone cross-sectional survey was conducted using a nationally representative sample of female residents aged 25 and over. Respondents' agreement with health messages was measured by a six-item Health Information Scale (HIS).

Contextual factors influencing leisure physical activity of urbanized indigenous adolescents.

Background/purpose: Indigenous populations suffer from disparities in socioeconomic resources and health status. One approach to addressing these disparities is by targeting modifiable risk factors such as leisure physical activity (LPA). This study investigated and compared factors related to LPA among urbanized indigenous and nonindigenous adolescent students.

Psychological distress in an incarcerated juvenile population.

Background/purpose: This study sought to examine the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among incarcerated youth in Taiwan using the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5).

Methods: This cross-sectional census survey study was conducted in 2007 among all the juveniles incarcerated in 23 correctional institutions (n = 1505) in Taiwan using a self-administered anonymous questionnaire. Of the total 1505 participants, 1363 completed the questionnaire (91% response rate).

Population-based post-crisis psychological distress: an example from the SARS outbreak in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: As a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic, the World Health Organization placed Taiwan on the travel alert list from May 21 to July 5, 2003. The aim of this study was to explore the post-crisis psychological distress among residents in Taiwan after the SARS epidemic.

Methods: The target population consisted of a nationwide representative sample of residents aged > or = 18 years.