"I would get real people involved": The perspectives of end users in policymaking.

The implementation of health care services is important for public health. Although the current literature provides much insight into the perspectives of policymakers in charge of such implementations, we know very little about the perspectives of end users. Our study addresses this gap by exploring the perspectives of cancer survivors with regard to the notion of forming a cancer coalition.

Neighborhood walkability and physical activity among older women: Tests of mediation by environmental perceptions and moderation by depressive symptoms.

Features that enhance neighborhood walkability (higher population density, street connectivity and access to destinations) are associated with higher levels of physical activity among older adults. The perceived neighborhood environment appears to mediate associations between the objective built environment and physical activity. The role of depressed mood in these associations is poorly understood.

Plain Language to Communicate Physical Activity Information: A Website Content Analysis.

Plain language techniques are health literacy universal precautions intended to enhance health care system navigation and health outcomes. Physical activity (PA) is a popular topic on the Internet, yet it is unknown if information is communicated in plain language. This study examined how plain language techniques are included in PA websites, and if the use of plain language techniques varies according to search procedures (keyword, search engine) and website host source (government, commercial, educational/organizational).

The observed and perceived neighborhood environment and physical activity among urban-dwelling adults: The moderating role of depressive symptoms.

Rationale: Physical environmental features of neighborhoods are associated with physical activity, but the influence of mental health factors, such as depression, on these associations is poorly understood.

Objective: We examined whether the perceived neighborhood environment mediated associations between the observed neighborhood environment and physical activity, and whether these associations were moderated by depressive symptoms.

Methods: Data consisted of systematic social observations of 343 neighborhoods and resident surveys.

A Qualitative Comparison of Susceptibility and Behavior in Recreational and Occupational Risk Environments: Implications for Promoting Health and Safety.

Although internal factors that influence risk are frequently studied to understand human behavior, external factors, including social, cultural, and institutional factors, should be better utilized to inform ways to efficiently target, tailor, and promote safety messaging to at-risk populations. Semi-structured interviews obtained data from 37 motorcyclists and 18 mineworkers about their risk perceptions and behaviors within their respective dynamic environments. A comparative thematic analysis revealed information about external factors that influence risk perceptions and behaviors.

Correlates of Trail Use for Recreation and Transportation on 5 Massachusetts Trails.

Background: Promoting use of community trails is a recommended strategy for increasing population levels of physical activity. Correlates of walking and cycling for recreation or transportation differ, though few studies have compared correlates of trail-based physical activity for recreation and transportation purposes. This study examined associations of demographic, social, and perceived built environmental factors with trail use for recreation and transportation and whether associations were moderated by age, gender, and prior trail use.

From research to self-reflection: learning about ourselves as academics through a support group's resistance to our intervention.

Purdue University's Center for Healthcare Engineering developed a computer-assisted technology hub (CATHUB) designed to aid individuals with disabilities. Upon realizing the lack of input from the very individuals they were trying to help, Marifran approached the developers of CATHUB and offered to engage a group of amputees to aid in the design and implementation of the hub. In this essay, Courtney and Marifran recount, each from their own perspective, their experiences working with Amputees in Action as participants in their research project.

The message development tool: a case for effective operationalization of messaging in social marketing practice.

That messages are essential, if not the most critical component of any communicative process, seems like an obvious claim. More so when the communication is about health--one of the most vital and elemental of human experiences (Babrow & Mattson, 2003). Any communication campaign that aims to change a target audience's health behaviors needs to centralize messages.

Online physical activity information: will typical users find quality information?

This study evaluated physical activity Web sites to determine quality, accuracy, and consistency with principles of the extended parallel process model (EPPM). Three keyword searches were conducted using 4 search engines to find a sample of N = 41 Web sites. Three raters evaluated the Web sites using the JAMA benchmarks to assess quality and American College of Sports Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for physical activity to determine accuracy, as well as checking for inclusion of EPPM variables.

Center for Disease Control's Diethylstilbestrol Update: a case for effective operationalization of messaging in social marketing practice.

The Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Diethylstilbestrol (DES) Update, a campaign to educate people who may have been exposed to the drug DES, is framed on the premises of the social marketing model, namely formative research, audience segmentation, product, price, placement, promotion, and campaign evaluation. More than that, the campaign takes a critical step in extending the social marketing paradigm by highlighting the need to situate the messaging process at the heart of any health communication campaign. This article uses CDC's DES Update as a case study to illustrate an application of a message development tool within social marketing.

Health communication instruction: toward identifying common learning goals, course content, and pedagogical strategies to guide curricular development.

Health communication is a vibrant and growing area of the communication discipline, with an abundance of theoretically grounded scholarship and practical application at many levels. Despite this growth, there has yet to be a published description of health communication pedagogy that could identify common conceptual approaches and teaching practices. To help address this gap, an online survey of health communication instructors at 77 colleges and universities throughout the United States was conducted.

Toward a typology of confidentiality breaches in health care communication: an ethic of care analysis of provider practices and patient perceptions.

Confidentiality should be a fundamental right of patients in a health care setting. However, health care providers who take an oath to uphold confidentiality often neglect this basic patient right. Breaching confidential health information is a serious ethical problem and a communication issue that, historically, has received limited empirical, theoretical, or practical attention.

Applying public health strategies to primary immunodeficiency diseases: a potential approach to genetic disorders.

Primary immunodeficiency (PI) diseases are a group of primarily single-gene disorders of the immune system. Approximately 100 separate PI diseases have been described, but <20 probably account for >90% of cases. Although diverse, PI diseases share the common feature of susceptibility to infection and result in substantial morbidity and shortened life spans.

Impact of HIV test counseling on college students' sexual beliefs and behaviors.

Objective: To compare the health beliefs and risky sexual behaviors of college students who did and did not seek HlV testing.

Methods: A survey was administered, and testing sessions were content analyzed.

Results: There were no significant differences in health beliefs, but students surveyed perceived themselves to be invulnerable to HIV/AIDS despite unsafe sexual behaviors.