Public Awareness of Low-Risk Alcohol Use Guidelines

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 905-913
Author(s):  
Kelcy McNally ◽  
Laura Lee Noonan ◽  
Marguerite Cameron ◽  
Karen Phillips ◽  
Shamara Baidoobonso ◽  
...  

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of a population-based, public education campaign designed to increase awareness of the Canadian Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines (LRDG). Method. A province-wide mass media campaign was introduced. To measure campaign effectiveness, we completed a cross-sectional study using pre- and postcampaign surveys. Measurements included awareness of the LRDG, specific knowledge of the LRDG, and beliefs toward drinking and behavior change. Results. Postsurvey respondents were more likely to be aware of the LRDG (19.2% vs. 25.8%). However, increased awareness was largely driven by females being significantly more aware of the guidelines after the campaign (odds ratio = 1.74; 95% confidence interval = [1.38, 2.19]). Men were not found to be more aware postcampaign. The results did not show a significant increase in specific knowledge of the LRDG or change in beliefs toward drinking and behavior change after the campaign. Independent of the survey cycle, males and those aged 19 to 25 years were less likely to be aware of the LRDG, select the correct drink limit or less, and believe that consuming alcohol in excess has short- and long-term health consequences when compared to females and those aged 56 to 70 years. Conclusions. A provincial public health education campaign was effective at increasing awareness of the LRDG, though uptake was lowest among those at highest risk for heavy drinking.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udochisom Anaba ◽  
Emily White Johansson ◽  
Dele Abegunde ◽  
Gloria Adoyi ◽  
Olayinka Umar-Farouk ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) within the first hour of birth and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first six months of life are beneficial for child survival and long-term health. Yet breastfeeding rates remain sub-optimal in Northwestern Nigeria, and such practices are often influenced by complex psychosocial factors at cognitive, social and emotional levels. To understand these influences, we developed a set of breastfeeding-related ideational factors and quantitatively examined their relationship with EIBF and EBF practices. Methods A cross‐sectional population‐based survey was conducted in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara states from September through October 2019. A random sample of over 3000 women with at least one child under 2 years was obtained. Respondents were asked about their health behaviors including breastfeeding practices for their youngest child under 2 years. Breastfeeding-related ideations were developed using the Ideation Model of Strategic Communication and Behavior Change. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to derive predicted probabilities for EIBF and EBF while adjusting for ideations and socio-demographic variables. Results Among 3039 women with a child under 2 years of age, 42.1% (95% CI: 35.1% - 49.4%) practiced EIBF, while 37.5% (95% CI: 29.8% - 46.0%) out of 721 infants aged 0-5 months were exclusively breastfed. Women who knew that EIBF was protective on the health of the newborn had 7.9 and 7.0 percentage points (pp) higher likelihood of EIBF and EBF practices respectively. Women who believed colostrum was harmful both had 8.4 pp lower likelihood of EIBF and EBF practices. We found a higher likelihood of practicing EIBF (5.1 pp) and EBF (13.3 pp) among women who knew at least one benefit of breastfeeding. Knowledge of the appropriate time to introduce complementary feeding and having self-efficacy to practice EBF were positively associated with 11.2 pp and 13.1 pp increased likelihood of practicing EBF alone. Household wealth, maternal occupation and attending ANC4+ times were associated with EIBF, while health provider’s influence was associated with EBF. Conclusion Social and Behavior Change (SBC) programs should focus on improving women’s knowledge about breastfeeding and its benefits, dispelling myths around colostrum as bad milk, building women’s confidence to exclusively breastfeed, and improving antenatal care uptake to support breastfeeding promotion.


Author(s):  
Xinyi Chen ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Xiaomeng Wang ◽  
Chengliang Chai ◽  
Kui Liu ◽  
...  

Few provinces in China have recently conducted population-based surveys on tuberculosis (TB) awareness at the provincial level. Hence, we conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study to evaluate the level of awareness of TB knowledge among residents of Zhejiang Province, China from October 2018 to December 2018. A total of 7174 individuals were randomly selected to participate in this survey. The rate of awareness of key information on TB was found to be 48.0%. The study’s participants exhibited a good understanding of the transmission route (80.8%), curable outcome (78.3%), and designated treatment sites (67.0%) of TB. The rate of awareness of suspicious TB symptoms (36.1%) and the relief policy on diagnosis and first-line therapeutic drugs (38.0%) were found to be relatively low among the respondents. People living in rural areas, those who were less educated, and students all showed a low level of awareness of key knowledge about TB. In conclusion, residents in Zhejiang Province generally lacked key information about TB, which is not conducive to the early detection and treatment of TB. Corresponding efforts should be made for different groups of people to achieve favorable effects on the prevention and control of TB.


2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Timm KVITKO ◽  
Gisele Alsina Nader BASTOS ◽  
Maria Eugênia Bresolin PINTO

Context The hepatitis C is a severe public health problem worldwide because its consequences. Studies which aim at determining the prevalence of risk factors are really important to understand the problem. Objective To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with some risk factors for the disease in a community, called Restinga, located in the city of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Method This paper is based on a population-based cross-sectional study, with systematic sampling and proportional to the size of census tracts in which 3,391 adults answered a standardized questionnaire. Results The prevalence of blood transfusion among the people who were interviewed was 14.98%, 60.83% of those had it before 1993. A total of 16.16% of the people had a tattoo, 7.23% wore a piercing, 1.09% said they had already injected illicit drugs and 12.39% reported previous hospitalization. Prevalence ratios showed that tattoos were more common among young people, piercings among women and illicit drugs among men. Conclusions To summarize, the recognition of risk factors for hepatitis C enables proper screening of possible carriers of the hepatitis C virus, thus enabling a reduction in virus shedding. However, being only possible if health services are prepared to deal with hepatitis C virus, through education and public awareness.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Choucair ◽  
Diana Malaeb ◽  
Souheil Hallit ◽  
Elissar Dagher

Abstract Background : To date, there has been no large population-based study associated with public awareness in Lebanon about sleep apnea. Our study investigated the prevalence of, associated factors and knowledge of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) among a representative sample of Lebanese adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study, conducted between June and August 2019, enrolled 472 people aged above 18 years. A proportionate random sample from all Lebanese Mohafazat was applied. Results: The study results showed that a higher number of cigarettes per day, having diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction, hypertension and arrhythmia were associated with higher daytime sleepiness. Participants living in the North had less daytime sleepiness, whereas those living in Beqaa had higher daytime sleepiness compared to those living in Beirut. Concerning knowledge, having heard about sleep apnea and having a university level of education were associated with a higher score, whereas having cerebrovascular accidents was associated with lower knowledge scores. Conclusion Complications of OSA are still poorly known, as are certain suggestive symptoms. Given the local relevance of OSA, ongoing health campaigns and innovative educational programs should be assigned to target the general community.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hutchinson ◽  
Udochisom Anaba ◽  
Dele Abegunde ◽  
Mathew Okoh ◽  
Paul Hewett ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Northwestern Nigeria faces a situation of high fertility and low contraceptive use, driven in large part by high-fertility norms, pro-natal cultural and religious beliefs, misconceptions about contraceptive methods, and gender inequalities. Social and behavior change (SBC) programs often try to shift drivers of high fertility through multiple channels including mass and social media, community-level group and interpersonal activities. This study seeks to assist SBC programs to better tailor their efforts by assessing the effects of intermediate determinants of contraceptive use/uptake and by demonstrating their potential impacts on contraceptive use, interpersonal communication with partners, and contraceptive approval.Methods: Data for this study come from a cross-sectional household survey, conducted in the states of Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara in northwestern Nigeria in September 2019, involving 3,000 women aged 15 to 49 years with a child under 2 years. Using an ideational framework of behavior that highlights psychosocial influences, multivariate regression analyses assess associations between ideational factors and family planning outcomes, and post-estimation simulations with regression coefficients model the magnitude of effects for these intermediate determinants.Results: Knowledge, approval of family planning, and social influences, particularly from husbands, were all associated with improved family planning outcomes. Approval of family planning was critical – women who personally approve of family planning were nearly three times more likely to be currently using modern contraception and nearly six times more likely to intend to start use in the next six months. Husband’s influence was also critical. Women who had ever talked about family planning with their husbands were three times more likely both to be currently using modern contraception and to intend to start in the next six months. Conclusion: SBC programs interested in improving family planning outcomes could potentially achieve large gains in contraceptive use—even without large-scale changes in socio-economic and health services factors—by designing and implementing effective SBC interventions that improve knowledge, encourage spousal/partner communication, and work towards increasing personal approval of family planning. Uncertainty about the time-order of influencers and outcomes however precludes inferences about the existence of causal relationships and the potential for impact from interventions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. e45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin T Crookston ◽  
Joshua H West ◽  
P Cougar Hall ◽  
Kaitana Martinez Dahle ◽  
Thomas L Heaton ◽  
...  

Background Mental and emotional self-help apps have emerged as potential mental illness prevention and treatment tools. The health behavior theory mechanisms by which these apps influence mental health–related behavior change have not been thoroughly examined. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the association between theoretical behavior change mechanisms and use of mental and emotional self-help apps and whether the use of such apps is associated with mental health behaviors. Methods This study utilized a cross-sectional survey of 150 users of mental or emotional health apps in the past 6 months. Survey questions included theory-based items, app engagement and likeability items, and behavior change items. Stata version 14 was used to calculate all statistics. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each of the demographic, theory, engagement, and behavior variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with reported changes in theory and separately for reported changes in actual behavior after controlling for potentially confounding variables. Results Participants reported that app use increased their motivation, desire to set goals, confidence, control, and intentions to be mentally and emotionally healthy. Engagement (P<.001) was positively associated with the reported changes in theory items, whereas perceived behavior change was positively associated with theory (P<.001), engagement (P=.004), frequency of use of apps (P=.01), and income (P=.049). Conclusions Participants reported that app use increased their motivation, desire to set goals, confidence, control, and intentions to be mentally and emotionally healthy. This increase in perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes surrounding their mental and emotional health was considerably associated with perceived change in behavior. There was a positive association between the level of engagement with the app and the impact on theory items. Future efforts should consider the value of impacting key theoretical constructs when designing mental and emotional health apps. As apps are evaluated and additional theory-based apps are created, cost-effective self-help apps may become common preventative and treatment tools in the mental health field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-46
Author(s):  
PM Singh ◽  
S Karmacharya ◽  
S Khadka ◽  
Sc Gautam ◽  
N Joshi

 Introduction: Alcohol is a potent drug that can produce serious psychiatric symptoms including psychosis. It is believed that approximately 3% of alcoholic persons experience auditory hallucinations or paranoid delusions in the context of heavy drinking or withdrawal. Across Nepal, alcohol use varies widely and alcohol dependence is an increasing problem. So this study aims to provide information regarding prevalence and risk factors of Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorder in context of Nepal. Material And Method: A hosiptal-based cross- sectional study was carried out among 37 patients admitted in psychiatric inpatient ward at Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu with the diagnosis of AIPD from the period of Magh 2075 to Poush 2076. Semi-structured proforma developed by department of Psychiatry was used to collect socio- demographic data. The consent was taken from the patients and caregivers and strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Diagnosis was based on ICD-10 DCR criteria and the collected data was analyzed with SPSS. Results: There were total 37 patients (29 males and 8 females) admitted with the diagnosis of AIPD and the prevalence of AIPD in our study was 6.19%. Among them majority of the patients (35.1%) were of age group (41-50) years and more than half were from rural areas (64.9%). Nearly half of the patients were educated upto primary level (45.9%) and (35.1%) were farmer by occupation. Also Hindus (56.8%) were found to be more associated with AIPD than Buddhist or Christian. Conclusion: The findings of this study concluded that alcohol is a substantial problem in Nepal. The efforts should be used to increase public awareness about the problems associated with alcohol.


2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1025-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbra D. Bazata ◽  
Jennifer G. Robinson ◽  
Kathleen M. Fox ◽  
Susan Grandy ◽  
SHIELD Study Group

Purpose This study evaluated whether health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals with type 1 (T1DM) or type 2 (T2DM) diabetes mellitus and those at high or low risk of T2DM were reflected in healthy behaviors and whether these attributes differed for T2DM respondents who did or did not see a health educator. Methods SHIELD, a U.S. population-based study, included respondents (‡18 years of age) with T1DM (n = 366), T2DM (n = 3897), high risk (HR, n = 5449) defined as ‡3 of the following: abdominal obesity, high body mass index, dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and low risk (LR, n = 5725) defined as £2 factors. Results T2DM respondents were more likely to receive health care professional recommendations to change their lifestyle habits (56%-62%) during their average 11 visits annually than the other groups (P < .0001). More T2DM and HR respondents tried losing weight, but fewer exercised regularly than T1DM and LR (P < .0001). T2DM respondents who saw a dietitian or health educator reported better current health and expectations for better future health, tried to make healthy food choices, and followed a prescribed eating plan than those who did not see these providers (P < .01). However, £30% of these T2DM respondents exercised regularly, or maintained desired weight. Conclusions SHIELD findings show that respondents know and understand that improving their diet or exercise will affect their health, but the majority of respondents have not translated it into a behavior. Interaction with health educators and patient-empowering support may improve the transition to behavior change.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evy Yunihastuti ◽  
Ari Fahrial Syam ◽  
Herikurniawan Herikurniawan ◽  
Dewi Sumaryani Soemarko ◽  
Andrian Wiraguna

Abstract Doctors have a greater risk of acquiring COVID-19 due to occupational exposure. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is an essential factor in reducing COVID-19 transmission. We aimed to evaluate the risk of moderate-severe COVID-19 infection and behavior adaptation in PPE usage among doctors who survived COVID-19 in Indonesia. This was an online population-based cross-sectional survey among Indonesian doctors of COVID-19 survivors. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine factors associated with moderate-severe COVID-19 infection. A total of 389 doctors who survived COVID-19 infection across in Indonesia was included in this study. Most participants were young doctors (20-39 years: 69.7%), general practitioners (50.4%), working in COVID-19 designated hospitals (62.5%), and worked more than 40 hours/week (57.8%). Factors associated with moderate-severe COVID-19 were IMA moderate occupational risk (aOR 4.14, 95% CI: 1.11-15.47), age 40-59 years (aOR 3.24, 95% CI: 1.99-5.29), working in COVID-19 designated hospital (aOR 1.89, 95% CI: 1.18-3.01), and higher BMI (aOR 1.88, 95% CI: 1.00-3.54). N95 respirator and other PPEs use improved after these doctors recovered from COVID-19 infection in isolation and non-isolation rooms. In conclusion, working COVID-19 designated hospital, moderate occupational risk, higher BMI, and age 40-59 were associated with moderate-severe COVID-19 among doctors in Indonesia.


Author(s):  
Jorge Luiz de Andrade Trindade ◽  
Alan Silva Schukes ◽  
Marielly de Moraes ◽  
Alexandre Simões Dias

Abstract Objective : To analyze the risk of hospitalization of elderly rural workers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Method : A cross-sectional, population-based study was carried out of retired rural workers (N=604), over 60 years of age, of both genders, selected by clusters. In order to evaluate the risk of hospitalization, the Probability of Repeated Hospitalization (or PIR) instrument validated and evaluated for Brazil was used. Risk of hospitalization was calculated through logistic regression analysis, and was classified into the following strata: low (<0.300); medium (0.300-0.399); medium-high (0.400-0.499) and high (≥0.500). Results : The rural elderly persons surveyed had a low risk of hospitalization (n=553; 91.6%). There was a predominance of men among the medium to high risk categories (n=42; 82.3%), distributed mainly in the Santa Maria, Sul and Camaquã regions. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest a low risk of hospitalization among this population, however, there is a need for improved, more profound and robust research into the identification of factors associated with the health specificities of this population.


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