An evaluation of behavioral health compliance and microbial risk factors on student populations within a high-density campus

A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Gender and Protective Behaviors in Response to Respiratory Epidemics and Pandemics

Respiratory infectious disease epidemics and pandemics are recurring events that levy a high cost on individuals and society. The health-protective behavioral response of the public plays an important role in limiting respiratory infectious disease spread. Health-protective behaviors take several forms. Behaviors can be categorized as pharmaceutical (e.g., vaccination uptake, antiviral use) or non-pharmaceutical (e.g., hand washing, face mask use, avoidance of public transport). Due to the limitations of pharmaceutical interventions during respiratory epidemics and pandemics, public health campaigns aimed at limiting disease spread often emphasize both non-pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical behavioral interventions. Understanding the determinants of the public’s behavioral response is crucial for devising public health campaigns, providing information to parametrize mathematical models, and ultimately limiting disease spread. While other reviews have qualitatively analyzed the body of work on demographic determinants of health-protective behavior, this meta-analysis quantitatively combines the results from 85 publications to determine the global relationship between gender and health-protective behavioral response. The results show that women in the general population are about 50% more likely than men to adopt/practice non-pharmaceutical behaviors. Conversely, men in the general population are marginally (about 12%) more likely than women to adopt/practice pharmaceutical behaviors. It is possible that factors other than pharmaceutical/non-pharmaceutical status not included in this analysis act as moderators of this relationship. These results suggest an inherent difference in how men and women respond to epidemic and pandemic respiratory infectious diseases. This information can be used to target specific groups when developing non-pharmaceutical public health campaigns and to parameterize epidemic models incorporating demographic information.

A/H1N1 vaccine intentions in college students: an application of the theory of planned behavior

OBJECTIVE

To test the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in college students who have not previously received the A/H1N1 vaccine.

PARTICIPANTS

Undergraduate communication students at a metropolitan southern university.

METHODS

In January-March 2010, students from voluntarily participating communication classes completed a hardcopy survey assessing TPB and clinically significant constructs. Hierarchical regression equations predicted variance in vaccine intentions of students who had not received a flu shot (N=198; 70% Caucasian).

RESULTS

The TPB model explained 51.7% (p<.001) of variance in vaccine intentions. Controlling for side effects, self-efficacy and perceived comparative susceptibility predicted intentions when entered in the first block, whereas attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly contribute when entered in the second block.

CONCLUSIONS

For students who have not previously received a flu vaccine, vaccine communication should utilize self-efficacy and perceived comparative susceptibility to employ the TPB to promote vaccine intentions.

The effect of brief functional relaxation on college students' needle anxiety during injected vaccinations

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the effect of brief functional relaxation (FR) training on needle anxiety (NA) during vaccinations.

PARTICIPANTS

From October 2010 through May 2012, 48 undergraduates were recruited through the psychology research participant pool.

METHODS

Students (N = 48) were randomly assigned to a 15-minute brief FR session delivered via MP3 player or a standard care condition (15 minutes of sitting quietly) prior to receiving injections at the immunization clinic. Measures were completed before (T1) and after (T2) the assigned condition, assessing expected NA, state anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate; and after the injection (T3), self-reported NA during the injection.

RESULTS

Unexpectedly, the groups did not differ at T2. However, during the injection, brief FR participants indicated lower self-reported NA (T3) than standard care.

CONCLUSIONS

Brief FR is a simple, inexpensive technique that may reduce NA in college health settings and help decrease delays in treatment seeking.