Evaluating an Adolescent Behavioral Program: Leadership, Education, Achievement, and Development for Adolescent Female Offenders in Corrections

Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVES

Guided by the hypothesis that the arts can play a role in changing attitudes, beliefs, and health behaviors, the objectives of the study were to (1) overview artistic practices, interventions, and research being conducted at the intersection of the arts and health communication and (2) identify desired and observed outcomes and variables measured in these studies.

DATA SOURCE

The search strategy was developed iteratively with 2 health science librarians and conducted using 8 databases (Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Art and Architecture Source, CINAHL, Communication and Mass Media Complete, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science) and hand searching. Articles included were published between 2014 and 2018.

STUDY INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Inclusion criteria include US nonclinical setting and use of the arts (broadly defined) to change health knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, or awareness. Any articles not meeting inclusion criteria were excluded.

DATA EXTRACTION

Covidence's data extraction tool exported to MS Excel.

DATA SYNTHESIS

This final set of results was analyzed and synthesized by research design, population, sample size, health issue, purpose, variables measured, and findings.

RESULTS

In all, 78 articles met inclusion criteria. Number of participants ranged from 4 to 2140 (mean = 179); 61 (78.2%) outcome studies, including 8 experimental studies; 17 (21.79%) formative research or reports. Many different health topics were addressed and different art forms used.

CONCLUSION

The arts can help build knowledge and awareness of health issues. The authors highlight the need to build an evidence base for arts and public health.

Trajectory of Weight Patterns in Urban Youth Throughout Their Stay in a Juvenile Justice System

Incarceration is associated with health risks including overweight and obesity. This study explored obesity rates and weight gain in incarcerated youth by tracking weight trajectory during continuous stays in juvenile justice facilities. Among 65 youth, mean weight gain was 17.8 pounds and significant, F(2, 12) = 25.44, p = .03. Youth gained an average of 15.6 pounds (standard deviation [ SD] = 3.6) during the initial incarceration period (mean = 71 days). From the assessment to treatment period (mean = 46 days), mean weight gain was 4.1 pounds ( SD = 4.3), which also was significant, F(2, 12) = 28.57, p = .03. Body mass index z-scores increased significantly for each monthly weight observation. Being incarcerated is associated with significant weight gain and should influence policy and planning in this setting.