News Archive: Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health
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2006
Positive associations exist with retention and outcomes among adolescent resident therapeutic clients — Dec. 2006
A new, multidimentional measure of the therapeutic community treatment process, the Dimentions of Change Instrument, reveals a positive relationship with treatment retention and post treatment outcomes in adolescents. While not directly related with post-treatment outcomes, a relationship to prolonged treatment does exist, and prolonged treatment is an indicator for long-term positive outcomes.
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More adolescent health research
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth welcome sexuality discussions with their physicians — Dec. 18, 2006
About one-third of physicians for lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents are aware of their patients' sexual preferences. LGB adolescents indicate that physicians can simply ask them how to most comfortably discuss sexuality and health issues. Nondisclosure can lead to missed opportunities for identifying health risks.
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Maximum risk for initiation into smoking is during teen years — Nov 2006
This 10-year study used hazard modeling to determine when initiation to smoking is most likely to occur, and familiar and demographic influences towards initiation in a group of 6,255 youths (aged 5-23). Those at highest initiation risk are between the ages of 10 and 18 years. Having highly educated parents was found to be a protective influence against teen smoking.
Nearly half of children with high health care costs repeat high costs the following year — Nov. 2006
2,938 children were included in this two-year study. In the first year, the top 10% of children accounted for 54% of all costs. 49% of the childen in the top 10% the first year were in the top 10% again the following year, while 12% dropped to the bottom half. These findings have implications that could help save health care dollars.
Cost-effectiveness of palivizumab as prophylaxis for infants studied — Nov. 2006
This study involved hypothetical cohorts of infants who did not have chronic lung disease. Conclusions support more restrictive guidelines for palivizumab prophylaxis. Palivizumab was cost-effective for some infants under certain circumstances.
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Neighborhood parks associated with more physical activity in adolescent girls — Nov. 2006
A study of 1556 grade 6 girls concluded, in part, that adolescent girls who live near parks engage in more metabolic physical activity than those who do not, particularly if the parks have walking trails and active features.
Challenges lay ahead in serving substance-abusing mothers who receive welfare — Nov. 2006
National data spanning a twelve year period was examined to explore the changing relationship between substance-use, welfare reform, and substance-abuse treatment among low-income mothers. Conclusions indicate new challenges exist in serving this population after welfare reform.
Adolescent birth rates in Hispanic neighborhoods possibly influenced by shared values — Oct. 2006
Shared community goals in Hispanic neighborhoods may be an important factor in reducing adolescent pregnancies within those neighborhoods. Accompanying factors include cultural variation and availability of childrearing networks.
New program helps parents communicate with their teenagers about sexual health — Oct. 2006
Talking Parents, Healthy Teens is a worksite-based intervention program designed to help parents improve their communication with their adolescent children, promote healthy adolescent sexual development, and reduce adolescent sexual risk behaviors. This study reviews the relevant literature and describes the theory behind the development of this program.
Possible link between HIV/AIDs-infected mothers and their children's mental health — Oct. 25, 2006
The physical health of mothers with HIV/AIDs appears to be associated with the mental health of their children. Also, the stability of a mother's health may be associated with improvement in the mental health of their children over time.
Aiding children in long-term recovery from traumatic events — Oct. 24, 2006
RAND has released a toolkit that shows how to provide school-based mental health programs for students exposed to violence, natural disasters and other traumatic events. The toolkit will enable schools to help students displaced by natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Alternative treatment plans may reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for children — Sep. 2006
Pediatric physicians were more likely to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately when parents questioned the treatment plan. Parents were more likely to question the treatment when the physician ruled out the need for antibiotics. Treatment plans that focus on steps to make the child feel better, rather than ruling out the need for antibiotics, may decrease inappropriate prescribing.
Teenage substance use affected by changes in U.S. economy — Sep. 2006
This research finds strong evidence that a weaker economy leads to greater teenage marijuana and hard-drug use and some evidence for higher teenage alcohol use. Teenagers are also more likely to sell drugs in weaker economies. The strengthening economy in the 1990s may have mitigated what would otherwise have been much larger increases in teenage drug use.
Providing health insurance to low-income children improves quality of life — Sep. 2006
Children newly enrolled in a public health insurance program in California reported improvements such as doing better in school, feeling better physically, and getting along better with their peers.
Challenges in the evaluation and implementation of school-based health and mental health programs — Aug. 2006
This article describes the challenges of launching and evaluating school-based health and mental health programs, while simultaneously maintaining flexibility and cultural awareness during all stages of the process.
Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs database of social indicators — Aug. 2006
This report addresses questions related to the implementation of a social indicators database by the Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs for the promotion of the well-being of families.
Full document
Adolescents who listen to music with degrading sexual lyrics have sex sooner — Aug. 2006
The more time adolescents spend listening to music with sexually degrading lyrics, the more likely they are to initiate intercourse and other sexual activities. This holds true for boys and girls as well as for whites and nonwhites. Only sexually degrading lyrics are related to changes in adolescents' sexual behavior.
Reducing substance use among adolescents improves school attendance — Aug. 2006
Reductions in the frequency of alcohol, stimulants and other drug use and the elimination of marijuana use were each associated independently with increased likelihoods of school attendance.
Assessing the economic impacts of alcohol policies in the European Union — Aug. 2006
Presents an evidence-based assessment of a proposed communication on alcohol policy in the European Union, with a focus on the economic impacts. The proposed policy aims to reduce the harmful impacts of alcohol use, especially in youth, while preserving its beneficial economic and social value.
Drug use in high school affects job outcomes in later adulthood — July 2006
Adolescents who use hard drugs are more likely to have poorer job-related outcomes than their peers, even 10 years after high school. Females tend to end up in lower skill, lower status jobs while males tend to have jobs with fewer benefits.
Effects of Medicaid policies on mental health service use among children — July 2006
Children who live in areas with behavioral carve-outs under Medicaid managed care were less likely to use inpatient mental health services, possibly due to restrictions within these types of plans. Children who were older or had a greater need for mental health care were more likely to use these services, as were children whose caregivers had higher levels of education.
Family structure affects children's use of medical care and medications — July 2006
Children living in families with many other children have fewer doctor's visits and use less prescription medication than children living in families with no other children. Similar results are found for children who live with other adults in addition to their parents.
Trends in youth exposure to alcohol advertisement on television — July 2006
Boys are exposed to more alcohol advertising on television than girls, and African-American youth are exposed to more ads than Caucasians. The racial differences appeared to increase over time, but the differences between boys and girls appeared to increase with age.
Younger adolescents influenced by perception of substance use among peers — July 2006
Middle school children who perceived that their peers were using alcohol and marijuana started using these substances sooner and with greater frequency.
School-based dating violence prevention program helps Latino teens — July 2006
The Ending Violence prevention program improved knowledge about dating violence and associated legal issues for Latino teens, as well as less acceptance of aggression from females towards males.
Adolescents who abstain from substance use fare better in young adulthood — July 2006
Prior research has suggested that adolescents who don't experiment with drugs may be psychologically maladjusted, but this study finds that these teens function better in later years than those who experiment with drugs.
Impact of postpartum hospital-stay legislation on newborn health in California — July 2006
California law requiring minimum postpartum hospital stay has resulted in increased length of stay among all births in California and fewer neonatal readmissions. One-year mortality rates were not affected.
School proximity affects physical activity among middle school girls — July 2006
Sixth grade girls who lived farther away from school tended to get less physical activity, with the most negatively affected girls living more than 5 miles from school. Time spent commuting could explain reduced time for physical activity.
Gender differences in teen willingness to use mental health services — July 2006
In seeking emotional support, girls tended to go to friends while boys turned to family members. Boys had less mental health knowledge and experience than girls, and also associated more stigma with mental health care. Girls were twice as likely to report willingness to use mental health services.
RAND Health study on adolescent drinking makes the Top 100 in the journal Addiction— July 2006
A 2005 article by RAND Health researchers titled "Does Alcohol Advertising Promote Adolescent Drinking? Results from a Longitudinal Assessment" was in the top 100 most accessed articles in Addiction over the last 5 years.
One-third of children eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) are uninsured — July 2006
A national survey reveals that about 6% of children (4.3 million) were eligible for SCHIP in 2000, and over one-third of eligible children were uninsured. Results showed variation across states, and also suggested a lower uninsurance rate in the 17 states that expanded Medicaid eligibility.
RAND Health researcher to give keynote at Child Health Services Research Meeting — June 2006
Dr. Elizabeth McGlynn, Associate Director of RAND Health, will give the keynote address Measuring Quality of Care for Children at the Eighth Annual Child Health Services Research Meeting in Seattle, Washington on June 24, 2006.
Read more at academyhealth.org
Lessons learned for reducing child mortality in developing countries — June 2006
Reductions in child mortality in developing nations is influenced more by targeted health intervention, foreign aid, and technical assistance than by contextual factors such as economic development, governance, and strong health care systems.
Safe Start Evaluation Project helps reduce negative impacts of violence on children — June 2006
Children who are exposed to violence can experience negative social and psychological effects both at the time of the exposure and throughout their life. The Safe Start Evaluation Project strives to find effective programs to improve children's chances of future well being.
Screening for lead poisoning in children needs improvement — June 2006
Lead poisoning remains a serious, preventable environmental health threat to young children. Analysis of data on blood lead levels in Allegheny County, PA indicated the need for more diligent state and local involvement to ensure that at-risk children are screened.
Parents and peers influence U.S. teens' perceptions of alcohol use — June 2006
Peer and adult influences were consistently related to alcohol outcome expectancies among adolescents. Teens who drink were influenced by the amount of alcohol used by important adults; teens who don't drink modified their expectations of alcohol's potency when parents and peers approved of alcohol use.
New quality of care indicators for neurodevelopmental care of very low birth weight infants — June 2006
Given increased risks of long-term neurodevelopmental disabilities and the potential impact of poor health care in very low birth weight infants, this new set of indicators provides an opportunity to assess, monitor, and improve the quality of follow-up care for this high-risk population.
Children's awareness of parental HIV status — May 2006
HIV-infected parents often worry about the emotional consequences of telling their children they have the disease. Fewer than half of the children in this study were aware of their parent's HIV status, and many parents said they did not know how to tell their children or were concerned the child would tell other people.
Evaluating adolescent substance abuse treatment programs — May 2006
States and the Federal government are investing in expensive performance measurement programs for their substance abuse treatment systems, but it is unclear whether the outcomes data collected in these programs can be validly used to understand program performance.
Trauma tool-kit for schools helps students with recovery — May 2006
This tool helps schools support the long-term recovery of students who have been traumatized by exposure to violence, natural disasters, and terrorism. Summaries of each selected program are included, with details about implementation, personnel training and materials, and contact information.
Childhood overweight and elementary school outcomes — Mar. 2006
Becoming overweight during the first four years of school was strongly associated with lowered test scores among girls. Boys who became overweight had more absences from school compared to boys who remained normal weight.
Exploring stress and coping among urban African American adolescents — Mar. 2006
African American urban teens identified sources of stress as school, friends, and family. However, they also relied on these same individuals for support: friends helped teens cope with romantic relationship stress and family helped with job, school, and family stress. Girls used coping strategies more frequently than boys did.
Adolescent primary care patients' preferences for depression treatment — Mar. 2006
Most adolescents with depression preferred counseling over medication for treating their depression. Female patients with prior treatment experience and current symptoms of depression and anxiety were also more likely to prefer active treatment over watchful waiting.
Medical safety net plays key role in care for uninsured children — Mar. 2006
Uninsured rural children are more likely to receive some type of medical services if they live closer to "safety net" providers or if there are more primary care physicians nearby.
Effect of television on adolescent sexual behavior may differ between ethnic groups — Jan. 2006
This study investigated whether exposure to sexual content on television would influence adolescents' expectations about sex and their use of safe-sex practices, and also whether those effects would impact sexual initiation. Findings suggest some impact among African Americans and Whites, but not among Hispanics.
Differences in childhood asthma among hispanic children in the U.S. — Jan. 2006
Puerto Rican children had the highest rates of lifetime asthma and recent asthma attacks, compared to non-Hispanic children and Mexican children. These high rates are not explained by previously identified sociodemographic risk factors.
Disparities in primary care for vulnerable children — Jan. 2006
Vulnerable children who have the greatest health care needs also have the greatest difficulty obtaining primary care. However, once access to health care has been established, adolescents at higher risk are more likely to receive health promotion counseling.
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