Surveys of State Directors of Public Health Education and Directors of AIDS regarding the status and etiology of AIDS indicated most subjects considered the AIDS epidemic more prevalent than it could have been. Of the 28 etiological factors, 32% of respondents believed that continued risky behavior because of perceived invulnerability had the…

An overview of the current oral health status of Americans looks at the epidemiology of oral/dental diseases, rates of use of dental services, and expenditures for dental health care. Substantial progress in improving oral health is seen as are particular challenges resulting from the aging and ethnic diversification of the population. (MSE)

Reports a retrospective cohort study among students living in campus dormitories to examine potential risk factors for measles vaccine failure. As in secondary schools, measles outbreaks can occur among highly vaccinated college populations. Requiring two doses of measles vaccine for college entrants should help reduce measles outbreaks in college…

A Bernoulli process model of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is used to evaluate infection risks associated with various sexual behaviors (condom use, abstinence, or monogamy). Results suggest that infection is best mitigated through measures that decrease infectivity, such as condom use. (SLD)

Examined demographic characteristics of high school tobacco-users across gender and ethnicity using data from the 1991-1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Current smoking increased, with one-third of 9th and 12th graders currently smoking in 1995 and 11% of all students using smokeless tobacco. Many students used tobacco before high school. Tobacco…

An epidemiological survey revealed a 1-year period prevalence rate of 1.5 juvenile sexual offenders per 1000 males (ages 12-17) within Oxfordshire (England), and .85 per 1000 of all youth in that age group. The majority of sexually abusive youth were male, with a family history of neglect, physical abuse, and/or sexual abuse. Behavioral and…

Background: This introductory guide presents the main two analytical approaches used by molecular geneticists: linkage and association. Methods: Traditional linkage and association methods are described, along with more recent advances in methodologies such as those using a variance components approach. Results: New methods are being developed all…

This paper presents a response to five commentaries on our article "An Analysis of Autism as a Contingency-Shaped Disorder of Verbal Behavior" (Drash & Tudor, 2004). One of the principal objectives of that article is to provide the behavior analysis community and the autism community with a conceptual basis for analyzing autism as a behavioral…

This article reviews current epidemiological studies estimating the prevalence and incidence of permanent hearing loss in children. In particular, it addresses trends in ages of onset of hearing loss and causes. Studies estimating the number of children with hearing loss and additional special needs in various countries are presented, as well as…

The epidemiology of unintentional injury and violence, including likely causes and individuals' abilities to respond to risks, are closely related to the stages of human development. The epidemiology and prevention of injury are also influenced by the social contexts (i.e., family, community, and socio-cultural) in which human development occurs.…

The recent worldwide SARS outbreak has put the science of epidemiology into the headlines once again. Epidemiology is "... the study of the distribution and the determinants of health-related states or events and the application of these methods to the control of health problems" (Gordis 2000). In this context, the authors have developed a…

This study identifies the extent that knowledge of selected study designs and elementary statistical techniques may assist readers in understanding the statistical component of articles in the "American Journal of Health Education." The frequency of and trend in use of selected statistical research designs and statistical methods is reported,…

Programs for parents of young children hold considerable promise for improving children's life-course trajectories and for reducing health and development problems and associated costs to government and society. To date, this promise has not been achieved. Fulfilling the potential of parenting interventions will require substantial improvements in…

Monitoring the Future (MTF), which is now in its 36th year, is a research program conducted at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research under a series of investigator-initiated research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study is comprised of several ongoing series of annual surveys of nationally representative…

As part of a broader study on Indigenous illegal drug use, the authors undertook skills training to increase cross-cultural mutual understanding of the often different approaches and methodologies between research and practice, as well as Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal understandings of these approaches. The study and the skills transfer training…