Implications of a utility model for ultraviolet exposure behavior

Over the past several decades, the incidence of skin cancer has reached epidemic proportions. Despite numerous efforts to increase public awareness of the risks associated with solar radiation, people continue to sunbathe, use indoor tanning facilities, avoid photoprotective clothing, and fail to use sunscreen. We propose using an economic model, the utility model, to better understand how to reduce tanning behaviors. This model has been widely applied in financial decision-making as well as in analysis of risk-taking behaviors such as smoking. The model takes into account both the current perceived benefits of tanning and the future long-term risks. People tend to discount the future; they tend to weigh current benefits more heavily than future risks. As predicted by the model, past prevention efforts that have focused on long-term benefits gained by sun-protective behavior have been largely ineffective. In the current social environment, we cannot expect tanning reduction measures based solely on health education to be very effective. Only by changing public perceptions of a tan will efforts to decrease ultraviolet exposure behavior likely be successful.

Respiratory distress syndrome: perinatal prediction of one year development outcome

A number of perinatal variables were entered into multivariate regression analyses to determine which variables predicted the one-year Bayley Mental and Motor scores of 46 infants surviving the respiratory distress syndrome. Significant predictors were gestational age, 5 minute Apgar scores, obstetric complications, duration of IPPV and intensive care. Although gestational age was the strongest single predictor of developmental outcome, its predictive power was enhanced by the addition of the other significant perinatal variables. A greater number of the RDS infants received low motor scores as opposed to low mental scores, suggesting that intervention efforts with this group might focus on the development of early sensorimotor skills.

Mother's assessments of term and pre-term infants with respiratory distress syndrome: reliability and predictive validity

Assessments of term and preterm RDS infants were made by mothers on an adaptation of the Brazelton scale. The mother's assessments were not significantly different from those assessments made by trained clinicians, and both mothers and clinicians assigned less optimal ratings to the preterm infants. These ratings were correlated with Bayley motor scores at eight months. Mothers' assessments of infant temperament were made at four and eight months. These temperament ratings were significantly correlated with each other and with clinicians' ratings on the Brazelton neonatal and eight-month-Bayley Scales. These findings suggest that mothers' assessments are reliable and have some predictive validity during early infancy.