Did an AIDS peer education program change first-year college students' behaviors?

Students who have attended the AIDS peer education program (APEP) at Florida Atlantic University have consistently evaluated it in an overwhelmingly positive manner. This has inspired the university staff to move on to another issue of concern: Is attendance at such a peer education program associated with HIV-related changes in behavior? To answer this question, the authors surveyed a random sample of first-year students by mail at the beginning and end of the 1991/92 school year. In the interim, some students participated in an APEP and some did not--resulting in a before-after design. Those who attended an APEP reported they were more likely than nonattendees to engage in behaviors that were aimed at preventing HIV infection. The validity problems inherent in self-selecting attendance and in surveying by mail, especially in regard to causation versus association, lead us to attempt a face-to-face interview design in future evaluations. With stricter control over other potential intervening variables, we may be more likely to obtain data that relate change in behavior to the APEP.

Work force characteristics of continuing/life care administrators: implications for teaching and counseling

In recent years there has been increasing growth of continuing/life care facilities in the United States, offering older citizens a viable residential alternative, often with a health care component. Recognizing this growth, a survey of continuing/life care administrators in Florida was undertaken to assess their demographic characteristics and professional functions. Results indicate that administrators employed in this relatively new field are entering through a variety of routes (primarily the nursing home field) and that they perform a diversity of functions, a major one of which (client counseling) is not generally associated with traditional administrative roles. Some implications of these findings for health administration education and student counseling are briefly discussed in light of continued debates over generic versus specialized educational experiences.

An approach to hospice program evaluation. The use of Donabedian theory to measure success

In an attempt to suggest a generalized approach to hospice program evaluation, the “structure-process-outcome” framework for assessing quality care, about which Dr. Avedis Donabedian has written extensively is applied to hospice settings. Examples of variables depicting hospice structure, process and outcome are presented, along with examples of their measurement. Refinements of this approach, requiring analysis of the interaction among such variables and identification of causal relationships among them, are suggested as areas for future development.

Health planning--an overview

The movement toward systematic, national health planning in the United States began approximately a century ago (particularly in regard to the control of epidemics, and sanitation problems in general). However the decades following World War II have seen a proliferation of legislation in this area--including the Hill-Burton Legislation, Regional Medical Programs, and Comprehensive Health Planning. The National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974 represents the federal government's most ambitious effort, to date, to implement regional planning--within the context of a national health planning policy, and may one day prove to have been the harbinger of a national health service in the United States. Health planning efforts have been particularly hampered due to difficulties in obtaining valid and reliable data upon which to base decisions. While some movement has been made in this area, with commonly-accepted techniques being developed, there is much room for further development and refinement of health planning methodology. Health planning, therefore, remains a rather imperfect "art", raising as many questions as it attempts to answer, at this point in time.

Some guidelines for conducting a health fair

Health professionals are being asked with increasing frequency to participate in, or to conduct, health fairs. There is, however, a lack of published practical advice available to persons undertaking such an event for the first time. Based upon my experience in this area, participants are advised to (a) clearly define in advance the objectives to be achieved by this activity, (b) give careful attention to the timing, location, and financing of the event, (c) encourage the active participation in the event of both professionals and lay persons in the community, (d) pay particular attention to publicizing the event, since the fair's success will be directly related to visitor attendance, and (e) evaluate the event to determine whether the sponsors' objective were met, whether additional health fairs should be conducted, and what changes should be made when similar events are held in the future.