We identified legislation (1989–2005) relating to breast and cervical cancer in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and examined its impact on screening rates for these cancers and on Black-White disparities in screening rates. Legislation was identi-fied using the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) Program. Screening rates were identified using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Georgia and North Carolina enacted more laws on breast and cervical cancer than did South Carolina. The laws specifically intended to increase breast and cervical cancer screening were mandates requiring that insurance policies cover such screening; Georgia and North Carolina enacted such laws, but South Carolina did not. However, we were unable to demonstrate an effect of these laws on either screening rates or disparities. This may reinforce the importance of evidence-based health promotion programs to increase screening.
A citizen is a person with membership in a political community such as a country or city. This person owes loyalty to the state by birth or naturalization and in return enjoys the protection of the state or nation. A citizen is also a resident of a city or town, especially one entitled to vote and enjoys other privileges there. Citizenship education seeks to train persons living within specified boundaries on how to relate in their political locality, hence, emphasis is placed on gaining knowledge, skills, methods and values needed to function effectively within the political community. From this study, we are able to confirm that teachers and learners alike understand the essence of citizenship and the need for citizenship education. Over 85% and 88% of learners and teachers respectively believe such education brings about the development of civic competences and participation to make learners critical thinkers and enlightened citizens.
Health 360x is a mobile health application and social platform that integrates self-monitoring and decision support for preventive health. We studied 240 diabetic patients in primary care practices and a church community in metropolitan Atlanta. Health coaches were trained on the Health 360x curriculum, which was adapted from the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Participants worked with the health coaches to set goals for diabetes self-management. The intervention included weekly coaching for 12 weeks and online peer networking. Outcome variables included blood pressure, physical activity, and blood glucose that showed significant improvement at 12 weeks and 12 months compared to baseline. Focus group testing revealed that references for empowerment and engagement were associated with positive clinical outcomes. Barriers to adoption and use of the technology were inability to use the internet and concern about privacy and security of health data. Future efforts will integrate a multidisciplinary training dashboard with considerable attention to education on security features including data encryption and sign-on verification.
