Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-93). / ix, 93 leaves, bound col. ill. 29 cm

There are estimated to be 840,000 people living with HIV in China (1) of whom 65% are estimated to be in the 16-29 year age group. Since the end of the Cultural Revolution and the opening of China to Western influence, traditional cultural norms have rapidly eroded and China is described as being in the middle of a sexual revolution (2). People are increasingly engaging in behaviours exposing them to the risk of contracting HIV which is spreading from the traditionally high risk populations to the general population via the heterosexual route (3). Comprehensive prevention strategies are necessary to prevent further spread (4). There is evidence that the observed increase in sexual activity is not accompanied by adequate knowledge of HIV transmission. 79% of 18-25 year olds know that HIV/AIDS can be transmitted by sexual intercourse, but a mere 30% know that correct and consistent condom use can protect against HIV transmission (5).<br /> <br /> This exploratory study investigated the factors that influence safe sexual practices amongst female Chinese university students, enabling or preventing them from taking responsibility for their reproductive health. The literature search revealed this to be a largely unexplored area. The study was undertaken amongst third year male and female students, recruited from the Department of Comparative Literature and Media Studies at the Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, China. Data was predominantly collected using two male and two female focus group discussions. Three key informant interviews supported and contextualised the findings. The study revealed that the factors influencing female students&rsquo / ability to adopt safe sexual practices are complex. The recognised shortcomings of sex education in China (6) are compounded by the taboo of sex and the pressure placed on students for the achievement of good grades.<br /> <br /> The university environment exerts a powerful influence. The ease with which mutually beneficial same sex friendships develop in the dormitory can be contrasted with the difficulties faced by couples attempting to conduct relationships. The restrictive university environment has the effect of driving relationships underground. Gender roles are deeply entrenched. The need to conform to the ideal pure, na&iuml / ve, and non-inquiring female stereotype affects a female student&rsquo / s ability to source sexual health information, negotiate safe sex, and to adopt safe sexual practices. Two distinct male stereotypes emerged: the traditional more gender equal male, and the liberal male who believes in an earlier age of sexual initiation and condones multiple sexual partners. All students are aware of HIV but have misconceptions about the specifics of HIV transmission, believing that HIV can be transmitted by kissing, from unclean baths and from doctors. Some students were of the belief that poor personal hygiene is an indicator of possible HIV positive status. Students were confused by condom quality issues. As they had received no formal condom training students relied on reading the package instructions or working it out for themselves.<br /> This small exploratory study resulted in the production of rich and surprising findings. These are incorporated into recommendations for future research and a comprehensive sex education programme at the university. Abstinence and mutual monogamy should be emphasised. Gender stereotypes that influence behaviour and choice of sex education materials should be acknowledged. Negotiation skills training should be incorporated together with condom and contraceptive advice. A sexual health page on the student website and a training programme for students to become peer-to-peer sex educators should be introduced.

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M.Tech. (Homeopathy) / The common cold and influenza (flu) are both acute viral infections affecting the upper respiratory tract (Beers & Porter, 2006). The common cold typically presents with rhinorrhea, sneezing, and a sore throat (Kansal & Kaushal, 2004), and influenza causes fever, coryza, cough, headache, malaise and body pain (Beers & Porter, 2006). Millions of school and work days are missed annually due to cold and influenza symptoms (Fendrick et al., 2003). Students at universities have a high incidence of colds and influenza due to raised levels of stress and close contact with other infected individuals (Zachary, 2006). Researchers believe that Interleukin-6 (a protein in the body responsible for co-ordination of immune response) may be a biological link between psychological stress and the severity of cold and influenza symptoms. This may make students more susceptible to the common cold and influenza (Mercola, 1999). Conventional treatment for both conditions is comprised of analgesics, antipyretics, antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or anti-viral drugs, all of which have numerous adverse effects (Roxas & Jurenka, 2007). Linctagon® Forte capsules consists of four ingredients: Pelargonium sidoides (333mg), Quercetin (80mg), Bromelain (53mg) and Zinc (5mg) and are purported to provide antiviral support in the treatment of colds and influenza. The aim of this eight-day, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to assess the efficacy of Linctagon® Forte Capsules in the treatment of cold and influenza symptoms on first and second year Health Sciences students from the University of Johannesburg. Thirty seven students from the first and second year Health Sciences Faculty of the University of Johannesburg, suffering from common cold or influenza symptoms, were recruited to participate. This included male and female students between the ages of 18 to 30 years. Advertisements (Appendix A) were placed at the UJ Health Training Centre, classrooms and on campus, with relevant permission given. Thirty participants completed the study and seven students did not complete due to poor compliance. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were dealt with by completion of a Participant Information and Consent Form (Appendix B) as well as a Participant Profile Form which recorded all initial symptoms (Appendix C). All participants were required to have a minimum of five of the ten symptoms represented on the Participant Profile form (Appendix C). Once participants were accepted into the study they were allocated to either Group A or Group B, with 15 participants in each group. The medication bottles were packaged and labelled by Nativa (24 capsules in a 100mg container), and the active medication and the placebo were randomised by means of a coding system, Batch “A” and Batch “B”. Group A received the Linctagon® Forte Capsules and Group B received the unmedicated lactose capsules. The participants were requested to take 1 capsule three times per day. Each participant was given eight Symptom Score Cards (Appendix D) to complete each card every morning and evening for the eight day period, to rate the severity of their symptoms according to a 5-point rating system. The influenza and common cold symptoms were analysed according to their decrease in frequency and intensity over the set period of time. Data was only recorded and analysed for days one to seven due to poor compliance by participants in both groups with regards to completion of the Symptom Score Cards towards the end of the study. Both the treatment (Group A) and the placebo (Group B) groups showed similar improvement in symptom severity over the entire research period, and there was no statistical significance between the two groups. This shows neither group outperformed the other, supporting the null hypothesis. Small sample size, the placebo effect and low dosages of certain of the active ingredients are possible factors involved in the results seen, and should be considered for future studies.

Physical inactivity and resultant chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDLs) are becoming a global epidemic as secular modernization and the sedentary lifestyles it brings with it become universal. The importance of physical activity (PA) in reducing morbidity and mortality from CDLs and related conditions has been well established. Since it is generally significant that the onset of many CDLs lies in childhood through to adolescence, preventative strategies should start as early in life as possible. Currently, university students are failing to engage in the levels of PA recommended for better health outcomes over the short and long term. To make matters worse, there is increasing evidence of a decrease in PA during the transitional phase from adolescence to adulthood. This study aimed to determine the physical activity (PA) levels, sedentary behaviour and health-related fitness (HRF) characteristics of female university students. In addition, the participants‘ perceived barriers to PA were investigated. The study was exploratory-descriptive and employed a quantitative research design. Five hundred and thirty-one full-time female students, between the ages of 18 and 46, studying at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University‘s (NMMU) South, North, Second Avenue and Missionvale campuses participated in the study. The participants (n=531) completed an online survey which determined their PA levels, sedentary behaviours and perceived barriers to PA participation. A health-related fitness (HRF) assessment was also administered to 68 participants who completed the online survey. Their height, weight, and waist and hip circumferences were measured, as well as their cardiovascular fitness (CF). The majority (88 percent) of the participants reported low and minimal levels of PA, and 44 percent were either overweight or obese. The participants had a low-risk waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (M=0.70). The majority of the population (94 percent) had poor cardiovascular fitness (CF). A high prevalence of sitting time was recorded among the participants: on average 855 minutes (14 hours) on a usual weekday and 720 minutes (12 hours) on a usual weekend day. Students reported the greatest length of sitting time at work/attending lectures/studying. Cross tabulations and Chi2 tests indicated no significant relationships among PA and HRF (BMI, WHR and CF) and sedentary behaviour and HRF. The ANOVA and t-test results for PA, sedentary behaviour and HRF related to various demographic variables, found small (0.19 < d < 0.50) and medium (0.49 < d < 0.80) significant differences by race (d=0.43; d=0.52), home language (d=0.41; d=0.44) and living arrangement (d=0.38; d=0.28). No significant relationship was found to exist between age, year of study and faculty of registration and sedentary behaviour or HRF. The participants listed: Not enough time; too expensive to exercise; and, no friends who can exercise with me as the most important barriers to participation in PA. Academic obligations (3.08 mean) was found to be the most important barrier to PA.

This study assesses practices of college students (N=913) toward alternative medicine, relationships of students' health locus of control with practices of alternative medicine, and relationships of students' attitudes toward alternative medicine and health locus of control. A principal components factor analysis established construct validity of the author-designed Attitude Toward Alternative Medicine Scale, extracting three factors: Holistic Attitude/Control, Safety, and Satisfaction. Holistic Attitude/Control predicted use of alternative medicine (Wald =61.9, p < .01). A principal components factor analysis established construct validity of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, extracting three factors: Internal Health Locus of Control, External-Chance, and External-Powerful Others. Internal Health Locus of Control significantly correlated with Holistic Attitude/Control (r = .35, p =.01).

Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries and is defined as a form of arteriosclerosis in which fatty lesions called atheromatous plaques form on the intima of arteries. The formation of these plaques begins early, within the first two decades of life, and may be started by damage to the endothelial cells and intima of the artery walls (Guyton, 1981). A number of factors may cause the initial damage, including physical abrasion of the endothelium, abnormal substances in the blood or pulsating arterial pressure on the vessel wall (Guyton, 1981). There is a growing body of epidemiologic, genetic, experimental, and clinical evidence to support the hypothesis that there is a cause and effect relationship between high blood levels of cholesterol and the development of atherosclerosis in humans. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of exercise and diet in predicting the total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (TC/HDL-C) ratio in college age males and females. Variables controlled for included age, gender, smoking, medication use, contraceptive use, hormone use and intense physical activity.

Research has clearly shown that all individuals will benefit from regular physical activity. Unfortunately, young adults including college and university students are not physically active on a regular basis worldwide. In the developing world particularly in Sub- Saharan Africa, physical inactivity along with tobacco use, poor diet and nutrition are increasingly parts of today&rsquo / s lifestyle. Physical activity declines with age and the most important decline appear to be during the transition period from high school to university and during university years. The aim of this study was to assess the level of physical activity, to investigate the perceived constraints to physical activity and to determine whether socio-demographic characteristic have an influence on participation in physical activity and perceived constraints to physical activity among paramedical institutions students in Uganda. A cross-sectional study with descriptive quantitative design was conducted. Four hundred (400) paramedical institution students were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire adopted from the literature was used to collect the data. A response rate of 90% was obtained. Descriptive and inferential statistics using the statistical package for social sciences were used to analyze the data. The relationships and associations between different variables were determined by carrying out significant tests using chi-square tests. Alpha level was set at 0.05. The mean age of the sample was 22.44 years (SD = 2.03). Males constituted 73.9% and females constituted 26.1% of the sample. Students from eight (8) health professional courses participated in the study. Over half (59%) of participants were classified as physically active and 41% were classified as inactive or sedentary. For male participants, lack of the right equipment to exercise and wanting to do other things in their free time were perceived as the major constraints to physical activity. For female participants, lack of motivation and tiredness after exercise were perceived as the major constraints to physical activity. The findings of this study demonstrate that there is an influence of socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, year of the study and different departments/schools on participation in physical activity and perceived constraints to physical activity. They also indicate the need of health promotion intervention aiming at promoting physical activity among paramedical institution students in Uganda.

Offering courses that promote, encourage, and support physical activity among college students has been an aim of physical education departments for the past century (Sargeant, 1900). Even so, this population has been identified in Healthy People 2010 as a target population segment in need of physical activity intervention. Historically, such coursework has almost exclusively been activity and skill-based, which made it particularly appealing to students who were already active while those who were not physically active generally avoided such courses (Scantling, Strand, Lackey, & McAleese, 1995). Over time, alternative courses and course formats began to evolve, including conceptually-based Lifetime Fitness for Health (LFH) courses (Corbin, 1969). Such courses were designed to promote wellness-related behaviors among college students, including physical activity participation. These courses have increased in popularity over the past 30 years (Hensley, 2001) and are now included by some colleges and universities as part of the students' graduation requirements (Cardinal, Jacques, & Levi, 2002). Some colleges and universities have also begun offering on-line versions of their LFH courses (Conlee, 2000), but little research has been done on the effectiveness of these courses and the influences delivery format (i.e. face-to-face vs. web-based) may have. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of a theoretically-based, LFH course on college students' behavioral and psychological physical activity orientation. The independent variables were course format (i.e., face-to-face vs. web-based vs. control) and time (i.e., baseline and post-intervention). The study was conducted over 10 weeks, using intact groups. The dependent variables were exercise behavior, and self-efficacy, decisional balance, and the behavioral and cognitive processes of change (all from the Transtheoretical Model). Of the initial 151 people enrolled in the study, 109 (72.2%) returned post-intervention questionnaires and were therefore retained in the study. Retention rates did not differ across groups (p>.30). The majority of participants were female (60.3%), Caucasian (81.5%), and held either freshman or sophomore class standing (80.1%). Participants were, on average, 21.3 (SD = 5.7) years old, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 24.3 (SD=5.4). The majority of participants were in the preparation stage of change (45.7%), followed by maintenance (35.1%), action (12.6%), contemplation (5.3%), and precontemplation (1.3%). Exercise behavior improved significantly over time (p<.0 1); however, the main effect for groups (p=.06), and the group by time interaction were not significant (p=.31). Significant main effects were observed between groups (p<.01), and over time (p<.01) for the vector of means comprised of self-efficacy, decisional balance, and the cognitive and behavioral processes of change. The group by time interaction for the vector of means was not significant (p=.17). Follow-up F-tests revealed the group differences were due to differences in the cognitive (p<.05) and behavioral (p<.05) processes of change, with no differences observed for either self-efficacy (p=.35) or decisional balance (p=96). Time effects were observed for self-efficacy (p<.05), and the cognitive (p<.001) and behavioral (p<.01)processes of change, with no difference observed on decisional balance (p=.39). While not entirely supportive, the results due suggest some promising strategies for enhancing the efficacy of LFH courses, regardless of delivery format. / Graduation date: 2004

Lack of physical activity, poor nutritional habits, and unmanaged stress have all been linked to health problems. The present study investigated attitude change toward exercise, good dietary habits, the importance of nutrition information, and stress management due to participation in the Fitness/Wellness course taught by the School of Physical Education at Ball State University. It also examined the effect of gender and class standing on the four dependent variables. A pretest/post-test design was utilized to administer the Attitude section of the Wellness Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior Instrument. The population of 1213 included 59% females and 41% males. Sixty-six percent were freshmen, 22% sophmores, 7% juniors, and 5% seniors. A Paired T-Test showed an overall significant difference between pretest and post-test scores for all four dependent variables. P values for exercise, nutrition information, and stress were all 0.0001. The P value for dietary habits was 0.0021. A MANOVA analysis did not reveal a significant difference when gender or class standing were examined. P values consisted of .091 and .185 for gender and class standing, respectively. / Fisher Institute for Wellness