This thesis is comprised of two separate studies, the first of which set out to examine the Intimate Partner Abuse behaviour and attitudes of young Australian students. Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA) may be defined as a pattern of deliberate physical, sexual, or psychological abuse within a married, de-facto, dating, or courting relationship (Miller & Bukva, 2001: Victoria Health Promotion Foundation, 2004). Specifically, Study One aimed to explore the IPA attitudes of Australian students and examine the relationships between these attitudes with a view to provide theoretical guidance for understanding how negative IPA attitudes may be maintained. A total of 400 students (male = 99, female = 301) with ages ranging from 15 to 25 years (M = 19.38, SD = 2.04) participated in Study One. Participants completed the Conflict Tactics Scale - Revised (CTS2; Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Surgarman, 1996), which measures the number of times respondents have experienced physic al and psychological abuse over the previous 12-month period. Attitudinal questionnaires were also completed by participants, including a measure of IPA victim blame and endorsement of IPA myths. Overall, rates of IPA among the present sample were consistent with those reported in overseas samples, with over 85% of women reporting being the victim of psychological abuse in the previous 12-months, and over 30% having been the victim of physical abuse. Lower scores on measures of victim blaming attitudes were associated with more positive attitudes towards women and less endorsement of IPA myths. These findings implicate the importance of addressing attitudes towards women and commonly held IPA myths within IPA prevention programs for young people. Study Two evaluated a brief educational program for Australian Technical And Further Education (TAFE) and high school students, which was selected and modified on the basis of a literature review of published program evaluations and the findings of Study One of this thesis. The program, titled Through New Eyes: Exploring the Hidden Dynamics of Domestic Violence (Hunter Women's Centre, 2003), aimed to inform the IPA attitudes of students and comprised of videos and discussion questions. A quasi-experimental pre-post design was used with a non-randomised experimental and control group. The program was evaluated using a questionnaire measure of participants' attitudes as well as their experience of the program. There were 98 students who consented to participate in Study Two, 48 (male = 26, female = 22) of whom fulfilled all the requirements of participation and were included in the results of the study. Participants' ages ranged from 14 to 25 years (M = 16.91, SD = 2.12). Several statistically significant desi rable changes were observed among participants of the program, however there were similar changes observed among control group participants. Study Two provides some support for the effectiveness of the Through New Eyes program in informing the attitudes of young Australians. However, it is recommended that future research evaluate this program in combination with skill building programs in order to assist students to translate attitudinal changes into behavioural ones.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the adult population, affecting about 5% of the population over 65 years. Occurrence of AF is an independent risk factor for stroke, and together with other cardiovascular risk factors (CHADS2/CHA2DS2- VASc), the stroke risk increases. Since AF is often paroxysmal and asymptomatic (silent) it may remain undiagnosed for a long time and many AF patients are not discovered before suffering a stroke. Aims: To estimate the prevalence of previously undiagnosed AF in an out-of-hospital population with CHADS2 ≥1, in patients with an enlarged left atrium (LA) and of total AF prevalence in sleep apnea (SA) patients, conditions that have been associated with AF. To compare the efficacy of short intermittent ECG with continuous 24h Holter ECG in detecting arrhythmias. Methods: Patients without known AF recorded 10−30 second handheld ECG (Zenicor-EKG®) registrations during 14−28 days at home, both regular, asymptomatic registrations twice daily and when having cardiac symptoms. Recordings were transmitted through the in-built SIM card to an internet-based database. Patients with palpitations or dizziness/presyncope referred for 24h Holter ECG were asked to additionally record 30-second handheld ECG registrations during 28 days at home. Results: In the out-of-hospital population with increased stroke risk, previously unknown AF was diagnosed in 3.8% of 928 patients. Comparing AF detection in patients with an enlarged LA versus normal LA showed that eleven of 299 patients had AF. Five of these had an enlarged LA (volume/BSA). No statistical difference in AF prevalence was found between patients with enlarged and normal LA, 3.3% and 3.2% respectively, (p = 0.974). AF occurred in 7.6% of 170 patients with sleep apnea, in 15% of patients with sleep apnea ≥60 years, and in 35% of patients with central sleep apnea. AF prevalence was also associated with severity of sleep apnea, male gender and diabetes. Comparing the efficacy of arrhythmia detection in 95 patients with palpitations or dizziness/presyncope with continuous 24h Holter and short intermittent ECG, 24h Holter found AF in two and AV-block II in one patient, resulting in 3.2% relevant arrhythmias detected. Short intermittent ECG diagnosed nine patients with AF, three with PSVT and one with AV-block II, in total 13.7% relevant arrhythmias. (p = 0.0094). Conclusions: Screening in the out-of-hospital patient population (mean age 69.8 years) yielded almost 4% AF, making it seem worthwhile to screen older patients with increased stroke risk for AF with this method. Screening patients with LA enlargement (mean age 73.1 years) did not result in higher detection rates compared with the general out-of-hospital population. AF occurred in 7.6% of patients with sleep apnea, (mean age 57.6 years) and was associated with severity of sleep apnea, presence of central sleep apnea, male gender, age ≥60 years, and diabetes. Short intermittent ECG is more effective in detecting relevant arrhythmias than 24h Holter ECG in patients with palpitations or dizziness/presyncope.

The number one killer of women in the United States is cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) include advancing age, cigarette smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia, family history, hypertension, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and high intake of saturated fats and low dietary fiber. A women’s risk for development of CVD dramatically increases after menopause and with the number of CVRFs. CVD is often preventable. Evidence supports addressing CVRFs reduction early (in the pre-menopausal years) through heart-healthy behaviors such as increasing physical activity, promoting healthy eating, moderate alcohol consumption and not smoking. Therefore, understanding premenopausal women’s CVRFs knowledge is an important area of inquiry. In addition, the Nemcek Wellness Model suggests that self-nurturance, as well as knowledge, may be an important factor for explaining women’s wellness behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge of CVRFs, level of self-nurturance and the performance of heart-healthy behaviors in women ages 35 to 55 years. This study used a cross sectional survey design and venue sampling. The survey included demographic questions, the Self Nurturance Survey, the Heart Disease Facts Questionnaire, the Physical Activity Questionnaire, Prime Screen, and questions about financial strain, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use. The sample included 136 women (survey response rate = 57%), the majority of whom were white (94.9%), married (80.1%), did not smoke (80.1%) and rarely drank alcohol (57.4%). Results indicated that study participants were very knowledgeable about CVRFs. (Mean knowledge score = 19.53, possible range = 0 to 25 with higher scores indicating greater knowledge). Knowledge did not predict physical activity (p = .07), diet (p = .08) or smoking status (p = .11) in this sample. Self-nurturance was moderately correlated (r = .33) with consuming a heart-healthy diet. Hypotheses derived from the Nemcek Wellness Model were not supported in this study. More research is needed to identify factors that will help women translate knowledge into heart-healthy behaviors.

Background One central task within nursing is health promotion, which can be done at different levels. Primary prevention aims to promote health and protect against illness by preventing problems before they occur. HIV is still a worldwide issue, yet Ethiopia is one country where efforts at preventing the spread of the virus have had positive results. Aim This study aimed to describe how nurses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, work with primary prevention to minimise the spread of HIV. Method The study was conducted as a qualitative field study at a hospital in Addis Ababa. Semi-structured interviews were held with seven nurses at four different units. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Result The nurses mentioned various efforts of preventing HIV, where the main findings describe the different hands-on methods at their unit as well as the nurses’ frequent work with health education and information. An additional finding outlines the setting in which the nurses carry out their preventive work. Conclusion In conclusion, the nurses worked in a variety of ways to prevent the spread of the virus to themselves and to their patients. Screening was an important effort to minimise the exposure to other non-infected individuals. Health education and information were quoted by the majority of the nurses, but it was impacted by the awareness that the patients already exhibited. The findings show the multitude of efforts attempted at all units, which highlight the significant presence and value of health promotion within nursing.

The aim of this theses is to establish, with reference to relevant literature, what is the impact of selective primary prevention programs in several chosen classes from the viewpoint of the lecturers of these programs. The author lays out and describes in detail the concepts of risky behaviours, primary prevention of risky behaviours, selective primary prevention, lecturer of primary prevention programs and other concepts relevant to the subject at hand. In the research part of this theses, the author deals with a research problem formulated as follows: What is the impact of selective primary prevention programs in chosen classes from the perspective of the lecturers? The selected method is qualitative research. The specific chosen research tool is a half-structured dialogue, conducted with lecturers of programs of selective primary prevention with at least two years of experience in the field. KEYWORDS Risky behaviours; primary prevention of risky behaviours; lecturer of primary prevention programs; selective primary prevention; selective primary prevention programs.

While the old adage of “it takes a village…” is often stated in reference to raising children, this statement is also extremely applicable in combating social problems such as intimate partner abuse (IPA). All too often society members turn a “blind eye” to abuse occurring within our homes between intimate partners. Although recent research has shown improvement in attitudes condemning IPA, other research has identified that many individuals continue to perceive IPA as largely a private problem (Bethke & DeJoy, 1993; Straus, Kaufman Kantor, & Moore, 1997). This commonplace belief stands in stark contrast to the vast amount of research that shows IPA is anything but a private problem. In order to halt these occurrences, various intervention programs have been implemented (i.e. batterer intervention programs, mandatory arrest policies, etc.). However, less effort has gone into creating programs to prevent abuse in the first place (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007). In order to fulfill this need, Harbor House of Central Florida (Orlando, FL) created one notable primary prevention initiative referred to as Project Courage. Launched in 2010, Project Courage staff flooded an Orlando neighborhood (Pine Castle, FL) with IPA services. The following evaluation details Project Courage’s successes, challenges, and provides recommendations for the future. The data used in this evaluation were made available by Harbor House of Central Florida, and have been used with permission from the agency and from the University of Central Florida’s Institutional Review Board. Data from Project Courage were originally collected by the agency’s Prevention Department. First-year funding for the project was provided by the 100 Women Strong giving circle located in Orlando, Florida. The collector(s) of the original data, the funder(s), and their agents or employees bear no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here

The thesis discusses the primary prevention of risk behaviour as it is known in the Czech Republic and in Europe. The theoretical part is trying to comprehensively discuss the issue, however, it does not deal with present only it also charts its historical development. Based on the available literature and on personal experience of the author, there is an overall insight into the school primary prevention. At the beginning, the author tries to clarify the differences in terminology in this country and in Europe, as well as to deal with various forms of risky behaviour, which primary prevention focuses. A large section is devoted to teachers dealing with primary prevention and other participants of prevention such as students and their parents. As an integral part the theory also includes a chapter on specific activities, including examples of good practice especially from abroad, which can be used by school prevention methodologist in their work. The practical part of the thesis aims to propose to school prevention methodologists the right method of creating systematic strategy for primary prevention of risk behaviour phenomena in the school environment. The largest part consists of a model strategy for particular High School, from which it is clear how such a strategy should look like. The model...

The diploma thesis is focused on the problem of risk behavior and its prevention in primary schools of selected Central Bohemian micro-region. The work evaluates and compares the individual programs of primary prevention of schools. In connection with these findings, interviews with school prevention methodologies are analyzed and information is supplemented. The aim of this thesis is to find out how primary prevention programs of selected schools are implemented and to compare the content of programs with the actual implementation. Another aim of the thesis is to find out and recommend good practice, based on the experience of these schools. The whole work is divided into two basic parts, which are theoretical basis and practical part including research. The theoretical part introduces the current terminology in this area. The practical part describes the research, which took place in two stages. First, the primary prevention programs were analyzed from the content and these findings were subsequently supplemented by interviews with school prevention methodologies of schools in the selected Central Bohemian micro-region. The output of the work is a summary of findings of content analysis in comparison with interviews with school prevention methodologies and a summary of recommendations in the...

The Diploma thesis is focused on experience with the realization of the prevention on primary schools. The aim of my thesis was to find out, if the schools engage in prevention activity and how the realization and efficacy looks like. The thesis consists of two parts. The first part is theoretical and the second is research. In the first chapter of the theoretical part I dealt with risk behaviour, I briefly described its particular forms. In the second chapter of the theoretical part I focused on the content of the word prevention, primary prevention in curricular documents and scholar primary prevention. In the second section of the thesis, which is the practical part, I have collected information and opinions of different subjects on realization preventive programs at school. I compared the results of the research of two grammar schools. The first type of the collection of data was questionnaire research qualitative research. The date we have gained provided us the information about the opinions of the efficacy of preventive programs from the point of view of the pupils. The second type of collected data was an interview with the Methodist of the prevention. This information show us a different point of view on risk behaviour, its prevention and efficacy of the realization primary prevention activity.

Violence is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality amongst young people. Public health approaches are now being increasingly utilised to reduce the risk of young peoples' involvement in violence. One such programme is Medics Against Violence (MAV), which aims to reduce pro-violent attitudes and enhance empathy in secondary school pupils. This thesis aims to investigate whether this approach can be effective in tackling youth violence in secondary school pupils. A mixed-methods approach was adopted to conduct both an outcome and process evaluation of MAV. Four schools took part in the outcome evaluation, which examined whether there was a change in attitudes towards violence or empathy in pupils receiving the MAV programme. The process evaluation consisted of focus groups with school pupils, and open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with MAV volunteers. There was a small but significant reduction in pro-violent attitudes immediately post-intervention. However, this was not sustained at three months and there was no significant increase in empathy scores. Pupils generally demonstrated anti-violent attitudes, although were more likely to support the use of reactive violence. The pupils appeared to enjoy and generally engage well with the programme. In particular, the use of real footage, interviews with those affected by violence and the Glasgow setting provided a sense of realism for the pupils. Moreover, pupils valued the opportunity to discuss the issues raised by MAV with the volunteers. Volunteers felt engagement was occasionally an issue in the most affluent areas. However, some volunteers adapted the programme to focus on victimisation prevention in the most affluent schools. Further development is therefore needed in terms of establishing who the programme is aimed at (i.e. potential victims or perpetrators), focusing on reactive violence and increasing the sustainability of its effects.