In American society, where the biomedical profession is institutionalized and its therapies dominate health care, a decision to deviate from prevailing norms can be considered remarkable. Yet research done by Eisenberg et al. (1993) found that unconventional or alternative medicine had an "enormous presence" in U.S. health care and that one in three persons had utilized an unconventional therapy in 1990. The objective of this thesis was to explore this phenomenon. Individuals who had used alternative and biomedical intervention to treat a disorder were recruited through practitioners of alternative therapies. Through semi-structured interviews, case histories focusing on the illness trajectory and treatment choices were obtained. These were analyzed following a method outlined by Glaser and Strauss (1967) for generating grounded theory. The specific purpose of this study was to examine the case histories for a basic social process and to identify key variables which influenced the utilization of both a biomedical and alternative intervention. It was the position of this thesis that treatment responses involved more than the decision to accept or decline a specific therapy. Rather, choices were made by social actors embedded within unique social worlds which were differentiated by social variables (e.g., culture, ethnicity, social class) particular to the individual (see, among others, Brown 1989, Fitzpatrick 1989, Freund and McGuire 1991, Gerhardt 1989, Kleinman 1988, Mumford 1983). Treatment decisions were made within a framework of internalized patterns of interpretation and meaning, dynamically influenced by ongoing interactional and relational patterns; an individual's treatment response could be conceptualized as an emergent, multi-phased process (Pescosolido 1992). Analysis of respondents' case histories supported the notion of a dynamic response process. Individuals described an evolving illness trajectory directed at achieving a desired state of wellness. Disparities between treatment outcomes and the desired goal prompted an evaluation and choice-making process. All respondents had developed a health care conceptualization in which biomedical and alternative therapies were either categorized as effective for specific conditions or occupied a particular place on a health care continuum, thereby perceiving a scope of treatment options beyond those available within biomedicine.

Abstract After the National Health Insurance was implemented ,it provides our citizens not only the basic medical treatment but also reduce the financial burden. However, the financial difficulties is becoming worse for National Health Insurance of Taiwan. In order to reduce the medical expenses. The Health Insurance authorities implemented many different policies.Balance billing was one of these interventions. The purposes of this research included to understand the relationships between the balance billing and the characteristics of physicians and patients .Particularly, this research focused on the perceptions of balance billing form the Physicians and hospitalized patients¡¦points of view. The Andersen¡¦s health behavior model was the conceptual framework for this study. The questionnaire was sent out to 200 doctors and 1000 patients in Kaohsiung , Pingtung regional hospitals ,with 101 (response rate 50.6%) and 638 (63.8%)returned , respectively. The characteristic and the attitude towards balance billing system such as medical quality, medical care and medical expenses from both physicians and patients were collected. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were used to analyze this study. The Results from physicians survey are summarized as follows: 1.There were no statistical significance between the physicians¡¦ characteristics (such as age, gender, and tenure) and the agreement of balance billing .Ninety-four out of 101 physicians agreed on the new policy. 2.There would be no influence of balance billingon the medical care from the perspective of physicians. 3.Physicians who agreed on the viewpoints of paying extra payments would lead to the better treatment were 12 times more likely to accept the balance billing. 4.There were no difference among medical expenditures, the level of understanding, and the policy of balance billing. The results from inpatient survey are summarized as follows: 1. Inpatients demographic characteristics, (such as education¡Boccupation and disease), were significant related to the agreement of the policy of balance billing system. However, there were no statistical difference in age, gender, language, and private insurance. 2.Most inpatients who agreed on the balance billing policy were 1.8 times more to believe that if they paid out-of-pocket, they would gain more medical attention form physicians. 3.Regarding the quality of care, inpatients whoever agreed upon the policy of balance billing would perceive that they would receive 3 to 3.8 times higher quality of care in medical materials and medicine, respectively. 4.The more the agreement of the balance billing policy, the higher the satisfactory. 5.Inpatients who understood the new policy were more likely to pay extra payment. Based on the results from this study, it is certain to conclude that both the doctors and inpatient of the region hospital are supporting the balance billing policy .The average score of the inpatient questionnaire is 3.305.And 93.1% of the surveyed. Doctors accepted the policy of balance billing. We encouraged the bureau of National Health Insurance to continuing communication with the public and the providers to assure the success of new policy.

The purpose of this study was to understand the difference of health-promoting life styles among the Fifth and Sixth grades students in Kaohsiung City, and analyze the related factors. A descriptive study design was chosen, and data was collected by self-reported questionnaires that include: demographic data, cues to self-efficacy of health behavior and health-promoting lifestyle profile. The number of subjects was 1164, consisting of 623 Fifth grade students and 541 Sixth grade students. The data collection was based on structural questionnaire method, and there were 1164 valid samples, which were then analyzed by SPSS for Windows 14.0. Results of this study include: 1. The average score was 157.93 in terms of overall scaling table. The highest score fell on health-promoting lifestyles, followed by daily life security habits ,then Self-Care habits, Stress & Sentiments Management, Recreation and Sport,and the lowest score was on eating habits. 2.The average score was 113.39 in terms of overall scaling table. The highest score fell on self-efficacy of health behavior, followed by health responsibility behavior, then stress management behavior, nutrition behavior, and the lowest score was on exercise behavior. 3.The result indicated that these background factors did show significant differences in health promotion life-style. 4. The result indicated that these background factors did show significant differences in self-efficacy of health behavior. 5. Health behavior self-efficacy were positively correlated with health-promoting lifestyles. ¡]r¡×.730¡Ap¡Õ.01¡^ 6. It was realized through hierarchical enter regression analysis that, health¡@responsibility behavior , stress management behavior, nutrition behavior, the gender ,results of study in class(last / middle), Father¡¦s occupation¡]field / general¡^ , Father¡¦s teach(democracy /abandon¡^ , exercise behavior, mother¡¦s level of education ¡]a primaryschool / a junior college¡^ and to stay with parent(yes / no¡^ and could explain to 59.7¢H total variance in health promotion life-style. Among these 10 factors, health responsibility behavior ,has the biggest influence; also, the research conclusions could serve as a reference for future health education and activities planning within the school.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-176). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-242). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Exercise Sciences, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-88).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-176). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 94 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-58).

There is accumulating evidence that several diet and lifestyle factors affect breast cancer risk. One of the proposed mechanisms behind this is DNA methylation which has been observed in breast cancer, even in the very early stages, and may be altered in response to these risk factors. There is also growing interest in the detection of aberrant DNA methylation in non-tumour cells which could be utilised for breast cancer screening. The main questions addressed were: whether B vitamin intake and lifestyle factors were associated with breast cancer risk and DNA methylation and whether DNA methylation within whole blood or buccal cell DNA was associated with breast cancer risk. Samples were obtained from controls and women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and Pyrosequencing™ technology was used to analyse the percentage methylation of LINE-1, BRCA1, ER , p16, MGMT, RAR 2, RASSF1A, and ALDH2 in both sample types. Information on B vitamin intake, alcohol, smoking, physical activity, and reproductive factors was obtained via questionnaire Hypermethylation of ER was associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer and a positive correlation was observed between methylation of ER and BRCA1. After adjustment for ER methylation, results suggested that BRCA1 hypermethylation was associated with an increased breast cancer risk. This provides support for extension of 'field effect' concept and the utility of non-tumour cells in breast cancer screening. Associations were observed between B vitamin intake, lifestyle and both breast cancer risk and DNA methylation. Smoking was associated with an increased risk of premenopausal breast cancer, hypermethylation of BRCA1, and hypomethylation of LINE-1 but in postmenopausal women, results suggest a decreased risk and hypomethylation of p16. Alcohol was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, hypomethylation of BRCA1, and hypermethylation of p16 in women with the lowest folate intakes but not in those consuming higher amounts.

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