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The increase of HIV/AIDS patients requiring health care has direct implications for dental hygiene education programs and effective college teaching in those programs. Little documentation of the issues of HIV in dental hygiene education and practice have occurred. Research design was exploratory, quantitative and descriptive. A mail questionnaire was conducted on all 1992 Massachusetts dental hygiene program graduates. Response rate was 70%. Results of data analysis with respect to HIV/AIDS attitudes and educational process indicate that program graduates: (a) are willing to provide care to HIV/AIDS patients despite a perception of high risk for occupational exposure due to their work, (b) believe faculty influenced their attitudes about providing care to HIV patients, (c) want more educational opportunities to interact with psycho-social elements of HIV, (d) want interactive, two-way dialogue approaches to learning about HIV/AIDS as well as traditional lecture formats, (e) define the interpersonal and relational elements in effective college teaching as important in this learning context, and that (f) no one AIDS education experience made a difference in terms of attitudes toward providing care but a combination of multiple experiences did influence attitudes toward HIV. Negative attitudes were held about receiving care from HIV infected dental hygiene practitioners and about working in an office that employs an HIV positive hygienist. Risk from HIV/AIDS had not caused the respondents to consider leaving the field of dental hygiene. Findings contribute to dental hygiene and other health care educator work in policy, curriculum, and faculty development and suggest that multiple and multi-dimensional AIDS education experiences be included in the curriculum, that faculty development in HIV/AIDS education and effective college teaching occur, and that communication of program HIV/AIDS philosophies, policies, and protocols be included in clinical handbooks and regular faculty-student communication vehicles. Suggestions for further study include replication of the study with additional classes of graduates as well as national and different geographic region samples, assessment of HIV/AIDS education experiences and instructional methodologies in dental hygiene education programs, and qualitative research on how HIV/AIDS clinical treatment experiences affect learner knowledge, skill and value about providing health care.

There is a need for epilepsy-based health education programs to enlighten Nigerian communities and reduce the stigma associated with epilepsy. Epilepsy in Nigeria is viewed by some as a contagious and an infectious disease or a condition imposed from the gods, possessed by demons, as the work of witchcraft, or punishment from ancestral spirits, which are all related to a lack of knowledge about epilepsy leading to stigmatization of persons with epilepsy. Guided by the stigma theory, the purpose of this community-based, cross sectional study was to quantitatively examine the effect of an educational program on interpersonal, internalized, and institutional stigma of epilepsy in terms of knowledge, attitude, and treatment gained. Two hundred and fifty participants completed a general domain instrument which had been used in different countries, including South Eastern Nigeria, and revised for greater validity via a pilot study. Chi-square tests were used to examine any significant differences in participants' responses between pre- and post-test surveys regarding knowledge, attitude, and treatment gained of all 3 identified stigma levels. According to study results, the educational program reduced all 3 stigma levels in terms of attitude, knowledge, and treatment gained of epilepsy (p< 0.001). This study contributed to positive social change by providing information to public health workers on how to increase the knowledge and awareness of the South Eastern Nigerian community that epilepsy is not contagious or infectious and there is no need to isolate persons with epilepsy from their societies.

WISEWOMAN (WW) is a comprehensive program for medically underserved women in South Dakota (SD), aged 30 to 64, which aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. Screening services include blood total cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose, and body mass index (BMI). Lifestyle intervention (LSI) sessions are also offered to address physical activity and nutrition. The purpose of this retrospective longitudinal study was to quantitatively examine whether the combination of LSI's and clinical screenings or clinical screenings alone lead to improvements in blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol, and/or BMI at rescreening 10 to14 months from initial screening. Guided by the social ecological model, it was hypothesized that SD-WW participants attending the screening sessions as well as the intervention sessions would have greater reductions in blood pressure, total cholesterol, and blood glucose than participants who only received screenings. Participants included 653 low-income women aged 30 to 64 enrolled in the screening alone (N=423) and SD-WW program (N=230) from 2000-2005, who completed both the screening and rescreening 10 to14 months later. Secondary data analysis using forced-entry multiple regression of the traditional measures employed in the screening alone control condition yielded significant predictive models for change scores in blood pressure, BMI, blood glucose, and cholesterol among all participants. Neither dummy variable regression nor ANOVA results indicated any significant impact of the SD-WW intervention on these same health outcome changes. Findings contribute to positive social change by demonstrating that screening alone is effective in predicting health outcomes, thus allowing more disadvantaged women to be served by public agencies that may face reduced funding for their array of programs.

More than half of the incidents and mortality rates from cervical cancer occur among minority groups, including immigrant women from continental Africa living in the United States. Although researchers have examined cervical cancer screening practices among minority populations, including Black women in Africa and in the United States, there are few studies on cervical cancer screening and associated risk factors, specifically among African women living in the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between selected factors and cervical cancer screening practices among African immigrant women living in the United States. Using the behavioral model for vulnerable populations as a theoretical basis, this cross-sectional quantitative study was focused on determining the association between family income, level of education, language of interview, insurance status, age, and perceived health status and cancer screening practices. Data on 572 African immigrant women from the National Health Interview Survey in 2005, 2008, and 2010 were used for the study. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Key findings indicate that family income, education level, and age were significantly associated with cervical cancer screening practices among African immigrant women in the United States. Findings from the study support positive social change by targeting at-risk groups for cervical cancer screening programs. The long-term goal of early cervical cancer screening is to lower cervical cancer rates among African immigrant women in the United States. The findings from the study can be used by community health professionals to provide education that can lead to utilization of cervical cancer screening services based on guidelines and recommendations.