MyStudentBody.com-Nutrition is an effective internet-based program that may have wide applicability on college campuses for nutrition education and promoting change in health behaviors.

Background The goal of this project was to identify the educational needs of menopausal women and test the feasibility of an online self management program based on social learning theory. Methods The four stages included: (1) a needs assessment using a) focus groups with 24 women ages 40 – 55 and b) phone interviews with eight health experts, (2) the use of concept mapping methodology for quantifying qualitative data from Stage 1 to identify the core programmatic concepts, (3) development of a demonstration program, and (4) a pilot study with 35 women and nine health experts to assess knowledge gained and program satisfaction. Results Results show that women desire more information about normalcy of menopause and symptom management, found the program to meet a need for menopausal education otherwise perceived as unavailable, and they significantly increased their menopausal knowledge after brief exposure (t34= 3.64, p = .001). Conclusions This project provides support for an online health education program for menopausal women and content ideas for inclusion in women’s health education curriculum.

This study tested the efficacy of an Internet-based prevention program, Trouble on the Tightrope: In Search of Skateboard Sam, on pubertal knowledge, body esteem, and self-esteem. One hundred ninety participants (mean age 11.6 years) were randomized to either an intervention or attention placebo control condition and were assessed at baseline, after 3 Internet-based sessions, and at 3-month follow-up. Although the primary hypotheses were not supported, exploratory moderator analyses indicated that the intervention was beneficial for select students. Specifically, pubertal status moderated the effects on weight-related body esteem and several domains of self-esteem, resulting in positive effects for participants in the intervention group who had begun puberty. Gender differences were found on self-esteem subscales, indicating more robust effects for girls than boys. Tailored Internet programs based on personal characteristics such as gender and pubertal status may be a fruitful area for future research with adolescents. Keywords puberty; body image; early adolescence; Internet; self-esteem The middle school years represent a unique phase when adolescents are faced with many transitions, including emerging self-reflection, drive for autonomy, puberty, and changes in both social networks and social expectations (Patton & Viner, 2007). Longitudinal research supports the contention that the transition to middle school comes with changes in several domains of self-concept, including a precipitous drop in self-perceived physical attractiveness and concomitant body image concerns among girls, and decreased self-perceived competence in social acceptance for both boys and girls (Cole et al., 2001 Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. The emerging evidence indicates that body dissatisfaction predicts harmful weight change practices, eating disorders, depression, and substance abuse (Cash & Deagle, 1997;Marcotte, Fortin, Potvin, & Papillon, 2002). Further, early pubertal status influences body dissatisfaction and increases vulnerability to eating disorders and depression (Biro, Striegel-Moore, Franko, Padgett, & Bean, 2006;Davison & McCabe, 2006), with a particular gender disadvantage for early maturing girls (Hayward & Sanborn, 2002). NIH Public AccessAs recently reviewed by Levine and Smolak (2009), prevention programs have been developed to address body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in children and adolescents (Richardson, Paxton, & Thomson, 2009;Stice, Presnell, Gau, & Shaw, 2007). Taylor and Jones (2007) provide a compelling argument for the use of Int...

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a computer adaptive testing (CAT) version of the Addiction Severity Index-Multimedia Version (ASI-MV®), the Addiction Severity CAT. This goal was accomplished in four steps. First, new candidate items for Addiction Severity CAT domains were evaluated after brainstorming sessions with experts in substance abuse treatment. Next, this new item bank was psychometrically evaluated on a large non-clinical (n =4419) and substance abuse treatment sample (n =845). Based on these results, final items were selected and calibrated for the creation of the Addiction Severity CAT algorithms. Once the algorithms were developed for the entire assessment, a fully functioning prototype of an Addiction Severity CAT was created. CAT simulations were conducted and optimal termination criteria were selected for the Addiction Severity CAT algorithms. Finally, construct validity of the CAT algorithms was evaluated by examining convergent/discriminant validity and sensitivity to change. The Addiction Severity CAT was determined to be valid, sensitive to change, and reliable. Further, the Addiction Severity CAT’s time of administration was found to be significantly less than the average time of administration for the ASI-MV composite scores. This study represents the initial validation of an IRT-based Addiction Severity CAT, and further exploration of the Addiction Severity CAT is needed.

Objective-Self-management of pain is a critical component of arthritis care; however, limited mobility can restrict access to resources. Although the Internet has become a primary source of health information, few studies address what patients want and need from a self-management website.Methods-Thirty-two people diagnosed with arthritis and 12 practitioners a) participated in individual one hour interviews and b) sorted and rated a list of 88 unique statements that were derived from the interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed using Concept Mapping procedures.Results-The six cluster map provided the best discrimination between statements. Follow up analyses suggested that although patients with arthritis and practitioners generally agree on the categories of content on a self-management website about arthritis, they appear to disagree on the importance of each category.Conclusions-These findings about patient and provider desired content and features can be used by health educators to develop curriculum for health education of patients with arthritis pain.