No abstract

We investigated whether barriers to onsite parental involvement in the Bienestar Health Program Parent Component could be identified and whether participation rates could be increased by addressing these barriers. All nonparticipating parents of fourth-grade students of San Antonio Independent School District from 4 schools, which were selected randomly from 20 intervention schools in Bienestar, were invited to take part in this study. A total of 47 of 223 (21%) parents engaged in one of four focus groups offered. Parents identified barriers to their involvement in Bienestar that fit into five descriptive categories: (a) low value, (b) high cost, (c) competing family demands, (d) concerns about the program design, and (e) social role norms. The Bienestar Parent Component was then modified according to the focus group findings, which resulted in a marked increase in parental involvement from 17% to 37% overall. These findings suggest that even when parents are involved in the initial design of parent-friendly and culturally sensitive programs, as was the case for Bienestar, maximizing parental involvement may require additional assessment, identification, and remediation of barriers.Keywords parental involvement; barriers to parental involvement; school-based health programs; type 2 diabetes mellitus in children; effective strategies

A targeted approach for CRC screening among Latinos may be better than the nontargeted approach.

The authors evaluated the validity and reliability of the Block Kids Food Frequency Questionnaire (BKFFQ) and the Block Kid Screener (BKScreener) in Mexican American children living along the Texas-Mexico border who participated in the National Institutes of Health-funded Proyecto Bienestar Laredo. The Bienestar/NEEMA health program is a school-based diabetes and obesity control program, and the Proyecto Bienestar Laredo is the translation of the Bienestar/NEEMA health program to 38 elementary schools in Laredo, Texas. Par ticipants included 2,376 eight-year-old boys (48%) and girls (52%) from two school districts in Laredo. Two Food Frequency Questionnaire (BKFFQ and BKScreener) dietary intakes were collected, and an expert panel of nutritionist assigned a classification response quality of "Good," "Questionable," and "Poor," based on playfulness (systematic or nonrandom) patterns and completion rates. In addition, both instruments were assessed for reliability (test-retest) in 138 students from a San Antonio School District. Children's height, weight, percentage body fat, reported family history of diabetes, and Texas Assessments of Knowledge and Skills in reading and mathematics scores were collected. This study showed that for Mexican American children living along the Texas-Mexico border, within the time constraints of the classroom, BKScreener yielded better data than the BKFFQ.

IntroductionAlthough screening rates for colorectal cancer are increasing, 22 million Americans are not up-to-date with recommendations. People with diabetes are an important and rapidly growing group at increased risk for colorectal cancer. Screening status and predictors of being up-to-date on screening are largely unknown in this population.MethodsThis study used logistic regression modeling and data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine the association between diabetes and colorectal cancer screening predictors with being up-to-date on colorectal cancer screening according to criteria of the US Preventive Services Task Force for adults aged 50 or older. State prevalence rates of up-to-date colorectal cancer screening were also calculated and mapped.ResultsThe prevalence of being up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening for all respondents aged 50 or older was 65.6%; for respondents with diabetes, the rate was 69.2%. Respondents with diabetes were 22% more likely to be up-to-date on colorectal cancer screening than those without diabetes. Among those with diabetes, having a routine checkup within the previous year significantly increased the odds of being up-to-date on colorectal cancer screening (odds ratio, 1.90). Other factors such as age, income, education, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and history of cancer were also associated with up-to-date status.ConclusionRegardless of diabetes status, people who had a routine checkup within the past year were more likely to be up-to-date than people who had not. Among people with diabetes, the duration between routine checkups may be of greater importance than the frequency of diabetes-related doctor visits. Continued efforts should be made to ensure that routine care visits occur regularly to address the preventive health needs of patients with and patients without diabetes.