The term directory may refer to:

Computing

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• directory (file systems) — a way of organizing files and other directories
• directory (databases) — a large collection of information primarily for reading

History

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• French Directory — a government in revolutionary France from 1795 to 1799

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Health Education Research - current issue

A cluster-analytical approach towards physical activity and eating habits among 10-year-old children
Sabbe, D., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Legiest, E., Maes, L. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0000
The purpose was to investigate whether clusters—based on physical activity (PA) and eating habits—can be found among children, and to explore subgroups' characteristics. A total of 1725 10-year olds completed a self-administered questionnaire. K-means cluster analysis was based on the weekly quantity of vigorous and moderate PA, the excess index (weekly consumption of sugar and/or fat) and the daily diversity index. Chi-squares tested gender differences in clusters and associations with socio-economic status (SES), overweight, controlling for gender. Following distribution was reliable: Sporty Healthy Eaters (n = 242; high vigorous PA, average moderate PA, low excess, higher diversity), Sporty Mixed Eaters (n = 288; high overall PA, very high excess, high diversity), Moderate Active Healthy Eaters (n = 221; average vigorous PA, highest moderate PA, lower excess, higher diversity), Unsporting Unhealthy Eaters (n = 276; below average on all indexes, diversity extremely low) and Sedentary Healthy Eaters (n = 318; lowest overall PA, higher excess, highest diversity). The Sporty Healthy Eaters and Sporty Mixed Eaters comprised more males, Sedentary Healthy Eaters more females. No associations with SES or overweight were found for the clusters. Co-occurrence of healthy and unhealthy behaviour exists. Only Sporty Healthy Eaters combine high levels of PA with low excess index and higher dietary diversity index. Effective ways of directing children to selective, individual relevant recommendations should be developed.
The impact of an appearance-based educational intervention on adolescent intention to use sunscreen
Olson, A. L., Gaffney, C. A., Starr, P., Dietrich, A. J. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0000
During adolescence, there is a steady decline in the use of sun protection and increased use of indoor tanning lights. Previous health education efforts have changed knowledge but not these behaviors. Middle school students (n = 113) received a single educational class that included personal viewing of skin changes visible under ultraviolet (UV) filtered light. Pre-/post-surveys assessed past, current and future intent to use sunscreen, as well as sun benefit and sun risk attitudes. Prior to the session, 42% were sunscreen non-users and 21% were consistent users. At post-test, one-third of students who had not previously intended to use sunscreen in the next month now intended to use it. Among students who had seen skin damage, 59% reported intention to use sunscreen in the next month versus 35% who did not see skin changes (P = 0.04). Viewing sun damage was an independent predictor of intent to use sunscreen in the next month (OR 2.9, P = 0.04), as was older age (OR 2.6, P = 0.04) and previous consistent sunscreen use (OR 6.1, P = 0.004). A brief educational intervention that emphasizes risk-to-appearance and personalizes the risks of UV exposure has the potential to influence early adolescent sun protection. Long-term studies of this approach are needed.
Young people and mental health: novel methods for systematic review of research on barriers and facilitators
Oliver, S., Harden, A., Rees, R., Shepherd, J., Brunton, G., Oakley, A. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0000
This paper describes how barriers to, and facilitators of, good mental health amongst young people (11–21 years) were elucidated from a systematic review of studies of young people's views and how these barriers and facilitators were compared with effectiveness studies to identify effective and appropriate interventions, promising interventions needing further evaluation and the need for further intervention. All studies were published before 2000. No clear pattern for effectiveness emerged in terms of mental health promotion focus, the type of intervention, intervention provider or young people. Well-evaluated interventions neither always target what we know young people themselves see as important barriers to their mental health (for instance, loss of friends and family, violence and bullying) nor always build on what they see as key facilitators, particularly their preferred coping strategies. In particular, while young people see material and physical resources as major influences on their mental health, few evaluated interventions targeted these. Rigorously evaluated interventions more often addressed priorities not raised by young people themselves and populations at low risk for mental health problems. These innovative review methods can inform intervention development and evaluation in a new way based on the strengths and needs identified by the target population.
Portrayal of tanning, clothing fashion and shade use in Australian women's magazines, 1987-2005
Dixon, H., Dobbinson, S., Wakefield, M., Jamsen, K., McLeod, K. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0000
To examine modelling of outcomes relevant to sun protection in Australian women's magazines, content analysis was performed on 538 spring and summer issues of popular women's magazines from 1987 to 2005. A total of 4949 full-colour images of Caucasian females were coded for depth of tan, extent of clothing cover, use of shade and setting. Logistic regression using robust standard errors to adjust for clustering on magazine was used to assess the relationship between these outcomes and year, setting and model's physical characteristics. Most models portrayed outdoors did not wear hats (89%) and were not in shade (87%). Between 1987 and 2005, the proportion of models depicted wearing hats decreased and the proportion of models portrayed with moderate to dark tans declined and then later increased. Younger women were more likely to be portrayed with a darker tan and more of their body exposed. Models with more susceptible phenotypes (paler hair and eye colour) were less likely to be depicted with a darker tan. Darker tans and poor sun-protective behaviour were most common among models depicted at beaches/pools. Implicit messages about sun protection in popular Australian women's magazines contradict public health messages concerning skin cancer prevention.
Who is providing and who is getting asthma patient education: an analysis of 2001 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data
Shah, S. S., Lutfiyya, M. N., McCullough, J. E., Henley, E., Zeitz, H. J., Lipsky, M. S. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0000
Patient education in asthma management is important; however, there is little known about the characteristics of patients receiving asthma education or how often primary care physicians provide it. The objective of the study was to identify the characteristics of patients receiving asthma education. It was a cross-sectional study using 2001 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data. The study included 1230 physicians providing office-based ambulatory medical care in the United States. Patients in the study (weighted n = 11 279 952) were those diagnosed with asthma based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision code receiving care from a pediatrician, internist or a family physician. Main and secondary outcome measures were asthma education ordered or provided. Multivariate analysis indicated that asthma patients receiving education were more likely to have office visits > 20 min [odds ratio (OR) = 3.934], be seen for an acute reason (OR = 2.268), be seen in follow-up rather than an initial visit (OR = 1.780), live in rural rather than metropolitan areas (OR = 1.507), have public rather than private insurance (OR = 1.276) and be seen in privately owned practices (OR = 1.248). Bivariate analyses indicated that patients seeing family physicians were more likely than those seeing internists or pediatricians to receive education. Patient education was not uniformly provided. Family physicians provided more asthma education than either pediatricians or internists. Future research should investigate the quality of education provided.
Researching special populations: retention of Latino gay and bisexual men and transgender persons in longitudinal health research
Kuhns, L. M., Vazquez, R., Ramirez-Valles, J. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0000
Few studies have sought to assess predictors of retention of racial/ethnic or sexual minorities in longitudinal health research. The purpose of this study is to investigate predictors of retention of Latino gay and bisexual men and transgender (GBT) research participants after the baseline interview. Data come from a sample of 643 Latino GBT individuals in two cities (Chicago and San Francisco). We assessed potential predictors of retention (operationalized as successful re-contact) using binary logistic regression of retention on five factors (sociodemographic/health, residential stability, acculturation/attachment to the United States, gay community attachment/stigmatization and research process/design). Our overall follow-up rate was 83 and 80% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. We found that traditional factors (e.g. education, income) were not associated with retention among Latino GBT. The strongest predictors of successful retention were the number of pieces of contact information provided by participants and city of residence (San Francisco). Furthermore, successful methods of contact (i.e. telephone, email) varied by city. We conclude that a largely immigrant urban population of Latino GBT individuals can be successfully followed in longitudinal research. The strong relationship between study design variables and successful retention indicates that collection of thorough contact information is vital to successful follow-up with this population.

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