Health status of disadvantaged adolescents entering the Job Corps program

The health status of 2,203 disadvantaged young people entering the Job Corps was studied by reviewing the medical information collected during examinations performed upon entering the Job Corps. The study was conducted from February 1980 through January 1981. The sample records were obtained from eight representative Job Corps centers. The Job Corps is a federally funded residential vocational training program for youths between 16 and 22 years of age. During the study period, 100 Job Corps centers were in operation, serving a population of 38,000 corpsmembers. Long-term, chronic physical disease or disability was not prevalent among the applicants. The most common physical defect, affecting 10 percent of the youths examined, was uncorrected defective visual acuity. Obesity, defined as weight for height 20 percent or more over nationally calculated "desirable" weights, was present in 16.6 percent of the female trainees. In contrast, only 9.6 percent of a national sample of females have weights this high. Anemia, probably caused by iron deficiency, was prevalent among both sexes; sexually transmitted diseases were found to be common, especially among the females entering the Job Corps. Findings from this study were used by Job Corps staff to make changes in the health program as well as to provide instruction to its health personnel.     

Mental health problems among pregnant and non-pregnant youth

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of mental health problems in primiparous adolescents and to compare their mental health profile with the profile of sexually active adolescents who have never gotten pregnant. METHODS: Cross-sectional study that compared two groups of adolescents aged 13 to 17 years from a city in Southern Brazil, 2003-2004. The sample included 207 primiparous who attended prenatal care programs in urban public services, and 308 sexually active students from state public schools who had never gotten pregnant. A screening instrument to identify mental health problems in adolescents (Brazilian version of the Youth Self-Report) was applied to the participants together with a questionnaire on risk factors for pregnancy in adolescence. Statistical analysis included Chi-square tests, Fisher's exact test, Mann Whitney's U and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Pregnant and non-pregnant adolescents did not differ in the prevalence of total mental health problems (24.6% vs. 27.3%; p=0.50). Compared to the group of never pregnant adolescents, the group of primiparous presented higher prevalence of anxious/depressive symptoms (24.2% vs. 15.3%; p=0.01) and withdrawn/depressed symptoms (13.0% vs., 4.5%; p<0.001) and there was a greater number of tobacco users (21.3% vs. 11.0%; p=0.002). These differences were confirmed by logistic regression models controlled for maternal education. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety and depression symptoms and tobacco use were more frequent in pregnant adolescents in comparison to non-pregnant. These problems require special attention from prenatal care services in order to avoid potential damages for the health of mothers and their children.     

Job ending among youth and adults with severe mental illness

This study examined job leaving over a 36-month period among 326 persons (74 youth and 252 adults) with severe mental illness who were participating in an urban vocational rehabilitation program. Data from 627 job endings indicated that younger clients displayed job-ending patterns that were different in some aspects from such patterns for nondisabled youth (such as displaying a lower average job tenure) yet similar to job-ending patterns for nonhandicapped youth in other ways (such as displaying a high frequency of job changing). Youth and their adult counterparts with mental illness displayed similar tenure on agency-sponsored placements but significantly different tenure on independent jobs. While adults held their independent jobs for an average of seven months, youth averaged only three months at competitive employment. Youth also were significantly more likely than adults to be fired from both placements and independent jobs. These findings and others are discussed in terms of their implications for development of public policy and service delivery models for providing on-going job support to youth and adults with severe psychiatric disabilities.     

Job satisfaction among home health aides.

This study reports on job satisfaction from a survey of 132 home health aides using Locke's Action Tendency Interview Schedule. The major findings were that respondents who had been employed in home health care for five years or less were more satisfied than those who had been working in the area for a longer period and that there were no differences in job satisfaction by age.     

Social changes among youth: The United States experience

The tremendous increase in research on adolescence over the past 20 years, and especially the last decade, has produced a great deal of knowledge about adolescent development and the development of problems during adolescence. This new knowledge should lead to more effective interventions. Although more research is needed on basic developmental processes and context influences, this is especially the case in the area of effective interventions. The next decade may bring significant new knowledge that will dramatically improve the lives of young people in the United States. This is desperately needed as the current status of youth must change.     

Screening for sexually transmitted infections among economically disadvantaged youth in a national job training program.

PURPOSE: To evaluate results of screening for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia among youth in a federally funded job training program. METHODS: Data were evaluated from medical records of 12,881 randomly selected students in 54 U.S. job training centers during 1996. The intake medical evaluation includes serologic testing for syphilis. The policy was for females to receive a pelvic examination with gonorrhea and chlamydia testing and for males to be first screened with a urine leukocyte esterase (LE) assay, with follow-up gonorrhea and chlamydia testing for those with positive LE results. RESULTS: Adjusting for our sampling strategy, among females, an estimated 9.2% had a positive chlamydia test, 2.7% a positive gonorrhea test, and 0.4% had a positive syphilis test. Gonorrhea and chlamydia rates among females were highest in African-American followed by Native American students. Chlamydia infection was most common in younger women < or = 17 years of age. An estimated 0.1% of males had a positive syphilis test, and 4.8% of males a positive urine LE test. Of 103 LE-positive males tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia, only 27 (26%) had a positive test for one of these STDs. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports routine screening of adolescents for gonorrhea and chlamydia, including those youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Because individuals from such backgrounds may not regularly interact with traditional clinical health care systems, screening and treatment should be offered in alternative settings, such as the job training program described in this study.     

Job stress, ill health and job satisfaction among health service employees.

The study examined the effects of occupational stressors, perceived locus of control, Type A behaviour pattern and use of coping strategies on well-being and job satisfaction of 1,176 health service employees. Several stressors were identified as having a negative impact on health and job satisfaction although these differed between the various occupational groups included in the study. The interactionist model of stress used in the study, and the diagnostic tool used (the Occupational Stress Indicator) proved to be useful in suggesting means of intervening to reduce ill health and increase job satisfaction among health service employees.     

Tuberculin skin testing among economically disadvantaged youth in a federally funded job training program

Low income, medically underserved communities are at increased risk for tuberculosis. Limited population-based national data are available about tuberculous infection in young people from such backgrounds. To determine the prevalence of a positive tuberculin skin test among economically disadvantaged youth in a federally funded job training program during 1995 and 1996, the authors evaluated data from medical records of 22,565 randomly selected students from over 100 job training centers throughout the United States. An estimated 5.6% of students had a documented positive skin test or history of active tuberculosis. Rates were highest among those who were racial/ethnic minorities, foreign born, and (among foreign-born students) older in age (p < 0.001). Weighted rates (adjusting for sampling) were 1.3% for white, 2.2% for Native American, 4.0% for black, 9.6% for Hispanic, and 40.7% for Asian/Pacific Islander students; rates were 2.4% for US-born and 32.7% for foreign-born students. Differences by geographic region of residence were not significant after adjusting for other demographic factors. Tuberculin screening of socioeconomically disadvantaged youth such as evaluated in this study provides important sentinel surveillance data concerning groups at risk for tuberculous infection and allows recommended public health interventions to be offered.     

广州市中职学校社会弱势群体子女心理健康状况

了解中职学校中社会弱势群体子女的心理健康状况,为制定相应的干预措施提供依据.方法 采用分层随机抽样方法,在广州市6所中职学校中选取1 918名在校生进行家庭情况调查和心理健康测量,比较社会弱势群体子女与非弱势群体子女及广州市常模心理健康水平的差异.结果 共筛选出弱势群体子女583名,占30.4%.社会弱势群体子女心理健康各量表得分与广州市中职学生常模差异均无统计学意义,在情绪量表上得分低于非弱势群体子女,差异有统计学意义(t=2.34,P<0.05).社会弱势群体子女心理健康水平城乡差别无统计学意义,男生的人际关系和学习心理健康水平均高于女生(t值分别为-2.23,-2.09,P值均<0.05).社会弱势群体中,农民工子女学习心理健康水平低于非弱势群体,残疾或重大疾病群体子女情绪和人际关系健康水平低于非弱势群体(P值均<0.05).结论 中职学校社会弱势群体子女心理健康水平与广州中职学生的整体水平一致,部分弱势群体子女情绪和人际关系问题较为突出.     

Job satisfaction among public health nutrition personnel

This study investigated the job satisfaction of public health nutrition personnel and examined specific factors related to that satisfaction. The 584 persons who responded to a mailed questionnaire were, on the whole, moderately satisfied with their positions in public health. Satisfaction with the "kind of work" they did and satisfaction with coworkers were the major factors contributing to overall job satisfaction. Of the job components examined, respondents were the least satisfied with the pay they received. Older respondents who had been in the profession a longer time were more satisfied with their jobs than their younger counterparts.