U.S. Navy Health Surveillance. Part. 2. Responses to a Health Promotion Tracking Survey.

摘要

No systematic monitoring procedure is in place that can provide information about successes or deficiencies in Navy health promotion efforts. This study tested the feasibility and usefulness of a brief Health Promotion Tracking Form (HPTF) used at the time of the periodic physical examination required of all Navy personnel. Clinics in four geographic regions used the HPTF for a 1-month period. Patients undergoing routine physicals were asked to complete HPTF items addressing health-related and demographic items. Medical examiners completed HPTF items related to blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Responses made by the health promotion tracking (HPT) sample were compared to other recent Navy studies. Overall HPT health indicators were very similar to results from other more extensive one-time studies. Smoking prevalence, amount of cigarettes smoked, smokeless tobacco use, back problem prevalence, body fat, hypertension prevalence, cholesterol levels, and elevated cholesterol rates resembled those obtained in recent studies. Mean systolic blood pressure among the HPT sample differed slightly from a comparison sample. Further, seatbelt use, several dietary habits, alcohol consumption, exercise behavior, and physical readiness test performance showed some differences in that the HPT sample reported more positive health status and practices in these areas than did comparison samples. Overall, the proposed system appears to be a workable option for providing accurate and timely Navy health promotion data on a continuing basis. Health Surveillance, Health Survey, Health Promotion, Navy Personnel.