A Study of Preventive Health Intervention: Executive Summary and Final Report

摘要

The purpose of this study was to implement and assess the effectiveness of a health education program designed to increase preventive health behaviors among disadvantaged groups by determining individual health values and setting health objectives that reflect their concerns. Two neighborhoods, one predominantly black and one predominantly white, were purposively selected, and 300 households were randomly drawn from each community. For each neighborhood, the households were randomly distributed into four treatment groups. All four groups received both pre- and post-surveys. The Experimental Group received all intervention steps including community health resource information and values clarification and health intervention sessions both involving counseling from trained nurses. Control Group 1 received all of these steps except the health intervention sessions; Control Group 2 received only the resource information; and Control Group 3 received no intervention. Pre- and post-survey data yielded mixed results, but 80% of all of the preventive health objectives that were set were at least partially achieved in each neighborhood.