2007 Final Program - Society of Behavioral Medicine

SOCIETY of BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Rapid Communications Posters Thursday, March 22, 2007 • 6:30 PM-8:00 PM • Poster Session B
2505
FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF A HOME STUDY
WORKBOOK FOR CAREGIVERS OF VETERANS WITH
PTSD: A PILOT INTERVENTION
Katherine M. Dollar, PhD, 1 Judith Lyons, PhD, 2 Jeff Kibler, PhD 3
and Mindy Ma, PhD 4
1
SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, NY; 2 G. V. “Sonny” Montgomery VA
Medical Center, South Central MIRECC and University of
Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS; 3 NOVA Southeastern
University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL and 4 Jackson State University,
Jackson, MS.
Researchers have documented that caregivers of veterans with PTSD
experience high levels of caregiver burden and psychopathology,
but underutilize behavioral health services. Caregivers identify
travel and scheduling as primary barriers to treatment participation.
Evidencing the ongoing cycle of translating research about
caregivers into practice, an intervention was empirically derived
from preceding research. The implementation and evaluation of
the intervention is the continuation of the cycle, moving from
science to impact and back to science again. The current pilot study
investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a “minimal therapist
contact” intervention (i.e., a home-study workbook utilizing
only phone and mail contacts) focused on changing maladaptive
cognitive appraisal patterns with the goal of reducing caregiver
burden. Phone interviews were conducted with 31 female caregivers
of veterans with PTSD for screening/baseline assessment, including
demographics, cognitive appraisal items, the Brief Symptom
Inventory-18, and the Burden Interview. Participants who
demonstrated threat-appraisal coping were offered the workbook
(n = 15), supplemented by weekly phone calls to monitor progress
and address difficulties understanding the workbook. Of the 15
participants enrolled in the intervention, a relatively high percentage
(53%) completed the program compared with previous completion
rates cited in the literature (approx.15-28%). Paired samples t-
tests revealed statistically significant differences between the preand
post-assessments on the Burden Interview, t = 2.86, p < .05.
These findings are interpreted as preliminary evidence supporting
the feasibility and efficacy of a non-traditional intervention for
caregivers of veterans with PTSD, facilitating the translation from
science to impact.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Katherine M. Dollar, PhD,
Health Behavior, SUNY Buffalo, Tonawanda, NY, 14150;
katherinedollar@yahoo.com
2506
MEAL PATTERN TIMELINES: A NEW APPROACH TO
UNDERSTANDING AND CHANGING THE EATING
PATTERNS OF AT-RISK YOUTH
Margaret Savoca, PhD, 1 David Ludwig, PhD, 2 Conner Evans, BA, 2
Coral Hanevold, MD, 2 Gregory Harshfield, PhD 2 and Sara Quandt,
PhD 3
1
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC;
2
Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA and 3 Wake Forest School
of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
An outcome of pediatric obesity is the increased rate of hypertension
among young African American men. Successful dietary counseling
~ 100 ~
strategies must focus on the specific meal patterns of African
American youth and identify viable healthful eating alternatives. The
development of a novel dietary assessment and behavior change tool
called the Meal Pattern Timeline (MPT) is based on an in-depth
investigation of the eating patterns of young African Americans
men (ages 17-20, n= 28) and teens (ages 13-17, n=7) and included
participants with essential hypertension and those at high and low
risk for its development. During in-depth interviews, participants
described when and what they ate and the factors influencing
meal timing and food choices. From these narratives, meal pattern
timelines were constructed indicating the timing, location, and food
sources. Regardless of hypertensive status, four primary meals were
identified breakfast, lunch, a late afternoon meal, and dinner. Not
surprisingly, few ate meals with their families and meals eaten away
from home were French fries, pizza, and regular soft drinks. The
timeline construction made the influence of family dynamics, foods
available at school, and the impact of employment and sports on
food choices evident. Based on this formative research, the proposed
assessment tool combines a semi-structured interview guide with
the construction of a time line. The participant and the interviewer
create a visual representation of when, where, and how foods are
selected and consumed. The MPT captures eating habits within
the context of daily activities providing a framework in which the
participant and the interviewer can observe his food choices and
reflect on the factors which influence these patterns. Thus, the stage
is set for considering realistic ways that dietary patterns can be
altered.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Margaret Savoca, PhD,
Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro,
NC, 27402-6170; mrsavoca@uncg.edu
2507
METHODOLOGY OF A DIABETES PREVENTION
TRANSLATIONAL PROJECT IN A LATINO COMMUNITY
Philip A. Merriam, MSPH, 1 Yunsheng Ma, PhD, 1 Barbara C.
Olendzki, MPH, 1 Trinidad Tellez, MD, 2 Milagros C. Rosal, PhD, 1
Sherry Pagoto, PhD 1 and Ira S. Ockene, MD 1
1
Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
MA and 2 Family & Community Medicine, University of
Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA.
Objective: The Latino population is the largest racial/ethnic group
in the United States with twice the prevalence of type 2 diabetes as
Caucasians. The Lawrence Latino Diabetes Prevention Project, an
NIDDK-funded randomized controlled trial, aims to reduce the risk
of diabetes in a lower socioeconomic and educational status Latino
population. The methodology including recruitment, intervention,
and measures are presented.
Subject: Latinos (N=400) with a > 30% probability of being
diagnosed with diabetes in the next 7.5 years per the Stern
predictive equation will be recruited. Recruitment will be completed
in May 2007. The project is conducted in Lawrence, Massachusetts,
a primarily Latino community and the state’s poorest city.
Methods: Individuals at elevated risk for diabetes (based on
the Stern predictive equation) are identified, screened for study
participation, and randomized to either a usual care or intervention
condition. The intervention is a modified group-based Diabetes
Prevention Program (DPP) protocol tailored to the Latino culture