Hypertension control and related variables among urban and rural adults in Taiwan

Literature on hypertension treatment has demonstrated that a healthy life style is one of the best strategies for hypertension control. In exploring the mechanisms of behavioral change for hypertension control, a comprehensive study based on the Transtheoretical Model was carried out in Taiwan during the summer of 2000 with a sample of 350 hypertensive adults living in Taipei urban and rural areas. ^ The relationships among stages of change, processes of change and demographic factors were analyzed for six health behaviors—low fat food consumption, alcohol use, smoking, physical activity, weight control, and routine blood pressure checkups. In addition, differences were assessed between urban and rural populations in changing their behavior for hypertension control. ^ The results showed that rural populations had more difficulties than urban populations in avoiding smoking and engaging in physical activity, and the processes of change being used by urban populations were significantly greater than rural populations. The study findings support a strong association between processes and stages of change. ^ Individuals who use more processes of change will be more inclined to move from precontemplation stage to maintenance stage. Counterconditioning, which is the substitution of alternatives for the problem behaviors, in this study, significantly helped people to change diet, engage in physical activity, and check blood pressure regularly. For example, counterconditioning is eating more vegetables instead of meat, or engaging in physical activity as a time to relax rather than another task to accomplish. ^ In addition, self-reevaluation was the most important process for helping people to engage in physical activity; and social liberation was the most important process for changing diet behavior. The findings in this study may be applied to improve health behaviors among rural populations with low income and low education; however, at the same time, the obesity problems among urban populations should be prevented to control hypertension in Taiwan. ^

Call to needle times after acute myocardial infarction in urban and rural areas in northeast Scotland: prospective observational study

Objective: To determine call to needle times and consider how best to provide timely thrombolytic treatment for patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Urban and rural hospital costs : 1981-85 /

Mode of access: Internet.

Food and health expenditure patterns in urban and rural Ecuador : analysis of household budget survey data /

"July 1, 1984."

Characterization of urban and rural inhalable particulates /

Project no. 10.093.

Comparing Patient-Centered Medical Home Implementation in Urban and Rural VHA Clinics: Results from the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Initiative

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Family average income and body mass index above the healthy weight range among urban and rural residents in regional Mainland China

Objective: To explore the relationship between family average income (FAI; an index of socio-economic status) and body mass index (BMI; a widely used, inexpensive indicator of weight status) above the healthy weight range in a region of Mainland China. Design: Population-based cross-sectional study, conducted between October 1999 and March 2000 on a sample of regular local residents aged 35 years or older who were selected by random cluster sampling. Setting: Forty-five administrative villages selected from three urban districts and two rural counties of Nanjing municipality, Mainland China, with a regional population of 5.6 million. Subjects: In total, 29 340 subjects participated; 67.7% from urban and 32.3% from rural areas; 49.8% male and 50.2% female. The response rate among eligible participants was 90.1%. Results: The proportion of participants classified as overweight was 30.5%, while 7.8% were identified as obese. After adjusting for possible confounding variables (age, gender, area of residence, educational level, occupational and leisure-time physical activity, daily vegetable consumption and frequency of red meat intake), urban participants were more likely to be overweight or obese relative to their rural counterparts, more women than men were obese, and participants in the lowest FAI tertile were the least likely to be above the healthy weight range. Conclusions: The proportion of adults with BMI above the healthy weight range was positively related to having a higher socio-economic status (indexed by FAI) in a regional Chinese population.

Differences in expenditure and amounts of fresh foods, fruits & vegetables and fish purchased in urban and rural Scotland

Peer reviewed

Differences in expenditure and amounts of fresh foods, fruits & vegetables and fish purchased in urban and rural Scotland

Peer reviewed