Building strong and ready army families: A multirisk reduction health promotion pilot study

Victoria P. Niederhauser, Jay Maddock, Francine LeDoux, Martin Arnold

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

A quasi-experimental prospective study was conducted to assess the stage of change progression and elimination of unhealthy behaviors among active duty Army soldiers and their spouses (N = 245) before and after attending a community-based wellness program. Significant differences in stage progression between the intervention group and a comparison group was seen in the fitness (p = 0.05) and communication risk categories (p = 0.03) immediately after the intervention; significant differences in stage progression in fitness (p = 0.05) and spirituality (p = 0.005) risk categories 6 months after baseline. There was a significant increase in seat belt use (p = 0.008), a decrease in reported tobacco use (p < 0.05), and a reduction in family stress (p = 0.06) and personal stress (p < 0.02) in the intervention group. Targeting multiple behavior changes and risk reduction in a single intervention program presents several challenges. In this pilot study, there were many positive nonsignificant trends in risk reduction that might translate into significant changes with a larger sample.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)227-233
Number of pages7
JournalMilitary medicine
Volume170
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Building strong and ready army families: A multirisk reduction health promotion pilot study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this