The reproducibility and validity of a past year physical activity questionnaire was determined in a sample of 100 adolescents aged 15-18 years, randomly selected from a population-based cohort. Subjects completed four 7-day recalls of activity approximately 3 months apart. The average of the four 7-day recalls of activity was utilized as the "gold standard" against which the past year questionnaire was compared to evaluate validity. The questionnaire was also validated against objective measures, such as physical fitness and body mass index. Interscholastic team rosters were utilized to directly validate the reporting of specific activities. One-month and one-year test-retest reproducibility of the questionnaire were determined. For different measures of activity, the Spearman correlations between the questionnaire and the average of the 7-day recalls ranged from 0.55 to 0.67 in males and 0.73 to 0.83 in females, all significant at p < 0.01. In general, although there was no association between the past year activity questionnaire results and objective measures, there was a significant, albeit weak association between the physical activity questionnaire and time to complete a 1-mile (1.61-km) run (r = -0.47) in females. Subjects reported participating in specific interscholastic sports with an accuracy of 100%, 86%, and 95% for the fall, winter, and spring sports, respectively. Test-retest reproducibility was higher over one month (r = 0.79) than over one year (r = 0.66). These data provide evidence that the questionnaire yields a reasonable estimate of past year or "habitual" physical activity in adolescents.

We assessed the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in a cohort of 1242 adolescents (aged 11 through 17) currently participating in a 4-year prospective study of medically treated injuries. Overall, 30.4% of the adolescents reported LBP. The impact of LBP in adolescents was considerable, with one third resulting in restricted activity and 7.3% seeking medical attention. Life-table analysis demonstrated that by age 15, the prevalence of LBP increased to 36%. There were few differences by gender or race. These results suggest that LBP in adolescents is a serious public health problem.

Context.-The majority of prior studies examining intimate partner abuse in the emergency department (ED) setting have been conducted in large, urban tertiary care settings and may not reflect the experiences of women seen at community hospital EDs, which treat the majority of ED patients in the United States. Objective.-To determine the prevalence of intimate partner abuse among female patients presenting for treatment in community hospital EDs and describe their characteristics. Design.-An anonymous survey conducted from 1995 through 1997 inquiring about physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Setting.-Eleven community EDs in Pennsylvania and California. Participants.-All women aged 18 years or older who came to the ED during selected shifts. Main Outcome Measures.-Reported acute trauma from abuse, past-year physical or sexual abuse, and lifetime physical or emotional abuse. Results.-Surveys were completed by 3455 (74%) of 4641 women seen. The prevalence of reported abuse by an intimate partner was 2.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7%-2.7%) for acute trauma from abuse, 14.4% (95% CI, 13.2%-15.6%) for past-year physical or sexual abuse, and 36.9% (95% CI, 35.3%-38.6%) for lifetime emotional or physical abuse. California had significantly higher reported rates of past-year physical or sexual abuse (17% vs 12%, PϽ.001) and lifetime abuse (44% vs 31%, PϽ.001) than Pennsylvania. Logistic regression modeling identified 4 risk factors for reported physical, sexual, or acute trauma from abuse within the past year: age, 18 to 39 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; 95% CI, 1.7-3.0); monthly income less than $1000 (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3-2.1); children younger than 18 years living in the home (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.5-2.6); and ending a relationship within the past year (OR, 7.0; 95% CI, 5.5-8.9). Conclusion.-If the prevalence of abuse in community hospitals throughout the United States is similar to the range of prevalence estimates found in this study, then heightened awareness of intimate partner abuse is warranted for patients presenting to the ED.

Abstract. Objectives: To evaluate a system-change model of training from the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence for improving the effectiveness of emergency department (ED) response to intimate partner violence (IPV). Methods: An experimental design with outcomes measured at baseline, 9-12, and 18-24 months post-intervention. Twelve hospitals in Pennsylvania and California with 20,000-40,000 annual ED visits were randomly selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. Emergency department teams (physician, nurse, social worker) from each experimental hospital and a local domestic violence advocate participated in a two-day didactic information and team planning intervention. Results: The experimental hospitals were significantly higher than the control hospitals on a staff knowledge and attitude measure (F = 5.57, p = 0.019), on all components of the ''culture of the ED'' system-change indicator (F = 5.72, p = 0.04), and in patient satisfaction (F = 15.43, p < 0.001) after the intervention. There was no significant difference in the identification rates of battered women (F = 0.411, p = 0.52) (although the linear comparison was in the expected direction) in the medical records of the experimental and control hospitals. Conclusions: A system-change model of IPV ED training was effective in improving staff attitudes and knowledge about battered women and in protocols and staff training, as well as patient information and satisfaction. However, change in actual clinical practice was more difficult to achieve and may be influenced by institutional policy. Key words: domestic violence; model; system; training; intimate partner violence; battered women; public health. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2001; 8:131-138 S INCE Stark and colleagues' 1 class study of battered women in the emergency department (ED), several studies have documented significant proportions of female patients in the ED as abused. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major cause of both injury and non-injury visits to the ED by women.2-5 As reported in a prior article, the prevalence of IPV in this sample of women aged 18 years and older was 2.2% for acute trauma from abuse (15% for past-year physical or sexual IPV

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Because noninstitutionalized senior citizens comprise over 95% of the population 65 years of age and older, their health needs are a major concern. Data regarding infections in this population including the epidemiology, morbidity, and mortality are lacking. The authors recruited a study population of 417 free-living persons, all 65 years of age or older, from two neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After the collection of self-reported baseline information from these persons, they were monitored for all clinical infections for 2 years, beginning July 1986 and through June 1988, using clinic visits, hospitalizations, or phone calls when needed. The baseline information showed the study population of 417 persons to be comparable with a neighborhood comparison group and with established populations for epidemiologic studies of the elderly in three other states. The 24 months of infection surveillance yielded 494 diagnosed infections in 224 or 54% of the subjects. Respiratory infections were most frequent with 259 or 52% of the total, followed by genitourinary infections with 24%, skin infections with 18%, gastrointestinal infections with 4%, and other types of infection with 2%. By comparing 22 self-reported baseline conditions with the occurrence of infection, 10 historic factors were univariately significant for infection. Of these 10 factors, only history of a lung problem (relative risk = 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.9) and history of difficulty controlling urination (relative risk = 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-4.9) were statistically significant in multivariate analysis. To our knowledge, this study represents the first prospective data on infections in the noninstitutionalized elderly. The data demonstrate the wide variety of infections that occurred in this population and suggest that persons with a history of any one of several medical problems were possibly at greater risk for infection.