Monitor on Psychology - May 2012 - (Page 48)

Balster says. USAID-supported behavior-change workers took steps to make it easy for people to obtain bed nets, encouraged local leaders to endorse their use and recruited community health workers to go door-to-door distributing nets and explaining how to use them. They distributed pamphlets, broadcast radio campaigns, held town hall meetings, and led community workshops. The efforts paid off. In nine countries where baseline data are available, bed net ownership more than doubled from 2004 to 2010, Balster says, with corresponding improvement in malaria rates. In Ethiopia, for instance, villages that received malaria prevention and treatment programs saw malaria cases fall by 73 percent between 2005 and 2010. Educating communities about the importance of bed nets is one thing. Health workers face bigger hurdles when trying to convince people to change their sexual behavior. HIV/AIDS infects some 34 million people worldwide. Much of the effort to control AIDS focuses on biomedical advances such as vaccines and anti-retroviral medications. Those are clearly important, says Balster. “[But] an equally important and effective use of resources is in prevention.” Among the psychologists applying their talents to AIDS prevention is Kathleen Sikkema, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the Duke Global Health Institute. Sikkema, who studies HIV prevention and mental health in South Africa and other developing nations, argues that mental health treatment should be a key element in any HIV prevention program (AIDS and Behavior, 2010). After all, she says, researchers have compiled strong evidence of the link between HIV transmission risk and mental health. A person with a poor mental health status is more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and less likely to adhere to drug treatment protocols that could minimize the spread of the disease. To address these issues, Sikkema and her colleagues are developing and testing a number of HIV interventions in South Africa and elsewhere. One project promotes adaptive coping among HIV-positive men and women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. Another teaches coping skills to young children of HIV-positive mothers, while a third aims to reduce risky behavior among women who drink alcohol in informal drinking establishments where gender-based violence is prevalent. With these projects, she and her colleagues hope to identify effective techniques to ultimately reduce the spread of HIV. Of course, infectious diseases such as malaria and HIV make up just one subset of the global health agenda. Worldwide, rates of chronic, non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and cancer have been rising sharply alongside skyrocketing obesity (The Lancet, 2011). Many people think of obesity and related diseases as plights of prosperity, but in fact, nearly 80 percent of deaths from chronic, noncommunicable diseases occurred in low- and middle-income countries in 2008, according to the WHO. With primary risk factors such as poor diet, tobacco use and inactivity, those diseases have a clear behavioral component. And 48 that’s where psychologists like Gary Bennett, PhD, also at the Duke Global Health Institute, can help. Bennett has developed obesity interventions in the United States, and is now working to adapt some of those successful interventions for China. It’s a good place to start. “There are more than 1.5 billion overweight people in the world, and at least a quarter of them are in China,” he says. He’s testing an innovative project that provides tailored diet and exercise goals to participants via text message. In China, as in many other countries around the world, nutrition labeling on food is inconsistent. And as the country becomes more prosperous, eating out is becoming much more popular. As a result, he says, “counting calories is a real challenge.” The text message program provides accessible, understandable goals that ultimately help people reduce their caloric intake and increase their activity levels — even if they aren’t charting every calorie they swallow. Bennett is still testing the intervention, but he’s hopeful that it can be adapted to communities and cultures around the world. Access to technology is growing at a rapid pace. “Cell phone towers are now found in most remote parts of the world,” he says. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for psychologists. “Obesity and other health behaviors present major opportunities for psychology,” he says. “I think, frankly, we need many more psychologists focusing on these issues.” Another important area where psychologists are making a difference is at the intersection of early nutrition and behavior, says Maureen Black, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Scientists have learned a lot about the relationship between psychology and nutrition over the last decade, Black says. Maternal depression, for instance, puts children at risk of nutritional deficiencies, poor growth and cognitive delays (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2011). On the flip side, maternal education and protective factors such as breastfeeding and early cognitive and socioemotional opportunities can reduce a child’s future health risks, as Susan Walker, PhD, at the University of the West Indies, with Black and other colleagues from the Global Child Development Group, reported last fall (The Lancet, 2011). Together with economists, psychologists have shown that ensuring early child development puts children on a positive trajectory to benefit from educational opportunities, become productive citizens and enhance the social capital of the society, Black says. Such findings now form a basis for global policy recommendations, she says, and international agencies such as the WHO, the World Bank and UNICEF are incorporating a psychological angle into their strategies to promote early childhood development and nutrition. Mental health experts can also help improve people’s use of health-care services, says Balster. People in resourcepoor regions may not take advantage of opportunities such as vaccination and prenatal care. As experts in behavior, psychologists can help identify and address the underlying reasons to help people make the most of health-care resources. M O N I T O R O N P S Y C H O L O G Y • M AY 2 0 1 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - May 2012

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Math + science + motherhood = a tough combination
The rights of indigenous people take center stage at AAAS meeting
Interdisciplinary programs that are leading the way
Good Governance Project moves into its next phase
APA publishes third edition of seminal ADHD book for kids
Government Relations Update
In Brief
Random Sample
Judicial Notebook
Psychology’s first forays into film
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Presidential programming
Obesity researchers receive lifetime achievement awards
Top speakers for psychology’s top meeting
Science Watch
Homing in on sickle cell disease
Psychologist Profile
Alone in the ‘hole’
Public Interest
State Leadership Conference ‘12
Perspective on Practice
Education tops council’s agenda
Meet the candidates for APA’s 2014 president
Presidential election guidelines
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
Support for sexual miniorities
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012