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Objective: This study investigated the extent to which the efficacy of a hypertension awareness programme in Singapore may differ based on age, gender, race and housing type (as proxy for income). Method: Pre- and post-programme survey responses on blood pressure (BP) knowledge and beliefs from 9,960 grade 5 students were assessed. Post-programme responses from 5,361 adult family members were also evaluated. Results: Female students were more likely to show better BP knowledge and beliefs. As compared to Chinese students, Malay students had lower levels of BP knowledge and attitudes, while Indian students possessed stronger attitudes. Programme efficacy among students in the most affordable housing was the least favourable. In the adult family member sample, Malay and Indian adults had higher self-confidence and intention to measure their BP in the future than the Chinese. Adult respondents in the most affordable housing possessed the least favourable beliefs towards BP measurement. Older adults, men, Malays and residents in affordable housing types had higher odds of being found with hypertension when tested at home. Conclusion: Despite the same hypertension education programme being implemented, disparities in programme impact were apparent in both student and adult sample across race, housing type and, to a lesser extent, gender. Future interventions should consider these disparities when developing health education programmes.

Objective: Health warning labels (HWL) have been suggested to be effective in reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). Yet, the efficacy and acceptability of SSB HWL of different formats (textual/pictorial) and severity remain unclear. This exploratory study aims to examine the extent and mechanism through which HWL of different formats and severity may affect responses towards the HWL and SSB consumption. Design: Randomised online experiment. Participants were exposed to images of a hypothetical SSB bearing a HWL of one of three conditions: text-only HWL, moderately severe pictorial HWL and highly severe pictorial HWL. They then responded to theory-based affective, cognitive and behavioural measures. Setting: Singapore Participants: One hundred and twenty-seven young adult consumers from a public university Results: Direct effects were found for fear, avoidance, reactance and acceptability of the HWL, but not attitude, intention or motivation to consume less SSB. Pictorial (moderately severe and highly severe) HWL were associated with greater fear, avoidance, and reactance, and lower acceptability than text-only HWL. There was weak evidence that highly severe pictorial HWL resulted in greater reactance than moderately severe pictorial HWL. Fear mediated the effect of HWL of different severity levels on avoidance, reactance, intention and motivation, but not for attitude or acceptability. Conclusions: Exploratory findings indicate that although pictorial HWL were less acceptable, they may still be effective in influencing intention and motivation to reduce SSB consumption through the psychological mechanism of fear. Hence, graphic HWL should not be dismissed too quickly when considering strategies for reducing SSB consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines education and work experience in newsrooms as predictors of ethical perceptions among communication undergraduates at a large Singaporean university (N = 826). Results indicate that education is associated with ethical ideologies, perceived importance of journalism ethics codes, justifiability of using contentious news gathering methods, and concern towards journalistic plagiarism and fabrication. However, in this context, education is not a significant predictor of agreement with ethical principles or support for sanctions against journalistic plagiarism and fabrication. Ethical ideologies (idealism and relativism) are associated with ethical principles and the degree to which using contentious news gathering methods is justifiable. Work experience in newsrooms is associated with perceived justifiability of using contentious news-gathering methods but not with ethical ideologies. The pattern of results was not entirely as predicted and may be a function of the way journalism is practiced and perceived in Singapore. (Contains 8 tables and 70 notes.)

Extant studies have revealed enhancing effects of scent on performance. The role of scent, and emission method, in the context of performing repetitive tasks over prolonged duration in promoting alertness, vigilance, and memory was examined. Seventy-three participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (no scent, peppermint scent emitted continuously, or peppermint scent emitted intermittently) while tasked to monitor and identify suspicious cues for close to 2 hr. Pre- and post-intervention surveys, psychomotor vigilance test, and eye tracker were used as study instruments. Results showed that scent directly enhanced information recall and mitigated the deterioration of alertness, especially as subjects became fatigued. Intermittent emission showed stronger effects over continuous emission in marginally enhancing alertness and memory. Scent did not appear to promote greater vigilance. Suggestions for future studies and implications for management of employees in fatigue situations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to examine the efficacy of a hypertension awareness education program in Singapore in reaching out to a wider population of diverse racial and intergenerational cohorts by dispatching grade five children as information intermediaries to their immediate and extended family members.Method: After receiving structured instruction and training on blood pressure screening, students were requested to share knowledge gained in school with their family members at home and practice blood pressure measurement on family volunteers. We assessed pre- and post-program blood pressure knowledge change, attitude toward screening, and the diffusion of blood pressure information. One adult family member was also asked to complete a short survey at the program end.Results: A comparison of the students' (final n = 3926) pre- and post-program survey data showed that knowledge and attitudes towards knowledge sharing improved after participating in the program. The post-program survey also revealed that students generally felt confident and displayed positive attitudes in performing blood pressure screening on family members. On average, each student practiced blood pressure measurement on 3.04 people. Female family members were more likely to be targeted for knowledge sharing and screening than male family members. The family members' survey revealed positive attitudes towards screening, but family members were not confident about getting their measurements done regularly.Conclusion: The program met its objectives in raising the awareness of grade five children and provision of knowledge. It also met the larger objective of raising hypertension awareness in a wider population, especially those who otherwise might not directly receive health education and blood pressure screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effectiveness of incorporating exergaming into physical education lessons as a platform for imparting health education messages and influencing children's beliefs about and attitudes toward physical activity. The authors launched a 6-week intervention program using Nintendo Wii games coupled with protection motivation theory–based health messaging among 5th-grade school children in Singapore. Results indicated that when children who were exposed to threat-framed messages played Wii exergames during physical education lessons, they reported more positive physical activity attitude, self-efficacy, and perceived behavioral control than did those who underwent regular physical education lessons and were exposed to the same message. In addition, among children playing Wii, the threat and coping frames had similar effects on the degree of message influence on physical activity attitudes and beliefs. The implications for schools, parents, and health policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]