The Prevention Center Director began teaching in China in 1986 at the School of Public Health, Beijing Medical University. Since that time Professor Newman and colleagues have taught workshops and made presentations to more than 2000 Chinese public health workers in many parts of China. The Prevention Center has already sponsored several Chinese scholars' short-term and longer studies in Nebraska. It is anticipated that more workshops and exchanges will follow.
As a result of these workshops and exchanges, a joint research initiative began in 1995 to explore alcohol use by Chinese adolescents. This is an ongoing endeavor and has resulted in the development of the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (CAAEQ), the Chinese Cultural Orientation Questionnaire (CCOQ), and the Chinese Alcohol Self-regulation Self-efficacy Questionnaire (CASSEQ). In addition, we began a joint research project to discover if alcohol-related facial flushing, a genetic trait common in Asians, was a protective factor against alcohol problems. Our initial research has delved into the perceived social meaning of flushing. More recently our research has looked at women and alcohol, business drinking practices, and noncommercial alcohol production, sale and use.
By exploring these variables, new information will be generated that will be useful for guiding the development of education and public policies to reduce the public health consequences of alcohol use.
The Prevention Center continues to seek new ways to work with Chinese colleagues to improve health promotion and health education programs and strengthen the quality of research aimed at better understanding the health behaviors of young people.
Objectives
China and USA scholars are working together to:
- Examine the relationship of alcohol expectancies, cultural orientation, self-efficacy, and adolescent alcohol use over time
- Explore the cultural and social influences on adolescents' reactions to alcohol-related facial flushing
- Continue to conduct workshops on the role of health education in general health promotion
- Suggest, implement and evaluate alcohol policies to reduce high-risk drinking
- Foster exchanges and the sharing of data and expertise.
Activities
In 1995-6 we collected our first data to begin to describe alcohol use by adolescents in China. The initial data were gathered in Shanghai. Similar data were gathered from students in Inner Mongolia later that year.
Since then, data has been collected from the following samples:
| Year | Sample Number | Sample Description | Location | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 919 | High school students | Hohhut and Baotou, Inner Mongolia | CAAEQ |
| 1998 | 1244 | High school students | Hohhut, Chayouhou Qi, and Tonglaio Inner Mongolia | CAAEQ |
| 2002 | 1090 | High school students | Hohhut City, Inner Mongolia | CAAEQ, CCOQ |
| 2003 | 1020 | High school students | Beijing | CAAEQ, CCOQ, CASSEQ |
Symposiums
NPCADA co-sponsored the First China International Symposium on Alcohol and Health with host Beijing Siji Exchange Center for Science and Technology of the China Association for Science and Technology, and co-sponsor, the WHO-Shanghai Collaborating Center for Health Education & Promotion, conducted at the Qianhe Hotel in Shanghai from Sep.15th to 18th, 2002. Over 30 experts from 6 countries, 5 domestic provinces and Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the WHO participated in the Symposium.
Seminars and Workshops
- Social reactions to alcohol-related flushing: Does flushing protect against excessive drinking? Invited lecture to the Beijing Medical University National Institute for Drug Dependence, Beijing, China, 15 September, 2009.
- Putting psychology to work: improving the chances of changing behavior. Presented to the faculty and students of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Xianning College, Hubei, China, 21 November, 2008.
- The role of expectancies, self-efficacy, and cultural orientation in predicting human behaviors. Presented to faculty and students of the Xianning Medical College, Hubei, China, 20 November, 2008.
- Developments and priorities in health education and health promotion. Invited lecture presented to the National Meeting of Directors of Regional Institutes of Health Education, sponsored by the government of China, held in Chongqing, April 20.
- Health Education and Health Promotion in the USA. Presented to the opening session of the First China National Meeting on Health Education and Health Promotion, Beijing, China, April 4, 2008.
- Community strategies to prevent and reduce risks and harms from alcohol. Invited lecture to faculty of the Beijing Medical University Institute for Mental Health, Beijing, March 16, 2007.
- Developments and priorities in health education and health promotion. Invited lecture sponsored by the National Institute of Health Education/China Center for Disease Control for staff from China’s national and provincial health institutes, Beijing, March 15, 2007.
- Evaluation strategies for public health educaiton and health promotion programs. A 2.5 day workshop sponsored by the National Institute of Health Education/China Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the staff from China's national and provincial health institutes, Beijing, March 13-15, 2007.
- Developments and priorities in health education and health promotion. A workshop for the directors and staff of Bautou Health Education Institute, held in Wuhan, September 23, 2006.
- Developments and priorities in health education and health promotion. Three-day workshop presented to the Staff of the Inner Mongolia Health Education Institute, and held in Beijing, September 18-22.
- Pubic health challenges of the next decade. Presented to the Public Health Department of Zhaozhang, December 4, 2004; and to the Hainan Center for Disease Control and Hainan Medical University in Haikou on January 3-5, 2005.
- How to conduct surveys. The Inner Mongolia Health Education Workshop presented in Arxan, September 15-18, 2003.
- Getting the most out of survey results. The Inner Mongolia Health Education and Maternal & Child Health Workshop presented in Chifang, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, August 14-17, 2002.
- Planning quality health education programs. Workshop presented to health educators sponsored by the Inner Mongolia Health Education Institute held in Baotou and to Schistosomiasis workers in southern China sponsored by the National Health Department of the People's Republic of China held in Wuxi, 1999.
- Inner Mongolia Health Education Workshop on Health Education Program Planning and Evaluation. Presented in Xilinguol, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, August 3-5, 1998.
- Inner Mongolia health education workshop on health education program planning and evaluation. Presented in Hulunbar, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, June 30-July 1, 1997.
- How to design alcohol and other drug prevention education programs. Sponsored by the Government of Taiwan, Department of Health for public health officials, 1994.
- Health education program development and evaluation. Presented in Hangzhou, China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange/World Bank, 1993.
- Health education planning and evaluation. A series of six lectures presented at the School of Public Health, Beijing Medical University, People's Republic of China, 1992.
- Health education and alcohol and drug education. An invited lecture presented to the staff of the National Health Education Institute, Beijing, People's Republic of China, 1992.
- Health education planning. An invited lecture presented at the Shanghai Health Education Institute, People's Republic of China, 1992.
Awards
In 2001, Professor Newman accepted a special citation from the Minister of Health of the Semi-Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia (People's Republic of China) for contributions to the advancement of public health.
Resarch Team
Faculty and Graduate Students:
Ian M. Newman, PhD.
Ming Qu, MD (China), MEd, PhD
Qian Geng, BSc, MEd (China), Diploma in Demography (Egypt), MEd
Jianping Xue, MD (China), MEd, PhD
Duane F. Shell, PhD
Jianguo Zhang, MA
Ying Zhang, MD, MEd
Zhaoqing Huang, MD, MA
Jia Pu, BA, MA
Jie Zhao, BA, MA
Lida Lin
Shiyuan Wang
Moon Jiayi Yue
Lei Huang
Consultants:
Fangfang Gao, MD, Director of Inner Mongolia People's Hospital in Hohhut.
Yucheng Li, MD, Director of Inner Mongolia Health Education Institute.
Fang Xiaoyi, PhD, Professor, Beijing Normal University.
Qian Ling, MD, PhD, China Institute for Health Education in Beijing.
Gan Xingfa, MD, Shanghai Health Education Institute.
Ming Ao, PhD, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.