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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 resulted in >20 million reported cases, 480,000 hospitalizations, and 350,000 deaths in the United States through December 2020 (1). SARS-CoV-2 self-testing [...]

A critical challenge for elementary mathematics teachers is meeting the learning needs of all students, especially when there is variability in students' number knowledge. Because young students' number system knowledge (NSK) contributes to future success in mathematics, NSK activities must be designed to engage all students, particularly students who have struggled to engage in mathematics, to help students build early number knowledge. In this manuscript, we describe a quick images number sense intervention implemented across five second-grade teachers and 75 students, and examine outcomes related to teacher actions and student engagement behaviors. The results of our mixed-methods study indicate that the intervention provided multiple ways for students of varying abilities to engage with and learn the content. Our results provide practical implications for teachers, and prompt questions to evaluate in future research.

Objective: To establish the prevalence of mood and wellness behaviors in college students across a school year. Methods: 1,554 college students (69.4% female; average age 18.8 years) were followed with daily surveys on wellness behaviors for the school year. 1,207 participants completed at least 50% of daily surveys on mood, exercise, sleep, nutrition, mindfulness practice and singing/playing musical instrument. Results: Over 88.7% of college students reported at least one wellness behavior each day with 17.7% reporting 4 or more. Each of the wellness behaviors, however, displayed distinct prevalence patterns, varied significantly across the school year, and often across a given school week. Almost every individual wellness behavior was associated with a positive mood, and the cumulative number of daily wellness behaviors was a strongly associated with mood state. Conclusions: Daily wellness behaviors are collectively common, vary significantly within individuals, and are strongly associated with positive mood, both individual and cumulatively. [This study was presented as an abstract at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's 66th Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, October 14-19, 2019.]

Adolescents and young adults continue to use e-cigarettes, and communication campaigns are needed to decrease use among these populations. We developed and tested a point-of-sale communication campaign focused on e-cigarette chemical exposure. We developed messages based on formative research and tested them (versus text-only messages) in a nationally-representative online survey among adolescents and young adults (16–25) (Phase 1). Based on survey findings, we selected a message focused on nicotine and brain development for the point-of-sale trial (Phase 2). We then conducted a cluster-randomized trial at six gas stations with convenience stores, randomly assigned to the intervention (messages displayed) or no message control condition. We conducted intercept surveys with repeated cross-sectional samples of 50 participants (ages 16–25) per store, at baseline and a four-week follow-up. Phase 1 included 1,636 participants in the online study. Intervention messages were rated as more attention grabbing than plain text messages (p <.05), though were rated similarly on other outcomes. Exposure to intervention messages resulted in larger changes from pre- to posttest for beliefs about addiction and relative harms versus cigarettes (p <.05). Phase 2 included 586 participants in the point-of-sale study. Real-world campaign exposure was low (31.8%), and no differences were found between conditions. E-cigarette prevention messages focused on nicotine's impact on brain development show promise. However, garnering attention for communication campaigns in saturated point-of-sale environments, often dominated by tobacco advertising, is challenging. Future efforts should utilize additional communication channels to directly target adolescents and young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this study, we determined the prevalence of and factors associated with parent unawareness of youth tobacco use. Methods: We used data from waves 1, 2, and 3 (2013-2016) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study, a nationally representative study of 13,650 US youth ages 12 to 17 and their parents. We conducted weighted multivariate analyses comparing parent unawareness of youth-reported ever use and associations between parents' unawareness of youth use and covariates. Results: Youth ever tobacco use ranged from 21.8% in 2013-2014, to 24.1% in 2014-2015, to 23.4% in 2015-2016. Parent unawareness ranged from 57.6% in 2013-2014, to 61.9% in 2014-2015, and 64.5% in 2015-2016. Factors associated with higher parent unawareness of youth tobacco use in 2015-2016 were youth being female, black, or Hispanic (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.24-2.61; all ps < 0.05). Youth with lower academic performance, relatives who used tobacco, tobacco available in the home, or past 30-day use, were less likely to have parents unaware of their use (AORs 0.33-0.56; all ps < 0.05). Conclusions: Among youth who reported ever using tobacco, most had parents who were unaware of their use. School-based efforts targeting specific sociodemographic factors could increase parent awareness of youth tobacco use.

Number system knowledge (NSK) is broadly defined as the understanding of number relationships and is an essential mathematics skill for young elementary school-aged students. NSK instruction that emphasizes connections between number sense and spatial reasoning could be a critical anchor for second-grade students to stay rooted in their conceptual understanding of numbers while learning to operate with abstract symbols. In this mixed-methods study, we examined the variations and shifts in second-grade students' NSK outcomes after participating in an instructional treatment focused on building their NSK through visual representations. After receiving professional development in the instructional treatment, five classroom teachers implemented a systematically planned series of 27 visual number activities across 9 weeks. Analysis using a general linear model indicates that, based on 75 students' pretest and posttest achievement data, students made significant improvements in NSK that are most likely attributable to the instructional treatment. Additional analyses indicate that students with the lowest pretest scores made the greatest gains and the most substantial shifts in their thinking following the instructional treatment.

Background: Pinterest has changed the way we seek and share health information with more than 300 million active users. Nearly 40% of Americans are obese and seek fast, easy weight loss solutions online despite evidence that diet and physical activity are the only effective ways to manage weight. Purpose: This study used content analysis to examine how exercises to reduce belly fat were portrayed on Pinterest, a social media website used to bookmark online content. Methods: Using search terms belly fat exercises and belly fat workouts, researchers sampled Pinterest pins to collect 234 relevant pins. A codebook was developed, tested, and used to code pins. Results: Of the 234 pins, the majority of pins highlighted being thinner (73.1%) rather than overall health (9.4%). Pins were primarily geared toward women (70%) with nearly half of the pins depicting women in sports bras (52.9%) with swimsuit model figures (48.7%); and 18% of the pins showed signs of photo edits. Discussion: Social media is a powerful source of health information. However, there is evidence of misleading weight loss, specifically belly fat loss strategies being promoted. Translation to Health Education Practice: Health educators need to develop social media campaigns to promote positive body image with realistic weight loss strategies.

We report an effort to replicate and extend Levelt and Kelter's (1982) Experiment 3. In their study, experimenters phoned businesses and asked, "At what time does your shop close?" or "What time does your shop close?" Participants were more likely to produce prepositional responses (At 7 o'clock) to questions containing a preposition than to questions that did not. Across three experiments, we replicated Levelt and Kelter's method, and included a number of other communicative contexts (asking questions by phone, in person, or by text message, and asking people both known and unknown to the experimenter). Our efforts produced mixed results. Across experiments, and within each communicative context, we found the predicted pattern of results (more prepositional responses following prepositional questions). Although this pattern was not statistically reliable in our individual experiments, it was significant in an analysis conducted across all of our experiments. Overall, our results suggest that the structural repetition effect observed by Levelt and Kelter is replicable, but is weaker than the effect reported in the original paper.

Universities are becoming increasingly conscious of how learning activities align with the attributes they desire in their graduates. Experiential learning is viewed by many institutions as an essential activity for students to gain attributes such as problem solving skills, observation skills, advocacy, and critical thinking. An experiential learning activity, in the form of an environmental fieldtrip, was examined in the context of a university's new common core curriculum. Student expectations were compared to evaluation of the fieldtrip itself, and guidelines for future trip outings are made in consideration of both published works and our own experiences. The ability of departments and faculties to engage students in beneficial and enjoyable learning will be of utmost importance in attracting student enrollment. This is particularly pressing in universities that are transitioning into less differentiated first year intakes.

Objective: Colleges have implemented policies to limit tobacco use on-campus; however, the off-campus environment is often overlooked in tobacco control efforts. We assessed availability, marketing, and promotion of cigarettes, snus, and traditional smokeless tobacco (SLT) in a sample of communities surrounding 11 college campuses in North Carolina and Virginia. Participants: Between January-March of 2011, 2012 and 2013, 481 tobacco-selling retailers, including convenience stores, pharmacies and supermarkets, located near campuses were assessed. Methods: Trained observers completed annual point-of-sale assessments. Results: The percentage of stores selling (81.4% to 58.6%; p < 0.0001) and advertising snus (80.1% to 53.11%; p < .0001) significantly decreased over time. Convenience stores increased promotions of cigarettes (65.4% to 72.8%; p = 0.04) and SLT (3.1% to 23.3%; p = 0.02). Conclusions: Off-campus environments have abundant tobacco availability and marketing. Colleges should collaborate with state and local tobacco control advocates to address tobacco promotion near campuses to potentially decrease product appeal and access among young adults.

To explore the factors influencing parents' choice of communication mode during early education of their child with hearing loss. Qualitative descriptive analysis of semi-structured interviews with parents of children with hearing loss. Fourteen parents of children who participated in the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study. Four themes emerged from thematic analysis of the interview data: (1) parents draw on a variety of experiences and information to make decisions; (2) parents' preferred outcomes for their children drive their choices; (3) child's preference and proficiency drive parental choice; and (4) parents' fears and worries influence decisions. The results reinforced the importance of parents receiving unbiased, descriptive information as well as evaluative information from professionals, so that they could consider all options in making a decision that met their needs. Parents also require continual support for implementation of their choices as they adjust to their children's changing communication needs. Parent decisions around communication mode are rarely made in isolation, but occur within a larger decision-making matrix that include device choices, early intervention agency choices, and 'future-proofing' the child's ongoing communication needs.

Introduction: Approximately 40,000 U.S. women die from breast cancer each year. Mammography is recommended to screen for breast cancer and reduce breast cancer mortality. Adverse social determinants of heath (SDOH) and health-related social needs (HRSNs) (e.g., lack of transportation and social isolation) can be barriers to getting mammograms. Methods: Data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were analyzed to estimate the prevalence of mammography use within the previous 2 years among women aged 40–74 years by jurisdiction, age group, and sociodemographic factors. The association between mammography use and measures of SDOH and HRSNs was assessed for jurisdictions that administered the Social Determinants and Health Equity module. Results: Among women aged 50–74 years, state-level mammography use ranged from 64.0% to 85.5%. Having health insurance and a personal health care provider were associated with having had a mammogram within the previous 2 years. Among women aged 50–74 years, mammography prevalence was 83.2% for those with no adverse SDOH and HRSNs and 65.7% for those with three or more adverse SDOH and HRSNs. Life dissatisfaction, feeling socially isolated, experiencing lost or reduced hours of employment, receiving food stamps, lacking reliable transportation, and reporting cost as a barrier for access to care were all strongly associated with not having had a mammogram within the previous 2 years. Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice: Identifying specific adverse SDOH and HRSNs that women experience and coordinating activities among health care providers, social services, community organizations, and public health programs to provide services that help address these needs might increase mammography use and ultimately decrease breast cancer deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]