The history and future of digital health in the field of behavioral medicine.

Since its earliest days, the field of behavioral medicine has leveraged technology to increase the reach and effectiveness of its interventions. Here, we highlight key areas of opportunity and recommend next steps to further advance intervention development, evaluation, and commercialization with a focus on three technologies: mobile applications (apps), social media, and wearable devices. Ultimately, we argue that future of digital health behavioral science research lies in finding ways to advance more robust academic-industry partnerships. These include academics consciously working towards preparing and training the work force of the twenty first century for digital health, actively working towards advancing methods that can balance the needs for efficiency in industry with the desire for rigor and reproducibility in academia, and the need to advance common practices and procedures that support more ethical practices for promoting healthy behavior

Healthy snacks consumption and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The role of anticipated regret

Two empirical studies explored the role of anticipated regret (AR) within the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework (Ajzen, 1991), applied to the case of healthy snacks consumption. AR captures affective reactions and it can be defined as an unpleasant emotion experienced when people realize or imagine that the present situation would be better if they had made a different decision. In this research AR refers to the expected negative feelings for not having consumed healthy snacks (i.e., inaction regret). The aims were: a) to test whether AR improves the TPB predictive power; b) to analyze whether it acts as moderator within the TPB model relationships. Two longitudinal studies were conducted. Target behaviors were: consumption of fruit and vegetables as snacks (Study 1); consumption of fruit as snacks (Study 2). At time 1, the questionnaire included measures of intention and its antecedents, according to the TPB. Both the affective and evaluative components of attitude were assessed. At time 2, self-reported consumption behaviors were surveyed. Two convenience samples of Italian adults were recruited. In hierarchical regressions, the TPB variables were added at the first step; AR was added at the second step, and the interactions at the last step. Results showed that AR significantly improved the TPB ability to predict both intentions and behaviours, also after controlling for intention. In both studies AR moderated the effect of affective attitude on intention: affective attitude was significant only for people low in AR

The perception and knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors among Chinese Americans

textThe purpose of this study was to evaluate Chinese Americans’ perceptions and knowledge about cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and to determine if acculturation has systematic effects on perception of illness. Perception about the cause, seriousness, curability, and controllability of CVD were investigated. Relationships between the demographic characteristics of the participants and cardiovascular knowledge and perception were examined. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Leventhal’s (1970, 1984) Common Sense Model of Illness Representation. The influence of Kleinman’s Explanatory Model about the cultural and social consideration of illness representation was incorporated. A cross-sectional design was selected for this descriptive study with a convenience sampling technique. The target population was community-based Chinese Americans who live in the United States. Data collection was conducted using the Internet to access a population. The sample of the study was comprised of 124 adults with 68% being female. The majority of participants retained a high Asian identity. Participants identified Chinese over English for speaking, reading, writing preferences. Instruments included the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R), Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA) and the Healthy Heart IQ. Findings included the following: the IPQ-R subscales were intercorrelated in a logical manner. Illness perceptions correlated positively with each other but were negatively correlated with optimistic perceptions like personal and treatment control. No difference was observed in the IPQ-R based on age, gender or educational level. Knowledge of CVD among Chinese Americans was lower than the general population. The level of acculturation had an impact on the illness perception. Acculturation level was significantly related to all seven illness perception dimensions of illness representation on the IPQ-R. There were significant relationships between acculturation level and knowledge of CVD. However, due to the low acculturation level presented by majority of participants, caution must be exercised in the interpretation of the study findings. The findings of this study have important implications for nursing practice, education, and theory. These results also provide directions for future research. Suggestions for health care professionals who care for patients with ethnic cultural backgrounds were given.Nursin

Influences on the Uptake of and Engagement With Health and Well-Being Smartphone Apps: Systematic Review

Background: The public health impact of health and well-being digital interventions is dependent upon sufficient real-world uptake and engagement. Uptake is currently largely dependent on popularity indicators (eg, ranking and user ratings on app stores), which may not correspond with effectiveness, and rapid disengagement is common. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify factors that influence uptake and engagement with health and well-being apps to inform new approaches that promote the effective use of such tools. Objective: This review aimed to understand what is known about influences on the uptake of and engagement with health and well-being smartphone apps among adults. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. Studies conducted on adults were included if they focused on health and well-being smartphone apps reporting on uptake and engagement behavior. Studies identified through a systematic search in Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, or MEDLARS Online (MEDLINE), EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsychINFO, Scopus, Cochrane library databases, DataBase systems and Logic Programming (DBLP), and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital library were screened, with a proportion screened independently by 2 authors. Data synthesis and interpretation were undertaken using a deductive iterative process. External validity checking was undertaken by an independent researcher. A narrative synthesis of the findings was structured around the components of the capability, opportunity, motivation, behavior change model and the theoretical domains framework (TDF). Results: Of the 7640 identified studies, 41 were included in the review. Factors related to uptake (U), engagement (E), or both (B) were identified. Under capability, the main factors identified were app literacy skills (B), app awareness (U), available user guidance (B), health information (E), statistical information on progress (E), well-designed reminders (E), features to reduce cognitive load (E), and self-monitoring features (E). Availability at low cost (U), positive tone, and personalization (E) were identified as physical opportunity factors, whereas recommendations for health and well-being apps (U), embedded health professional support (E), and social networking (E) possibilities were social opportunity factors. Finally, the motivation factors included positive feedback (E), available rewards (E), goal setting (E), and the perceived utility of the app (E). Conclusions: Across a wide range of populations and behaviors, 26 factors relating to capability, opportunity, and motivation appear to influence the uptake of and engagement with health and well-being smartphone apps. Our recommendations may help app developers, health app portal developers, and policy makers in the optimization of health and well-being apps

Fact book 2000/2001

Describes key indicators used in measuring the nation's health status, current health concerns of the public, and the organization and activites of CDC in the years 2000/01.Vision statement -- MIssion -- Profile of the nation's health -- Health concerns of recent interest to the public -- CDC's partners in prevention -- CDC organization for prevention -- CDC FY 2001 budget -- Brief history of CDC."September 2000.

The American Academy of Health Behavior 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting: Health Behavior Research in the Age of Personalized Medicine

The American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) hosted its Annual Scientific Meeting at Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson, AZ March 19-22, 2017. The theme of the meeting was “Health Behavior Research in the Age of Personalized Medicine.” This publication describes the meeting theme, podium presentations and workshop, and includes the refereed abstracts presented at the 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting

The American Academy of Health Behavior 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting: An Equity Approach to Health Behavior Innovations

The American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) hosted its 18th Annual Scientific Meeting at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in historic downtown Portland, OR March 4-7, 2018. The meeting’s theme was “An Equity Approach to Health Behavior Innovations.” This publication describes the meeting theme and includes the refereed abstracts presented at the 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting

Plant-Powered: A Digital Plant-Based Nutrition Intervention for Low-Income Patients with Type II Diabetes

Purpose: This project aimed to measure the acceptability and feasibility of plant-based diets among low-income individuals with type II diabetes at the Samaritan House Food Pharmacy and to create a user-centered pilot program to encourage the adoption of a plant-based diet. Background: Plant-based diets are effective for preventing, treating, and reversing type II diabetes, but there is not much evidence about the acceptability and feasibility of these diets. Methods: Focus groups were used to gather qualitative data about the acceptability and feasibility of plant-based diets in the target population. The researcher conducted interviews with Food Pharmacy program leaders to learn about their vision for the program and gather feedback about the proposed digital nutrition education platform. Food Pharmacy clients were asked to engage in usability testing of the pilot plant-based nutrition education website. Results: An emerging theme in the focus groups was that Food Pharmacy clients were concerned about being able to attend in-person nutrition education meetings due to busy and unpredictable schedules. The leader interviews established several key priorities for the Food Pharmacy: increased sustainability, increased access, and increased convenience of the program. Usability testing with Food Pharmacy clients revealed that the pilot plant-based nutrition education website was highly acceptable. Conclusion: Plant-based diets are feasible and acceptable among Food Pharmacy clients, and a digital plant-based nutrition education platform is recommended for increasing access