The Next Frontier for Men\u27s Contraceptive Choice: College Men\u27s Willingness to Pursue Male Hormonal Contraception

Unplanned pregnancy is a concern for emerging adult men, but their contraceptive options are limited. With male hormonal contraception clinical trials in progress, it is important to investigate men’s attitudes toward alternative contraception. Many social factors, such as masculine norms, may hinder their interest. This study used the prototype–willingness model to investigate college men’s willingness to pursue hormonal contraception. Male college students (N = 160; Mage = 19.37, SD = 1.33; 61.9% White) read a description of male contraception clinical trials and filled out a questionnaire assessing prototype–willingness and masculinity constructs. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that men perceiving greater male contraceptive use and more favorable prototypes of a typical user had higher odds of having high willingness compared with no willingness (norms: odds ratio [OR] = 29.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] [5.79, 153.18]; prototypes: OR = 3.93, 95% CI [1.96, 7.87]). Men rating higher avoidance of femininity had lower odds of having high willingness compared with no willingness (OR = .60, 95% CI [.40, .92]). Perceived risk of unplanned pregnancy failed to associate with willingness to use contraception, suggesting the importance of men’s social cognitions (norms and favorable images) and identity (masculinity) when promoting male hormonal contraception. Men’s avoidance of femininity may hinder their willingness, but promotion of male norms and favorable male users may enhance clinical trial recruitment and eventual public health campaigns to expand men’s contraceptive options. Future studies should examine diverse college and noncollege samples to determine the generalizability of these results to the broader emerging adult male population

The Next Frontier for Men\u27s Contraceptive Choice: College Men\u27s Willingness to Pursue Male Hormonal Contraception

Unplanned pregnancy is a concern for emerging adult men, but their contraceptive options are limited. With male hormonal contraception clinical trials in progress, it is important to investigate men’s attitudes toward alternative contraception. Many social factors, such as masculine norms, may hinder their interest. This study used the prototype–willingness model to investigate college men’s willingness to pursue hormonal contraception. Male college students (N = 160; Mage = 19.37, SD = 1.33; 61.9% White) read a description of male contraception clinical trials and filled out a questionnaire assessing prototype–willingness and masculinity constructs. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that men perceiving greater male contraceptive use and more favorable prototypes of a typical user had higher odds of having high willingness compared with no willingness (norms: odds ratio [OR] = 29.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] [5.79, 153.18]; prototypes: OR = 3.93, 95% CI [1.96, 7.87]). Men rating higher avoidance of femininity had lower odds of having high willingness compared with no willingness (OR = .60, 95% CI [.40, .92]). Perceived risk of unplanned pregnancy failed to associate with willingness to use contraception, suggesting the importance of men’s social cognitions (norms and favorable images) and identity (masculinity) when promoting male hormonal contraception. Men’s avoidance of femininity may hinder their willingness, but promotion of male norms and favorable male users may enhance clinical trial recruitment and eventual public health campaigns to expand men’s contraceptive options. Future studies should examine diverse college and noncollege samples to determine the generalizability of these results to the broader emerging adult male population

A centralised public information resource for randomised trials: a scoping study to explore desirability and feasibility

BACKGROUND: There are currently several concerns about the ways in which people are recruited to participate in randomised controlled trials, the low acceptance rates among people invited to participate, and the experiences of trial participants. An information resource about on-going clinical trials designed for potential and current participants could help overcome some of these problems. METHODS: We carried out a scoping exercise to explore the desirability and feasibility of establishing such a resource. We sought the views of a range of people including people who were considering taking part in a trial, current trial participants, people who had been asked but refused to participate in a trial, consumer group representatives and researchers who design and conduct trials. RESULTS: There was broad-based support for the concept of a centralised information resource for members of the public about on-going and recently completed clinical trials. Such an information resource could be based on a database containing standardised information for each trial relating to the purpose of the trial; the interventions being compared; the implications of participation for participants; and features indicative of scientific quality and ethical probity. The usefulness of the database could be enhanced if its search facility could allow people to enter criteria such as a disease and geographic area and be presented with all the trials relevant to them, and if optional display formats could allow them to view information in varying levels of detail. Access via the Internet was considered desirable, with complementary supported access via health information services. The development of such a resource is technically feasible, but the collation of the required information would take a significant investment of resources. CONCLUSION: A centralised participant oriented information resource about clinical trials could serve several purposes. A more detailed investigation of its feasibility and exploration of its potential impacts are required

The infant feeding activity and nutrition trial (INFANT) an early intervention to prevent childhood obesity : cluster-randomised controlled trial

Background : Multiple factors combine to support a compelling case for interventions that target the development of obesity-promoting behaviours (poor diet, low physical activity and high sedentary behaviour) from their inception. These factors include the rapidly increasing prevalence of fatness throughout childhood, the instigation of obesity-promoting behaviours in infancy, and the tracking of these behaviours from childhood through to adolescence and adulthood. The Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial (INFANT) aims to determine the effectiveness of an early childhood obesity prevention intervention delivered to first-time parents. The intervention, conducted with parents over the infant\u27s first 18 months of life, will use existing social networks (first-time parent\u27s groups) and an anticipatory guidance framework focusing on parenting skills which support the development of positive diet and physical activity behaviours, and reduced sedentary behaviours in infancy.Methods/Design : This cluster-randomised controlled trial, with first-time parent groups as the unit of randomisation, will be conducted with a sample of 600 first-time parents and their newborn children who attend the first-time parents\u27 group at Maternal and Child Health Centres. Using a two-stage sampling process, local government areas in Victoria, Australia will be randomly selected at the first stage. At the second stage, a proportional sample of first-time parent groups within selected local government areas will be randomly selected and invited to participate. Informed consent will be obtained and groups will then be randomly allocated to the intervention or control group.Discussion : The early years hold promise as a time in which obesity prevention may be most effective. To our knowledge this will be the first randomised trial internationally to demonstrate whether an early health promotion program delivered to first-time parents in their existing social groups promotes healthy eating, physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviours. If proven to be effective, INFANT may protect children from the development of obesity and its associated social and economic costs.<br /

A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N=10,535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β=0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β=0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

A Many-analysts Approach to the Relation Between Religiosity and Well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N = 10, 535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β = 0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β = 0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

Early mobilisation in critically ill COVID-19 patients: a subanalysis of the ESICM-initiated UNITE-COVID observational study

Background Early mobilisation (EM) is an intervention that may improve the outcome of critically ill patients. There is limited data on EM in COVID-19 patients and its use during the first pandemic wave. Methods This is a pre-planned subanalysis of the ESICM UNITE-COVID, an international multicenter observational study involving critically ill COVID-19 patients in the ICU between February 15th and May 15th, 2020. We analysed variables associated with the initiation of EM (within 72 h of ICU admission) and explored the impact of EM on mortality, ICU and hospital length of stay, as well as discharge location. Statistical analyses were done using (generalised) linear mixed-effect models and ANOVAs. Results Mobilisation data from 4190 patients from 280 ICUs in 45 countries were analysed. 1114 (26.6%) of these patients received mobilisation within 72 h after ICU admission; 3076 (73.4%) did not. In our analysis of factors associated with EM, mechanical ventilation at admission (OR 0.29; 95% CI 0.25, 0.35; p = 0.001), higher age (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.98, 1.00; p ≤ 0.001), pre-existing asthma (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.73, 0.98; p = 0.028), and pre-existing kidney disease (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.71, 0.99; p = 0.036) were negatively associated with the initiation of EM. EM was associated with a higher chance of being discharged home (OR 1.31; 95% CI 1.08, 1.58; p = 0.007) but was not associated with length of stay in ICU (adj. difference 0.91 days; 95% CI − 0.47, 1.37, p = 0.34) and hospital (adj. difference 1.4 days; 95% CI − 0.62, 2.35, p = 0.24) or mortality (OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.7, 1.09, p = 0.24) when adjusted for covariates. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that a quarter of COVID-19 patients received EM. There was no association found between EM in COVID-19 patients' ICU and hospital length of stay or mortality. However, EM in COVID-19 patients was associated with increased odds of being discharged home rather than to a care facility. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04836065 (retrospectively registered April 8th 2021)