Walking Is Worthy: Walking for Hypertension

Elevated blood pressure (BP), or hypertension (HTN), can cause a cascade of detrimental effects to the body. It is associated with increased risk of stroke, angina, myocardial infarction, heart failure, peripheral artery disease, end-stage renal disease, and abdominal aortic aneurysms (Whelton et al., 2018). HTN is also a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the United States’ (U.S.) leading cause of death in men and women (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [USPSTF], 2020). The PICOT question for this project was: does an eight-week (T) structured walking program utilizing a smartwatch for step counts and education (I) reduce BP and increase the number of minutes of weekly moderate-intensity walking (O) in adults aged 18 years or older with essential hypertension (P) compared to baseline (C)? Thirteen participants from a large family practice office in Northwest Indiana completed the eight-week within-group project. Baseline BPs were measured, minutes per week of moderate-intensity walking at baseline were recorded, and education about HTN was given verbally and visually using handouts. The participants were instructed to walk at a moderate intensity for at least 90 minutes per week during weeks one through four, at least 120 minutes during weeks five and six, and at least 150 minutes during weeks seven and eight. At four weeks, a follow-up visit served to reinforce education and adherence to the program. At the week eight visit, participant logs of minutes per week of moderate-intensity walking were collected, and BP was measured. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests were used to analyze systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and minutes per week of moderate-intensity walking (MIW). Statistically significant differences were found in SBP (p = .007), DBP (p = .021), and minutes per week of MIW (p = .005). These findings indicate that a structured walking program can help people with HTN reduce their BP by walking at a moderate intensity for 90 to 150 minutes per week

A Motivational Interviewing Approach Toward Mask Wearing in Franklin County, Vermont

COVID-19 has caused significant morbidity and mortality in Vermont and worldwide since the start of the pandemic. Wearing cloth face masks has been proven to limit viral spread, but few studies have quantified how many people are wearing masks or what their reasons are for doing so. This study aimed to assess and encourage mask use in Franklin County, Vermont by piloting an in-office motivational interviewing intervention at a primary care office.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1651/thumbnail.jp

Attitudes & Roles Regarding Firearm Access and Suicide Prevention in Vermont Middle & High Schools

Adolescent suicide is a serious public health concern in Vermont, and the presence of firearms in the home is a known risk factor. Suicide attempts with firearms are more likely to be completed than attempts with other means, with an 85% mortality rate of suicide with firearms compared to 5% with other means. This project aimed to assess attitudes, comfort, and perceived roles among school personnel in addressing gun safety and access to firearms with Vermont students and parents.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1298/thumbnail.jp

Telemediations

Postprin

Extreme Cognitions in Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: Associations With Personality Disorder Characteristics and Risk for Episode Recurrence

Bipolar spectrum disorders (BSDs) are often characterized by cognitive inflexibility and affective extremities, including “extreme” or polarized thoughts and beliefs, which have been shown to predict a more severe course of illness. However, little research has evaluated factors that may be associated with extreme cognitions, such as personality disorders, which are often characterized by extreme, inflexible beliefs and also are associated with poor illness course in BSDs. The present study evaluated associations between BSDs, personality disorder characteristics, and extreme cognitions (polarized responses made on measures of attributional style and dysfunctional attitudes), as well as links between extreme cognitions and the occurrence of mood episodes, among euthymic young adults with BSDs (n = 83) and demographically-matched healthy controls (n = 89) followed prospectively for three years. The relationship between personality disorder characteristics and negative and positive extreme cognitions was stronger among BSD participants than among healthy controls, even after statistically accounting for general cognitive styles. Furthermore, extreme negative cognitions predicted the prospective onset of major depressive and hypomanic episodes. These results suggest that extreme cognitive styles are most common in individuals with BSDs and personality disorder characteristics, and they provide further evidence that extreme negative cognitions may confer risk for mood dysregulation