Social Support During COVID-19 Social Distancing

This pilot study measured emotional affect, social support, and use of digital communication technologies during the early 2020 COVID-19 stay at home order in Michigan among 65 Grand Valley State University Alumni Association members. The study used an online survey and was designed to examine the relationship between digital communication and social support during physical social distancing, and how this impacted emotional affect. Overall, the pilot study found largely unchanged reported emotional affect and social support before and during the stay at home order. A future study with larger sample size would aim to find if these results are replicated and examine correlation between scores on the affect and social support measures, digital communication frequency and type, and demographic variables

Natural Spaces, a Social Determinant of Health, and Self-Rated Health Among Medical Students

Background and Purpose: Natural spaces are areas which have a majority of natural ground cover such as vegetation or water. These spaces have positive effects on both physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether medical students who have greater accessibility and use of natural spaces have better self-rated health. Methods: M2-M4 students from Wayne State University School of Medicine received an email link to the Qualtrics-based study. Variables evaluated included: sociodemographics, residence zip code, natural spaces access frequency, distance, and transportation method. Self-rated physical and mental health was measured using the Healthy Days measure and SF-20. Data were analyzed using SPSS, and statistical significance was assigned at P\u3c0.05. Results: 51 medical students participated, mean age 25.6 years, BMI 24.3, essentially M2 (56.9%), Female (74.5%), White-European (51.0%), living in 48201 Zip Code (56.9%) and exercised at least twice-weekly (80.4%). 52.9% used natural spaces, whereas 47.1% rarely did. Natural spaces use was inversely associated (P=0.002) with travel time. No differences (P\u3e0.05) were identified in evaluation of physical and mental health among those students who used natural spaces and those who did not. Conclusion: The study results demonstrate that use of natural spaces may not play a significant role in the health of medical students, likely mediated by prevailing good health and youth. Nevertheless, our findings are interesting, not previously reported, and indicate the limited impact of natural spaces – a social determinant of health – on the wellness and health of medical students