Covid-19 public health road map: Eating behaviour

This roadmap aims to support health officials to consider changes to eating behaviour that may have occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and to use psychologically-informed behaviour change approaches to optimise health improvement and mitigate negative eating patterns. It will focus on eating a balanced diet, as opposed to eating behaviours related to disordered eating. This guidance should be used alongside the Achieving Behaviour Change (ABC) guide {1} for local government and partners, and the Improving People’s Health behavioural and social science strategy {2} {1}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875385/PHEBI_Achieving_Behaviour_Change_Local_Government.pdf {2}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/744672/Improving_Peoples_Health_Behavioural_Strategy.pd

Covid-19 public health road map: Sedentary behaviour

This roadmap aims to support health officials to consider changes to sedentary behaviour that may have occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and to use psychologically informed behaviour change approaches to optimise health improvement and mitigate an increase in time spent sitting or lying down. This guidance should be used alongside the Achieving Behaviour Change (ABC) guide {1} for local government and partners, and the Improving People’s Health behavioural and social science strategy {2} {1}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875385/PHEBI_Achieving_Behaviour_Change_Local_Government.pdf {2}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/744672/Improving_Peoples_Health_Behavioural_Strategy.pdfFinal Published versio

Covid-19 public health road map: Physical activity

This roadmap aims to support health officials to consider changes to physical activity that may have occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and to use psychologically-informed behaviour change approaches to optimise health improvement and mitigate a reduction in activity levels. This guidance should be used alongside the Achieving Behaviour Change (ABC) guide {1} for local government and partners, and the Improving People’s Health behavioural and social science strategy {2} {1}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875385/PHEBI_Achieving_Behaviour_Change_Local_Government.pdf {2}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/744672/Improving_Peoples_Health_Behavioural_Strategy.pdfFinal Published versio

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Attitudes and Competencies of Nursing Students and Faculty: Results of Integrating CAM Into the Nursing Curriculum

As part of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) R25 Education Grant Program, a faculty development program for integrating CAM into the nursing curriculum was instituted in 2003-2006. The Integrating CAM program comprised a number of elements; the primary strategy included a series of 4-week didactic and experiential summer CAM “camps,” attended by a total of 27 faculty members. Camps were designed to influence faculty integration of CAM material into course offerings. The Integrating CAM program was evaluated via a series of faculty and student surveys regarding CAM competencies, attitudes, and perceptions. For more than half of the faculty (out of the 43 who responded), the program yielded a moderate-to-strong influence on incorporation of CAM material into course content; and moderate-to-great increases in both enthusiasm for CAM and perceived CAM knowledge gains. Students at all levels (undergraduate, masters, doctoral; n = 184) reported that their courses contained CAM content; for 70% of students, their CAM knowledge increased; for 50% of students, level of CAM interest increased. Self-reported student CAM competencies were significantly greater in 2006-2007 (n = 191) than in 2003-2004 (n = 143). Results support the strategy of broadly infusing the nursing curriculum with CAM content via faculty development

Hypothetical blood-pressure-lowering interventions and risk of stroke and dementia

We aimed to study the effects of hypothetical interventions on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and smoking on risk of stroke and dementia using data from 15 years of follow-up in the Rotterdam Study. We used data from 4930 individuals, aged 55–80 years, with no prior history of stroke, dementia or cognitive impairment, followed for 15 years within the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort. We defined the following sustained interventions on SBP: (1) maintaining SBP below 120 mmHg, (2) maintaining SBP below 140 mmHg, (3) reducing SBP by 10% if above 140 mmHg, (4) reducing SBP by 20% if above 140 mmHg, and a combined intervention of quitting smoking with each of these SBP-lowering strategies. We considered incident stroke and incident dementia diagnoses as outcomes. We applied the parametric g-formula to adjust for baseline and time-varying confounding. The observed 15-year risk for stroke was 10.7%. Compared to no specified intervention (i.e., the “natural course”), all interventions that involved reducing SBP were associated with a stroke risk reduction of about 10% (e.g., reducing SBP by 20% if above 140 mmHg risk ratio: 0.89; 95% CI 0.76, 1). Jointly

Male reproductive aging arises via multifaceted mating-dependent sperm and seminal proteome declines, but is postponable in Drosophila

I.S. and S.W. were supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Fellowship to S.W. (BB/K014544/1) and S.W. additionally by a Dresden Senior Fellowship. B.M.K., P.D.C., and R.F. were supported by the Kennedy Trust and John Fell Funds. R.D. was supported by Marie Curie Actions (Grant 655392). B.R.H. was funded by the EP Abraham Cephalosporin-Oxford Graduate Scholarship with additional support from the BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme. M.F.W. was supported by a NIH Grant R01HD038921. Work in the J.S. Laboratory was supported by NIH Grant R15HD080511.Declining ejaculate performance with male age is taxonomically widespread and has broad fitness consequences. Ejaculate success requires fully functional germline (sperm) and soma (seminal fluid) components. However, some aging theories predict that resources should be preferentially diverted to the germline at the expense of the soma, suggesting differential impacts of aging on sperm and seminal fluid and trade-offs between them or, more broadly, be-tween reproduction and lifespan. While harmful effects of male age on sperm are well known, we do not know how much seminal fluid deteriorates in comparison. Moreover, given the predicted trade-offs, it remains unclear whether systemic lifespan-extending inter-ventions could ameliorate the declining performance of the ejacu-late as a whole. Here, we address these problems using Drosophila melanogaster. We demonstrate that seminal fluid deterioration con-tributes to male reproductive decline via mating-dependent mech-anisms that include posttranslational modifications to seminal proteins and altered seminal proteome composition and transfer. Additionally, we find that sperm production declines chronologically with age, invariant to mating activity such that older multiply mated males become infertile principally via reduced sperm transfer and viability. Our data, therefore, support the idea that both germline and soma components of the ejaculate contribute to male reproduc-tive aging but reveal a mismatch in their aging patterns. Our data do not generally support the idea that the germline is prioritized over soma, at least, within the ejaculate. Moreover, we find that lifespan-extending systemic down-regulation of insulin signaling re-sults in improved late-life ejaculate performance, indicating simul-taneous amelioration of both somatic and reproductive aging.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Must . . . stay . . . strong!

This is the fourth installment in our trilogy of papers on epistemic modality.It is a recurring matra that epistemic must creates a statement that is weaker than the corresponding flat-footed assertion: It must be raining vs. It’s raining. Contrary to classic discussions of the phenomenon such as by Karttunen, Kratzer, and Veltman, we argue that instead of having a weak semantics, must presupposes the presence of an indirect inference or deduction rather than of a direct observation. This is independent of the strength of the claim being made. Epistemic must is therefore quite similar to evidential markers of indirect evidence known from languages with rich evidential systems. We work towards a formalization of the evidential component, relying on a structured model of information states (analogous to some models used in the belief dynamics literature). We explain why in many contexts, one can perceive a lack of confidence on the part of the speaker who uses must

Understanding a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours using the COM-B model and the theoretical domains framework: a qualitative study using the behaviour change wheel.

Background The use of behavioural science and behaviour change within local authorities and public health has supported healthful change; as evidenced by its importance and contribution to reducing harm during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide valuable information to enable the creation of evidence-based intervention strategies, co-created with the people they are aimed at, in an effective and efficient manner. Aim This study aimed to use the COM-B model to understand the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation of performing a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours related to the slogans of ‘Hands, Face, Space, Fresh Air’; ‘Find, Isolate, Test, (FIT), and Vaccinate’ in those employed in workplaces identified as high risk for transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) to support intervention development. Methods This qualitative study recruited twenty-three participants (16 female, 7 male), who were interviewed from three environments (schools, care homes, warehouses) across three local authorities. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Ten core themes were identified inductively; (1) knowledge and skills, (2) regulating the behaviour, (3) willingness to act, (4) necessity and concerns, (5) emotional impact, (6) conducive environment, (7) societal influence, (8) no longer united against COVID-19, (9) credible leadership, and (10) inconsistent adherence to COVID-19 prevention behaviours. Themes were then deductively mapped to the COM-B model of behaviour change and the theoretical domains framework and a logic model using the behaviour change wheel (BCW) was produced to inform intervention design. Conclusion This study offers a novel approach to analysis that has included eight behaviours within a single thematic analysis and COM-B diagnosis. This will enable local authorities to direct limited resources to overarching priorities. Of key importance, was the need for supportive and credible leadership, alongside developing interventions collaboratively with the target audience. COVID-19 has had an emotional toll on those interviewed, however, promoting the value of disease prevention behaviours, over and above their costs, can facilitate behaviour. Developing knowledge and skills, through education, training, marketing and modelling can further facilitate behaviour. This supports guidance produced by the British Psychological Society COVID-19 behavioural science and disease prevention taskforce

Understanding a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours using the COM-B model and the theoretical domains framework: a qualitative study using the behaviour change wheel

Background: The use of behavioural science and behaviour change within local authorities and public health has supported healthful change; as evidenced by its importance and contribution to reducing harm during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide valuable information to enable the creation of evidence-based intervention strategies, co-created with the people they are aimed at, in an effective and efficient manner. Aim: This study aimed to use the COM-B model to understand the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation of performing a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours related to the slogans of ‘Hands, Face, Space, Fresh Air’; ‘Find, Isolate, Test, (FIT), and Vaccinate’ in those employed in workplaces identified as high risk for transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) to support intervention development. Methods: This qualitative study recruited twenty-three participants (16 female, 7 male), who were interviewed from three environments (schools, care homes, warehouses) across three local authorities. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Ten core themes were identified inductively; (1) knowledge and skills, (2) regulating the behaviour, (3) willingness to act, (4) necessity and concerns, (5) emotional impact, (6) conducive environment, (7) societal influence, (8) no longer united against COVID-19, (9) credible leadership, and (10) inconsistent adherence to COVID-19 prevention behaviours. Themes were then deductively mapped to the COM-B model of behaviour change and the theoretical domains framework and a logic model using the behaviour change wheel (BCW) was produced to inform intervention design. Conclusion: This study offers a novel approach to analysis that has included eight behaviours within a single thematic analysis and COM-B diagnosis. This will enable local authorities to direct limited resources to overarching priorities. Of key importance, was the need for supportive and credible leadership, alongside developing interventions collaboratively with the target audience. COVID-19 has had an emotional toll on those interviewed, however, promoting the value of disease prevention behaviours, over and above their costs, can facilitate behaviour. Developing knowledge and skills, through education, training, marketing and modelling can further facilitate behaviour. This supports guidance produced by the British Psychological Society COVID-19 behavioural science and disease prevention taskforce