Stray Thoughts and Desire Paths—A Dialogue

In this dialogue, authors, teachers, and environmentalists Yvonne Blomer and Jenna Butler discuss the ways in which our desire paths—our intents for our lives—have changed since the start of the pandemic. Covering women\u27s writing, feminism, daily life during the pandemic, environmentalism, and race, this dialogue is an act of allyship from two women of different backgrounds writing together

An Initial Look at America's Promise: Successes, Challenges and Opportunities

America's Promise is a pioneering initiative that seeks to address overall youth development by creating community-wide programming based on proven practices necessary for a successful childhood and adolescence. A few examples of these evidence-based program components include community service, mentoring and developing marketable skills. This brief report presents P/PV's preliminary analysis of how the effort took root in three Communities of Promise: Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and San Francisco, California. It explores the successes, challenges and opportunities that have resulted from America's Promise

Changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviours from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown:A systematic review

Objective: In March 2020, several countries banned unnecessary outdoor activities during COVID-19, commonly called ‘lockdowns. These lockdowns have the potential to impact associated levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Given the numerous health outcomes associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviour, the aim of this review was to summarise literature that investigated differences in physical activity and sedentary behaviour before vs during the COVID-19 lockdown. Design, data sources and eligibility criteria: Electronic databases were searched from November 2019 to October 2020 using terms and synonyms relating to physical activity, sedentary behaviour and COVID-19. The coprimary outcomes were changes in physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour captured via device-based measures or self-report tools. Risk of bias was measured using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: Sixty six articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review (total n=86 981). Changes in physical activity were reported in 64 studies, with the majority of studies reporting decreases in physical activity and increases in sedentary behaviours during their respective lockdowns across several populations, including children and patients with a variety of medical conditions. Conclusion: Given the numerous physical and mental benefits of increased physical activity and decreased sedentary behaviour, public health strategies should include the creation and implementation of interventions that promote safe physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour should other lockdowns occur

Challenges and Support for Pre-service Teachers’ Virtual Teaching and Practicums: Implications for Bahamian Educational Systems

Teacher education programmes, nationally and internationally, are unique both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Specifically, in the Bahamian educational system, they are designed to produce certified K-12 teachers who demonstrate academic and professional excellence in a variety of subject areas. These programmes incorporate a theoretical component and a culminating practical experience that requires pre-service teachers to be evaluated on the quality of their teaching. Normally the culminating experience has been completed in the traditional face-to-face setting. However, the onset of COVID-19 resulted in an immediate imposition of a virtual teaching practicum. This integrated literature review explores the challenges pre-service teachers faced and the support systems they needed during a virtual teaching practicum and addresses implications for practice in a Bahamian setting

Implementing a text message-based intervention to support type 2 diabetes medication adherence in primary care: a qualitative study with general practice staff

Background: The Support through Mobile Messaging and digital health Technology for Diabetes (SuMMiT-D) project has developed, and is evaluating, a mobile phone-based intervention delivering brief messages targeting identified behaviour change techniques promoting medication use to people with type 2 diabetes in general practice. The present study aimed to inform refinement and future implementation of the SuMMiT-D intervention by investigating general practice staff perceptions of how a text message-based intervention to support medication adherence should be implemented within current and future diabetes care. Methods: Seven focus groups and five interviews were conducted with 46 general practice staff (including GPs, nurses, healthcare assistants, receptionists and linked pharmacists) with a potential role in the implementation of a text message-based intervention for people with type 2 diabetes. Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Results: Five themes were developed. One theme ‘The potential of technology as a patient ally’ described a need for diabetes support and the potential of technology to support medication use. Two themes outlined challenges to implementation, ‘Limited resources and assigning responsibility’ and ‘Treating the patient; more than diabetes medication adherence’. The final two themes described recommendations to support implementation, ‘Selling the intervention: what do general practice staff need to see?’ and ‘Fitting the mould; complementing current service delivery’. Conclusions: Staff see the potential for a text message-based support intervention to address unmet needs and to enhance care for people with diabetes. Digital interventions, such as SuMMiT-D, need to be compatible with existing systems, demonstrate measurable benefits, be incentivised and be quick and easy for staff to engage with. Interventions also need to be perceived to address general practice priorities, such as taking a holistic approach to care and having multi-cultural reach and relevance. Findings from this study are being combined with parallel work with people with type 2 diabetes to ensure stakeholder views inform further refinement and implementation of the SuMMiT-D intervention

Food insecurity (hunger) and fast-food consumption among 180 164 adolescents aged 12-15 years from sixty-eight countries

Food insecurity has been shown to be associated with fast-food consumption. However, to date, studies on this specific topic are scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between food insecurity and fast-food consumption in adolescents aged 12-15 years from 68 countries (7 low-income, 27 lower middle-income, 20 upper middle-income, 14 high-income countries). Cross-sectional, school-based data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey were analyzed. Data on past 30-day food insecurity (hunger) and fast-food consumption in the past 7 days were collected. Multivariable logistic regression and meta-analysis were conducted to assess associations. Models were adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. There were 180,164 adolescents aged 12-15 years [mean (SD) age 13.8 (1.0) years; 50.8% boys] included in the analysis. Overall, severe food insecurity (i.e., hungry because there was not enough food in home most of the time or always) was associated with 1.17 (95%CI=1.08-1.26) times higher odds for fast-food consumption. The estimates pooled by country-income levels were significant in low-income countries (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.30; 95%CI=1.05-1.60), lower middle-income countries (aOR=1.15; 95%CI=1.02-1.29), and upper middle-income countries (aOR=1.26; 95%CI=1.07-1.49), but not in high-income countries (aOR=1.04; 95%CI=0.88-1.23). The mere co-occurrence of food insecurity and fast-food consumption is of public health importance. To tackle this issue, a strong governmental and societal approach is required to utilize effective methods as demonstrated in some high-income countries such as the implementation of food banks and the adoption of free school meals

Mycobacteria in Nail Salon Whirlpool Footbaths, California

In 2000, an outbreak of Mycobacterium fortuitum furunculosis affected customers using whirlpool footbaths at a nail salon. We swabbed 30 footbaths in 18 nail salons from 5 California counties and found mycobacteria in 29 (97%); M. fortuitum was the most common. Mycobacteria may pose an infectious risk for pedicure customers

Temporal trends of carbonated soft-drink consumption among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 18 countries from Africa, Asia, and the Americas

Carbonated soft-drink consumption is detrimental to multiple facets of adolescent health. However, little is known about temporal trends in carbonated soft-drink consumption among adolescents, particularly in non-Western countries. Therefore, we aimed to examine this trend in representative samples of school-going adolescents from 18 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.Cross-sectional data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey 2009-2017 were analyzed. Carbonated soft-drink consumption referred to drinking carbonated soft-drinks at least once per day in the past 30 days. The prevalence of carbonated soft-drink consumption was calculated for each survey, and crude linear trends were assessed by linear regression models. Data on 74,055 students aged 12-15 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 13.9 (1.0) years; 49.2% boys]. The overall mean prevalence of carbonated soft-drink consumption was 42.1%. Of the 18 countries included in the study, significant decreasing, increasing, and stable trends of carbonated soft-drink consumption were observed in seven, two, and nine countries, respectively. The most drastic decrease was observed in Kuwait between 2011 (74.4%) and 2015 (51.7%). Even in countries with significant decreasing trends, the decrease was rather modest, while some countries with stable trends had very high prevalence across time (e.g., Suriname 80.5% in 2009 and 79.4% in 2016). The prevalence of carbonated soft-drink consumption was high in all countries included in the present analysis, despite decreasing trends being observed in some. Public health initiatives to reduce the consumption of carbonated soft-drink consumption among adolescents are urgently required

Association between food insecurity and depressive symptoms among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 22 low- and middle-income countries

Food insecurity may be a risk factor for depression in adolescents. However, data on this topic from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce, despite food insecurity being most common in LMICs. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between food-insecurity and depressive symptoms among school-going adolescents from 22 LMICs. Cross-sectional data from the Global school-based Student Health Survey were analyzed. Self-report measures assessed past 12-month depressive symptoms and past 30-day food insecurity (hunger). Multivariable logistic regression and meta-analysis were conducted to assess associations. Data on 48,401 adolescents aged 12–15 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 13.8 (0.9) years; 51.4 % females]. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 29.3 %, and those of moderate and severe food insecurity were 45.0 and 6.3 %, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to no food insecurity, the pooled OR (95 %CI) of moderate and severe food insecurity were 1.36 (1.30–1.42) and 1.81 (1.67–1.97), respectively. The level of between-country heterogeneity was low. Food insecurity was associated with significantly higher odds for depressive symptoms among adolescents in LMICs. Policies to address food insecurity may also help prevent depression in this population, pending future longitudinal research.</p