Ability of a mass media campaign to influence knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about sugary drinks and obesity

AbstractObjectiveWe examined the impact of a mass media campaign that was designed to educate residents about the amount of added sugars in soda and other sugary drinks, as well as the health impacts of consuming such drinks.MethodThe campaign was implemented in Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon in 2011 and included paid and unpaid media on the web, television, billboards, and transit. A telephone survey (n=402) measured campaign awareness, attitudes toward obesity, knowledge about health problems of excessive sugar, and behavioral intentions and behaviors around soda and sugary drink consumption.ResultsNearly 80% of people who were aware of the media campaign intended to reduce the amount of soda or sugary drinks they offered to a child as a result of the campaign ads. Those who were aware of the campaign were more likely to agree that too much sugar causes health problems (97.3% vs. 85.9%). There was no significant change in self-reported soda consumption.ConclusionMedia campaigns about sugary drinks and obesity may be effective for raising awareness about added sugars in beverages, increasing knowledge about health problems associated with excessive sugar consumption, and prompting behavioral intentions to reduce soda and sugary drink consumption

Differences in diet quality and socioeconomic patterning of diet quality across ethnic groups: cross-sectional data from the HELIUS Dietary Patterns study

Funder: British Heart Foundation (BHF); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000274Funder: RCUK | Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000269Funder: DH | National Institute for Health Research (NIHR); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000272Funder: Wellcome Trust (Wellcome); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/100004440Funder: RCUK | Medical Research Council (MRC); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000265Funder: Netherlands Organization for Health Research and DevelopmentAbstract: Background/objectives: Socioeconomic inequalities in diet quality are consistently reported, but few studies have investigated whether and how such inequalities vary across ethnic groups. This study aimed to examine differences in diet quality and socioeconomic patterning of diet quality across ethnic groups. Subjects/methods: Cross-sectional data from the HELIUS study were used. Dutch, South-Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Ghanaian, Turkish and Moroccan adults (aged 18–70 years) were randomly sampled, stratified by ethnicity. Dietary intake was estimated among a subsample (n = 4602) from 200-item, ethnic-specific food frequency questionnaires, and diet quality was assessed using the Dutch Healthy Diet Index 2015 (DHD15-Index). Wald tests were used to compare non-Dutch and Dutch participants. Adjusted linear regression models were used to examine differences in DHD15-Index by three indicators of socioeconomic position: educational level, occupational status and perceived financial difficulties. All analyses were stratified by sex. Results: Dutch participants had lower median DHD15-Index than most ethnic minority participants (P < 0.001). Lower educational level was associated with lower DHD15-Index among Dutch men (Ptrend < 0.0001), South-Asian Surinamese men (Ptrend = 0.01), Dutch women (Ptrend = 0.0001), African Surinamese women (Ptrend = 0.002) and Moroccan women (Ptrend = 0.04). Lower occupational status was associated with lower DHD15-Index in Dutch men, β −7.8 (95% CI −11.7, −3.9) and all women (β −4.4 to −8.8), except Turkish women. DHD15-Index was not associated with perceived financial difficulties in most groups. Conclusions: We observed variations in diet quality across ethnic groups. Low socioeconomic position was not consistently associated with poor diet quality in all ethnic groups. This may be due to ethnicity-specific retention of traditional diets, irrespective of socioeconomic position

New Services for Families in the DC Superior Court

Until recently, because of concerns about safety and parties’ abilities to make good decisions in cases with a history of high intimate partner violence or abuse (IPV/A), in the District of Columbia’s Superior Court such cases were screened out of mediation and sent back to the family court. But two big program additions — videoconferencing and shuttle mediation — have allowed parties in these cases to consider mediation. The Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division of the DC Superior Court (Multi-Door) implemented this change after several years of preparation: its administrators added safety measures, provided in-depth training for staff and mediators, and consulted with experts to design a research study to compare videoconference, shuttle mediation, and the prior practice of returning these cases to court

Olfactory lures in predator control do not increase predation risk to birds in areas of conservation concern

Context. Lethal control of predators is often undertaken to protect species of conservation concern. Traps are frequently baited to increase capture efficacy, but baited traps can potentially increase predation risk by attracting predators to protected areas. This is especially important if targeted predators can escape capture due to low trap success. Snake traps using live mouse lures may be beneficial if traps effectively remove snakes in the presence of birds and do not attract additional snakes to the area. Aims. The present study evaluated whether mouse-lure traps in areas occupied by birds (simulated by deploying birdlure traps) could influence predation risk from an invasive snake on Guam. Methods. Snake traps were used, with Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) as a proxy for predation risk, to assess if an adjacent trap with a mouse (Mus musculus) would attract brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) to a focal area and increase contact between an invasive snake and avian prey. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) at stations containing either a bird-lure trap, mouse-lure trap or pair of traps (i.e. one bird-lure and one mouse-lure trap) was evaluated. Key results. Bird-lure traps paired with mouse-lure traps did not differ in CPUE from isolated bird-lure traps. At paired stations, CPUE of snakes in mouse-lure traps was 2.3_higher than bird-lure traps, suggesting mouse lures were capable of drawing snakes away from avian prey. Bird-lure traps at paired stations experienced a decay in captures over time, whereas CPUE for isolated bird-lure traps increased after 9 weeks and exceeded mouse-lure traps after 7 weeks. Conclusions. Mouse lures did not increase the risk of snakes being captured in bird-lure traps. Instead, mouse-lure traps may have locally suppressed snakes, whereas stations without mouse-lure traps still had snakes in the focal area, putting avian prey at greater risk. However, snakes caught with bird lures tended to be larger and in better body condition, suggesting preference for avian prey over mammalian prey in larger snakes. Implications. Strategic placement of olfactory traps within areas of conservatio

Laboratory evaluation of the constant rate of strain and constant head techniques for measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of fine grained soils

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-187).This thesis evaluates the constant rate of strain and constant head techniques for measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of fine grained soils. A laboratory program compares hydraulic conductivity measurements made using both measurement techniques on a total of 12 specimens. Both resedimented and intact materials covering a wide range of plasticity are investigated. Specific material types include Boston Blue Clay, San Francisco Bay Mud, Maine Clay, Ugnu Clay and Kaolinite. Constant rate of strain (CRS) and constant head tests were conducted in a standard Trautwein CRS device modified to allow control of the base pore pressure for constant head testing. A flexible wall permeameter device was used to perform constant head hydraulic conductivity testing on two specimens; this allowed for comparison with the constant head measurements made in the CRS device. A bottom seating error was found in the CRS device. Bottom seating error occurs during set up when the top of the base porous stone is not flush with the bottom of the rigid specimen ring, causing a gap to form between the specimen and the porous stone. A bottom seating error translates into a strain error, which affects both the measured CRS compression and hydraulic conductivity results. Bottom seating error can be avoided using a modified set up procedure. Void ratio errors are sometimes noted between the void ratio measured in the CRS device and that measured upon removal from the CRS device. These errors are likely resultant from specimen swelling following load removal. Based on comparison to the results of an interlaboratory study into the reproducibility of the saturated hydraulic conductivity measured in a flexible wall permeameter, the CRS and constant head techniques were found to measure the same hydraulic conductivity. This conclusion is independent of specimen origin, i.e. resedimented or intact. The CRS and constant head techniques measure the same average hydraulic conductivity even when non uniformities are present, provided the non uniformities are continuous and oriented perpendicular to the axial loading direction.by Amy Lynn Adams.S.M

Exploring motives for participation in a perpetual easement program: Going beyond financial incentives

Private land conservation has become an important element of the global conservation portfolio. Often, landowners are encouraged to participate in private land conservation with financial incentives. However, there is a concern that financial incentives may be limited given the ephemeral nature of funding. Financial incentives also have the potential to crowd-out participation from landowners motivated by altruistic factors rather than financial ones. These concerns underscore the importance of understanding drivers of participation in conservation programs. While there is a plethora of studies examining motivations for participation in term-limited conservation programs, there are far fewer that look at landowners' reasons for participating in perpetual programs. We examined landowners' non-financial motivations for participation in a United States Fish and Wildlife perpetual easement program using several analytical approaches. We first looked at correlations between the likelihood of participation in the easement program and survey respondent's beliefs, values, norms, and perceived behavioral control using a Bayesian regression analysis. Next, using a cluster analysis we segmented our landowner sample into two groups, tested for differences between the group theoretical constructs, and looked for patterns in geographic distributions of the clusters. Our results suggested that individuals who accepted responsibility for habitat protection and recognized habitat threats were more likely to have participated in the easement program. We did not find significant demographic patterns in our cluster analysis but did see differences across the tested theoretical constructs of theory of planned behavior and value-belief norm theory. Further exploration of variation revealed potential for conservation opportunities and allowed us to make recommendations for future policy actions

Socio-demographic characteristics, diet and health among food insecure UK adults: cross-sectional analysis of the International Food Policy Study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate food insecurity (FI) prevalence among UK adults and investigate associations with socio-demographic characteristics, diet and health. DESIGN: Weighted cross-sectional survey data. FI was measured using the USDA Adult Food Security Survey Module. Data were analysed using adjusted logistic regression models. SETTING: United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: 2551 participants (aged 18-64 years); sub-sample (n 1949) used to investigate association between FI and overweight. RESULTS: FI prevalence was 24·3 %. Higher odds of FI were observed among participants who reported that making ends meet was difficult v. easy (OR 19·76, 95 % CI 13·78, 28·34), were full-time students v. non-students (OR 3·23, 95 % CI 2·01, 5·18), had low v. high education (OR 2·30, 95 % CI 1·66, 3·17), were male v. female (OR 1·36, 95 % CI 1·01, 1·83) and reported their ethnicity as mixed (OR 2·32, 95 % CI 1·02, 5·27) and white other (OR 2·04, 95 % CI 1·04, 3·99) v. white British. Odds of FI were higher in participants living with children v. alone, especially in single-parent households (OR 2·10, 95 % CI 1·19, 3·70). Odds of FI decreased per year of increase in age (OR 0·95, 95 % CI 0·94, 0·96) and were lower in participants not looking for work v. full-time employed (OR 0·60, 95 % CI 0·42, 0·87). Food insecure v. food secure adults had lower odds of consuming fruits (OR 0·59, 95 % CI 0·47, 0·74) and vegetables (OR 0·68, 95 % CI 0·54, 0·86) above the median frequency, and higher odds for fruit juice (OR 1·39, 95 % CI 1·10, 1·75). Food insecure v. food secure adults had higher odds of reporting unhealthy diets (OR 1·65, 95 % CI 1·31, 2·10), poor general health, (OR 1·90, 95 % CI 1·50, 2·41), poor mental health (OR 2·10, 95 % CI 1·64, 2·69), high stress (OR 3·15, 95 % CI 2·42, 4·11) and overweight (OR 1·32, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·75). CONCLUSIONS: FI prevalence was high and varied by socio-demographic characteristics. FI was associated with poorer diet and health.AY is funded via a CEDAR PhD studentship. JA and MW are funded by the University of Cambridge and CEDAR. Funding for CEDAR from Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation, Economic and Social Research Council (grant number ES/G007462/1), Medical Research Council (grant number MR/K023187/1), National Institute for Health Research, and Wellcome Trust (grant number 087636/Z/08/Z) is gratefully acknowledged. Funding for the International Food Policy Study was provided by a Population Health Intervention Research operating grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Additional funding for this project has been provided by a PHAC – CIHR Chair in Applied Public Health (DH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the manuscript