LGBTQ+ College Students’ Engagement in COVID-Protective and COVID-Risk Behaviors

2021 ◽  
pp. 216769682110393
Author(s):  
S. E. Lawrence ◽  
T. L. Walters ◽  
A. N. Clark ◽  
Y. Zhang ◽  
V. Hanna-Walker ◽  
...  

Characteristics of emerging adulthood may make college students less likely to engage in COVID-protective behaviors, a public health concern given that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) students may be particularly vulnerable to complications related to COVID-19. To identify individual and contextual factors related to COVID-protective behaviors among a sample of LGBTQ+ college students in the United States, we examined differences in COVID-protective and -risk behaviors by gender identity, living arrangement, statewide stay at home orders, and political liberalism of the student’s current state. Although engagement in COVID-protective behaviors was high overall, students who identified as men, did not live with a parent, lived in a state without a stay at home order, and/or lived in a less liberal state engaged in fewer COVID-protective behaviors and more frequent COVID-risk behaviors. Findings underscore the importance of clear public health messaging around COVID-protective behaviors that targets especially vulnerable college students.

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Martínez-Alés ◽  
Tammy Jiang ◽  
Katherine M. Keyes ◽  
Jaimie L. Gradus

Suicide is a major public health concern in the United States. Between 2000 and 2018, US suicide rates increased by 35%, contributing to the stagnation and subsequent decrease in US life expectancy. During 2019, suicide declined modestly, mostly owing to slight reductions in suicides among Whites. Suicide rates, however, continued to increase or remained stable among all other racial/ethnic groups, and little is known about recent suicide trends among other vulnerable groups. This article ( a) summarizes US suicide mortality trends over the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, ( b) reviews potential group-level causes of increased suicide risk among subpopulations characterized by markers of vulnerability to suicide, and ( c) advocates for combining recent advances in population-based suicide prevention with a socially conscious perspective that captures the social, economic, and political contexts in which suicide risk unfolds over the life course of vulnerable individuals. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 43 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Alpert ◽  
Erica Lasek-Nesselquist ◽  
Anderson F. Brito ◽  
Andrew L. Valesano ◽  
Jessica Rothman ◽  
...  

SummaryThe emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7, first detected in the United Kingdom, has become a national public health concern in the United States because of its increased transmissibility. Over 500 COVID-19 cases associated with this variant have been detected since December 2020, but its local establishment and pathways of spread are relatively unknown. Using travel, genomic, and diagnostic testing data, we highlight the primary ports of entry for B.1.1.7 in the US and locations of possible underreporting of B.1.1.7 cases. New York, which receives the most international travel from the UK, is likely one of the key hubs for introductions and domestic spread. Finally, we provide evidence for increased community transmission in several states. Thus, genomic surveillance for B.1.1.7 and other variants urgently needs to be enhanced to better inform the public health response.


Author(s):  
Frances M. Davis ◽  
Ting Tan ◽  
Suzanne Nicewonder ◽  
Raffaella De Vita

Pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse represent a major public health concern in the United States affecting one third of adult women [1]. These disorders are determined by structural and mechanical alterations of the pelvic organs, their supporting muscles and connective tissues that occur mainly during pregnancy, vaginal delivery, and aging [1].


2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. A15
Author(s):  
B. Balkhi ◽  
L. Araujo-Lama ◽  
D. Nguyen ◽  
P. Le ◽  
E. Seoane-Vazquez ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 491-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry T. Liu ◽  
Kimberly Snyder ◽  
Michael A. Tynan ◽  
Teresa W. Wang

Objectives: In 2018, approximately 4.9 million US middle and high school students reported past 30-day use of any tobacco product. This study describes how and where youth obtained tobacco products and whether refusal of sale occurred during 2016-2018. Methods: Data from 3 annual waves (2016-2018) of the National Youth Tobacco Survey, a school-based survey of US youth in grades 6-12, were analyzed among current (past 30-day) tobacco product users aged 9 to 17 years. Results: During 2016-2018, youth tobacco product users most commonly obtained tobacco products from social sources. Although the percentage of users who reported buying tobacco products significantly decreased from 2016 to 2018 (2016: 15.6%; 2018: 11.4%), no significant differences in the prevalence of being refused sale were observed (2016: 24.7%; 2018: 25.5%). Conclusions: Whereas the number of youth users who report buying tobacco products has declined, sales of tobacco products to youth remain a public health concern, as only one in 4 youth who attempted to buy were refused sale in 2018. Monitoring youth tobacco product purchases, retailer compliance check inspections, and retailer penalties for sales to minors remain important for reducing youth access at retail sources.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah D. Jones ◽  
Jacob E. Romer

AbstractLimited research on the prevalence and characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in K-12 environments has led to a flurry of speculative, qualitative, non-data-driven analysis with potentially dangerous implications for public health policy. Twenty-four US states provide, at a minimum, outbreak data in K-12 schools. Student enrollment across Florida’s 67 districts totals more than 2.67 million, with five of the ten most populated districts in the country in the state. This study uses Florida as a case study in COVID-19 trends in schools. With no state-wide mask mandate, varying levels of virtual-instruction participation, and a range of rural, suburban, and urban environments, Florida represents the wide range of learning environments and COVID-19 approaches to mitigation observed across the country. The Covid Monitor began tracking case data in K-12 schools in July 2020, and has since reported more than 200,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the K-12 environment nationwide – the largest date repository for cases in schools. The Covid Monitor’s national database allows for analysis of the characteristics and trends of cases in schools over time. The results may inform decisions about continued in-person and virtual learning access and promotion across the United States, as well as mitigation measures related to reopening policies across districts responsive to model results. These results also provide a baseline for monitoring trends and evaluating mitigation strategies.Table of Contents SummaryUsing the most comprehensive database of K-12 COVID-19 case data in the country, Florida provides clues for understanding student and staff cases in schools.What’s known on this subjectFlorida schools began reopening to in-person instruction in August and reported 15,393 student and staff cases of COVID-19 as of November 14, 2020. Incidence of COVID-19 cases in K-12 students and staff is of urgent public health concern.What this study addsCOVID-19 cases reported in Florida schools were most influenced by community case rates and percent of students attending face-to-face. Student case rates were highest in high schools (4.5 per 1,000); staff case rates were highest in elementary levels (4.5-4.8).


Author(s):  
Mansoo Yu ◽  
Rachel Fischer

Tobacco use is a major public-health concern in the United States. Intervention and prevention strategies for tobacco use are an urgent public-health priority because tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death. To help social workers better understand tobacco use problems, this entry presents an overview, including definitions of terms, the scope and impact of tobacco use problems in terms of different segments of the population (that is, age, gender, race or ethnicity, geographic location, and education level or socioeconomic status), etiology of tobacco use (for example, biological or genetic; psychiatric; psychosocial; or environmental or sociocultural factors), policy history, tobacco prevention, clinical issues (such as cessation desire, treatment and success, or screening tools for tobacco use disorder and tobacco withdrawal), and practice interventions for tobacco use problems. Based on the information, the roles of social workers will be addressed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 2333794X1989130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adekunle Sanyaolu ◽  
Chuku Okorie ◽  
Xiaohua Qi ◽  
Jennifer Locke ◽  
Saif Rehman

Childhood and adolescent obesity have reached epidemic levels in the United States. Currently, about 17% of US children are presenting with obesity. Obesity can affect all aspects of the children including their psychological as well as cardiovascular health; also, their overall physical health is affected. The association between obesity and other conditions makes it a public health concern for children and adolescents. Due to the increase in the prevalence of obesity among children, a variety of research studies have been conducted to discover what associations and risk factors increase the probability that a child will present with obesity. While a complete picture of all the risk factors associated with obesity remains elusive, the combination of diet, exercise, physiological factors, and psychological factors is important in the control and prevention of childhood obesity; thus, all researchers agree that prevention is the key strategy for controlling the current problem. Primary prevention methods are aimed at educating the child and family, as well as encouraging appropriate diet and exercise from a young age through adulthood, while secondary prevention is targeted at lessening the effect of childhood obesity to prevent the child from continuing the unhealthy habits and obesity into adulthood. A combination of both primary and secondary prevention is necessary to achieve the best results. This review article highlights the health implications including physiological and psychological factors comorbidities, as well as the epidemiology, risk factors, prevention, and control of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States.


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