Social Determinants of Suboptimal Cardiovascular Health Among Pregnant Women in the United States

Background Suboptimal cardiovascular health (CVH) and social determinants of health (SDOH) have a significant impact on maternal morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the association of SDOH with suboptimal CVH among pregnant women in the United States. Methods and Results We examined cross‐sectional data of pregnant women aged 18 to 49 years from the National Health Interview Survey (2013–2017). We ascertained optimal and suboptimal CVH based on the presence of 0 to 1 and ≥2 risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, current smoking, obesity, and insufficient physical activity), respectively. We calculated an aggregate SDOH score representing 38 variables from 6 domains (economic stability; neighborhood, physical environment, and social cohesion; community and social context; food; education; and healthcare system) and divided into quartiles. We used Poisson regression model to evaluate the association of SDOH with suboptimal CVH and risk factors. Our study included 1433 pregnant women (28.8±5.5 years, 13% non‐Hispanic Black). Overall, 38.4% (95% CI, 33.9–43.0) had suboptimal CVH versus 51.7% (95% CI, 47.0–56.3) among those in the fourth SDOH quartile. Risk ratios of suboptimal CVH, smoking, obesity, and insufficient physical activity were 2.05 (95% CI, 1.46–2.88), 8.37 (95% CI, 3.00–23.43), 1.54 (95% CI, 1.17–2.03), and 1.19 (95% CI, 1.01–1.42), respectively among those in the fourth SDOH quartile compared with the first quartile. Conclusions Over 50% of pregnant women with the highest SDOH burden had suboptimal CVH, highlighting the public health urgency for interventions in socially disadvantaged pregnant women with renewed strategies toward improving modifiable risk factors, especially smoking and insufficient physical activity.

A Mobile App to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Acceptance Among Finnish and Polish Preschoolers: Randomized Trial

Background Early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers are ideal venues for food education. As smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly popular in ECEC centers, technology can be used to deliver such pedagogical content. Evidence suggests that video games can affect fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption among 9- to 12-year-old children, but studies among preschoolers are scarce. Objective This paper describes the development of the Mole’s Veggie Adventures app and its effectiveness in increasing FV acceptance among Finnish and Polish preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years. Methods A multiprofessional team created an app to be used in ECEC centers in groups of 3 to 10 children. The app aimed to increase vegetable acceptance, and it was built using elements that support the development of self-regulation and social skills. Altogether, 7 Finnish and 4 Polish ECEC centers participated in the study. Before randomization, parents reported background factors and their children’s willingness to taste different FVs. The ECEC professionals in the intervention arm were instructed to use the app at least once a week during the 3- to 4-week intervention period. The main outcomes in this unblinded, cluster-randomized study were FV acceptance and relative FV acceptance. The first was calculated as a sum variable describing the children’s willingness to taste 25 different FVs, the second as FV acceptance divided by the number of FVs served. We used analysis of covariance to compare the FV acceptance and relative FV acceptance scores between the intervention and control groups at follow-up. Results A total of 221 children were included in the analysis. At follow-up, the intervention group (115/221, 52%) had higher FV acceptance scores (baseline adjusted difference of mean 7.22; 95% CI 1.41-13.03) than the control group (106/221, 48%). The intervention effect was parallel for relative FV acceptance scores (baseline adjusted difference of mean 0.28; 95% CI 0.05-0.52). Conclusions The Mole’s Veggie Adventures app has the potential to increase FV acceptance among preschoolers and can be a valuable tool in supporting food education in ECEC centers. Furthermore, the app can be feasibly incorporated into preschool routines in countries with different educational environments. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05173311; https://tinyurl.com/4vfbh283

The Exploration of the Food Education Program in Primary and Secondary Schools

Nowadays, unhealthy dietary habits, insufficient food knowledge, and lack of manual skills are typical issues among primary and secondary school students in China. To help students build up a strong constitution and life wisdom, Weifang Hansheng School of Shandong developed a food education course. This paper expounds on the course framework, contents of food education textbooks and the measures to implement the course.

The Exploration of the Food Education Program in Primary and Secondary Schools

Nowadays, unhealthy dietary habits, insufficient food knowledge, and lack of manual skills are typical issues among primary and secondary school students in China. To help students build up a strong constitution and life wisdom, Weifang Hansheng School of Shandong developed a food education course. This paper expounds on the course framework, contents of food education textbooks and the measures to implement the course.

A Solution to Hunger and Food Wastage Using a Technology-Facilitated Social Supply Chain

In 1624, the English poet John Donne poignantly wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself; everyman is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; … And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee (Donne, 1624).” Humans are intricately connected. Our actions impact each other in a chain reaction that can span geography and time, as evident from pandemics and global warming as well as the disparate distribution of food, education, wealth, and other resources. Donne’s words serve to remind us that we cannot be immune to the suffering of others caused by this disparity of resources.

Sustainable Development and Livelihoods of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: The Effects of COVID-19

Bangladesh is one of the top refugee-hosting countries of the world and adversely affected by the COVID-19. This paper aims to identify how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the Rohingya refugee and expose the vulnerability that challenges SDGs. The study follows a system approach grounded on a sustainable development model and uses secondary sources of data. The study found that fragmented and random policies in refugee crisis management during the COVID-19 reveals the policy lacks structural fragility due to inadequate policy and programs. Besides, the limited number of health care, food, education, washing facilities, housing, and the utilization of inferior materials in camps put pressure on the refugee health, education, and well-being during COVID-19. It also reduces the monetary funds, which affects humanitarian support, and limits the aid to SDGs in refugee camps due to restrictive policies. Moreover, refugees' inability to include an inclusive social security system is far from existing social inequality. This paper calls for robust policies and programs with adequate funding for structural logistics and effective service delivery in refugee management for their future well-being and promoting SDGs in refugee camps.

Analysing the impact of electrification on rural attractiveness in Senegal with mobile phone data

Reliable and affordable access to electricity has become one of the basic needs for humans and is, as such, at the top of the development agenda. It contributes to socio-economic development by transforming the whole spectrum of people’s lives—food, education, healthcare. It spurs new economic opportunities, thus improving livelihoods. Using a comprehensive dataset of pseudonymized mobile phone records, we analyse the impact of electrification on attractiveness for rural areas in Senegal. We extract communication and mobility flows from call detail records and show that electrification is positively and specifically correlated with centrality measures within the communication network and with the volume of incoming visitors. This increased influence is however circumscribed to a limited spatial extent, creating a complex competition with nearby areas. Nevertheless, we found that the volume of visitors between any two sites could be well predicted from the level of electrification at the destination and the living standard at the origin. In view of these results, we discuss how to obtain the best outcomes from a rural electrification planning strategy. We determine that electrifying clusters of rural sites is a better solution than centralizing electricity supplies to maximize the development of specifically targeted sites.