Self-perception of health and physical activity among adults before and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: United States, 2019-2020.

The compounded impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns on self-perception of health (SPoH) and physical activity (PA) levels among U.S. adults remains to be explored. We sought to: (1) describe the SPoH and PA levels among U.S. adults; (2) explore the relationship between SPoH and PA before and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from the 2019 and 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11th, 2020. This date was chosen to demarcate the responses as before and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Weighted prevalence estimates were presented alongside adjusted odds ratios from multivariable logistic regression of general SPoH and PA levels for U.S. adults before and amidst COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data for 9328 participants. Over half of the U.S. adult population reported performing no muscle strengthening exercise in 2019. The number of inactive people has slightly increased in 2020 (27.8%), compared to 2019 (26.5%). Overall, levels of PA for active people were comparable in 2020 pre and post the WHO pandemic declaration date (36.4% and 39.8%; respectively). Higher odds of negative SPoH were observed among black individuals, current cigarettes smokers, with annual income less than $35,000, physically inactive individuals, people who do not perform muscle-strengthening exercise, and who were very obese. Negative SPoH were associated with lack of moderate exercise, and lack of muscle-strengthening training among U.S. adults before and amidst the pandemic. Pandemic policies and recommendations should include and facilitate PA, specifically among vulnerable populations.

Pandemic preparedness in dental education: A US-based national survey.

OBJECTIVES: The Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the need for pandemic preparedness (PP) in health professions training. We aimed to (1) establish a current profile on curricular content of PP in US dental schools and (2) examine how schools were adapting their curricula in response to COVID-19. METHODS: An online survey was developed and sent to senior leadership to all 66 Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited US dental schools including Deans of Academic or Clinical Affairs from November 2020-February 2021. Questions addressed PP curricular content, teaching methods, and evaluation. Participants were asked about the barriers and facilitators for the inclusion of this content. The survey also included questions on redeployment of the clinical workforce in response to the pandemic. RESULTS: The response rate was 31.8% (n = 21) with representation from every US Census Bureau-designated division. While all responding dental schools agreed that dental professionals can play an important role during pandemics, 38.1% reported including content on PP into their pre- or postdoctoral curriculum. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 47.6% indicated redeployment of their clinical workforce to participate in disaster life support, assisting physicians in COVID-19 cases, and assisting hospitals with personal protective equipment (PPE). CONCLUSION: There was general agreement that dental professionals can play an important role during pandemics. The participating US dental schools responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by integrating novel clinical activities. More efforts are required to include PP in dental education.