Relationship of Social Connectedness With Decreasing Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Older Women Participating in the Women's Health Initiative Study.

BACKGROUND: Aging is generally accompanied by decreasing physical activity (PA), which is associated with a decline in many health parameters, leading to recommendations for older adults to increase or at least maintain PA. METHODS: We determined relationships between social connectedness and decreasing or increasing PA levels during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic among 41 443 participants of the Women's Health Initiative Extension Study. Outcomes of logistic regression models were decreasing PA activity (reference: maintaining or increasing) and increasing PA activity (reference: maintaining or decreasing). The main predictor was social connectedness as a combined variable: not living alone (reference: living alone) and communicating with others outside the home more than once/week (reference: once/week or less). We adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, body mass index, physical function level, and education. RESULTS: Compared with participants who were not socially connected, socially connected participants had lower odds of decreasing PA (adjusted odds ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.87-0.95). Odds of increasing PA (vs decreasing or maintaining PA) were not significantly different among socially connected and not socially connected participants. Associations between social connectedness and decreasing PA did not significantly differ by age (<85 vs ≥85 years), race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White vs other races/ethnicity), education (college vs 75). CONCLUSION: Social connectedness was associated with lower odds of decreasing PA among older women during the pandemic. These findings could inform the development of future interventions to help older women avoid decreasing PA.

Impact of shifting engagement strategies during COVID: Are rural counties on equal footage? The Ohio HEALing Communities Study (HCS)

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: This study examines the impact of COVID restrictions on the process of engagement in the Ohio-HCS site. The goals are to: examine the impact of COVID restrictions on the process of engagement;2) determine differences in process measures by geographic region (rural, urban). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Engagement activities collected as part of the Ohio HCS include an engagement log, coalition meeting type and attendance, tracker of implementation strategies. Study period: January 2020 to October 31, 2021. Measures are defined below. Meeting occurrence, type by month: Data report on whether a meeting occurred, was scheduled and cancelled, or a scheduled off-month. The meeting platform was also recorded (in-person, hybrid, virtual). Coalition meeting attendance by month: Number of community members in attendance. Engagement communications by type, by month: Counts and percent (types: email, calls, zoom, or in person). Evidence-Based Practices(EBP) delivery option: in person, virtual, or hybrid. Counties: 9 Ohio counties, 5 rural, 4 urban. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Coalition meetings were cancelled in 40% of rural counties;none in the urban counties. Two rural counties switched back to in person or hybrid meetings by late 2020;urban counties remain 100% virtual. Rural counties had a drop-off in attendance in June 2021 with no decrease seen in urban counties. During first two months of 2020 engagement in rural and urban communities occurred in person;by March that shifted to 80% by email, which continued within rural counties. In urban counties that dropped to 50% by August of 2020, with zoom calls accounting for 30%. In-person strategies for naloxone distribution remained high in both county types (90%);urban counties use of in-person only strategies for medication for OUD (rural: 83%, urban 52%) and safer prescribing (rural:74%, urban:10%) were much lower than rural counties. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Results show that rural counties continue to rely on in person engagement strategies, making COVID restrictions more disruptive for rural counties. These results suggest that new supports and strategies may be needed to assure that rural regions are equally equipped to engage in research in a virtual environment.

The impact of the national stay-at-home order on emergency department visits for suspected opioid overdose during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Although national syndromic surveillance data reported declines in emergency department (ED) visits after the declaration of the national stay-at-home order for COVID-19, little is known whether these declines were observed for suspected opioid overdose. METHODS: This interrupted time series study used syndromic surveillance data from four states participating in the HEALing Communities Study: Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. All ED encounters for suspected opioid overdose (n = 48,301) occurring during the first 31 weeks of 2020 were included. We examined the impact of the national public health emergency for COVID-19 (declared on March 14, 2020) on trends in ED encounters for suspected opioid overdose. RESULTS: Three of four states (Massachusetts, New York and Ohio) experienced a statistically significant immediate decline in the rate of ED encounters for suspected opioid overdose (per 100,000) after the nationwide public health emergency declaration (MA: -0.99; 95 % CI: -1.75, -0.24; NY: -0.10; 95 % CI, -0.20, 0.0; OH: -0.33, 95 % CI: -0.58, -0.07). After this date, Ohio and Kentucky experienced a sustained rate of increase for a 13-week period. New York experienced a decrease in the rate of ED encounters for a 10-week period, after which the rate began to increase. In Massachusetts after a significant immediate decline in the rate of ED encounters, there was no significant difference in the rate of change for a 6-week period, followed by an immediate increase in the ED rate to higher than pre-COVID levels. CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneity in the trends in ED encounters between the four sites show that the national stay-at-home order had a differential impact on opioid overdose ED presentation in each state.

Examining the Impact of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and Pandemic-Related Hardship on Adverse Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes: Design and Launch of the HOPE COVID-19 Study

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread and worsen in many parts of the world. As the pandemic grows, it is especially important to understand how the virus and the pandemic are affecting pregnant women and infants. While early data suggested that being infected with the virus did not increase the risk of adverse pregnancy or infant outcomes, as more information has emerged, it has become clear that risks for some adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes are increased (e.g., preterm birth, cesarean section, respiratory distress, and hospitalization). The Healthy Outcomes of Pregnancy for Everyone in the time of novel coronavirus disease-19 (HOPE COVID-19) study is a multi-year, prospective investigation designed to better understand how the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 impact adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes. The study also examines how the pandemic exacerbates existing hardships such as social isolation, economic destabilization, job loss, housing instability, and/or family member sickness or death among minoritized and marginalized communities. Specifically, the study examines how pandemic-related hardships impact clinical outcomes and characterizes the experiences of Black, Latinx and low-income groups compared to those in other race/ethnicity and socioeconomic stratum. The study includes two nested cohorts. The survey only cohort will enroll 7500 women over a two-year period. The survey+testing cohort will enroll 2500 women over this same time period. Participants in both cohorts complete short surveys daily using a mobile phone application about COVID-19-related symptoms (e.g., fever and cough) and complete longer surveys once during each trimester and at 6–8 weeks and 6, 12 and 18 months after delivery that focus on the health and well-being of mothers and, after birth, of infants. Participants in the survey+testing cohort also have testing for SARS-CoV-2 and related antibodies during pregnancy and after birth as well as testing that looks at inflammation and for the presence of other infections like Influenza and Rhinovirus. Study results are expected to be reported on a rolling basis and will include quarterly reporting for participants and public health partners as well as more traditional scientific reporting.

Immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CTSA TL1 and KL2 training and career development.

Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) TL1 trainees and KL2 scholars were surveyed to determine the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training and career development. The most negative impact was lack of access to research facilities, clinics, and human subjects, plus for KL2 scholars lack of access to team members and need for homeschooling. TL1 trainees reported having more time to think and write. Common strategies to maintain research productivity involved time management, virtual connections with colleagues, and shifting to research activities not requiring laboratory/clinic settings. Strategies for mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training and career development are described.