COVID-19 Health Education Activities: An Analysis of a National Sample of Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®/MCHES®) in Response to the Global Pandemic.

The National Commission of Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC) created the Category 1 COVID-19 Claim Form Opportunity to document how Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) assisted communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data submitted by CHES®/MCHES® (n = 3,098 claim forms), the purpose of this study was to (a) describe the settings where CHES® and MCHES® completed their pandemic work and (b) assess differences in the type of pandemic work completed by CHES® compared with MCHES® based on specific Areas of Responsibility (AOR) for Health Education Specialists. Findings showed that CHES® and MCHES® engaged in seven AOR during the pandemic, with the largest proportion of CHES® (n = 859; 33%) and MCHES® (n = 105; 21.9%, documenting COVID-19-related activities in health departments. CHES® reported higher engagement than MCHES® in activities such as COVID-19 reporting/tracking, χ2 (1, N = 3,098) = 27.3, p < .001; outbreak response, χ2 (1, N = 3,098) = 4.3, p = .039; and vaccination, χ2 (1, N = 3,098) = 5.2, p = .023. Conversely, MCHES® reported higher participation than CHES® in screening/testing, χ2 (1, N = 3,098) = 174.2, p < .001; administration of budgets/operations, χ2 (1, N = 3,098) = 30.1, p < .001; and adapting educational activities at college/universities, χ2 (1, N = 3,098) = 46.1, p < .001. CHES® were more likely than MCHES® to indicate working in all AOR except for Area 2-Plan Health Education/Promotion. Results support that employer-verified health education skills in all AOR were transferable during COVID-19, especially for CHES® employed within state/county health departments.

When minutes matter: A university emergency notification system dataset.

The data presented in this data article were collected at three points in the 2012-2013 academic year; Fall 2012, Spring 2013, and Summer 2013 from undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory health education course at a large university in the United States. The data regarding undergraduate students' perceptions of and experiences with the campus emergency notification system were ascertained using a self-administered online-delivered survey instrument. The data included in the Mendeley Data repository affiliated with this data article encompass closed- and open-ended responses from 746 undergraduate students. Closed-ended questions included items based on central constructs from Technology Acceptance Model research-perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitudes toward use, and behavioral intention. Survey questions also assessed students' actual use of emergency notification messages, students' perceived self-efficacy to respond to future potential emergency notifications, and demographics and technology use characteristics. This research team asked open-ended questions to collect students' ideas for systematic improvement in their own words. Descriptive statistics for demographic variables, participant characteristic variables, and scale variables were conducted in SPSS 27 and are provided in tables. The open-ended question response frequencies were also calculated in SPSS 27 and are provided within a supplemental PDF. To date, no data pertaining to an institution of higher education's emergency notification system are published for open access use. This article provides open access data and surveys that campus emergency planners, researchers, and health education specialists can use to inform emergency communication plans, improve the content of critical campus alert messages, structure future emergency notification studies, and frame future emergency notification system evaluations. This research team anticipates these data will help campus emergency personnel craft more effective messages and optimize their channel mixture to make emergency notifications reach and resonate with students in situations when minutes matter. The data for this article are hosted in a .csv file for widespread access in the following Mendeley Data repository: https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/6jdwfbwzk5/1.

Social Media and Health Promotion.

With over 3 billion users worldwide, social media has become a staple of daily life for people across the globe [...].

The Health Education Research Experience (HERE) program metadata dataset.

Undergraduate subject pools are prevalent across disciplines in the United States. The Health Education Research Experience (HERE) Program was the first known course-based subject pool entirely managed and conducted online for online students enrolled in an introductory health education/health promotion course. The program was conducted within five semesters from Spring 2012 through Summer 2013. The HERE Program encompassed 13 studies embedded in two sections of an undergraduate online course at the University of Florida. The studies were all related to course topics and current research topics in health education/promotion (as identified through the Healthy People 2020 Framework). The topics ranged from the relatively less sensitive health aspects of college life (i.e., technology use) to studies assessing more sensitive health topics (i.e., intimate partner violence and sexual assault). In alignment with a best practice in survey design, the HERE Program's survey instruments included one metadata item embedded in each survey to identify which devices students used to complete the surveys. Understanding which devices students used for survey completion has ramifications for survey designers and survey researchers. In contrast to the relative uniformity of pen and paper surveys and control of the survey completion environment, online surveys may not look identical across personal devices and may be completed in increasingly varied environments. All studies, study procedures and protocols, and metadata collection procedures were approved by the university's Institutional Review Board. The data presented here were extracted from each survey's data files and aggregated. The aggregated metadata are available through Mendeley Data in a.csv file for widespread access. Descriptive statistics are presented in tables. The data provided in this article will benefit researchers interested in survey methodology, questionnaire design, modes of survey collection, and survey metadata. The data are hosted in the following Mendeley Data repository: https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/ht9jmd3cdt/2.

Evolving Role of Social Media in Health Promotion: Updated Responsibilities for Health Education Specialists.

The use of social media in public health education has been increasing due to its ability to remove physical barriers that traditionally impede access to healthcare support and resources. As health promotion becomes more deeply rooted in Internet-based programming, health education specialists are tasked with becoming more competent in computer-mediated contexts that optimize both online and offline consumer health experiences. Generating a better understanding of the benefits and drawbacks to using social media in the field is important, since health education specialists continue to weigh its advantages against potential concerns and barriers to use. Accordingly, this Special Issue aims to explore social media as a translational health promotion tool by bridging principles of health education and health communication that examine (1) the method with which social media users access, negotiate, and create health information that is both actionable and impactful for diverse audiences; (2) strategies for overcoming challenges to using social media in health promotion; and (3) best practices for designing, implementing, and evaluating social media forums in public health. In this commentary, we discuss the updated communication and advocacy roles and responsibilities of health education specialists in the context of social media research and practice.

Facebook Groups on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Social Media Content Analysis.

Facebook Groups facilitate information exchange and engagement for patients with chronic conditions, including those living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD); however, little is known about how knowledge is diffused throughout these communities. This study aimed to evaluate the content that is available on COPD-related Facebook Groups, as well as the communication (self-disclosures, social support) and engagement (agreement, emotional reaction) strategies used by members to facilitate these resources. Two researchers independently searched the "Groups" category using the terms "COPD", "emphysema", and "chronic bronchitis". Twenty-six closed (n = 23) and public (n = 3) COPD Facebook Groups were identified with 87,082 total members. The vast majority of Group members belonged to closed (n = 84,684; 97.25%) as compared to open (n = 2398; 2.75%) groups. Medications were the most commonly addressed self-management topic (n = 48; 26.7%). While overall engagement with wall posts was low, the number of "likes" (an indicator of agreement) was significantly greater for wall posts that demonstrated social support as compared to posts that did not (p < 0.001). Findings from this study showed that COPD Facebook group members share specific disease-related experiences and request information about select self-management topics. This information can be used to improve the quality of self-management support provided to members of popular COPD Facebook groups.

Web-based Health Information Seeking and eHealth Literacy among Patients Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Many people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have low general health literacy; however, there is little information available on these patients' eHealth literacy, or their ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise online health information and apply this knowledge to address or solve disease-related health concerns. A nationally representative sample of patients registered in the COPD Foundation's National Research Registry (N = 1,270) was invited to complete a web-based survey to assess socio-demographic (age, gender, marital status, education), health status (generic and lung-specific health-related quality of life), and socio-cognitive (social support, self-efficacy, COPD knowledge) predictors of eHealth literacy, measured using the 8-item eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS). Over 50% of the respondents (n = 176) were female (n = 89), with a mean age of 66.19 (SD = 9.47). Overall, participants reported moderate levels of eHealth literacy, with more than 70% feeling confident in their ability to find helpful health resources on the Internet. However, respondents were much less confident in their ability to distinguish between high- and low-quality sources of web-based health information. Very severe versus less severe COPD (ß = 4.15), lower lung-specific health-related quality of life (ß = -0.19), and greater COPD knowledge (ß = 0.62) were significantly associated with higher eHealth literacy. Higher COPD knowledge was also significantly associated with greater knowledge (ρ = 0.24, p = .001) and use (ρ = 0.24, p = .001) of web-based health resources. Findings emphasize the importance of integrating skill-building activities into comprehensive patient education programs that enable patients with severe cases of COPD to identify high-quality sources of web-based health information. Additional research is needed to understand how new social technologies can be used to help medically underserved COPD patients benefit from web-based self-management support resources.

Examining the Relationship between Online Social Capital and eHealth Literacy: Implications for Instagram Use for Chronic Disease Prevention among College Students.

BACKGROUND: College students actively seek online health information and use Instagram, an image- and video-based social networking website, to build social networks grounded in trust and behavioral norms (social capital), which have the potential to prevent chronic disease. PURPOSE: This study aimed to: (1) examine how intensity of Instagram use moderates the relationship between eHealth Literacy and online social capital in college students, and (2) discuss how Instagram can be used as a social awareness platform for chronic disease prevention among college students. METHODS: Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to analyze web-based survey data from a random sample of college students (N=327). RESULTS: Online bridging social capital was associated with greater eHealth Literacy (P<.05) and intensity of Instagram use (P<.001), when controlling for socio-demographic variables. The relationship between eHealth Literacy and online bridging social capital was strongest among respondents' with average (P<.01) and high (P<.01) intensity Instagram use, as compared to low Instagram intensity. DISCUSSION: High intensity of Instagram may strengthen college students' low eHealth Literacy, especially when interacting with heterogeneous connections with weaker ties. TRANSLATION TO HEALTH EDUCATION PRACTICE: Health education specialists should continue to explore how college students' intensity of Instagram use can be strengthened to build bridging online social capital, and ultimately prevent chronic disease.

An exploration of the prevalence and patterns of care for women presenting with mid-trimester loss.

BACKGROUND: Mid-trimester loss (MTL) is an area that is poorly defined in the literature and often under reported in clinical practice. The prevalence of MTL in Ireland is uncertain and has a huge impact on the woman, her family and maternity care services. AIMS: To explore the prevalence and patterns of care for women with MTL in a large Maternity hospital in Ireland. METHODS: A descriptive, exploratory study was used involving a retrospective chart audit. RESULTS: 220 women presented with MTL over the 3 year data collection period (January 2011-December 2013), giving a rate of 0.8 % of all deliveries. The majority of women had no previous pregnancy losses and were multiparous (i.e., had a previous pregnancy >500 g). The mean gestational age was 17.69 weeks (SD = 2.73). The mean length of hospital stay was 1.89 days. Intra muscular (IM) analgesia was the most commonly (58.5 %) used medication. Follow up hospital care was received in over 78 % of cases. The majority of women were referred the CMS Bereavement and Chaplain services, with a small number (approx. 5 %) referred to the social worker. Over 46.4 % of families availed of the hospital burial service. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the incidence of mid-trimester loss may be slightly lower than the 1 or 2 % of pregnancies reported in the literature. The incidence of mid-trimester loss in multiparous women is approximately twice that of nulliparous women. The referral services offered in the study were utilised by most of the women, as were follow-up clinic appointments.

Factors associated with ageist attitudes among college students.

AIM: Ageist views have the potential to deleteriously impact large populations of older adults in the USA and worldwide. The high levels of ageism among young adults might originate from their limited interactions with older adults (individuals aged 65 years and older). The present study examined the factors associated with ageist attitudes among college students. METHODS: Data were analyzed from 641 college students using an internet-delivered questionnaire. Participants were asked to rate their level of agreement with 17 ageist statements about older adults. A general least squares regression analysis was carried out to identify the associations of participants' sex, race/ethnicity and interactions with older adults on self-identified ageist attitudes. RESULTS: Approximately 37% of participating college students interacted with older adults one or more times per week, 38.3% had resided with an older adult in their lifetime and 78.2% had volunteered/worked with an older adult. Participants who were female (P = 0.035), African American (P = 0.033), those with more frequent interaction with older adults (P = 0.001) and those with experience living with an older adult (P = 0.028) reported significantly lower negative ageist attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that increased exposure to and interactions with older adults can reduce ageist views among college students. Practical recommendations are provided to increase students' opportunities for interactions with and exposure to older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1698-1706.

Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study.

Despite the fact that a large percentage of Americans go online to seek health information, literature pertaining to online health information (OHI) seeking among college men in Latino fraternities (CMLF) has been nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (a) identify the types of OHI that CMLF seek and (b) to determine the factors motivating OHI seeking among CMLF. Four 1- to 1.5-hour focus groups were conducted in two public universities in Florida with 41 college-aged Latino males in an established Latino fraternity. E-mails were used to recruit fraternity members. Qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts identified that CMLF search for a variety of OHI types including searches on symptoms, diagnoses, weight loss, and treatments for conditions or diseases among other types of OHI. Factors motivating OHI seeking included informational needs of others and concerns for others, worries due to lack of health insurance, preoccupations with health condition, concerns over physical appearance, and clarification through social media. CMLF may be elicited to serve as information conduits to increase access to health information on chronic diseases for older non-English-speaking Latino adults. Lack of health insurance along with other factors in this segment of the population have led to self-diagnosis and self-treatment of illness. Thus, empirical research and health promotion on the potential risks due to self-diagnosing and self-treatment of illness is warranted among CMLF.

Powdered alcohol: Awareness and likelihood of use among a sample of college students.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In March 2015, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved the sale of Palcohol, the first powdered alcohol product to be marketed and sold in the U.S. Powdered alcohol is freeze-dried, and one individual-serving size packet added to 6 ounces of liquid is equivalent to a standard drink. This study assessed awareness of powered alcohol and likelihood to use and/or misuse powdered alcohol among college students. METHODS: Surveys were administered to a convenience sample of 1,841 undergraduate students. RESULTS: Only 16.4% of respondents had heard of powdered alcohol. After being provided a brief description of powdered alcohol, 23% indicated that they would use the product if available, and of those, 62.1% also indicated likelihood of misusing the product (eg, snorting it, mixing it with alcohol). Caucasian students (OR = 1.5) and hazardous drinkers (based on AUDIT-C scores; OR = 4.7) were significantly more likely to indicate likelihood of use. Hazardous drinkers were also six times more likely to indicate likelihood to misuse the product. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: These findings can inform upstream prevention efforts in states debating bans on powdered alcohol. In states where powdered alcohol will soon be available, alcohol education initiatives should be updated to include information on the potential risks of use and be targeted to those populations most likely to misuse. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first peer-reviewed study to assess the awareness of and likelihood to use and/or misuse powdered alcohol, a potentially emerging form of alcohol.

Employee stress management: An examination of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies on employee health.

BACKGROUND: Employees commonly report feeling stressed at work. OBJECTIVE: Examine how employees cope with work and personal stress, whether their coping strategies are adaptive (protective to health) or maladaptive (detrimental to health), and if the manner in which employees cope with stress influences perceived stress management. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a random sample of 2,500 full-time university non-student employees (i.e. faculty, salaried professionals, and hourly non-professionals) were surveyed on health related behaviors including stress and coping. Approximately 1,277 completed the survey (51% ). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to assess the ability of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies to predict self-reported stress management, while controlling for multiple demographic variables. RESULTS: Over half of employees surveyed reported effective stress management. Most frequently used adaptive coping strategies were communication with friend/family member and exercise, while most frequently used maladaptive coping strategies were drinking alcohol and eating more than usual. Both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies made significant (p < 0.05) contributions to predicting employee's perceived stress management. Only adaptive coping strategies (B = 0.265) predicted whether someone would self-identify as effectively managing stress. Use of maladaptive coping strategies decreased likelihood of self-reporting effective stress management. CONCLUSIONS: Actual coping strategies employed may influence employees' perceived stress management. Adaptive coping strategies may be more influential than maladaptive coping strategies on perceived stress management. Results illustrate themes for effective workplace stress management programs. Stress management programs focused on increasing use of adaptive coping may have a greater impact on employee stress management than those focused on decreasing use of maladaptive coping. Coping is not only a reaction to stressful experiences but also a consequence of coping resources. Thereby increasing the availability of resources in the workplace to facilitate the use of adaptive coping strategies is necessary for successful stress management and, ultimately, healthier employees.

Assessing Specific Sexual Behavior: Instrument Development and Validation Techniques.

Through the use of multi-modal methods, the purpose of this study was to develop and assess measurement properties of an instrument evaluating specific sexual behaviors of college students and the role alcohol intoxication plays in one's intention to participate in these behaviors. A modified version of N. Krause's instrument development process was applied to create a behavior-specific instrument assessing oral, vaginal, and anal sex behaviors. The process included a review by expert scholars in relevant fields, cognitive interviews with the target population using screen-capture program Camtasia, piloting to assess measurement scales, and a formal investigation. The applied instrument development process employed screen capture software and web-based surveying in a cost-effective format suitable for mixed-method measurement development. The development and application of the instrument provides a clearer understanding of the relationship between alcohol use and sexual activity and aids in the development of effective public health interventions and policies.

(On)line dancing: choosing an appropriate distance education partner.

Online-delivered distance education is a burgeoning component of professional development and continuing education. Distance education programs allow individuals to learn in a different location and/or at a different time from fellow learners, thereby increasing the flexibility and number of learning options. Selecting the "right" program for personal development from the ever-growing body of online-delivered education is an individualized decision that can become an overwhelming and challenging process. This Tool presents four important definitions for navigating distance education program description materials and outlines a five-step process to assist in identifying an appropriate program for personal development. The five-step process includes key questions and points to consider while conducting a candid self-assessment, identifying and investigating distance education programs, and then compiling information, comparing programs, and prioritizing a list of programs suitable for application. Furthermore, this Tool highlights important websites for distance education degree program reviews, accreditation information, and open educational resources.

Analysis of ehealth search perspectives among female college students in the health professions using Q methodology.

BACKGROUND: The current "Millennial Generation" of college students majoring in the health professions has unprecedented access to the Internet. Although some research has been initiated among medical professionals to investigate the cognitive basis for health information searches on the Internet, little is known about Internet search practices among health and medical professional students. OBJECTIVE: To systematically identify health professional college student perspectives of personal eHealth search practices. METHODS: Q methodology was used to examine subjective perspectives regarding personal eHealth search practices among allied health students majoring in a health education degree program. Thirteen (n = 13) undergraduate students were interviewed about their attitudes and experiences conducting eHealth searches. From the interviews, 36 statements were used in a structured ranking task to identify clusters and determine which specific perceptions of eHealth search practices discriminated students into different groups. Scores on an objective measure of eHealth literacy were used to help categorize participant perspectives. RESULTS: Q-technique factor analysis of the rankings identified 3 clusters of respondents with differing views on eHealth searches that generally coincided with participants' objective eHealth literacy scores. The proficient resourceful students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0.56-0.80) described themselves as using multiple resources to obtain eHealth information, as opposed to simply relying on Internet search engines. The intermediate reluctant students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0.75-0.90) reported engaging only Internet search engines to locate eHealth information, citing undeveloped evaluation skills when considering sources of information located on the Internet. Both groups of advanced students reported not knowing how to use Boolean operators to conduct Internet health searches. The basic hubristic students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0.54-0.76) described themselves as independent procrastinators when searching for eHealth information. Interestingly, basic hubristic students represented the only cluster of participants to describe themselves as (1) having received instruction on using the Internet to conduct eHealth searches, and (2) possessing relative confidence when completing a search task. CONCLUSIONS: Subjective perspectives of eHealth search practices differed among students possessing different levels of eHealth literacy. These multiple perspectives present both challenges and opportunities for empowering college students in the health professions to use the Internet to obtain and appraise evidence-based health information using the Internet.

The impact of truant and alcohol-related behavior on educational aspirations: a study of US high school seniors.

BACKGROUND: Truancy and alcohol use are quality indicators of academic achievement and success. However, there remains a paucity of substantive research articulating the impact these deviant behaviors have on an adolescent's educational aspirations. The purpose of this study is to assess whether recent alcohol use and truancy impact students' educational aspirations among a nationally representative sample of US high school seniors. METHODS: This study conducted a secondary data analysis of the Monitoring the Future project data, 2006. Logistic regression was conducted to assess how alcohol use and truancy affected educational aspirations. Subsequent interaction effects were assessed in the final multivariable model. Demographic variables such as age, sex, race, and father and mother's educational level were included as covariates in the regression model. RESULTS: Results indicate that as students engage in increased alcohol use and/or truancy, educational aspirations decrease. Thus, students who indicated a desire to attend a 4-year college/university were less likely to engage in high-risk drinking behavior and/or truancy. Moreover, in testing the interaction between truancy and alcohol use, as it relates to educational aspirations, the logistic regression model found both of these independent variables to be statistically significant predictors of the likelihood students would attend a 4-year college/university. CONCLUSIONS: To ensure that adolescents further their education and maximize their potential life opportunities, school and public health officials should initiate efforts to reduce alcohol consumption and truancy among students. Furthermore, future research should examine the risk and protective factors that may influence one's educational aspirations.

Establishing cause for developing and implementing a broad-based marketing effort for the health education field.

What exactly is health education? Professionals with advanced degrees in health education have most likely encountered questions such as these either during introductory coursework or from those inquiring about the field. These queries can prove quite perplexing when asked by individuals who are unaware of the health education profession. Because the act of marketing health education is crucial to the sustainability of the field, the purpose of this article is to (a) explore the issue of describing and promoting health education, (b) establish ideas that can facilitate the provision of coordinated marketing efforts, and (c) offer marketing management and implementation principles that can assist in marketing both health education and health educators. Based on this discussion, the authors suggest building mainstream consensus in regards to marketing message development and implementation to better position health education.