Analyzing Who, When, and Where: Data for Better Targeting of Resources for School-Based Asthma Interventions.

BACKGROUND: Rates of uncontrolled asthma vary by demographics, space, and time. This article uses data on ambulance-treated asthma attacks in children to analyze these variations so that school districts can improve their asthma management interventions. METHODS: Incidence rates of 1826 ambulance-treated asthma attacks for children aged 5-18 years were calculated for school zones for elementary, middle, and high schools in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District (HISD). Zones with rates in the upper quartile were identified as the highest rate zones and were compared with other school zones in the district by demographics, location, and timing of attacks. RESULTS: The ambulance-treated asthma rate was respectively 5, 3, and 2 times greater in the highest rate school zones compared with all other school zones for those school levels. Ambulance-treated asthma attacks in the high-rate school zones occurred most at midday and in the evening and high-rate zones were often geographically contiguous. Schools in the high-rate zones had a higher percent of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and were more often without a school nurse. CONCLUSION: Spatial and temporal analysis of ambulance data can be valuable tools for schools to focus policy and program interventions for the students in need of improved asthma management.

Assessing bias against overweight individuals among nursing and psychology students: an implicit association test.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the implicit or unconscious attitudes of Nursing and Psychology majors towards overweight individuals in medical and non-medical contexts. BACKGROUND: Obesity is a leading health concern today, which impacts both physical and psychological health. Overweight individuals confront social biases in many aspects of their lives including health care. Examining the views of Nursing and Psychology students may reveal implicit attitudes towards overweight individuals that may lead to prejudiced behaviours. DESIGN: A mixed design experiment with one between-subjects variable (student major: Nursing or Psychology) and one within-subjects variable (condition: congruent or incongruent) was used to assess implicit attitudes in two convenience samples of Nursing and Psychology students. METHODS: A computerised implicit association test was used to determine implicit attitudes towards overweight individuals in medical and non-medical contexts. A total of 90 students from Nursing (n= 45) and Psychology (n = 45) were recruited to complete an implicit association test. Reaction times in milliseconds between the congruent trials (stereotype consistent) and incongruent trials (stereotype inconsistent) were compared with determine adherence to social stereotypes or weight bias. RESULTS: A statistically significant implicit bias towards overweight individuals was detected in both subject groups and in both target settings (medical vs. non-medical). Stronger weight bias was found when the stimulus targets were female than male. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study expand understanding of the implicit attitudes and social biases of Nursing and Psychology students. The views held by these future healthcare professionals may negatively impact patient care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Providing education and support to overweight individuals is central to Nursing practice in a society struggling to manage obesity. Negative stereotypes or beliefs about these individuals may result in poor patient care. Therefore, nurses and other healthcare professionals must be aware of personal biases and work to develop methods to address weight-related issues in a therapeutic manner.

That community becomes you? An examination of community differences in self-objectification and related variables.

The authors surveyed women from 2 communities: Anchorage, Alaska (N =51), an urban area, and Haines, Alaska (N=41), an isolated rural community. Participants from Haines scored lower on measures of self-objectification, internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, participation in beauty enhancement behaviors, and perceived normative beauty enhancement behaviors. Women from Haines also engaged in more empowering exercise (i.e., yoga and outdoor exercise). Internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance mediated the relation between perceived normative beauty enhancement behaviors and self-objectification for women living in both communities. The current study suggests that communities may present opportunities to engage in activities that influence one's predisposition to self-objectify. The nonexperimental nature of this study, however, prevents the definitive establishment of the direction of causality between variables.

Operant behavior in dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli): Effects of rate of reinforcement and reinforcer flavor variety.

We investigated operant behavior in a novel species, the dwarf hamster (Phodopus campbelli). In two experiments, hamsters were trained to lever-press for food reinforcement. In Experiment 1, rate of reinforcement was manipulated across conditions using four variable-interval schedules of reinforcement (delivering one to eight reinforcers per min). As predicted, within-session decreases in responding were steepest on the richest schedule. In Experiment 2, lever-pressing was reinforced by either a constant or a variety of flavored food pellets. Within-session decreases in responding were steeper when the reinforcer flavor remained constant than when it was varied within the session. In both experiments, subjects hoarded most reinforcers in their cheek pouches rather than consuming them in the operant chambers. These results are incompatible with post-ingestive satiety variables as explanations for within-session decreases in operant responding and suggest that habituation to repeatedly presented reinforcers best accounts for subjects' response patterns. Additionally, a mathematical model that describes behavior undergoing habituation also described the present results, thus strengthening the conclusion that habituation mediates the reinforcing efficacy of food.

Social cues influence foraging in dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli).

In 2 experiments, dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) were trained to find palatable foods in an open field. The location of each food patch remained the same throughout each experiment, and only 1 food was available per day. Once subjects had been trained to find each food in its unique location, they progressed to a testing phase in which subjects' mates were allowed to eat and hoard the food that was available in the open field each day. The foods that subjects' mates brought back to the home cages then served as discriminative stimuli signaling which food could be obtained in the open field. Subjects generally approached the patch containing the food hoarded by their mates, suggesting that dwarf hamster burrows could function as information centers.

The cost of screening adolescents for overweight and hypertension using a community partnership model.

OBJECTIVES: (1) Determine the prevalence of overweight and high blood pressure (BP) among middle and high school students over a 2-year period and, (2) measure the cost and initial outcomes of screening. DESIGN: Cost and outcome description using a cross-sectional design sample. The target population was 12- to 19-year-old healthy students attending grades 7 through 12 at 3 proximal schools located in a large urban school district in Texas. RESULTS: Of 2,338 students screened, 925 (39.6%) had a body mass index (BMI)>or=85th percentile and 504 (21.6%) had BMIs>or=95th percentile for age and gender. There were 346 students (14.8%) with BMIs>or=85th percentile and systolic blood pressure (SBP)>or=95th percentile for age, gender, and height. The cost of the 2-year screening program was $66,442, and the cost per student was $28. The cost to identify a student with increased BMI or high SBP was $72 and $107, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study offered an objective framework to examine the cost and outcomes of screening children for overweight and increased BP. The study has implications for discussion and informed decision making about school-based screening for these conditions.

Dwarf and golden hamsters' differing responses to conspecific signals for food.

The author presented dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) and golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) with conspecific and inanimate signals for food. Both species approached a cardboard stimulus that predicted food. The dwarf hamsters engaged in high levels of social contact directed toward a conspecific conditioned stimulus for food, but the golden hamsters did not. The author also presented dwarf hamsters with a conspecific signal that did not indicate food, and the levels of social behaviors that they directed toward it were significantly lower. These results suggest the presence of a social component in the dwarf hamster feeding system and are consistent with previous findings that the social transmission of food preferences occurs more readily in dwarf hamsters than in golden hamsters.

Dogs acquire food preferences from interacting with recently fed conspecifics.

Social transmission of food preferences has been documented in many species including humans, rodents, and birds. In the current experiment, 12 pairs of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) were utilized. Within each pair, one dog (the demonstrator) was fed dry dog food flavored with either basil or thyme. The second dog (the observer) interacted with one demonstrator for 10 min before being given an equal amount of both flavored foods. Observers exhibited a significant preference for the flavored diet consumed by their demonstrators, indicating that dogs, like rats, prefer foods smelled on a conspecific's breath.

Student nurses participate in public health research and practice through a school-based screening program.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions among children in minority populations, placing them at risk for diabetes and hypertension. The importance of educating a generation of nurses who have the knowledge, skills, and passion to address this public health need is crucial to the profession and to America's health. This article describes the use of a Community Partnership Model to frame baccalaureate nursing students' (B.S.N.) service learning within the context of a research study to screen middle- and high-school students for health risks. The missions of education, research, and practice are linked together in the model by three processes: evidence-based practice, service learning, and scholarly teaching. The aim of the project was early identification of obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes and their predictors in a high-risk student population, between 12 and 19 years of age. Early evidence indicates that the model is feasible and effective for directing student learning and addressing public health problems in the community.