Integration of the Topic of Social Justice into High School Biology Curricula.

Systemic oppression includes inequitable education that historically does not fully prepare students for comprehensive participation in society. The tools of science education, however, uniquely enable students to explore social inequities as well as the natural world. Thus, a role of education can be to embed social justice in science curricula. Presented here are three case studies that investigate pedagogical methods used by experienced teachers to integrate social justice into upper level high-school biology curricula. Two separate semi-constructed interviews were conducted with participants, along with an analysis of their pedagogical materials. Two main themes are identified and explored: (1) delivery methods (pedagogy) and (2) biological science content. Storytelling and culturally responsive pedagogy were reported to be highly effective in engaging students; using these vehicles for delivery, social justice content can be seamlessly introduced alongside organic evolution. This embedded exploratory multiple-case study serves as an example of how science education can become a tool for student empowerment. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11191-021-00287-y.

Effectiveness of different methods for delivering tailored nutrition education to low income, ethnically diverse adults.

BACKGROUND: Computer-tailored written nutrition interventions have been shown to be more effective than non-tailored materials in changing diet, but continued research is needed. Your Healthy Life/Su Vida Saludable (YHL-SVS) was an intervention study with low income, ethnically diverse, English and Spanish-speaking participants to determine which methods of delivering tailored written nutrition materials were most effective in lowering fat and increasing fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake. METHODS: YHL-SVS was a randomized controlled trial with four experimental conditions: 1) Nontailored (NT) comparison group; 2) Single Tailored (ST) packet; 3) Multiple Tailored (MT) packet mailed in four installments; 4) Multiple Re-Tailored (MRT) MT packets re-tailored between mailings via brief phone surveys. A baseline telephone survey collected information for tailoring as well as evaluation. Follow-up evaluation surveys were collected 4- and 7-months later. Primary outcomes included F&V intake and fat related behaviors. Descriptive statistics, paired t-test and ANOVA were used to examine the effectiveness of different methods of delivering tailored nutrition information. RESULTS: Both the ST and MT groups reported significantly higher F&V intake at 4-months than the NT and MRT groups. At 7 months, only the MT group still had significantly higher F&V intake compared to the NT group. For changes in fat-related behaviors, both the MT and MRT groups showed more change than NT at 4 months, but at 7 months, while these differences persisted, they were no longer statistically significant. There was a significant interaction of experimental group by education for change in F&V intake (P = .0085) with the lowest educational group demonstrating the most change. CONCLUSION: In this study, tailored interventions were more effective than non-tailored interventions in improving the short-term dietary behaviors of low income, ethnically diverse participants. Delivery of information in multiple smaller doses over time appeared to improve effectiveness. Future studies should determine which variables are mediators of dietary change and whether these differ by participant demographics. Moreover, future research should differentiate the effects of tailoring vs. cultural adaptation in ethnically diverse populations and study the dissemination of tailored interventions into community-based settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials # NCT00301691.

Relationship of treatment delay with surgical defect size from keratinocyte carcinoma (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin).

Larger keratinocyte carcinoma (KC) lesions are associated with higher morbidity. This study examined the association of potentially modifiable characteristics, including treatment delay, with KC defect size after Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). A stratified random sample of patients treated for KC with MMS were selected for telephone interview. Two hundred and nineteen interviews were completed (refusal rate 24%). Regression models were used to examine the predictors to defect size and delay. Anatomic site, age, histology, and gender predicted defect size (R(2) = 0.39) and were used as control variables. Self-reported delay between initial physician examination and MMS predicted defect size (p = 0.0004), with greater than 1 y delay being associated with a doubling of defect size (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-3.1). Delays of this duration were associated with initial examination by a primary provider (unadjusted OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.7-8.8), misdiagnosis (unadjusted OR 6.8; 95% CI 2.5-18.7), being treated without biopsy (unadjusted OR 23.3; 95% CI 6.5-83.7), and multiple surgical removals (unadjusted OR 6.2; 95% CI 2.5-15.5). All but provider specialty were independent predictors of delay. Attention to processes of care delivery for KC may have a greater impact on morbidity than efforts are earlier detection by the public.

Reliability of assessment and circumstances of performance of thorough skin self-examination for the early detection of melanoma in the Check-It-Out Project.

BACKGROUND: Thorough skin self-examination (TSSE) has substantial potential to reduce melanoma mortality by early detection. METHODS: We interviewed 2,126 patients before a scheduled routine visit with a primary care physician, at which participation in a randomized trial was offered as part of the Check-It-Out Project. We asked about skin examination behavior and related issues. RESULTS: By our a priori definition of TSSE, 18% of participants performed this activity, but other definitions led to widely varying estimates of 12% to 38%. Using a partner to assist in the examination was strongly associated with TSSE. That partner was generally the spouse, and wives were more likely to assist their husbands in these examinations than the reverse. The availability of a wall mirror was a particularly important predictor of TSSE performance. Visual impairment also affected performance. CONCLUSIONS: Estimates of TSSE performance vary substantially with the questions used to elicit this information. Partners, particularly spouses, appear to play a critical role in the conduct of TSSE, and wives appear more often and more effectively engaged in this process. Appropriate circumstances, such as availability of a wall mirror, are also important factors. These findings can be used to design interventions to increase TSSE performance with the ultimate aim of reducing melanoma mortality.

Comparison of baseline fat-related eating behaviors of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Colombian, and Guatemalan participants who joined a cholesterol education project.

OBJECTIVE: The objective is to compare baseline fat-related eating behaviors among Hispanic subgroups who joined a cholesterol education research project in New England. DESIGN: Participants attended baseline screenings as part of the study. They had their height, weight, and blood cholesterol measured and completed baseline surveys with demographic, risk factor, dietary, and psychosocial questions. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 370 Puerto Rican, 210 Colombian, 357 Dominican, and 102 Guatemalan subjects participated in the baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dietary behavior was measured using the Food Habits Questionnaire (FHQ), which was originally developed to assess food choices and preparation patterns related to adopting a low-fat diet. Measures include FHQ fat summary scores (a reflection of total fat intake), fat behavior subscales, and individual fat-related behaviors. ANALYSIS: Analysis of variance was used to compare FHQ fat summary scores and multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare fat behavior scores and individual food item scores for the 4 Hispanic subgroups. Age and gender were covariates in the models. RESULTS: Puerto Rican participants had a significantly higher mean FHQ fat summary score than Dominicans and Guatemalans and a higher prevalence of many fat-related eating behaviors. Although there were some differences by subgroup, the 4 most prevalent fat-related behaviors were similar: cooking with fat/oil, eating higher-fat sweets, eating higher-fat snacks, and eating dinners with meat. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Future educational programs and materials for diverse Hispanic audiences in the northeastern United States should include the above issues; however, educational materials and programs ought to be tailored to individuals whenever possible. Efforts may need to focus on Puerto Ricans, who had a higher prevalence of many fat-related behaviors in this study.

The accuracy of self-reported smoking status assessed by cotinine test strips.

We evaluated a new cotinine test strip to assess smoking status. Urine cotinine was measured using cotinine test strips and also by gas chromatographic techniques (GC) (as the reference criterion). Smoking status was assessed with a self-administered questionnaire. The cotinine test strip identified smokers with a very high level of agreement (97.3% using 100 ng/ml and 97.1% using 250 ng/ml for the cutoff point) and non-smokers with a fair-to-moderate level of agreement (74.5% using 100 ng/ml and 86.4% using 250 ng/ml for the cutoff point). These data suggest that the cotinine test strip appears to provide a reasonably accurate measure of smoking status. Since this was the first study to evaluate the cotinine test strip using the test strip prototype, larger clinical trials are needed to evaluate the validity of the cotinine test strip compared to GC measurements to confirm smoking status.