Identifying Barriers to Basic Needs, Academic Success, and the Vaccination Pattern among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

College students face significant challenges during large-scale disease outbreaks that potentially compromise their basic needs, vaccine confidence, and academic success. Using a cross-sectional design and convenience sampling, we examined the impact of COVID-19 among college students (N = 828). The survey was administered using the Qualtrics survey platform to collect data on multiple demographic and health behaviors of students in the summer semester (2021). Our study demonstrated that the most common financial shock experienced by the study participants was job loss, with less remarkable changes in food and housing insecurities. Academically, students had the most difficulty learning online compared to other modalities (face-to-face, Hyflex, etc.) and struggled with staying motivated. They also struggled with group work and finding appropriate learning spaces. However, many did not use university support systems such as career and tutoring services. Exploring the COVID-19 vaccination attitudes, we found that only age, ethnicity, classification, and health insurance status were associated with getting vaccinated (p < 0.05). When the learning environment was assessed for various modalities, only college attendance was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the accessible platforms (online, Hyflex, face-to-face, and others); however, nearly 40% of students reported difficulty learning on an online learning platform compared other categories that had much lower proportions. Our findings underscore an immediate need for universities to take measures to improve their preparedness and response strategies to mitigate the negative effects of future large-scale public health emergencies among students.

Implementation and evaluation of a pandemic simulation exercise among undergraduate public health and nursing students: A mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: In addition to overwhelming the healthcare system, pandemics have enormous societal and economic costs. To better train future healthcare professionals and develop collaborations across healthcare disciplines, pandemic simulations have been incorporated into undergraduate healthcare professional curricula. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of a pandemic simulation in preparing the future healthcare professionals during large-scale pandemic disasters. DESIGN: This was a mixed-methods, cross-sectional study. SETTING: The study was conducted at a 4-year public university in rural Texas. METHODS: The students (n = 89) participated in a simulation exercise that mirrored a real influenza pandemic that facilitated interactions among various first responders. Participants completed pre- and post-tests of knowledge survey questions pertaining to areas of situational awareness, communication effectiveness and public health knowledge, and the 27-item Nursing Anxiety and Self-Confidence with Clinical Decision-Making Scale. RESULTS: The majority (76%) of the participants were between the ages of 18 to 24, Caucasians (74.2%) and female (87.6%). The results of the paired t-test showed increased situational awareness [t = 7.17(76), p < 0.001], effective communication [t = 7.130(75), p < 0.001], and public health knowledge [t = 8.77 (74), p < 0.001] following the pandemic simulation. CONCLUSION: Significant improvement in situational awareness, effective communication, and public health knowledge was demonstrated by the undergraduate public health and nursing students in handling disasters through the simulation exercise. The study results demonstrated value in incorporating simulation as an effective teaching strategy in preparing future healthcare professionals.

Supporting lower-income working women to initiate breastfeeding: Learning who is breastfeeding and what helps.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Based on the Women, Work, and Wee Ones longitudinal study, mothers' likelihood of breastfeeding is examined across demographic and health variables. METHODS: Frequencies of breastfeeding and cosleeping by 285 mothers from the Women, Work, and Wee Ones cohort are reported as related to mothers' work schedule, marital status, or mother or infant health. CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding rates were about 30% across most maternal characteristics. The frequency of mothers' breastfeeding was higher when mothers were both breastfeeding and cosleeping (breastfeeding-cosleeping), in comparison with breastfeeding only, as evident for mothers with nonstandard work schedules. Cosleeping was common across all mothers. Breastfeeding rates were low, perhaps reflecting challenges of early care. Premature infants were more likely to be cosleeping than breastfeeding. Approximately 30% of mothers breastfed across the different factors examined. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The information may help nurse practitioners in addressing early care needs and supporting breastfeeding across groups. Younger mothers were least likely to breastfeed and reported higher frequency of cosleeping. Overall breastfeeding frequency was higher when mothers were cosleeping. Nurse practitioners may find it important to provide clear information about safe infant sleep and safe approaches to protecting infants.

Measurement Invariance of a Classroom Engagement Measure among Academically At-Risk Students.

The current study investigated the measurement invariance of a classroom engagement measure across time points, genders, and ethnicities using a sample of 523 academically at-risk students across grades 7 through 9; this measure was based on Skinner et al.'s (1990) original engagement measure. The engagement measure was comprised of 16 items, yielding three factors: Behavioral Engagement, Behavioral Disaffection, and Emotional Engagement. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance held across the three time points, as did invariance of factor covariances and means, indicating that scores have a similar meaning across all 3 years. The engagement measure also featured adequate configural, metric, and scalar invariance, and invariance of factor covariances and means across genders and ethnicities. These findings suggest the measure is appropriate for investigating substantive hypotheses regarding classroom engagement across different grade levels, genders, and ethnicities. In summary, the current results indicate this measure of classroom engagement is suitable for testing hypotheses regarding group differences in engagement across grade levels, genders, and ethnicities. Researchers may also use this measure to examine relationships between the engagement factors and other important academic outcomes. Limitations of the current study, such as certain caveats regarding convergent validity and internal consistency, are also discussed.