Health Policy

Weight Perception and Weight Control Behavior among Florida High School Students

An Open Access article published in the Health Behavior and Policy Review Journal.
The full article is available as a PDF download.

Authors:

Deana A. Hildebrand, PhD, RD
Jeremy Humphrey, MS
Lindsi Lemons, MPH

Objective:

Actions adopted by adolescents to control their weight are motivated by their body weight perception. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between body weight perception and weight control behavior among Florida public high school students.

Methods:

We analyzed data from the 2015 Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 3798). We used chi-square test to detect group differences among survey respondents and multivariate logistic regression to assess the association between weight perception and weight control behavior.

Results:

Most survey respondents adopted healthy actions such as exercise and diet, 75.3% and 55.0%, respectively, and few used unhealthy ones as weight control means, such as fasting, use of diet products, and purging, 15.6%, 7.3%, and 6.5% respectively. Compared to respondents who considered themselves as having the right weight, there were higher odds of engaging in healthy activities only in respondents who considered themselves as being overweight while there were higher odds of engaging in unhealthy actions in respondents perceiving themselves as underweight and in those viewing themselves as overweight.

Conclusions:

High school health education courses should include modules educating students on the importance of having accurate knowledge about body weight and adopting a healthy weight control behavior.

Source: Health Behavior and Policy Review, Volume 9, Number 2, March 2022, pp. 815-827(13)
Publisher: Paris Scholar Publishing Ltd.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14485/HBPR.9.2.8

2022-04-11T11:30:35-06:00April 11th, 2022|Health Policy, Lifestyle, School Health|

American Women’s Perceptions of Pandemic Policies and Regulations

An Open Access article published in the Health Behavior and Policy Review Journal.
The full article is available as a PDF download.

Authors:

Christine G. Cardinal, JD, MPH
Jennifer A. Bunn, PhD
Isaac Schley, MPH
Daphne S. Fulton, DrPH
Rosanne Keathley, PhD

Objective:

We surveyed 287 American women from April 2020 until the November 2020 presidential election to evaluate their primary news source, beliefs on the constitutionality of mask-wearing and stay-at-home orders, government’s ability to implement public health orders, and political affiliation.

Methods:

Qualtrics surveys were distributed on social media. Using a chi-square test of independence, we evaluated differences by age groups, ethnicity, and education.

Results:

Age, ethnicity, and education were all statistically related to beliefs about public health initiatives.

Conclusions:

These results can help tailor public health interventions, policies, and laws focused on compliance with public health initiatives aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.

Source: Health Behavior and Policy Review, Volume 9, Number 2, March 2022, pp. 751-764(14)
Publisher: Paris Scholar Publishing Ltd.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14485/HBPR.9.2.3

2022-03-30T22:09:07-06:00March 30th, 2022|COVID19, Health Policy, Women's Health|

Collaboration, Training and Resources to Support School Policy Development and Recovery from Concussion

Authors:

Karen Sadler, MCP
Kate Turcotte, MSc
Shelina Babul, PhD

Objective:

Concussion is a public health concern across all ages, yet there is little research on providing concussion education and training within the educational context. The Concussion Awareness Training Tool for School Professionals (CATT SP) was developed to provide the necessary concussion education and resources for school professionals to support a student with concussion while integrating back to school.

Methods:

The CATT SP module underwent a 2016 pre/post-intervention evaluation to determine if knowledge and attitudes significantly improved among educators and administrators following completion of the CATT SP, as well as a 2018-19 pilot study within a school district in British Columbia with an accompanying Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement assessment.

Results:

A statistically significant positive change in knowledge (p = .027) was found among those who indicated that they had accessed CATT SP. Results of the pilot study and QA/QI assessment found support of the use of CATT within the school district.

Conclusions:

Evidence-based concussion training and resources are key components for school professionals who are collaboratively supporting a student’s individualized return to school and learning following a concussion, and when developing and implementing a concussion policy within districts and school.

Source: Health Behavior and Policy Review, Volume 8, Number 3, May 2021, pp. 257-268(12)
Publisher: Paris Scholar Publishing Ltd.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14485/HBPR.8.3.7

2021-06-30T21:27:06-06:00June 30th, 2021|Health Policy, Program Planning|

An Evidence Base for School Health Policy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

An Open Access article published in the Health Behavior and Policy Review Journal.
The full article is available as a PDF download.

Authors:

Saif Badran, MD, MRCS(Ed)*
Omran A.H. Musa, MA* Twitter
Somaya Al-maadeed, PhD, SMIEE
Egon Toft, MD, PhD
Suhail A. Doi, MBBS, PhD

* These authors contributed equally.

Objective:

Children represent a small fraction of confirmed COVID-19 cases, with a low case fatality rate (CFR). In this paper, we lay out an evidence-based policy for reopening schools.

Methods:

We gathered age-specific COVID-19 case counts and identified mortality data for 14 countries. Dose-response meta-analysis was used to examine the relationship of the incremental case fatality rate (CFR) to age. In addition, an evidence-to-decision framework (EtD) was used to correlate the dose-response data with other epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in childhood.

Results:

In the dose-response analysis, we found that there was an almost negligible fatality below age 18. CFR rose little between ages 5 to 50 years. The confidence intervals were narrow, suggesting relative homogeneity across countries. Further data suggested decreased child-hood transmission from respiratory droplets and a low viral load among children.

Conclusions:

Opening up schools and kindergartens is unlikely to impact COVID-19 case or mortality rates in both the child and adult populations. We outline a robust plan for schools that recommends that general principles not be micromanaged, with authority left to schools and monitored by public health authorities.

Source: Health Behavior and Policy Review, Volume 8, Number 1, January 2021, pp. 40-47(8)
Publisher: Paris Scholar Publishing Ltd.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14485/HBPR.8.1.4

2021-04-29T22:02:20-06:00February 22nd, 2021|COVID19, Health Policy, School Health|
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