Shared Perceptions on Upstream Factors that Influence Water and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Among Hispanic Families in the Greater Washington, DC, Metro Area: Qualitative Results From Focus Group Discussions.

Background: Hispanics in the United States are among those with highest consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and lowest consumption of water. These dietary disparities are rooted in systemic influences that must be identified and addressed.

Objective: The study aimed to describe how Hispanic parents currently living in the greater Washington, DC, metro area and born outside of the United States, perceived upstream factors that influenced their current beverage choice.

The impact of Hurricane Maria on individuals living with non-communicable disease in Puerto Rico: the experience of 10 communities.

Background: Coinciding with the rising non-communicable disease (NCD) prevalence worldwide is the increasing frequency and severity of natural hazards. Protecting populations with NCDs against natural hazards is ever more pressing given their increased risk of morbidity and mortality in disaster contexts. This investigation examined Hurricane Maria's impacts across ten lower SES municipalities in Puerto Rico with varying community characteristics and hurricane impacts to understand experiences of supporting individuals with NCD management in the six-month period following the hurricane.

How providing a low-cost water filter pitcher led Latino parents to reduce sugar-sweetened beverages and increase their water intake: explanatory qualitative results from the Water Up!@Home intervention trial.

Objective: This study sought to explain results of the Water Up!@Home randomised controlled trial where low-income parents were randomised to receive an educational intervention +a low-cost water filter pitcher or only the filter. Parents in both groups had reported statistically significant reductions in sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and increases in water intake post-intervention.

Design: Qualitative explanatory in-depth interviews analysed thematically and deductively.

Use of a Water Filter at Home Reduces Sugary Drink Consumption among Parents and Infants/Toddlers in a Predominantly Hispanic Community: Results from the Water Up!@ Home Intervention Trial.

Background: Water is recommended as an alternative for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Low-income, minority groups in the United States continue to exhibit high SSB and low water consumption, and are more likely to exceed 100% fruit juice recommendations.

Objective: To test the effects of a home-based intervention designed to replace SSBs with tap water and reduce excess juice consumption among parents and their infants/toddlers.

Feasibility of collaborating with independent Latino-owned restaurants to increase sales of a healthy combo meal.

Americans spend the majority of their food dollars at restaurants and other prepared food sources, including quick-service and fast-food restaurants (PFS); independent small restaurants make up 66% of all PFS in the US. In this feasibility study, 5 independent and Latino-owned PFS in the Washington DC metro area worked with academic partners to start offering healthy combo meals with bottled water and promote these using on-site, community, and social media advertising. The number of healthy combos sold was collected weekly, showing that the new combos sold, and customers in all 5 sites were surveyed as they exited the PFS (n=50): >85% had noticed the combo meals; 100% thought it was a good idea to offer it, 68% had ordered the combo (of these, >94% of customers responded that they liked it).

Transnational determinants of health for Central American migrants to the U.S.: Results of a qualitative study.

While some research on health determinants for immigrant/refugee populations has considered migration itself as a health determinant, much of this research employs constructs that focus on factors such as language, acculturation, norms, behaviours, beliefs, and social support, in a manner analogous to health risk factors for domestic U.S. populations.

Immigrant Trauma and Mental Health Outcomes Among Latino Youth.

While research has demonstrated an association between trauma and mental health, this study examined the association between trauma experienced premigration, during migration, and postmigration, and current mental health status among Latino youth aged 12-17 years old living in the US for < 3 years. Participants reported traumatic events experienced in their home country, during migration, and after settling in the US. Regression models examined trauma experienced at each stage of the migration process predicting current levels of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

How Latina mothers navigate a 'food swamp' to feed their children: a photovoice approach.

Objective: To understand how mothers who recently migrated from Central America to the USA feed their children in a neighbourhood saturated with unhealthful food choices ('food swamp') and to formulate a mother-driven plan of action to facilitate their acquisition of foods. Design/Setting/Subjects We purposively sampled mothers with children (<10 years old) who were recent immigrants/refugees from Central America and lived in a 'food swamp' neighbourhood. We used the photovoice approach to elicit textual data from thirty in-depth interviews, a participatory workshop, and visual data from photographs.

Formative Research to Design a Promotional Campaign to Increase Drinking Water among Central American Latino Youth in an Urban Area.

Latinos consume more sugary drinks and less water than other demographic groups. Our objective was to understand beverage choice motivations and test promotional concepts that can encourage Central American Latino urban youth to drink more water. Two rounds of focus group discussions were conducted (n = 10 focus groups, 61 participants, 6-18 years old).

Barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation among Latino adults.

Background: Previous studies have found that Latinos who smoke are less likely than non-Latino white smokers to use pharmaceutical aids such as nicotine replacement therapies or to receive physician advice to stop smoking. This qualitative study further explored barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation among Latino adults in Maryland.

Methods: Five Spanish-language focus groups were conducted in September 2008 in Maryland with Latino current smoker and ex-smoker men and women (n = 55).

Priorities of low-income urban residents for interventions to address the socio-economic determinants of health.

Objectives: To determine the priorities of low-income urban residents for interventions that address the socio-economic determinants of health.

Methods: We selected and estimated the cost of 16 interventions related to education, housing, nutrition, employment, health care, healthy behavior, neighborhood improvement, and transportation. Low-income residents of Washington, D.

The SAFER Latinos project: Addressing a community ecology underlying Latino youth violence.

This paper describes the intervention model, early implementation experience, and challenges for the Seguridad, Apoyo, Familia, Educacion, y Recursos (SAFER) Latinos project. The SAFER Latinos project is an attempt to build the evidence for a multilevel participatory youth violence prevention model tailored to the specific circumstances of Central American immigrants. Specific circumstances targeted in this intervention are decreased family cohesion as a result of sequential immigration (i.

Cortical DNA methylation maintains remote memory.

A behavioral memory's lifetime represents multiple molecular lifetimes, suggesting the necessity for a self-perpetuating signal. One candidate is DNA methylation, a transcriptional repression mechanism that maintains cellular memory throughout development. We found that persistent, gene-specific cortical hypermethylation was induced in rats by a single, hippocampus-dependent associative learning experience and pharmacologic inhibition of methylation 1 month after learning disrupted remote memory.