Purpose: To explore specific medication literacy (SML) of older adults and associations of SML strength.
Methods: This was an observational study. Participants were at least 60 years old, with an asthma diagnosis and in good health.
Introduction: Science communication plays a crucial role in tackling pressing regional, national, and global health issues. Effective communication with various audiences is integral to dissemination of science findings.
Purpose: This study evaluates changes in self-efficacy and attitudes toward science communication skills over time and also assesses program outcomes and satisfaction with a Faculty Fellows in Science Communication (FFSC) program among faculty (N = 30) with interest in environmental health science and/or education in Appalachia Kentucky.
Background: Recent technological advances allow for the repeated sampling of real-time data in natural settings using electronic ecological momentary assessment (eEMA). These advances are particularly meaningful for investigating physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep in young adults who are in a critical life stage for the development of healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Objective: This study aims to describe the use of eEMA methodologies in physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep research in young adults.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract
July 2023
Background: Food insecurity has been associated with poorer asthma control in children, but research lacks in adults.
Objective: To assess the frequency of food insecurity and its association with asthma control in adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Methods: An online cross-sectional survey study was conducted in US adults with asthma.
Background: It is estimated that over 60% of adults with asthma have uncontrolled symptoms, representing a substantial health and economic impact. The effects of the home environment and exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fine particulate matter (PM) on adults with asthma remain unknown. In addition, methods currently used to assess the home environment do not capture real-time data on potentially modifiable environmental exposures or their effect on asthma symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough chemical exposures from cleaning and disinfectant products often go unnoticed or unrecognized, such exposures have been associated with asthma-related symptoms and exacerbations. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) website provides consumer information on a wide range of issues and products related to human health and the environment, including the use of cleaning and disinfectant products, 2,500 of which it has rated in terms of their effects on respiratory function and asthma. In discussing how the use of cleaning and disinfectant products and the frequency of their use may affect asthma control, the authors use the EWG ratings as well as data collected for a study they conducted on older adults with asthma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Determine associations of strength of local smoke-free laws and urban/rural location with cigarette and smokeless tobacco use among high school students in grades 10 and 12.
Design: Secondary data analysis from the 2004-2018 biennial Kentucky Incentives for Prevention Survey.
Setting: Public high schools in Kentucky.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract
January 2022
Background: Although masks are recommended for those with asthma in the era of COVID-19, there is limited research exploring the extent of and problems related to mask use in adults with asthma.
Objective: We sought to describe in adults with asthma: (1) the extent masks are worn and attitudes and beliefs about wearing masks; (2) participant characteristics associated with problems experienced while wearing a mask, and (3) participant experiences and recommendations regarding masks.
Methods: The Mask Use in Adults with Asthma online survey was conducted with 501 adults with asthma (96.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
October 2021
Report back is active sharing of research findings with participants to prompt behavior change. Research on theory-driven report back for environmental risk reduction is limited. The study aim is to evaluate the impact of a stage-tailored report back process with participants who had high home radon and/or air nicotine levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA civic engagement and data science design was used to develop a report-back intervention to address stakeholder concerns related to air emissions surrounding a coke oven factory near Buffalo, NY. This factory had historically emitted high levels of benzene pollution and ceased operation in October 2018 because of violations of the US Clean Air Act and US Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Using publicly available air pollution and weather data, descriptive time series and wind-rose data visualizations were developed using open-source software as part of a two-page report-back brief.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
February 2021
Training in environmental health (EH) engages and inspires youth to tackle health promotion and policy change. Yet, there is little guidance on how to successfully nurture and sustain youth engagement. This paper compares four case studies of youth engagement to promote EH in rural and urban communities using the Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES!) framework.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Home environmental exposures are a primary source of asthma exacerbation. There is a gap in decision support models that efficiently aggregate the home exposure assessment scores for focused and tailored interventions. Three development methods of a home environment allergen exposure scale for persons with asthma (weighted by dimension reduction, unweighted, precision biomarker-based) were compared, and racial disparity tested.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground:: There is a need for comprehensive planning tools and exemplars for clinical environmental health research programs. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Translational Research Framework (NIEHS-TRF), as a comprehensive research activity mapping framework, promises to fill this gap in program planning and communication tools.
Objective:: The objective is a proof of concept demonstration to apply the NIEHS-TRF as a research project and career trajectory cartography framework.
Introduction: Tobacco smoke and radon are the leading causes of lung cancer. The FRESH intervention was a randomized controlled trial of 515 homeowners to promote stage of action to reduce radon and air nicotine levels.
Methods: We studied 515 participants, 257 in a treatment group and 258 in a control group.
Objective: Globally, indoor and outdoor pollutants are leading risk factors for death and reduced quality of life. Few theories explicitly address environmental health within the nursing discipline with a focus on harmful environmental exposures. The objective here is to expand the National Institutes of Health Symptom Science Model to include the environmental health concepts of environmental endotype (causative pathway) and environmental exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Rural adolescents engage in higher smoking and smokeless tobacco use rates than those from urban communities; urban adolescents are more likely to use e-cigarettes. The study investigated whether place of residence (rural vs urban) is associated with tobacco use prevalence and change in prevalence among middle and high school students over time.
Methods: We analyzed data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (2011-2016).
Purpose: To examine the short-term impact of a personalized environmental report-back intervention to reduce home exposure to tobacco smoke and radon on perception of synergistic risk for lung cancer. Radon-induced lung cancer is more common among those exposed to tobacco smoke.
Design: Randomized controlled trial.
Background: More radon-related lung cancers occur among those exposed to tobacco smoke.
Objectives: To test the effects of a personalized environmental report back intervention on change in stage of action for air nicotine testing and adopting a smoke-free home and radon testing and mitigation from baseline to 3 months postintervention.
Methods: The study design used a two-arm parallel groups randomized controlled trial with stratified quota sampling.
Purpose: Adolescent tobacco use is higher in rural than in urban areas. While e-cigarette use is increasing rapidly among this age group, differences in prevalence between rural versus urban populations for this relatively novel product have not been explored. The purpose is to investigate whether location of school (rural-urban) is associated with e-cigarette use and dual use (defined as the use of both e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes) among high school students.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study determined whether having minor children in the home was associated with the teachable moment (TM) constructs of lung cancer worry, perceived risk, health-related self-concept, and the novel construct of synergistic risk.
Design And Sample: Secondary data analysis of baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of an intervention to reduce home exposure to radon and secondhand smoke (SHS). Quota sample of adults recruited at a Central Kentucky academic medical center (N = 556).
Purpose: Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults and children and has its origins in childhood. While the prevalence of hypertension in children is estimated to be 2 to 5%, instance elevations in blood pressure readings (BPRs) in school-age children and adolescents are more common, track to adulthood, and are an independent risk factor for CVD. Less information is available about BPR in the preschool period and what child factors could influence those BPR.
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