Virtual Coach-Guided Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain: Pilot Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Veterans are disproportionately affected by chronic pain, with high rates of pain diagnoses (47%-56%) and a 40% higher rate of prevalence of severe pain than nonveterans. This is often accompanied by negative functional outcomes and higher mortality. Combined with research suggesting medical treatments for chronic pain are often insufficient, there is an urgent need for nonmedical pain self-management programs.

Smart Device Ownership and Use of Social Media, Wearable Trackers, and Health Apps Among Black Women With Hypertension in the United States: National Survey Study.

The majority of Black women with hypertension in the United States have smartphones or tablets and use social media, and many use wearable activity trackers and health or wellness apps, digital tools that can be used to support lifestyle changes and medication adherence.

Assessing the Reach and Engagement Effectiveness of Disseminating Food and Nutrition Information on Social Media Channels.

This study utilized Facebook and Instagram as communication channels for disseminating evidence-based food and nutrition information to low-income adults. From February 2021 to October 2022, 442 identical posts were shared across both platforms for audience reach and engagement. Posts were categorized in two ways: hedonic and three levels of utilitarian (informative, convenience, utility), based on widely applied social media uses and effects theory (Uses and Gratifications Perspective); and food/nutrition topics (dietary guidance, mealtime behaviors, recipes, food resource management, health behaviors, and community building).

Awareness and Use of MyPlate Among US Adults With Young Children.

Objective: To examine awareness, information-seeking, and use of MyPlate among US adults with young children.

Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Participants: US adults aged 18-45 years with children ≤5 years.

Interest in an Instagram-delivered gestational weight gain intervention among pregnant women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity.

Background: Barriers to attending in-person lifestyle interventions are common during pregnancy. The majority of young adults use Instagram, and pregnancy-related content abounds on this social media platform. The aims of this study were to assess interest in an Instagram-delivered gestational weight gain (GWG) intervention, examine characteristics associated with program interest, describe interest in specific program components, and to explore perceived advantages of and concerns about the proposed intervention.

A Content Analysis of Indoor Tanning Twitter Chatter During COVID-19 Shutdowns: Cross-Sectional Qualitative Study.

Background: Indoor tanning is a preventable risk factor for skin cancer. Statewide shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in temporary closures of tanning businesses. Little is known about how tanners reacted to losing access to tanning businesses.

Sources and perceived credibility of child nutrition information in relation to maternal health literacy.

Objective: To examine sources and perceived credibility of child nutrition information by maternal health literacy.

Methods: US mothers of children (0-12 years) who used social media regularly (N = 340) completed an online survey. Health literacy was assessed using the Newest Vital Sign.

Association Between Subjective Cognitive Decline and Twice-Weekly Muscle-Strengthening Activities in Middle-Aged and Older US Adults: An Analysis of the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Purpose: Adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), the self-reported concern of reduced cognitive function, are recommended to do physical activity for its brain health benefits. US adults aged ≥45 with SCD are less likely to meet the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) aerobic activity recommendations. Their engagement in muscle-strengthening activities is unknown.

Within-store fast food marketing: The association between food swamps and unhealthy advertisement.

Previous studies have linked food consumption outside the home and fast food to poor diet quality and living within a food swamp to an increased likelihood of obesity. A growing amount of research has linked food marketing to food choice. Still, limited information is available on how this dynamic may work within fast food establishments and if the marketing strategies used may vary by neighborhood food swamp status.

Characteristics associated with poor atrial fibrillation-related quality of life in adults with atrial fibrillation.

Purpose: Few studies have examined the relationship between poor atrial fibrillation-related quality of life (AFQoL) and a battery of geriatric factors. The objective of this study is to describe factors associated with poor AFQoL in older adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) with a focus on sociodemographic and clinical factors and a battery of geriatric factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort study of participants aged 65+ with high stroke risk and AF.

Delivering a Postpartum Weight Loss Intervention via Facebook or In-Person Groups: Results From a Randomized Pilot Feasibility Trial.

Background: Postpartum weight retention contributes to weight gain and obesity. Remotely delivered lifestyle interventions may be able to overcome barriers to attending in-person programs during this life phase.

Objective: This study aimed to conduct a randomized feasibility pilot trial of a 6-month postpartum weight loss intervention delivered via Facebook or in-person groups.

Development and feasibility of a web-based gestational weight gain intervention for women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity.

Background: Excessive gestational weight gain is associated with negative maternal and infant health outcomes. Digital health approaches may help overcome barriers to participating in lifestyle interventions requiring in-person visits. The purpose of this study was to develop and examine the feasibility of a web-based gestational weight gain intervention.

The Relationship Between How Participants Articulate Their Goals and Accomplishments and Weight Loss Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of a Pilot of a Web-Based Weight Loss Intervention.

Background: In behavioral weight loss interventions, participants are asked to set weekly goals to support long-term habits that lead to weight loss. Although participants are asked to set and accomplish weekly goals, we do not know how often they do this and whether doing so is associated with weight loss. Web-based weight loss interventions allow for the analysis of participant engagement data, including how participants articulate their goals and accomplishments.

An Online Acceptance and Mindfulness Intervention for Chronic Pain in Veterans: Development and Protocol for a Pilot Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: In the veteran community, chronic pain is particularly prevalent and often debilitating. Until recently, veterans with chronic pain were offered primarily pharmacological intervention options, which rarely suffice and can also have negative health consequences. To better address chronic pain in veterans, the Veterans Health Administration has invested in novel, nonpharmacological behavior interventions that target both pain management and chronic pain-related functional issues.

Social Media Use Among Parents and Women of Childbearing Age in the US.

Many parents and pregnant women in the US use social media to access health-related information. Estimates of current use of different platforms among these populations are needed. We used data from a 2021 Pew Research Center survey to describe use of commercial social media platforms by US parents and US women aged 18 to 39 years.

Reasons mothers of young children delayed or skipped preventive health care during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Preventive health care provides opportunity for preventive screenings and health promotion. Mothers of young children may disproportionately experience barriers to preventive care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We examined delaying and skipping preventive health care during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic among mothers and described reasons for delaying or skipping care.

Usefulness of Self-Reported Physical Activity and Clinical Outcomes in Older Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Current guidelines encourage regular physical activity (PA) to gain cardiovascular health benefit. However, little is known about whether older adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) who engage in the guideline-recommended level of PA are less likely to experience clinically relevant outcomes. We did a retrospective study based on the data from Systemic Assessment of Geriatric Elements in AF (SAGE-AF) prospective cohort study.

Online health information seeking, low atrial fibrillation-related quality of life, and high perceived efficacy in patient-physician interactions in older adults with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Little is known about online health information-seeking behavior among older adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) and its association with self-reported outcomes.

Objective: To examine patient characteristics associated with online health information seeking and the association between information seeking and low AF-related quality of life and high perceived efficacy in patient-physician interaction.

Methods: We used data from the SAGE-AF (Systematic Assessment of Geriatric Elements in AF) study, which includes older participants aged ≥65 years with AF and a CHADS-VASc risk score ≥2.

A Facebook-Delivered Weight Loss Intervention Using Open Enrollment: Randomized Pilot Feasibility Trial.

Background: Behavioral weight loss programs typically enroll 12-40 people into groups that then suffer from declining engagement over time. Web-based patient communities, on the other hand, typically offer no limits on capacity and membership is fluid. This model may be useful for boosting engagement in behavioral weight loss interventions, which could lead to better outcomes.

Gestational weight gain in uncomplicated twin pregnancies by pre-pregnancy body mass index.

In 2009, the Institute of Medicine provided provisional guidelines for gestational weight gain (GWG) in twin gestations, citing limited research. We examined GWG by pre-pregnancy body mass index in a retrospective cohort of twin births uncomplicated by infant mortality, preterm birth, or low birth weight from Massachusetts in 2006-2017 (N = 273). Median (inter-quartile range [IQR]) GWG was 20.

Feedback on Instagram posts for a gestational weight gain intervention.

Lifestyle interventions can facilitate healthy gestational weight gain but attending in-person meetings can be challenging. High rates of use and the popularity of pregnancy content suggests Instagram as a possible platform for delivering gestational weight gain interventions. We assessed the logistics and acceptability of creating a private Instagram group and to obtain feedback on intervention posts.

Proof-of-Concept Feasibility Trial of a Dissonance-Based Sun Safety Intervention for Young Adult Tanners.

Background: Melanoma is the second most common cancer in young adults. Social media may be a means to conduct interventions to increase sun safety in young adults.

Purpose: We conducted a randomized proof-of-concept pilot trial to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a dissonance-based social media intervention designed to promote sun safety in young adult tanners.

Factors associated with mothers' hesitancy to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccine hesitancy can impact maternal and child vaccination rates. We examined factors associated with mothers' hesitancy to receive a COVID-19 vaccine using data from an online survey conducted from mid-February to mid-March 2021. Among unvaccinated participants (N = 203), 28% reported that they would probably not or definitely not get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Pilot Intervention Targeting Sugary Drink Intake Associated With Improvements in Adolescent Sleep Duration.

Objective: To examine temporal associations between participation in a community-based intervention targeting sugary drink intake and sleep outcomes among children.

Methods: Data are from an ethnically diverse sample of 100 children aged 9-12 years from 2 Massachusetts Boys and Girls Club (BGC) sites who participated in a pilot-site randomized trial (usual BGC programming plus HGO! intervention vs usual BGC programming). Secondary outcomes of the trial (sleep duration and adequate sleep duration [≥ 9 h/night] were assessed via a self-report survey at baseline, 2 months, and 6 months.