A Pilot Dashboard System to Track Cumulative Exposure to Sound Levels during Music Instruction: A Technical Report.

Background:  Music-induced hearing loss (MIHL) is a critical public health issue. During music instruction, students and teachers are at risk of developing hearing loss due to exposure to loud and unsafe sound levels that can exceed 100 dBA. Prevention of MIHL in music students must be a desired action of all music educators.

Opening Access but Concealing Contact: A First Study of Over-The-Counter Hearing Aid Consumer-Facing Communications.

Hearing loss is a prevalent chronic health condition with approximately 40 million Americans living with mild to moderate hearing loss. Yet, only about 20% will ever pursue hearing interventions. To broaden uptake the FDA approved over the counter (OTC) hearing aid (HA) options in October 2022.

Using Gaze Tracking as a Research Tool in the Deaf Health Literacy and Access to Health Information Project: Protocol for a Multisite Mixed Methods Study and Preliminary Results.

Background: Previous studies have identified the internet as a major source of health information. Reliable and accessible sources of web-based health information are critical for cultivating patient-centered care. However, the accessibility and use of web-based health information remains largely unknown for deaf individuals.

The Deaf Community's Experiences Navigating COVID-19 Pandemic Information.

Background: Users of American Sign Language (ASL) who are deaf often face barriers receiving health information, contributing to significant gaps in health knowledge and health literacy. To reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its risk to the public, the government and health care providers have encouraged social distancing, use of face masks, hand hygiene, and quarantines. Unfortunately, COVID-19 information has rarely been available in ASL, which puts the deaf community at a disadvantage for accessing reliable COVID-19 information.

Beliefs, Attitudes, and Practices of Latinas Related to Gestational Weight Gain: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis.

Introduction: Excessive and inadequate gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with a number of negative health outcomes for mother and infant. Approximately two-thirds or more of Latinas gain outside of GWG guidelines. Acculturation plays a role in GWG-related factors, however the views of Latinas are often aggregated in overall study samples, thus trivializing the specific needs of this demographic group.

Family Health in Adult Education: A Missing Piece of the Health Literacy Puzzle.

Previous research and interventions define health literacy as an individual-level concept. Although it is necessary to design programs aimed at individual people, not all health decisions are made by patients themselves, and calls have been made to expand health literacy work beyond the individual. This brief report stems from a larger study in which personnel working for adult literacy coalitions identified family health as a priority topic for health-focused lessons, yet often felt ill-equipped to teach students in this area.

Health Literacy and Perceptions of Stigma.

Calls for progress in health literacy argue that efforts across society are promising for increasing capacities at a broader level. However, it is unknown how the general public perceives people who struggle with health information. While it may be ideal to establish interventions beyond the individual, stigma held by others could limit this work.

Deaf Adults' Health Literacy and Access to Health Information: Protocol for a Multicenter Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users often struggle with limited health literacy compared with their hearing peers. However, the mechanisms driving limited health literacy and how this may impact access to and understanding of health information for Deaf individuals have not been determined. Deaf individuals are more likely than hearing individuals to use the internet, yet they continue to report significant barriers to health information.

Assessment of Safe Listening Intentional Behavior Toward Personal Listening Devices in Young Adults.

Recreational noise-induced hearing loss (RNIHL) is a highly preventable disorder that is commonly seen in teenagers and young adults. Despite the documented negative effects of RNIHL, it is still challenging to persuade people to adopt safe listening behaviors. More research is needed to understand the underlying factors guiding listeners' intentions to engage in safe listening habits.

Health Literacy in Adult Education Centers: Exploring Educator and Staff Needs.

. Incorporating health content into adult education courses is promising for increasing health literacy skills among "hard-to-reach" populations. The purpose of this study was to gain previously untapped knowledge of adult education personnel (i.

Breaking Health Insurance Knowledge Barriers Through Games: Pilot Test of Health Care America.

Background: Having health insurance is associated with a number of beneficial health outcomes. However, previous research suggests that patients tend to avoid health insurance information and often misunderstand or lack knowledge about many health insurance terms. Health insurance knowledge is particularly low among young adults.

Promoting Mental Health Resource Use on Campus by "Trying Something New".

Purpose: To design and test a persuasive health promotion campaign that aligns with the qualities of trying something new for the first time. Given that a majority of students have not previously sought/considered professional mental health assistance before, the hypothesis tested in this study asked whether a campaign that takes this into account is effective with this audience.

Design: Participants viewed an online informational message (n = 84), information message plus first-time experience banner (n = 99), or 1 of 4 full campaigns, each depicting a student story and photo about a first-time experience (moving from home [n = 48], skydiving [n = 52], acting in a play [n = 48], and exercising with personal trainer [n = 48]).

Health Literacy and Health Information Technology Adoption: The Potential for a New Digital Divide.

Background: Approximately one-half of American adults exhibit low health literacy and thus struggle to find and use health information. Low health literacy is associated with negative outcomes including overall poorer health. Health information technology (HIT) makes health information available directly to patients through electronic tools including patient portals, wearable technology, and mobile apps.

Creating a Screening Measure of Health Literacy for the Health Information National Trends Survey.

Purpose: Create a screening measure of health literacy for use with the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS).

Design: Participants completed a paper-based survey. Items from the survey were used to construct a health literacy screening measure.

Is the Consumption of Energy Drinks Associated With Academic Achievement Among College Students?

Despite widely reported side effects, use of energy drinks has increased among college students, who report that they consume energy drinks to help them complete schoolwork. However, little is known about the association between energy drink use and academic performance. We explored the relationship between energy drink consumption and current academic grade point average (GPA) among first-year undergraduate students.

Toward a Better Understanding of Patient Health Literacy: A Focus on the Skills Patients Need to Find Health Information.

While many health literacy assessments exist, this area of research lacks an instrument that isolates and reflects the four components driving this concept (abilities to find, understand, use, and communicate about health information). The purpose of this study was to determine what abilities comprise the first component, how a patient finds health information. Low ( n = 13) and adequate ( n = 14) health literacy patients, and health professionals ( n = 10) described their experiences when looking for health information and the skills they employed to complete these tasks.

Gestational Weight Gain Through a Health Literacy Lens: A Scoping Review.

Few women gain the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy, which has health implications for mothers and their newborns. Work in this area focuses on factors that are difficult to change. The purpose of this project was to review literature on a more patient-centered concept-health literacy.

The Many Health Literacies: Advancing Research or Fragmentation?

Health literacy is the degree to which individuals can obtain, process, understand, and communicate about health-related information needed to make informed health decisions and is an important factor in patient health outcomes and resulting health care costs. Because of its importance across many areas of health, specific attention has been given to studying and measuring health literacy in recent years; however, the field lacks consensus on how health literacy should be defined and measured. As a result, numerous definitions and measures of health literacy exist.

Advancing Health Marketing Research and Policy Recommendations by Incorporating Source Perspectives.

Communication researchers, recognizing the message sent is not necessarily the same as the message received, have incorporated the perspective of advertising professionals into the study of advertising effects. Health marketing research could similarly benefit from incorporating this largely absent perspective into the academic and policy debate surrounding the impact of advertising on health issues ranging from obesity to alcohol use. This commentary serves as a call to action to stakeholders in this academic and policy debate: focus on the perspective of advertising professionals to enrich health marketing and public health research in which advertising is the delivery vehicle for health messages.

Saving time and resources: observational research to support adoption of a hand hygiene promotion campaign.

Hand hygiene is the most effective way to prevent the spread of health care-associated infections, but many facilities may not have the resources or expertise to develop their own hand hygiene promotion campaign. This observational study demonstrated that a campaign developed for 1 facility could successfully contribute to behavior change at another, unrelated facility. It serves as a model and evidence that health care facilities can successfully adopt hand hygiene promotion campaigns developed and validated at other facilities.

"Take time. Save lives. Clean hands protect." A comparison of two hand hygiene health promotion posters.

Two posters were designed to encourage hospital staff hand hygiene. One focused on broad benefits of hand hygiene to patients and staff, and the other highlighted hand hygiene as a long-known measure to infection control. The former was better received in terms of attention, likability, and potential to promote hand hygiene.

Readability, suitability, and health content assessment of web-based patient education materials on colorectal cancer screening.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates in the Unites States are still below target level. Web-based patient education materials are used by patients and providers to provide supplemental information on CRC screening. Low literacy levels and patient perceptions are significant barriers to screening.

Understanding health literacy measurement through eye tracking.

This study used eye-tracking technology to explore how individuals with different levels of health literacy visualize health-related information. The authors recruited 25 university administrative staff (more likely to have adequate health literacy skills) and 25 adults enrolled in an adult literacy program (more likely to have limited health literacy skills). The authors administered the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) health literacy assessment to each participant.

"Think the sink:" Preliminary evaluation of a handwashing promotion campaign.

Owing to its utility in guiding the planning and evaluation of health promotion campaigns, the Theory of Planned Behavior was used to implement a 1-month campaign aimed at increasing handwashing among college students. Based on observations of bathroom users' handwashing behavior (n = 1,005) and an online survey (n = 188), overall handwashing did not increase as a result of the campaign; however, more students did use soap (58% vs 70%). Future campaigns designed to increase handwashing behavior in students may be advised to target messages according to gender difference-based responsiveness to handwashing norms.

Older adolescents' perceptions and intentions regarding Do-It-Yourself Genetic Assessment services.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to investigate older adolescents' perceptions of Do-It-Yourself Genetic Assessment (DIYGA) services online and factors that influence their intentions to utilize DIYGA services.

Design And Methods: A convenience sample of 111 undergraduate students completed an online survey based on the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Results: Most respondents (80.