Online Only Poster Session
Asynchronous Session
The Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Pre-Service Teachers’ Health Practices View Digital Media
Poster Session Jon Aoki
This study describes how the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown impacted pre-service teachers’ health practices. The participants of interest are EC-6 credential-seeking teacher candidates enrolled at a four-year public university in southeast Texas. One hundred and two students completed a survey. A constant-comparative method was applied to identify and classify critical elements in participant responses. The findings indicated that over half of the participants perceive eating well as a prerequisite for health. During the lockdown, the importance of eating well to stay healthy was magnified. However, the shelter-in-place mandate was not a motivator to increase healthy habits during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic conditions. Responses revealed a slight increase in prioritizing regular exercise and preparing home-cooked meals, but despite these positive adjustments, more participants gained weight during the lockdown. The coping mechanisms that helped the participants during the lockdown varied from meditation, involvement in new hobbies, and online socializing. Understanding teacher candidates' health practices during the lockdown may help promote teacher and student well-being.
Featured Exploring the Concept of Confidentiality and Telehealth in Graduate Education: Web-based Health Education View Digital Media
Poster Session Linda Collins
Academic engagement through online discussion boards have provided healthcare students with the critical reasoning skills to challenge heath concepts, analytically discuss objective perspectives and embrace interactive peer learning. Interactive teaching and learning tools such as online discussion boards have facilitated the development of higher level critical reasoning and healthcare students are becoming proficient independent learners. The aim of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive discussion board exploring confidentiality and telehealth among graduate students, for intelligent interactions, the appropriateness of the learning environment and active online learning. We conducted a retrospective evaluation on the effectiveness of an online discussion board, which was used as a teaching and learning tool to explore and debate the concept of confidentiality and telehealth. Data analysis was carried out through rigorous, systematic reading of the discussion board, evaluating the frequency and depth of student interaction and manual coding of the discussion board performance. The evaluation highlighted that, intelligent interactions were heightened by critical discussions. The spontaneous act of uploading current peer reviewed literature for the purpose of defending academic discussions and providing evidence-based perspectives on confidentiality and telehealth, demonstrated increased interaction and active online learning. The online discussion board created a learning environment that was student-led. This evaluation highlighted the effectiveness of an interactive discussion board when exploring confidentiality and telehealth among graduate healthcare students and the numerous factors that contribute to the success of online interactive learning.
Is Digital Health Enough for the Elderly and Caregivers in Chile, 2022? View Digital Media
Poster Session Macarena Hirmas, Ximena Sgombich, Andrea Olea, Xaviera Molina, Camila Awad
Aging population and opportunities for digital integration represent a public health challenge. Aging process, social isolation and low income, increases healthcare demand. Gaps in access generate unsatisfied needs, affecting health and quality of life. Chile has developed digital health strategies to provide timely and articulated care. However, this progress has stagnated due to lack of budget and training, and systems incompatibility, among others. It is necessary to understand how digital health helps elderly and the support given by their caregivers. Our objective is to understand experiences, interactions, and expectations that elderly, relatives and caregivers have regarding digital health. A qualitative design was conducted based on focus groups with people aged 65 to 85 years, family members and caregivers. Elderly have a late relationship with technology, except those who worked using digital devices. Technology is perceived as a facilitator for daily tasks, including those related to health. However, concerns are mainly related to fraud, scams, misuse of personal information, and fear of damaging devices, which increases the digital gap. The use of technological devices is a learning process that is deeply related with family members' support (children/grandchildren). Main uses in digital health are: seeking information on diseases, medications and procedures, self-diagnosis/medication and how to provide medical care. Access and use of technologies reproduce socioeconomic inequalities. Digital literacy is based on informal training processes. Facilitating access to equipment and adequate connection, adaptation according to needs, development of digital competencies, accompaniment, as well as overcoming psychological barriers, are fundamental elements for digital health appropriation.
Promoting Adolescent Depression Literacy Among School-based Professionals View Digital Media
Poster Session Angela Russo
Depression among adolescents in the United States is a significant issue that affects millions of youth and has devastating sequelae, including poor academic performance, an increased risk of substance abuse, and suicidality. Since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents have been at increased risk of developing depressive symptoms, imposing significant adverse effects on psychological development. A literature review reveals a dearth of reliable and validated instruments to measure awareness and knowledge related to depression in adolescents. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project's purpose is to increase the literacy of depression among elementary school-based professionals by closing the knowledge gap among school-based professionals related to adolescent depression. Available knowledge and evidence-based research are discussed in this study to enhance the positive outcomes of school-based professionals' increased knowledge of adolescent depression. The methods for implementing this quality improvement project include delivering an educational session using an Adolescent Depression Knowledge Questionnaire (ADKQ) pre- and post-test survey and conducting a two-month retention assessment. A business intelligence tool is utilized for data analysis using descriptive statistics, allowing for calculated metrics and visualization. As adolescents spend most of their time in school, implementing a depression literacy initiative to raise awareness regarding depressive symptoms in youth may enable early recognition, thus aiding in the prevention of developing associated adulthood disorders. If successful, the implications for practice in surrounding schools may lead to substantial organizational system transformation for at-risk youth.
A National Identity Approach to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Hesitancy and Susceptibility to Misinformation in Japanese Youth View Digital Media
Poster Session Damian Rivers, Chisato Nonaka, Nathanael Rudolph, Giancarla Unser Schutz
In the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, increasing the uptake of proactive health behaviours among Japanese youth has proven problematic. Government officials and health experts have been exasperated at their inability to communicate with youth to the extent that vaccination incentives have been offered through reward points and coupons. SARS-CoV-2 provides nations with a threat-referent through which governments can appeal to a shared identity to motivate citizens to think (attitude) and act (behaviour) in the national interest. It has been reported that public-spirited attitudes and behaviours are more likely with frequent communication of what is best for the collective, a strong in-group identity and the stigmatization of dissent or noncompliance. SARS-CoV-2 challenges the vitality, strength, cohesion, and collective welfare of the national in-group. Therefore, individuals with more pronounced affinity attachments potentially think (attitude) and act (behaviour) in ways that aim to restore the vitality, strength, cohesion, and collective welfare of the national in-group (e.g., though social distancing, hygiene, policy support, vaccination uptake, increased risk perception and caution to misinformation). This study reports on data drawn from 506 students at four Japanese universities and details an investigation into the role of in-group affinity attachments (national identity) in predicting SARS-CoV-2 attitudes and behaviours among Japanese youth. The tested theoretical SEM model accounted for 20% of the observed variance in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation and 14% of the variance in SARS-CoV-2 vaccination hesitancy. Implications are discussed in relation to the promotion of effective health communication.
Medicaid and Child Health: How Medicaid Expansion May Influence the Likelihood of Medication Use for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder View Digital Media
Poster Session Florida Uzoaru
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that are living in low-income families are in double jeopardy of having a greater need for healthcare, yet having poorer access to care. In expanding Medicaid, an attempt was made towards addressing the low rates of insurance among those of lower socioeconomic status. However, the potential of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to increase access to behavioral services depends on different states’ decisions to expand Medicaid or not. Four waves of the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) datasets (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) were merged and analyzed using logistics regression. To determine the association between Medicaid expansion status and the use of pharmacological treatment, the outcome variable “Is this child CURRENTLY taking medication for Autism, ASD, Asperger’s Disorder or PDD or ADD or ADHD?” was used for the study. We found a greater proportion of the uninsured were in non-expansion states (5.7%) than in expansion states (3.2%). The result of the crude and adjusted logistics regression models indicates that living in a Medicaid expansion state decreases the likelihood of getting medication for children with ADHD or ASD more than for children in expansion states. Expansion states were significantly less likely to use medication for the treatment of ADHD or ASD. This study makes an important contribution to the larger body of knowledge on Medicaid expansion; particularly as it affects children with ADHD or ASD, an area of research where there is a paucity of evidence.
