Objective: To explore experiences, beliefs, and information-seeking behavior around COVID-19 among college students in Oklahoma. Participants: Fifteen college students participated during the ...pandemic period from April to July 2020. Methods: An exploratory, qualitative research approach method was used to discover students' experiences, beliefs, and information-seeking behaviors around COVID-19. Exploration of beliefs was guided by the Health Belief Model. Results: Students engaged in COVID-19 information-seeking behaviors predominantly through Internet sites, broadcast news, health professionals, and governmental sources. Students experienced emotional burden as a result of COVID-19 misinformation in these sources. While most students perceived a low chance of acquiring the virus due to their lack of underlying medical conditions, they were still concerned about the consequences of becoming infected. Students noted the difficulty of physical distancing while on campus. Conclusions: Colleges/universities should maximize the dissemination of timely, valid health information for the safety of their students and the broader community.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, large swaths of the U.S. were under stay-at-home orders, thus preventing many individuals from leaving their homes. While previous studies have shown that such ...orders can be detrimental to mental health, specific mental health outcomes, such as loneliness and anxiety, have yet to be fully explored, particularly among various living situation contexts (e.g., living alone, with romantic/sexual partners, without romantic/sexual partners). The current study explores this using a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected via Amazon’s M-Turk (N = 85). Kruskal–Wallis tests revealed significant differences between the three groups with respect to loneliness. Statistically significant greater levels of loneliness were found in individuals living alone compared to those living with romantic/sexual partners and those living with non-romantic/sexual partners. No significant differences in
anxiety
levels were detected. Qualitative analysis revealed similar themes among all groups regarding anxiety. When asked about loneliness, however, those living alone shared more about feeling isolated, unwanted feelings of solitude, and how technology only mitigates a portion of these feelings. Those living with others and sexual partners shared desires to see friends and co-workers, yet not to the severity described by individuals living alone. Romantic/sex life themes are also discussed.
We used publicly available data to describe epidemiology, genomic surveillance, and public health and social measures from the first 3 COVID-19 pandemic waves in southern Africa during April 6, ...2020-September 19, 2021. South Africa detected regional waves on average 7.2 weeks before other countries. Average testing volume 244 tests/million/day) increased across waves and was highest in upper-middle-income countries. Across the 3 waves, average reported regional incidence increased (17.4, 51.9, 123.3 cases/1 million population/day), as did positivity of diagnostic tests (8.8%, 12.2%, 14.5%); mortality (0.3, 1.5, 2.7 deaths/1 million populaiton/day); and case-fatality ratios (1.9%, 2.1%, 2.5%). Beta variant (B.1.351) drove the second wave and Delta (B.1.617.2) the third. Stringent implementation of safety measures declined across waves. As of September 19, 2021, completed vaccination coverage remained low (8.1% of total population). Our findings highlight opportunities for strengthening surveillance, health systems, and access to realistically available therapeutics, and scaling up risk-based vaccination.
People's health information-seeking behaviors differ by their health literacy levels. This study assessed the relationship between health literacy and college students' levels of trust in and use of ...a range of health information sources of COVID-19. We collected data from August to December 2020 among college students (
= 763) through an online survey. We used a health literacy measure containing three self-reported survey questions, developed by the CDC. We assessed the extent to which participants trusted and used any of the sixteen different sources of information about COVID-19. Respondents reported high levels of trusting and using COVID-19 information from the CDC, health care providers, the WHO, state/county/city health departments, and official government websites when compared to other sources. After controlling for demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, age, race, ethnicity, and income), those who reported having lower health literacy were significantly less likely to trust and use COVID-19 information from these health authorities when compared to participants who reported having higher health literacy. Students with lower self-reported health literacy indicated not trusting or using official health authority sources for COVID-19 information. Relying on low-quality information sources could create and reinforce people's misperceptions regarding the virus, leading to low compliance with COVID-19-related public health measures and poor health outcomes.
This cross-sectional analysis estimated differences, based on disability status, in college students' (
= 777) experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were modeled using
-tests and logistic ...regression. Most participants were white (86.2%), and women (66.4%). The mode age was 23. A third (35.6%) had at least one disability. Students reported high rates of psychosocial distress, like fear of contracting (59.7%) and spreading (74.3%) COVID-19, worry about friends and family (83.7%), and increased anxiety (72.5%), depression (59.9%), and substance use (24.7%). Forty-two percent (42.2%) were scared they would miss out on their education through virtual classes. About a third feared forgetting assignments (34.1%) and making mistakes (33.9%). Fewer students expressed apprehension about (27.9%) and intimidation by (26.3%) virtual learning. Only 17.2% would continue taking virtual classes after the pandemic. Students with disabilities (
= 12.4,
= 4.1) experienced more psychosocial stressors compared to students without disabilities (
= 9.9,
= 4.2),
= 7.86,
< 0.001. In adjusted models, disabled students were more than twice as likely to experience worry about medical bills (OR = 2.29), loneliness (OR = 2.09), and increased anxiety (OR = 2.31). They were also more than three times as likely to report increased depression (OR = 3.51) and changes in sexual activity (OR = 3.12). However, students with disabilities (
= 1.5,
= 1.1) also reported receiving more support compared to their non-disabled classmates (
= 1.1,
= 1.1),
= 6.06,
< 0.001. Disabled students were more likely to feel a sense of contributing to society by following precautions (OR = 1.80) and receive support from family and others (emotional support: OR = 2.01, financial support: OR = 2.04). Interestingly, no significant differences were found in students' feelings associated with online or virtual learning
= 0.42,
= 0.68. Students with disabilities, though, trended toward reporting negative experiences with virtual learning. In conclusion, students with disabilities were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 stressors, but also expressed more support and a sense of contributing to the common good.
Embedding Activism in a STEM EdD Program Miller, Bridget; Bogiages, Christopher; Yow, Jan ...
Impacting education,
01/2021, Letnik:
6, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
This article shares an example of how one STEM EdD program embeds activism throughout their program. The authors share examples of readings and assignments across the program geared towards helping ...students think about and enact activism within the STEM disciplines. The STEM EdD mission offers insight into the foundations of the program. Then, specific examples from the following courses or course sequences are given: Action Research, Project-Based Learning, Research Methods in STEM Education, Advanced Readings in Mathematics Education, and Principles of Engineering in STEM Education. A conclusion offers some final thoughts about the ongoing development of the STEM EdD program to help our students grow as graduates who focus on equity and diversity in STEM education.
National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) are national-level institutions that can lead and coordinate a country’s public health system. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa ...CDC) considers NPHI development critical to strengthening public health systems in Africa. This paper describes how Joint External Evaluation (JEE) reports demonstrate the role NPHIs can play in supporting the goals of IHR compliance and global health security. This study is a secondary document-based qualitative analysis of JEE reports from 11 countries in the WHO AFRO region (Botswana, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia). Researchers found three distinct thematic areas: i) core public health functions, ii) governance, and iii) coordination, collaboration, and communication. These themes and their interlinkages, both in pairs and all three, were of importance in displaying the roles that NPHIs could play in the strengthening of health systems. The data suggests that NPHIs, though not always explicitly mentioned in the data, may have a vital role in strengthening health systems across Africa and their governments’ goals of achieving IHR compliance.
There's Something in the Water SMITH, STEVEN; ROEMMELE, CHRISTOPHER; MILLER, BRIDGET T. ...
The Science teacher (National Science Teachers Association),
03/2018, Letnik:
85, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Groundwater contamination is a serious environmental problem, given that all living things depend on this essential resource. Groundwater represents less than 1% of all water found on Earth, but ...nearly 90% of the freshwater used comes from groundwater (USGS 2016). The problem-based activity described in this article actively engages students in real-world issues related to water. Considering water's unique combination of physical and chemical properties, ability to exist in multiple phases, and daily use in agriculture and industry, it is evident that concepts related to water are vital to many scientific domains, including Earth, physical, and life sciences. These activities also can be incorporated into an interdisciplinary unit (e.g., civics class). This lesson lasts approximately one week, including one day for each of the three sections of the lesson, class and independent time for designing students' solutions to a given problem, and at least one class period for presenting and defending the designs.
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