Online Pilot Grocery Intervention among Rural and Urban Residents Aimed to Improve Purchasing Habits.

Online grocery shopping has the potential to improve access to food, particularly among low-income households located in urban food deserts and rural communities. The primary aim of this pilot intervention was to test whether a three-armed online grocery trial improved fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchases. Rural and urban adults across seven counties in Kentucky, Maryland, and North Carolina were recruited to participate in an 8-week intervention in fall 2021. A total of 184 adults were enrolled into the following groups: (1) brick-and-mortar "BM" (control participants only received reminders to submit weekly grocery shopping receipts); (2) online-only with no support "O" (participants received weekly reminders to grocery shop online and to submit itemized receipts); and (3) online shopping with intervention nudges "O+I" (participants received nudges three times per week to grocery shop online, meal ideas, recipes, Facebook group support, and weekly reminders to shop online and to submit itemized receipts). On average, reported food spending on F/V by the O+I participants was USD 6.84 more compared to the BM arm. Online shopping with behavioral nudges and nutrition information shows great promise for helping customers in diverse locations to navigate the increasing presence of online grocery shopping platforms and to improve F&V purchases.

Racial Discrimination and Alcohol Use: The Moderating Role of Religious Orientation.

BACKGROUND: An outgrowth of research has established a relationship between racial discrimination and alcohol use, as well as factors that moderate this association. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to determine if religious orientation moderates the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and alcohol use. METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional data collection strategy to examine the relationship among discrimination, religious orientation, and alcohol use among undergraduate students (N = 349) at a midsize southeastern university. Data was collected in 2014. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the General Ethnic Discrimination Scale, the Extrinsic/Intrinsic Religious Orientation Scale-Revised and the Drinking and Drug Habits Questionnaire. RESULTS: Analyses using hierarchical linear regression indicate a significant interaction effect (lifetime discrimination × extrinsic religious orientation) on problem drinking. Additional moderation analyses reveal a significant interaction effect between lifetime discrimination and the extrinsic-personal religious orientation on problem drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that an extrinsic religious orientation, and particularly, an extrinsic-personal religious orientation, moderates the relationship between lifetime discrimination and problem drinking, suggesting that turning to religion for comfort and protection, rather than for the superficial purpose of seeing/making friends at church, may buffer against the deleterious effects of discrimination-specifically, engaging in problem drinking to cope with the stress of discrimination. Limitations, directions for future research, and clinical implications are discussed.

Meaning of caring to 7 novice physical therapists during their first year of clinical practice.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Caring has been identified as a rules-based approach to good patient care, as a core value in physical therapist professional behavior, as a part of experienced and expert practice, as a virtue, and as a moral orientation. Previous research showed that experienced and expert female physical therapists value compassion and caring in clinical practice. However, little is known about how novice physical therapists care for their patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of caring from the perspectives of novice physical therapists. SUBJECTS: Seven novice physical therapists (with less than 1 year of clinical experience) working in either an outpatient or an inpatient facility were recruited. METHODS: A qualitative method (phenomenology) was used, with data being obtained from retrospective interviews of the novice physical therapists regarding their experiences in the clinic. RESULTS: Three common themes relating to the nature of caring emerged: learning to care (with the following subthemes: barriers to caring, the "difficult" patient, finding a balance, and time constraints), patients as subjects, and the culture of the clinic. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The novice physical therapists in this study expressed difficulty in dealing with difficult patients, with time management, and with balancing their professional and personal lives. However, despite the barriers to caring, many of these participants viewed caring not just as a rules-based approach but as a core value and, in some cases, a moral orientation that guided their first year of clinical practice. The findings suggest that caring requires certain skills and attitudes that accrue over time and that physical therapist education programs should integrate learning experiences (including clinical experiences) throughout the curriculum that foster caring behaviors in order to prepare students for the first-year transition in the clinic. In addition, experienced clinicians should appreciate how their clinic's culture and their behaviors can help model caring attitudes in novice physical therapists.