Social support, mental health, academic coping, and perceptions of teaching quality during COVID-19: A cross-lagged panel model of university students in Israel.

Although social support is strongly related to college students' mental health in the context of COVID-19, little is known about the academic mechanisms that explain and influence this relationship. This knowledge gap limits our ability to create effective interventions. Our current study extends the previous research by using longitudinal data from 2020 to 2021 and leveraging a unique panel dataset from over 1,500 university students in Israel. By using a cross-lagged panel model, we examine how the relationship between social support and mental health is partially explained by academic coping, as well as how these relationships differ across perceived teaching quality. We find that academic coping partially explains the relationship between social support and depression for students who perceived higher-quality instruction but not for students who perceived lower-quality instruction. Moreover, these relationships are not apparent for anxiety, suggesting that anxiety may relate to out-of-school considerations like pandemic-related health concerns and hardships. We close with implications for policy and practice.

Improving Maternal Health and Birth Outcomes Through FreshRx: A Food-Is-Medicine Intervention.

PURPOSE: Food insecurity has far-reaching consequences for health and well-being, especially during pregnancy and postpartum periods. This study examines a food-is-medicine approach that aimed to reduce food insecurity, maternal stress, depression, anxiety, preterm labor, and low birthweight. DESIGN: Pre-post interventional study of FreshRx: Nourishing Healthy Starts, a pregnancy focused food-is-medicine program led by a local hunger relief organization and obstetrics department. SETTING: St. Louis, Missouri, a Midwestern U.S. city with higher-than-average infant mortality, low birthweight, and preterm birth rates. SAMPLE: Participants (N = 125) recruited from a local obstetrics clinic had pregnancies earlier than 24 weeks gestation; spoke English; and were enrolled in Medicaid. At baseline, 67.0% reported very low food security and none reported high food security, while 34.7% indicated depressive symptoms. INTERVENTION: FreshRx included weekly deliveries of fresh food meal kits, nutrition counseling and education, care coordination, and supportive services. MEASURES: 18-Question U.S. Household Food Security Survey, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, birthweight, gestational age. ANALYSIS: Single arm pre-post analysis. RESULTS: Average gestational age of 38.2 weeks (n = 84) and birthweight of 6.7 pounds (n = 81) were higher than rates for the general population in the area. For study participants who completed a sixty-day post-partum assessment, 13% (n = 45) indicated maternal depression (P < .01). CONCLUSION: Food-is-medicine interventions may be an efficient, effective, and equitable tool for improving birth and maternal health outcomes.