Pandemic coping and COVID-19 preventive behaviors among cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors are at greater risk for COVID-19 complications, emphasizing the importance of adherence to COVID-19 prevention. Active coping mechanisms can help manage pandemic stress but disengaged coping practices can have adverse effects. OBJECTIVES: 1) Identify differences in COVID-19 coping styles and COVID-19 preventive behaviors among cancer survivors in active treatment, survivors not in treatment, and a comparison group without a cancer history. 2) Exploring variables that may predict adherence to COVID-19 preventative behaviors. PATIENT INVOLVEMENT & METHODS: This study used an online survey among two categories of cancer survivors - one group in active treatment and one group no longer in treatment - and one group without a cancer history (N = 897 total). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Cancer survivors in treatment were more likely to utilize both active and disengaged coping (p < .001). This could indicate that the additional COVID-19 strain is making survivors more likely to engage in coping in any way possible. Cancer survivors not in treatment were less likely to report intent to carry out COVID- 19 preventative behaviors compared to the comparison group (p = .009). Providers should understand how survivors may use both coping mechanism types because these coping strategies predict both depression and adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors.

Exploring Differences in Caregiver Communication in Serious Illness.

Background: Demographic factors, such as disease context and family relationships, are communication mediators and moderators; however, little is known about how understanding these factors can improve caregiver communication with providers. Recognition of communication differences among caregivers may aid the development of approaches to improve serious illness communication. Objective: To explore whether caregiver communication differs by disease context (cancer vs. dementia) and caregiver communication type (Manager, Carrier, Partner, and Lone). Caregiver communication type is based on communication patterns between the care recipient and caregiver. Design and Measurements: Caregivers of persons with cancer and/or dementia were surveyed from a U.S. national research registry website. Measures of caregiver communication included information needs, communication confidence, perception of provider understanding of the caregiver, perceived frequency of caregiver assessment, and caregiver stress. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined significant differences between caregiver communication (p < 0.05) based on disease context and caregiver communication type. Results: Cancer caregivers reported higher unrecognized-demanded information states (i.e., not recognizing information was needed), more communication confidence, and more frequent caregiver assessment compared to dementia caregivers. Among caregiver communication types, Manager caregiver types were more confident communicating than other caregiver types and perceived greater understanding by providers than the Lone caregiver type. Manager caregivers reported significantly less stress than other caregiver communication types. Conclusions: Understanding disease context and caregiver communication type may help improve caregiver communication with health care providers.

Communication About Negative and Uncertain Results: Interactional Dilemmas During a Genetic Telehealth Consult.

This case study focuses on a video telehealth consult to discuss genetic testing results. Participants include a Genetic Counselor (GC) and a Patient (P) previously diagnosed with ovarian cancer who is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Utilizing conversation analysis (CA), attention is first given to a series of interactional dilemmas as GC delivers and P responds to negative, uncertain, and complex test results. Specific findings address practices employed by GC to structure the encounter and establish authority, impacts on P's participation and understandings, recurring and at times problematic orientations to "negative" findings, and inherent ambiguities faced by GC and P when attempting to discern good and bad news. Close examination of these moments provides a unique opportunity to identify, describe, and explain genetic counseling as a co-produced, interactional achievement. These findings are then integrated with patient's post-counseling survey (susceptibility, anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and hope), including reported experiences which broaden understandings of the interactional environment. Specific recommendations are raised for improving counseling skills, enhancing patients' understandings, and building therapeutic alliances addressing both patients' emotional circumstances and the complexities of genetic test results.

Between Healthcare Practitioners and Clergy: Evangelicals and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy.

Evangelical Christians are among the most hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This study examined the extent to which COVID-19 vaccination uptake among Evangelicals is explained by demographic characteristics, Health Belief Model constructs, and faith-based support factors. Survey research firm Qualtrics recruited 531 U.S. adults and conducted a survey to explore predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people who self-identified as Evangelicals in September 2021. A logistic regression showed that those reporting high perceived benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine were more likely to be vaccinated, while those reporting high perceived barriers were less likely to be vaccinated. Those whose healthcare provider asked them about the vaccine were more likely to be vaccinated than those whose healthcare provider did not ask. Finally, while those who reported information seeking from religious leaders were less likely to be vaccinated, those who reported more faith-based support for vaccination were more likely to be vaccinated. In addition to beliefs about benefits and barriers to vaccination, the role of healthcare providers and clergy were important factors influencing vaccination status. Intervention efforts that capitalize on partnerships between health providers and clergy in supportive congregations may be able to reach undecided Evangelicals.

News Stories of Intimate Partner Violence: An Experimental Examination of Media Framing and Perpetrator Sex in LGBTQ Versus Heterosexual Relationships.

This study experimentally examines the effects of perpetrator sex (male or female), relationship context (heterosexual or homosexual), and the type of media framing (episodic or thematic) on endorsement for public health perspectives about intimate partner violence (IPV) and punishment preferences for IPV perpetrators. Participants (N = 750) were randomly assigned to a condition, exposed to a composite news story, and then completed a survey. Manipulation check responses demonstrated a pattern suggesting that participants had difficulty attending to details of IPV in stories where the perpetrator was a woman, or where the violence occurred in a homosexual relationship. Results revealed significant interaction effects for the endorsement of public health perspectives and for perpetrator punishment preferences. Results for the endorsement of public health perspectives showed that thematic framing caused stronger support only when the perpetrator was a heterosexual man. Results for perpetrator punishment preferences revealed a pattern where participants preferred stronger punishments for heterosexual male perpetrators over any other group. Participants did not distinguish in their punishment preferences for male or female homosexual perpetrators, but these were still stronger than their punishment preferences for heterosexual female perpetrators. Theoretical implications are presented with attention to extending research about media portrayals of IPV, and discussion is offered concerning practical considerations for public health support services that address IPV.

Examining Vaccine Sentiment on Twitter and Local Vaccine Deployment during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Understanding local public attitudes toward receiving vaccines is vital to successful vaccine campaigns. Social media platforms may help uncover vaccine sentiments during infectious disease outbreaks at the local level, and whether offline local events support vaccine-promotion efforts. Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT) served as a guiding framework for this case study of the San Diego region examining local public sentiment toward vaccines expressed on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic. We performed a sentiment analysis (including positivity and subjectivity) of 187,349 tweets gathered from May 2020 to March 2021, and examined how sentiment corresponded with local vaccine deployment. The months of November and December (52.9%) 2020 saw a majority of tweets expressing positive sentiment and coincided with announcements of offline local events signaling San Diego's imminent deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. Across all months, tweets remained mostly objective (never falling below 63%). In terms of CIT, considering multiple levels of the Story Telling Network in online spaces, and examining sentiment about vaccines on Twitter may help scholars to explore the Communication Action Context, as well as cultivate positive community attitudes to improve the Field of Health Action regarding vaccines. Real-time analysis of local tweets during development and deployment of new vaccines may help monitor local public responses and guide promotion of immunizations in communities.

Promoting Oral Health in Appalachia: Effects of Threat Label and Source Accent on Message Acceptance.

This study examined the effects of threat label (i.e., the name assigned to a health threat) and source accent (i.e., the source's manner of pronunciation) on Appalachian residents' acceptance of oral health promotion messages. Participants (N = 348) listened to an audiotaped oral health promotion message about tooth decay or Mountain Dew Mouth; the message was delivered either in a standard American English or a Southern accent. Compared to the label Mountain Dew Mouth, the label tooth decay elevated perceptions of threat susceptibility, threat severity, and response-efficacy and resulted in higher message acceptance. The effect of threat label on message acceptance was mediated by severity perceptions. Participants attributed more status to the source and agreed more with her message when she spoke in a standard than a Southern accent. The effect of source accent on message acceptance was mediated by status perceptions. These findings suggest that the success of persuasive health messages depends not only on message content (i.e., what is said), but also on how that content is linguistically framed and delivered (i.e., how it is said).

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Guide Focus Group Development of Messages Aimed at Increasing Compliance With a Tobacco-Free Policy.

PURPOSE: This study details the persuasive message development for a theory-based campaign designed to increase compliance with a university's tobacco-free policy. APPROACH: The theory of planned behavior (TPB) guided message design and evaluation for focus group-tested messages that were adapted to the context of complying with a tobacco-free policy. SETTING: The study was conducted at a university located in the tobacco belt. PARTICIPANTS: Undergraduate focus group participants (n = 65) were mostly male (69%), white (82%), and freshman (62%) who smoked at least 1 cigarette in the last 30 days; on-campus smoking percentages were never/rare (60%), occasionally (23%), and often/frequently (16%). METHOD: Data analysis used a theoretical thematic approach to identify how the TPB constructs related to perceptions of message effectiveness. RESULTS: Participants responded favorably to attitudinal strategies about health, respect, and university figures; they rejected approaches they considered juvenile and offensive. They also discussed the impact of noncompliance and avoiding overgeneralized statements for addressing subjective norms, suggesting shortening text, adjusting picture location, and emphasizing the importance of compliance to increase perceptions of behavioral control. CONCLUSION: Applying theory to preexisting messages is challenging. The design approach in this study is an evidence-based strategy that can be used as a universal process for message adaptation. Results offer health promotion suggestions for designing messages aimed at improving undergraduate smokers' willingness to comply with tobacco-free campus policies.

The Short-term Effects of a Cyberbullying Prevention Intervention for Parents of Middle School Students.

This study experimentally evaluated the short-term effects of the Arizona Attorney General's cybersafety promotion presentation, a key component of which is cyberbullying prevention. Fifty-one parents of children attending a middle school in the southwestern United States participated in the study. Results reveal parents who viewed the presentation believed their children to be more susceptible to cyberbullying, and indicated that they were more likely to talk to their children about saving evidence, not retaliating, and telling an adult compared to parents who had not viewed the presentation. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

A Mixed Method Study of Intimate Partner Violence: How Sex and Severity Impact Perpetrator Prior Involvement, Abnormality, and Responsibility.

This study employed a mixed method approach to examine the effects of participant sex, perpetrator sex, and severity of violence on perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators. Quantitative participants (n = 449) completed a survey and qualitative participants (n = 31) participated in a focus group or an interview. Participants believed that it was more likely male perpetrators had prior involvement in IPV. Participants rated stories of female perpetrators as more abnormal than stories of male perpetrators. Participants in the weak severity of violence condition had lower evaluations of responsibility than the strong or fatal severity of violence conditions and only women were discerning about perpetrator sex in their ratings of responsibility. Theoretical implications extend intimate terrorism and defensive attribution theory.

When Do Friends Prevent Friends from Hooking Up Intoxicated? An Examination of Sex Differences and Hypothetical Intoxication in Peer Interventions.

Despite the risks involved when mixing alcohol with casual sexual activity, the majority of college students engage in hookups, and the majority of those hookups involve alcohol. This study focused on the protective role college students' peers can play and the situational factors that might influence their willingness to intervene when a close friend is about to hook up intoxicated. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study investigated differences in students' (N = 1270) attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions to persuade a close friend not to engage in a hypothetical drunken hookup using a 2 (friend sex) × 2 (participant sex) × 2 (sober/intoxicated) factorial design. Results indicated significant differences in the TPB variables. Participants intended to intervene with female friends, but not male friends, and women were more likely to intervene than men. Participants in the sober condition had stronger intentions to intervene than those in the intoxicated condition, but this effect was driven by increases in men's intentions when sober. Implications for theory and prevention programming are discussed.

Theory-Based Formative Research on an Anti-Cyberbullying Victimization Intervention Message.

Cyberbullying is a common byproduct of the digital revolution with serious consequences to victims. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of empirically based methods to confront it. This study used social cognitive theory to design and test an intervention message aimed at persuading college students to abstain from retaliation, seek social support, save evidence, and notify authorities-important victim responses identified and recommended in previous research. Using a posttest-only control group design, this study tested the effectiveness of an intervention message in changing college students' perceived susceptibility to and perceived severity of cyberbullying as well as their self-efficacy, response efficacy, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward each recommended response in future episodes of cyberbullying. Results indicated that the intervention message caused participants in the experimental condition to report significantly higher susceptibility, but not perceived severity, to cyberbullying than those in the control condition. The intervention message also caused expected changes in all outcomes except self-efficacy for not retaliating and in all outcomes for seeking social support, saving evidence, and notifying an authority. Implications for message design and future research supporting evidence-based anti-cyberbullying health communication campaigns are discussed.

"Maybe She Was Provoked": Exploring Gender Stereotypes About Male and Female Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence.

The current study is concerned with the different types of gender stereotypes that participants may draw upon when exposed to news stories about intimate partner violence (IPV). We qualitatively analyzed open-ended responses examining four types of gender stereotypes-aggression, emotional, power and control, and acceptability of violence. We offer theoretical implications that extend past research on intimate terrorism and situational couple violence, the gender symmetry debate, and how stereotypes are formed. We also discuss practical implications for journalists who write stories about IPV and individuals who provide services to victims and perpetrators.

News Stories of Intimate Partner Violence: An Experimental Examination of Participant Sex, Perpetrator Sex, and Violence Severity on Seriousness, Sympathy, and Punishment Preferences.

This study experimentally examines the effects of participant sex, perpetrator sex, and severity of violence on perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) seriousness, sympathy toward the victim, and punishment preferences for the perpetrator. Participants (N = 449) were randomly assigned to a condition, exposed to a composite news story, and then completed a survey. Ratings of seriousness of IPV for stories with male perpetrators were significantly higher than ratings of seriousness for stories with female perpetrators. Men had significantly higher sympathy for female victims in any condition than for male victims in the weak or strong severity of violence conditions. Men's sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition did not differ from their sympathy for female victims. Women had the least sympathy for female victims in the weak severity condition and men in the weak or strong severity conditions. Women reported significantly higher sympathy for female victims in the strong and fatal severity of violence conditions. Women's ratings of sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition were statistically indistinguishable from any other group. Participants reported stronger punishment preferences for male perpetrators and this effect was magnified among men. Theoretical implications are presented with attention provided to practical considerations about support for public health services.

Cyberbullying: Review of an Old Problem Gone Viral.

PURPOSE: Despite being relatively new, cyberbullying is now well recognized as a serious public health problem affecting children and adolescents. Scientific exploration has lagged media attention, but a synthesis of studies across several disciplines permits an understanding of its epidemiology, phenomenology, mental health dimensions, and management tools. METHODS: To assess current knowledge of cyberbullying, we searched the MEDLINE, PubMed and PsycINFO databases for articles on "cyberbullying" and related designations. The Google search engine was used to capture otherwise unpublished legislative, governmental, and community response data and to help identify relevant books and book chapters. RESULTS: A significant proportion of children and adolescents (20%-40%) have been victims of cyberbullying, with females and sexual minorities seemingly at higher risk. Perpetrators are more likely to be male. By nature of the electronic platform, there seems to be an easier path to the bully-victim phenomenon (victims who become bullies or vice versa) than that in traditional bullying. A nonlinear relationship with age is suggested, but demographic data overall are preliminary. Accompanying psychopathology, including an increasingly well-established link to suicidality, is common. Several prevention and management approaches have been proposed to help prevent cyberbullying or mitigate its effects. DISCUSSION: Cyberbullying's seeming ubiquity, its disproportionate toll on vulnerable populations (e.g., children and sexual minorities), the link with suicidality, and the expected continued rise in Internet penetrance and connectivity make confronting it an urgent matter. A multipronged approach is most likely to succeed and would include: educational media campaigns; school-based programs; parental oversight and involvement; legislative action; and screening and evidence-based interventions by health care providers, especially pediatricians and mental health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed into cyberbullying, but available data suggest a serious problem whose consequences are real and should not be dismissed as a "virtual" by-product of an increasingly digitalized childhood and adolescence.

Perceptions of oral health in Appalachian Kentucky: implications for message design.

We conducted three studies to investigate Appalachian college students' perceptions and behavior concerning oral health for the purpose of identifying salient factors to consider in designing persuasive messages to promote oral health. In Study 1, we conducted seven focus groups with 67 college students at a state university in Appalachian Kentucky. Using thematic analysis, we found that students based their oral health behavior on the perception that people living in Appalachia have poor oral health and that students denied, confirmed, reframed, or fulfilled this "misconception." In Study 2, quantitative results from a representative survey of students (N = 587) at the same university indicated that the barriers to enacting good oral health behavior were primarily logistical in nature, whereas the facilitators of good oral health behavior were largely social. In Study 3, results from dental screenings (N = 364) of students at the university demonstrated that about one in five students presented with active, visible decay. We discuss how these results inform our understanding of oral health behavior in Appalachia and the implications of these results for designing messages to promote oral health in the region.

Strategies for communicating with older dental patients.

BACKGROUND: Communication between dentists and patients 65 years or older is a critical aspect of providing optimum care, particularly given the increasing number of older adults and the communication barriers they often encounter. METHODS: The authors conducted a targeted literature review of the broad health communication literature and published health literacy guidelines to examine the barriers to effective communication that are specific to the older adult population, as well as strategies for overcoming these barriers. RESULTS: Findings from health communication and health literacy research provide insight into techniques to improve communication with older patients, such as preparing an agenda for the appointment, exhibiting warm nonverbal behavior, listening attentively, asking open-ended questions, using simple language, presenting key points one at a time and providing patients with written instructions. CONCLUSIONS: Physical, psychological and literacy issues pertaining to both patients and providers present barriers to effective communication. Practitioners can surmount these barriers by enacting communication strategies tailored to older adults. Practical Implications. Dentists can overcome barriers to communication and improve the quality of patient care by considering the communication barriers specific to older adults and enacting strategies to overcome these barriers.

Outcome evaluation results of school-based cybersafety promotion and cyberbullying prevention intervention for middle school students.

Guided largely by the Extended Parallel Process Model, the Arizona Attorney General's Social Networking Safety Promotion and Cyberbullying Prevention presentation attempts to shape, change, and reinforce middle school students' perceptions, attitudes, and intentions related to these important social issues. This study evaluated the short-term effects of this presentation in a field experiment using a posttest-only control-group design with random assignment to conditions. A total of 425 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at a public middle school in a large Southwestern city participated in this study. Results reveal several interesting trends across grade levels regarding cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, and concerning access to various communication technologies. The intervention had the hypothesized main effect on eight of the dependent variables under investigation. Examination of condition by grade interaction effects offered further support for an additional four hypotheses (i.e., the intervention positively affected or reversed a negative trend on four dependent variables in at least one grade). Ideas and implications for future social networking safety promotion and cyberbullying prevention interventions are discussed.