Understanding search autocompletes from the perspectives of English and Spanish speakers during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the study was to explore differences in Google search autocompletes between English and Spanish-speaking users during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Twenty-nine individuals who were in areas with shelter-in-place state orders participated in a virtual focus group meeting to understand the algorithm bias of COVID-19 Google autocompletes. The three focus group meetings lasted for 90-120 minutes. A codebook was created and transcripts were coded using NVivo qualitative software with a 95% intercoder reliability between two coders. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Among the 29 participants, six self-identified as White, seven as Black/African American, five as American Indian or Alaska Native, four as Asian Indian, and three as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. In terms of ethnicity, 21 participants identified as Hispanic/Latino. The themes that emerged from the study were: (1) autocompletes evoked fear and stress; (2) skepticism and hesitation towards autocomplete search; (3) familiarity with COVID-19 information impacts outlook on autocomplete search; (4) autocompletes can promote preselection of searches; and (5) lesser choice of autocomplete results for Spanish-speaking searchers. Spanish speakers expressed concerns and hesitation due to social factors and lack of information about COVID-19.

COVID-19 on Food Insecurity in Hispanic/Latino Essential and Non-essential Workers.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic's economic fallout has further exacerbated the health and well-being among Hispanics/Latinos, who maybe overrepresented in essential job industries and are vulnerable to experiencing food insecurity. This study explores whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected food security status differently among Latino/Hispanic essential and non-essential workers in the United States. METHODS: The COVID-19 Latino health cross-sectional survey was conducted and administered in person and virtually. Bivariate analyses and chi-square tests were performed to investigate the association between essential worker status and changes in food security status during the COVID-19 pandemic. All reported p-values were two-sided; p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 869 Hispanic/Latino respondents, 393 (45%) were deemed essential workers, and 476 (55%) were non-essential workers. About 22% of essential workers reported a household income of less than $20,000, whereas 19% of non-essential workers had an income above $100,000. Half (54%) of essential workers reported food insecurity. Over one-third (35%) of essential and 22% of non-essential workers reported increased food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, there was a significant difference in food insecurity status between essential and non-essential Hispanic/Latino workers (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results underscore the prevalence of food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to create comprehensive food policies that address the lack of availability of adequate food among Hispanic/Latino essential workers who already face pandemic-related challenges.

Teaching teen titans: An anatomy curriculum using superheroes for middle- and high school students in health professions outreach programs.

Health professions outreach programs are important avenues to increase interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). One aspect of many of these programs is anatomy, which can be challenging to teach due to its scope. Creative teaching methods, such as the incorporation of examples from pop culture, can help students better access complex scientific concepts. This study aimed to assess the utility of a superhero-based anatomy curriculum as part of summer outreach programs at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS). Students completed pre- and post-session surveys about their interest in the fields of STEM, their background knowledge of superheroes, and their thoughts on the effectiveness of using superheroes to learn anatomy. Prior to participating in the curriculum, most students were interested or very interested in the fields of STEM (72.4%). After the curriculum, most students (79.3%) reported that their interest expanded. Almost all students reported that the use of superheroes was beneficial to their learning experience (91.4%) and was preferred over traditional teaching methods (87.9%), despite not necessarily having existing background knowledge or interests in superheroes. Finally, some students felt that seeing the diverse identities of different superhero characters improved their ability to relate to the material. In conclusion, students felt that a superhero-based anatomy curriculum improved their interest in the fields of STEM and their learning experience. This suggests that creative teaching methods can effectively augment the existing mission of health professions outreach programs for a diverse group of students.

Comfort levels and experiences of middle school and high school age children in anatomical donor-based anatomy outreach sessions.

Many health professions schools host anatomy outreach sessions for high school students that utilize anatomical donors. However, teaching with anatomical donors for younger learners is uncommon. This study aimed to assess the comfort levels and experiences of students who attended the anatomy sessions as part of summer programs at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Younger learners (students entering grades 7-10; n = 25) and older learners (students entering grades 11-12; n = 33) completed pre- and post-session surveys about their comfort using a 5-point Likert scale. Before the sessions, most students felt comfortable or very comfortable learning from isolated organs (µ = 2.7, SD = 1.3) or full-body donors (µ = 2.4, SD = 1.4), even though most have never been to an anatomical donor lab before. After the sessions, the comfort level significantly increased for both isolated organs (µ = 3.3, SD = 1.1; p = 0.02) and full-body donors (µ = 3.1, SD = 1.2; p = 0.004). For isolated organs, there was no significant difference in the comfort level between younger and older learners before (p = 0.50) or after (p = 0.56) the sessions. Similarly, for full-body donors, there was no significant difference in the comfort level between younger and older learners before (p = 0.95) or after (p = 0.75) the sessions. Most students expressed that the experience was unique and positive. In conclusion, most students entering grades 7-12 felt comfortable learning from isolated organs and full-body anatomical donors prior to the sessions and felt more comfortable after the sessions. With this, anatomy outreach programs that utilize anatomical donors could be expanded to include younger learners to provide more dynamic teaching experiences for students of various ages.

Social Determinant of Health Framework to Examine the Impact of COVID-19 on Latino Health.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluated how COVID-19 impacted Latino health across social, economic, and emotional dimensions and differentiated whether adverse COVID-19-related effects persisted across respondents. METHODS: In both English and Spanish, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in the USA from June 2021 to April 2022. Chi-square tests, Z-tests, and T-tests were used to test for significant differences between Spanish- and English-speaking respondents. Multiple linear regressions were carried out to understand whether previously established determinants of health for Latinos accounted for greater COVID-19-related adversity across social, economic, and mental health dimensions. English as a primary language was significantly related to greater adverse emotional/mental health COVID-19 experiences after controlling for other social determinants of health factors (ß = - 0.355, p < 0.001). Individuals who reported worrying about housing loss were significantly more likely to experience more adverse economic adversity due to COVID-19 (ß = - 0.234, p < 0.001). Household income < $35,000 (ß = 0.083, p < 0.05), having more than 5 people living in the same home (ß = -0.102, p < 0.05), and work-related transportation barriers (ß = - 0.114, p < 0.05) all increased the likelihood of household-related stressors occurring because of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the heterogeneity in the Latino community and the key social, economic, and community-level factors most strongly correlated with adverse COVID-19-related outcomes.

Academic Stress and Mental Well-Being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and COVID-19.

Academic stress may be the single most dominant stress factor that affects the mental well-being of college students. Some groups of students may experience more stress than others, and the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic could further complicate the stress response. We surveyed 843 college students and evaluated whether academic stress levels affected their mental health, and if so, whether there were specific vulnerable groups by gender, race/ethnicity, year of study, and reaction to the pandemic. Using a combination of scores from the Perception of Academic Stress Scale (PAS) and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), we found a significant correlation between worse academic stress and poor mental well-being in all the students, who also reported an exacerbation of stress in response to the pandemic. In addition, SWEMWBS scores revealed the lowest mental health and highest academic stress in non-binary individuals, and the opposite trend was observed for both the measures in men. Furthermore, women and non-binary students reported higher academic stress than men, as indicated by PAS scores. The same pattern held as a reaction to COVID-19-related stress. PAS scores and responses to the pandemic varied by the year of study, but no obvious patterns emerged. These results indicate that academic stress in college is significantly correlated to psychological well-being in the students who responded to this survey. In addition, some groups of college students are more affected by stress than others, and additional resources and support should be provided to them.