Healthy School Meals for All in Utah.

BACKGROUND: The National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs reduce food insecurity and improve dietary intake. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school meals were provided to all children at no cost, regardless of income. This policy is known as Healthy School Meals For All (HSMFA). The purpose of the study was to examine the feasibility of a HSMFA policy in Utah. METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was used, including qualitative interviews for policymakers, surveys for school foodservice directors, and financial modeling of Utah Child Nutrition Programs data. Analysis included a phenomenological analytic approach for qualitative data, descriptive statistics for surveys, and development of a cost model with 6 scenarios. RESULTS: Qualitative data revealed themes of (1) awareness; (2) responsibility; (3) perspectives on school meals; and (4) new opportunities. Most (81%) foodservice directors believed HSMFA should continue post-pandemic. HSMFA would cost $51,341,436 to $82,358,375 per year. IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITY: HSMFA would result in the equitable treatment of all children regarding access to healthy school meals. CONCLUSIONS: Given the support of foodservice directors but the lack of political consensus, considering stepwise implementation and providing cost estimates may increase feasibility of a HSMFA policy in Utah.

Interpersonal communication campaign promoting knowledge, attitude, intention, and consumption of iron folic acid tablets and iron rich foods among pregnant Indonesian women.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Indonesia's community health delivery system offers services such as prenatal care and supplementation. Despite accessibility to these services, compliance with supplementation is low, and childhood stunting rates remain high. To address undernutrition, a National Nutrition Communication Campaign (NNCC) - using interpersonal communication (IPC) strategies - was implemented to promote consumption of iron-folic acid (IFA) supplements and iron-rich foods (ATIKA). The purpose of this study was to understand how participation in IPC activities influenced knowledge, attitude/intention, and consumption of IFA supplements and ATIKA among pregnant Indonesian women. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional data came from 766 pregnant women that participated in a survey that was based on the constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior and Health Belief Model. Adjusted linear and logistic regression models were conducted to analyze the differences between self-reported IPC participants and non-IPC participants. Approximately 20% of women were exposed to the IFA portion of the IPC campaign, and 18% were exposed to the ATIKA portion. RESULTS: Women that were exposed to the campaign reported significantly higher knowledge of IFA tablets and ATIKA, and improved attitudes/intentions towards IFA, compared to non-exposed women. Exposure was not associated with actual consumption behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that exposure to a low-intensity intervention can increase knowledge but may not be sufficient to impact behavior. As such, future efforts to reduce stunting through improved maternal nutrition should seek to increase exposure, address barriers, understand perceived susceptibility, and improve self-efficacy in order to expand intervention reach in Indonesia.

Traumatic brain injury: advanced multimodal neuromonitoring from theory to clinical practice.

Traumatic brain injury accounts for nearly 1.4 million injuries and 52 000 deaths annually in the United States. Intensive bedside neuromonitoring is critical in preventing secondary ischemic and hypoxic injury common to patients with traumatic brain injury in the days following trauma. Advancements in multimodal neuromonitoring have allowed the evaluation of changes in markers of brain metabolism (eg, glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and glycerol) and other physiological parameters such as intracranial pressure, cerebral perfusion pressure, cerebral blood flow, partial pressure of oxygen in brain tissue, blood pressure, and brain temperature. This article highlights the use of multimodal monitoring in the intensive care unit at a level I trauma center in the Pacific Northwest. The trends in and significance of metabolic, physiological, and hemodynamic factors in traumatic brain injury are reviewed, the technical aspects of the specific equipment used to monitor these parameters are described, and how multimodal monitoring may guide therapy is demonstrated. As a clinical practice, multimodal neuromonitoring shows great promise in improving bedside therapy in patients with traumatic brain injury, ultimately leading to improved neurological outcomes.