Sexual harassment and implicit gender-career biases negatively impact women's life expectancy in the US: a state-level analysis, 2011-2019.

BACKGROUND: Despite some gains, women continue to have less access to work and poorer experiences in the workplace, relative to men. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among women's life expectancy and two work-related factors, sexual harassment and gender-career biases. METHOD: We examined the associations at the state level of analysis (and District of Columbia) in the US from 2011 to 2019 (n = 459) using archival data from various sources. Measures of the ratio of population to primary health providers, year, the percent of adults who are uninsured, the percent of residents aged 65 or older, and percent of residents who are Non-Hispanic White all served as controls. RESULTS: Results of linear regression models showed that, after accounting for the controls, sexual harassment and gender-career biases among people in the state held significant, negative associations with women's life expectancy. CONCLUSION: The study contributes to the small but growing literature showing that negative workplace experiences and bias against women in the workplace negatively impact women's health.

Gender stereotypes and their correlates: the moderating role of voluntary sports club membership.

Introduction: This study examined the correlates of gender stereotypes and the moderating role of membership in a voluntary sports club. Drawing on the contact hypothesis, this study argues that gender stereotypes are lower when individuals regularly have the opportunity to meet and play sport with such people, for example in a voluntary sports club. Methods: Survey data from the European Values Study are used for the analysis (n = 36,185; 30 countries). Gender stereotypes are measured with statements on gender role attributes. Results: Regression results show that membership in a voluntary sports club, being a student, income, and living in a more gender equal country significantly reduce gender stereotypes. On the contrary, male gender, living in a partnership, having children, lower and medium education, part-time employment, self-employment, unemployment, being a home maker, and living in a small town are correlates of higher gender stereotypes. Interacting the latter correlates with sports club membership support its moderating effect in the sense that most correlates turn insignificant or have smaller coefficients. The only variables retaining their coefficient size are self-employment and living in a small town. Discussion: The findings support the contact hypothesis and suggest that sports clubs are places that lessen gender stereotypes.

Anti-transgender rights legislation and internet searches pertaining to depression and suicide.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether anti-transgender rights legislation among state legislators is associated with increased suicide- and depression-related Internet searches. Employing a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design, we focused on bills that were introduced to state legislatures from July 2019 to July 2020. As our panel is constructed of 51 states/territories over a 52-week time frame, our final dataset is composed of 2,652 observations. Results showed that states' passing of anti-transgender rights bills were linked with suicide- and depression-related Internet searches. Second, introducing or debating the bills did not have an association with Internet searches. Third, the defeat of anti-transgender bills was linked with fewer depression-related searches. Finally, the LGBT context in the state affected the results: anti-transgender legislation had a particularly strong association with suicide-related Internet searches when the state had a high LGBT population density.

Performance of cough monitoring by Albus Home, a contactless and automated system for nocturnal respiratory monitoring at home.

Introduction: Objective cough frequency is a key clinical end-point but existing wearable monitors are limited to 24-h recordings. Albus Home uses contactless motion, acoustic and environmental sensors to monitor multiple metrics, including respiratory rate and cough without encroaching on patient lifestyle. The aim of this study was to evaluate measurement characteristics of nocturnal cough monitoring by Albus Home compared to manual counts. Methods: Adults with respiratory conditions underwent overnight monitoring using Albus Home in their usual bedroom environments. Participants set-up the plug-and-play device themselves. For reference counts, each audio recording was counted by two annotators, and cough defined as explosive phases audio-visually labelled by both. In parallel, recordings were processed by a proprietary Albus system, comprising a deep-learning algorithm with a human screening step for verifying or excluding occasional events that mimic cough. Performance of the Albus system in detecting individual cough events and reporting hourly cough counts was compared against reference counts. Results: 30 nights from 10 subjects comprised 375 hours of recording. Mean±sd coughs per night were 90±76. Coughs per hour ranged from 0 to 129. Albus counts were accurate across hours with high and low cough frequencies, with median sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive values of 94.8, 100.0, 99.1 and 100.0%, respectively. Agreement between Albus and reference was strong (intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.99; 95% CI 0.99-0.99; p<0.001) and equivalent to agreement between observers and reference counts (ICC 0.98 and 0.99, respectively). Conclusions: Albus Home provides a unique, contactless and accurate system for cough monitoring, enabling collection of high-quality and potentially clinically relevant longitudinal data.

Bias among managers: Its prevalence across a decade and comparison across occupations.

Employees from minoritized and subjugated groups have poorer work experiences and fewer opportunities for advancement than do their peers. Biases among decision makers likely contributes to these patterns. The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the explicit biases and implicit biases among people in management occupations (e.g., chief executives, operations managers, advertising and promotions managers, financial managers, and distributions managers, among others) and (b) compare their biases with people in 22 other occupations. The authors analyzed responses from visitors to the Project Implicit website, including assessments of their racial, gender, disability, and sexual orientation biases from 2012 to 2021. Results indicate that managers expressed moderate levels of explicit and implicit bias across all dimensions. Managers differed from people in other occupations in roughly one-third of the comparisons. The biggest differences came in their implicit biases, with managers expressing more bias than people in other occupations. The study's originality rests in the scope of the work (the authors analyzed data from over 5 million visitors representing 23 broad occupations); comparison of people in management occupations to those in other work settings; and empirically demonstrating the biases that managers have.

Demographics, politics, and health factors predict mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Wearing a protective face covering can reduce the spread of COVID-19, but Americans' compliance with wearing a mask is uneven. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between health determinants (Health Behaviors, Clinical Care, Social and Economic Conditions, and the Physical Environment) and mask wearing at the county level. METHODS: Data were collected from publicly available sources, including the County Health Rankings and the New York Times. The dependent variable was the percent of county residents who reported frequently or always wearing a mask when in public. County demographics and voting patterns served as controls. Two-levels random effects regression models were used to examine the study hypotheses. RESULTS: Results indicate that, after considering the effects of the controls, Health Behaviors were positively associated with mask wearing, the Physical Environment held a negative association, and Clinical Care and Social and Behavioral Factors were unrelated. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that patterns of healthy behaviors can help predict compliance with public health mandates that can help reduce the spread of COVID-19. From an instutitional theory perspective, the data suggest counties develop collective values and norms around health. Thus, public health officials can seek to alter governance structures and normative behaviors to improve healthy behaviors.

Physical activity and its relationship with COVID-19 cases and deaths: Analysis of U.S. counties.

PURPOSE: The study was to examine county-level associations of physical activity with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths, per 100,000 county residents. METHODS: Data were collected from publicly available data sources for 3142 counties and equivalents, including the District of Columbia. Subjective health ratings, percentage uninsured, percentage unemployed, median household income, percentage female residents, percentage White residents, percentage of residents 65 years of age or older, and rural designation served as controls. RESULTS: The two-level random intercept regression showed that physical activity rates at the county level were statistically and negatively associated with COVID-19 cases and deaths. Additional analyses showed that physical activity rates moderated the relationship between cases and deaths, such that the relationship was strongest when physical activity rates were low. CONCLUSION: The results presented here offer empirical evidence of the benefits of county-level physical activity during a pandemic. Implications for public health and physical activity provision are discussed.

"Physical activity is beneficial to anyone, including those with ASD": Antecedents of nurses recommending physical activity for people with autism spectrum disorder.

LAY ABSTRACT: Participation in regular physical activity is linked with physical, psychological, and social improvements. Nevertheless, persons with autism spectrum disorder participate at lower levels than do their peers. Nurses can play a key role in helping to promote such behaviors, but do so sparingly. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which nurses recommend physical activity to people with autism spectrum disorder. Even though a number of scholars have examined the role of health professionals in promoting physical activity, comparatively little research has examined nurses. Further, previous scholars have largely focused on the promotion of physical activity to patients in general. However, people with disabilities and people with autism spectrum disorder, specifically, are frequently overlooked when it comes to physical activity promotion. Data were collected from a representative sample of nurses (n = 180) working in the United States. Results indicate that nurses were only moderately likely to recommend physical activity. When perceived barriers were low, perceived benefits held a positive, significant association with recommendations. However, when perceived barriers were high, the relationship between perceived benefits and recommendations was no longer significant. Analysis of qualitative data showed the value nurses place on physical activity, how they interpret barriers and benefits, and strategies for making physical activity inclusive for people with autism spectrum disorder. In conclusion, nurses have an opportunity to more frequently promote physical activity to their patients with autism spectrum disorder and, in doing so, help mitigate some of the poor health outcomes people with autism spectrum disorder experience. The authors identified implications for nursing education and professional development, as well as for sport and recreation managers charged with delivering physical activity to people with autism spectrum disorder.

Race, explicit racial attitudes, implicit racial attitudes, and COVID-19 cases and deaths: An analysis of counties in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the potential moderating effects of explicit racial attitudes and implicit racial attitudes on the relationship between percent of Black county residents and COVID-19 cases and deaths. METHODS: We collected data from a variety of publicly available sources for 817 counties in the US. (26% of all counties). Cumulative COVID-19 deaths and cases from January 22 to August 31, 2020 were the dependent variables; explicit racial attitudes and implicit racial attitudes served as the moderators; subjective poor or fair health, food insecurity, percent uninsured, percent unemployed, median family income, percent women, percent of Asian county resident, percent of Hispanic county residents, and percent of people 65 or older were controls. RESULTS: The percent of Black county residents was positively associated with COVID-19 cases and deaths at the county level. The relationship between percent of Black residents and COVID-19 cases was moderated by explicit racial attitudes and implicit racial attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Implicit racial attitudes can take on a shared property at the community level and effectively explain racial disparities. COVID-19 cases are highest when both the percent of Black county residents and implicit racial attitudes are high.

Pollution, Health, and the Moderating Role of Physical Activity Opportunities.

Air and water pollution have detrimental effects on health, while physical activity opportunities have a positive relationship. The purpose of this study was to explore whether physical activity opportunities moderate the relationships among air and water pollution, and measures of health. Aggregate data were collected at the county level in the United States (n = 3104). Variables included the mean daily density of fine particle matter (air pollution), reported cases of health-related drinking water violations (water pollution), subjective ratings of poor or fair health (overall health), the number of physically and mentally unhealthy (physical and mental health, respectively), and the percentage of people living in close proximity to a park or recreation facility (access to physical activity). Air and water pollution have a significant positive effect on all measures of residents' poor health, while physical activity opportunities only have a negative effect on overall health and physical health. Access to physical activity only moderates the relationship between air pollution and all health outcomes. Since physical activity behavior can be more rapidly changed than some causes of pollution, providing the resident population with better access to physical activity can represent an effective tool in environmental health policy.

Degrees of change: between and within population variation in thermal reaction norms of phenology in a viviparous lizard.

As the earth warms, populations will be faced with novel environments to which they may not be adapted. In the short term, populations can be buffered against the negative effects, or maximize the beneficial effects, of such environmental change via phenotypic plasticity and, in the longer term, via adaptive evolution. However, the extent and direction of these population-level responses will be dependent on the degree to which responses vary among the individuals within them (i.e., within population variation in plasticity), which is, itself, likely to vary among populations. Despite this, we have estimates of among-individual variation in plastic responses across multiple populations for only a few systems. This lack of data limits our ability to predict the consequences of environmental change for population and species persistence accurately. Here, we utilized a 16-yr data set from climatically distinct populations of the viviparous skink Niveoscincus ocellatus tracking over 1,200 litters from more than 600 females from each population to examine inter- and intrapopulation variability in the response of parturition date to environmental temperature. We found that these populations share a common population-mean reaction norm but differ in the degree to which reaction norms vary among individuals. These results suggest that even where populations share a common mean-level response, we cannot assume that they will be affected similarly by altered environmental conditions. If we are to assess how changing climates will impact species and populations accurately, we require estimates of how plastic responses vary both among and within populations.

The impact of race relations on NFL attendance: An econometric analysis.

Recent protests by athletes focused on raising awareness of social issues and injustices, such as the Black Lives Matter protests led by Colin Kaepernick of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers, have generated a great deal of attention and debate within society. Notably, the protests conducted by these players before games in the 2016 and 2017 seasons became such a sensational topic, that extraordinary amounts of attention was paid to it by the media, consumers, and even politicians who often denounced the players as being unpatriotic. Against this backdrop, the current research examines whether fluctuations in attendance at National Football League games are associated with explicit attitudes towards race, implicit racial prejudice, and racial animus within a population. Specifically, using multiple measures of racial attitudes as part of an econometric model estimating attendance at games, the results suggest that having a higher level of implicit bias in a market leads to a decline in consumer interest in attending games. Additionally, using interaction effects, it is found that while protests generally reduced the negative effects of implicit bias on attendance, markets with lower levels of implicit bias actually had greater declines of attendance during the protests. From this, the current study advances the understanding of racial attitudes and racial animus, and its impact on consumer behavior at the regional level. That is, this research highlights that racial sentiments in a local market were able to predict changes in market behaviors, suggesting that race relations can have wide reaching impacts.

Understanding Community-based HIV/AIDS Service Organizations: An Invaluable Source of HPV-related Cancer Information for At-risk Populations.

To describe non-clinical HIV service providers (NCHSPs) as surrogate seekers and health information mavens for people living with HIV (PLWH), men who have sex with men (MSM), and other vulnerable populations.In May/June 2016, we recruited 30 NCHSPs from three community-based HIV/AIDS service organizations. NCHSPs completed a 118-item self-administered, paper-and-pencil survey about HPV, cancer, and health communication. Data were analyzed using Stata/SE 14.1.Almost all (97%) NCHSPs were surrogate seekers and had looked for HIV/AIDS (97%), STD (97%), and cancer (93%) information. Most (60%) cancer information seekers had looked for information about HPV. The Internet (97%) and healthcare providers (97%) were health information sources almost all NCHSPs trusted. Nearly all NCHSPs (93%) were completely or very confident about their ability to find health information. The mean health information mavenism score (17.4 ± 2.1) was significantly higher than the scale's high-score cutoff (15.0) (p < 0 .001).NCHSPs look for and share health information with the vulnerable populations (e.g., PLWH, MSM) they serve. More research is needed to understand what NCHSPs' know and think about the health information they are sharing with vulnerable populations.

Plastic rates of development and the effect of thermal extremes on offspring fitness in a cold-climate viviparous lizard.

Populations at the climatic margins of a species' distribution can be exposed to conditions that cause developmental stress, resulting in developmental abnormalities. Even within the thermal range of normal development, phenotypes often vary with developmental temperature (i.e., thermal phenotypic plasticity). These effects can have significant consequences for organismal fitness and, thus, population persistence. Reptiles, as ectotherms, are particularly vulnerable to thermal effects on development and are, therefore, considered to be at comparatively high risk from changing climates. Understanding the extent and direction of thermal effects on phenotypes and their fitness consequences is crucial if we are to make meaningful predictions of how populations and species will respond as climates warm. Here, we experimentally manipulated the thermal conditions experienced by females from a high-altitude, cold-adapted population of the viviparous skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus, to examine the consequences of thermal conditions at the margins of this population's normal temperature range. We found strong effects of thermal conditions on the development of key phenotypic traits that have implications for fitness. Specifically, we found that offspring born earlier as a result of high temperatures during gestation had increased growth over the first winter of life, but there was no effect on offspring survival, nor was there an effect of developmental temperature on the incidence of developmental abnormalities. Combined, our results suggest that advancing birth dates that result from warming climates may have positive effects in this population via increased growth.

Climate and sex ratio variation in a viviparous lizard.

The extent to which key biological processes, such as sex determination, respond to environmental fluctuations is fundamental for assessing species' susceptibility to ongoing climate change. Few studies, however, address how climate affects offspring sex in the wild. We monitored two climatically distinct populations of the viviparous skink Niveoscincus ocellatus for 16 years, recording environmental temperatures, offspring sex and date of birth. We found strong population-specific effects of temperature on offspring sex, with female offspring more common in warm years at the lowland site but no effect at the highland site. In contrast, date of birth advanced similarly in response to temperature at both sites. These results suggest strong population-specific effects of temperature on offspring sex that are independent of climatic effects on other physiological processes. These results have significant implications for our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary consequences of variation in sex ratios under climate change.

Creating Inclusive Physical Activity Spaces: The Case of Body-Positive Yoga.

PURPOSE: Within the modern cultural climate, those in larger bodies face high levels of weight stigma, particularly in sport and physical activity spaces, which serves as a strong barrier to their participation. However, given the strong link between physical activity and general health and well-being for participants, it is important to explore strategies that encourage participation of these individuals. Thus, the current research examined strategies that physical activity instructors use to develop inclusive exercise spaces for all body sizes. METHOD: This study employed a series of semistructured qualitative interviews (n = 9) with instructors of body-inclusive yoga classes to explore the ways in which they encourage participation for those in larger bodies. RESULTS: Emergent themes from the current study suggested support for 6 factors for creating body-inclusive physical activity spaces: authentic leadership, a culture of inclusion, a focus on health, inclusive language, leader social activism, and a sense of community. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that leaders must intentionally cultivate inclusion in their spaces to encourage those in nonconforming bodies to participate. These findings have important health and management implications for the sport and physical activity context and provide a basic outline of practical strategies that practitioners can use to foster inclusion in their spaces.

Using a Community Health Development Framework to Increase Community Capacity: A Multiple Case Study.

The Physical Activity and Community Engagement Project utilized a comparative case study to understand how a theoretical framework called community health development (CHD) influences community capacity. Three rural communities (cases) developed interventions using a CHD framework. Researchers collected qualitative evidence measuring capacity and the CHD process for more than 3 years. Patterns identified seven capacity constructs relevant to CHD, including community history, civic participation, leadership, skills, resources, social and interorganizational networks, and critical reflection. Community health development focuses on population health improvement and strengthening community capacity. As such, it helps communities address local priorities and equips them to address future issues.

Examining the associations of perceived community racism with self-reported physical activity levels and health among older racial minority adults.

BACKGROUND: Racial health disparities are more pronounced among older adults. Few studies have examined how racism influences health behaviors. This study's purpose was to examine how opportunities for physical activity (PA) and community racism are associated with older racial minorities' reported engagement in PA. We also investigated how PA levels influenced health. METHODS: We analyzed survey data obtained from a health assessment conducted in 3360 households in Texas, USA, which included items pertaining to PA, community characteristics, and health. RESULTS: Our sample contained 195 women and 85 men (mean age 70.16), most of whom were African American. We found no direct relationship between opportunities and PA. Results suggested that perceived community racism moderated this association. When community racism was low, respondents found ways to be active whether they perceived opportunities or not. When community racism was high, perceived lack of opportunities significantly impeded PA engagement. We found the expected association between PA and health. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggested that negative effects of community racism were counteracted through increased opportunities for PA.

The moderating effects of contact with lesbian and gay friends on the relationships among religious fundamentalism, sexism, and sexual prejudice.

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which contact with lesbian and gay friends moderated the effects of religious fundamentalism and sexism on sexual prejudice. The authors gathered data from 269 heterosexual adults living in Texas. Results indicate that the effects of religious fundamentalism on sexual prejudice were reduced when contact was high. However, the positive association between modern sexism and sexual prejudice was not moderated by contact. The authors discuss theoretical and practical implications.