Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Associated Factors Among High School Students in Shinshicho Town, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Early identification of people living with hepatitis B virus infection is required to initiate treatment and care, prevent community transmission, and expand vaccination. However, only an estimated 10% of people living with chronic hepatitis B infection are diagnosed, and only 2% are on treatment globally. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection and its associated factors among high school students in Shinshicho Town, southern Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 380 high school students in Shinshicho Town, southern Ethiopia, from September to October 2022. A laboratory investigation of hepatitis B surface antigen was done to determine infection status. An odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was used to declare statistical significance. Results: The prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among high school students in Shinshicho town was observed to be 7.6% (95% CI: 5.5, 10.5%). Age 20 to 24 years [AOR: 2.7; 95% CI: (1.0-7.0)], rural residence [AOR: 3.4; 95% CI: (1.3-8.9)], and history of unprotected drug injection [AOR: 11.3; 95% CI: (3.7-34.8)] were independently associated with hepatitis B virus infection. Conclusion: A high prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection was observed among high school students in this study. Therefore, strengthening the school-based screen-and-treat program, especially targeting students from rural areas and young adults, and conducting awareness campaigns about the importance of practicing safe behaviors, such as avoiding unprotected drug injections, could contribute to the prevention and control of hepatitis B virus infection among high school students.

Moving the Needle: A Qualitative Exploration of the School Nurses' Experience with Virginia's Human Papillomavirus Mandate.

In all US localities, students provide proof of compliance with vaccination requirements to attend school. Despite benefits, vaccine legislation remains contentious. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended for adolescents and prevents cancer, but its inclusion in school immunization requirements is challenged. Virginia was the first state to mandate HPV vaccination. HPV is the only required vaccine in VA that allows caregivers to elect out. School nurses are trusted members of communities and enforce vaccine compliance. This study aims to understand Virginia school nurses' practice in implementing the HPV vaccine mandate through the exploration of their subjective experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis using the socioecological model guided data analysis. Factors that influence nursing practice were identified at all socioecological model levels The data from this study is intended to provide an understanding of school nursing practice so that interventions to improve HPV vaccination rates can be developed.

Exploring the Feasibility of a Cancer Awareness Program for High School Students in a Brazilian School: A Pilot Study.

Cancer is a leading cause of mortality globally and is projected to be the primary cause of death in Brazil by 2030. Yet, for high school students, information and understanding about cancer are primarily offered through standard biology lessons. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a brief educational intervention related to cancer among high school students in a Brazilian private school. Participants attended a 1-h online session regarding different aspects of cancer. A self-reported questionnaire about the main topics addressed in the session was filled out before [pre] and after [post] the educational intervention and the results were compared by McNemar's chi-square test. From 900 parents invited, 44 (4.9%) responded to the invitation and agreed with their children's participation, and 24 students attended the activity. The questionnaire was easy to fill out for the students and allowed us to measure differences after the educational intervention. The high school students considered the most interesting topics cancer myths and protective/risk factors. The project was feasible and showed easy application and better knowledge after the educational intervention. The main challenge is related to the access to parents to authorize their children's participation. Designing interventions that focus on cancer education might be a viable way to increase prevention and early diagnosis with implications for students, their families, and the community.

Arthroscopic Shoulder Stabilization in High School Football Players.

Background: Destabilizing shoulder injuries are common in high school American football players; however, the rate of recurrent glenohumeral instability and return to play after arthroscopic labral stabilization surgery remains unknown. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of recurrent instability on return to competitive high school football after arthroscopic shoulder labral stabilization and capsulorrhaphy procedures. It was hypothesized that the instability rate would be greater in players with more years of eligibility remaining (YER) to play at the high school level. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Consecutive male high school football players with at least 1 YER who sustained at least 1 anterior traumatic inseason shoulder instability episode and underwent arthroscopic stabilization between 2012 and 2017 were identified. Patients and/or families were contacted by phone to discuss (1) recurrent instability episodes and (2) return to competitive sport and/or recreational athletic activity. Statistical analysis was conducted using chi-square tests to compare recurrent shoulder instability with return to play and YER. Results: A total of 45 football players aged 14 to 17 years were included, with a mean follow-up of 4.1 years. Most patients (60%) chose not to return to competitive football, due mainly to fear of recurrent injury. Overall, the recurrent instability rate was 15.6% (7/45). The instability rate in players who returned to football was 16.7%, with 66.7% requiring revision surgery. The instability rate in patients who did not return to football was 14.8%, with no revision procedures required. In players who returned to football, the instability rate in YER group 4 was significantly higher than that in YER groups 1 to 3 (42% vs 10.5%, respectively, P = .03), with each year of play conferring an additional 10% risk of reinjury. There was a significant difference in the type of recurrent instability in players who returned to any sport versus those who did not (P = .029). Conclusion: High school football players who returned to competitive play after arthroscopic shoulder stabilization surgery experienced a higher rate of recurrent instability that was dependent on their YER. Over half of the players chose not to return to football, with fear of reinjury being the most common reason.

Estimation of Prevalence of Misophonia Among High School Students in India.

Objective: Misophonia, an intriguing psychological disorder is characterized by intense emotional responses to specific sounds produced by others, has gained prominence for its distinct attributes and profound impact on individuals' emotional and psychological well-being. This study addresses the scarcity of research on misophonia's prevalence and severity among high school students, aiming to shed light on the unique challenges faced by this demographic in India. Methods: The study enrolled 597 high school students, including 269 females and 328 males, aged 14 to 16, with no history of psychological or otological problems or medication use. The Misophonia Assessment Questionnaire questionnaire, consisting of 21 questions with a 4-point Likert scale response, assessed emotional and behavioral reactions to sensitive sounds. Participants' scores categorized them as Sub-clinical, Mild, Moderate, or Severe misophonia. Results: The prevalence of misophonia was 34.67% among high school students, with 52.65% categorized as Mild, 45.41% as Moderate, and 1.93% as severe misophonia. A comparison with a similar study on college students in India revealed a higher prevalence of misophonia among high school students. This discrepancy may relate to adolescents' vulnerable psychological states, marked by limited emotional regulation and significant life transitions. Conclusions: This study significantly contributes to the evolving understanding of misophonia by spotlighting its prevalence and severity among high school students in India. The findings underscore the necessity of recognizing and addressing misophonia's impact during adolescence, a crucial developmental phase.

Reading processes of public and private middle school and high school students.

INTRODUCTION: Reading has been widely discussed, mainly due to the published results of international performance tests of schoolchildren. The gaps generated in literacy hinder the development of basic skills necessary for reading, which will have a negative impact on the teaching-learning process from elementary school to high school. This study aimed to compare the reading performance of the students in public and private schools through tests of the Brazilian reading processes-PROLEC-SE-R. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. The Brazilian adaptation of the PROLEC-SE-R was administered to 436 students: 221 from the state school (G1 6th year, n = 30; G2 7th year, n = 33; G3 8th year, n = 35; G4 9th year, n = 31; G5 1st year, n = 32; G6 2nd year, n = 30; G7 3rd year, n = 30) e 215 private schools (G8 6th year, n = 31; G9 7th year, n = 31; G10 8th year, n = 30; G11 9th year, n = 31; G12 1st year, n = 30; G13 2nd year, n = 31; G14 3rd year, n = 31). Tools of descriptive and bivariate analysis were used. RESULTS: Superior performance of the private school students on spelling tests helps their reading as evidenced by their scores for syntactic and semantic processes. When the knowledge of the use of the word in text, extraction of meaning and its understanding was needed, the difficulty of access to the mental lexicon of the studied population became evident. CONCLUSION: The PROLEC-SE-R, in addition to establishing the reading profile of elementary and high school students, shows that the gaps in teaching and learning, which exist between public and private education in the literacy period, accompany students throughout the basic education cycle. Knowing the reading profile and in which process there is a disruption is important so that the teaching of specific strategies can be promoted throughout the entire schooling process, especially in primary and secondary education.

Bringing Real Inquiry-Based Science to Diverse Secondary Educational Environments: A Virtual Zebrafish Laboratory to Investigate Environmental Health.

The goal of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee WInSTEP SEPA program is to provide valuable and relevant research experiences to students and instructors in diverse secondary educational settings. Introducing an online experience allows the expansion of a proven instructional research program to a national scale and removes many common barriers. These can include lack of access to zebrafish embryos, laboratory equipment, and modern classroom facilities, which often deny disadvantaged and underrepresented students from urban and rural school districts valuable inquiry-based learning opportunities. An online repository of zebrafish embryo imagery was developed in the Carvan laboratory to assess the effects of environmental chemicals. The WInSTEP SEPA program expanded its use as an accessible online tool, complementing the existing classroom experience of our zebrafish module. This virtual laboratory environment contains images of zebrafish embryos grown in the presence of environmental toxicants (ethanol, caffeine, and nicotine), allowing students to collect data on 19 anatomical endpoints and generate significant amounts of data related to developmental toxicology and environmental health. This virtual laboratory offers students and instructors the choice of data sets that differ in the independent variables of chemical concentration and duration of postfertilization exposure. This enables students considerable flexibility in establishing their own experimental design to match the curriculum needs of each instructor.

Predicting Success: A Comprehensive Analysis of High School and Admission Test Scores on Future Academic Performance of Dental Students.

Introduction Dental school admissions in Pakistan traditionally rely on Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC), University of Health Sciences (UHS), and National Testing Service (NTS) scores, with limited research available on their predictive validity for dental school performance. This study aims to investigate the correlation between a student's first-year dental school performance and their HSSC, UHS, and NTS scores. Methods A total of 282 records, spanning the years 2016 to 2020, were obtained from a single private dental institution. The data included HSSC, UHS, and/or NTS scores, with the first professional examination results as the dependent variable. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Version 25.0, Armonk, NY), encompassing descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results Pearson's coefficients revealed weak to moderate positive correlations between the first professional examination and HSSC (r=0.209, p<.01), UHS (r=0.344, p<.01), and NTS (r=0.350, p<.01), all statistically significant at p < 0.01. Multiple regression analysis indicated that UHS scores contributed the highest explanatory power (R² = 0.146) in predicting first professional examination results. Conclusion A positive correlation between HSSC, UHS, and NTS scores with dental students' performance in the first professional examination is observed. However, the correlations are moderate, highlighting the importance of incorporating assessments that consider cognitive, behavioral, and skill-related aspects in admissions processes. Given the evolving landscape of dental education, these findings underscore the need for a holistic approach to identify candidates better equipped to serve the healthcare sector.

Mediating role of body mass index on the relationship between physical activity and physical fitness among junior high school students in Shanghai.

Objectives: This study explored the relationship between physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI), and physical fitness among junior high school students in Shanghai. Methods: A nationwide offline survey was conducted in Shanghai between August and December 2023, using a purposive sampling design. A total of 403 questionnaires were administered to 10 ninth-grade classes in 10 schools in Shanghai and 372 responses were included in the final analysis. Smart-PLS 4.0, structural equation modeling techniques were employed to analyze the collected data. Results: Light physical activity (LPA) had no influence on BMI, 800/1000 m (800/1000 M), sitting forward bend (FB), standing long jump (SLJ), 50 m (50 M), or vital capacity (VC). The results of part hypothesis supported the hypothetical model and explained that BMI had a negatively influence on 50 M, 800/1000 M and SLJ, BMI had a positively influence on VC. Moderate physical activity (MPA) had a negatively influence on BMI, but vigorous physical activity (VPA) had a positively influence on BMI, they both had influence on 50 M and FB, but had no influence on 800/1000 M, SLJ, and VC. Conclusions: BMI, MPA and VPA were found as pivotal factors influencing physical fitness, MPA and VPA were found to have divergent effects on BMI. This study highlighted the multifaceted nature of the relationship between PA, BMI, and physical fitness in junior high school students in Shanghai.

Secondary School State Athletic Association Health and Safety Policy Development Processes.

BACKGROUND: The National Federation of State High School Associations provides recommendations regarding health and safety policies; however, policy development is governed at the state level. Given interstate differences in governance, the primary purpose was to describe processes that State High School Athletic Associations (SHSAAs) utilize to develop a new policy. The secondary objective was to determine what methods associations use to implement new policies. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey requested SHSAA (n = 51) representatives to report how athlete health and safety policies are introduced, revised, approved, and implemented within their state. The 22-question survey was developed to gather variables for the aims of the study. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each survey item. RESULTS: Of states who responded (n = 33), most reported a 2-committee (n = 24, 72.7%) process for developing and vetting policies, with initiation from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (n = 27, 81.8%), followed by an executive-level committee (n = 18, 66.7%). States reported total time from policy initiation to final approval ranged from 2 weeks to over 12 months. When a new policy was approved, most states indicated implementation began with an e-mail (n = 24, 72.7%) sent to Athletic Directors (n = 26, 78.8%). School principal or district superintendent were reported as the position in charge of compliance (36.4%, n = 12). CONCLUSIONS: Most SHSAAs use a 2-step process to write and review an athlete health and safety policy before approval. SHSAAs that require a longer policy development time could delay the implementation of important health measures. SHSAAs could consider additional communication methods to ensure information reaches all stakeholders.

Exercise identity and physical activity behavior during late adolescence: A four wave cross-lagged panel model.

Research has shown that physical activity behavior tends to decline across adolescence before stabilizing in adulthood. Identifying salient factors underlying these behavioral changes is therefore imperative for informing intervention development. This study explored the temporal nature of the relationship between exercise identity and physical activity behavior during the transition out of high school. An analysis of data from the Application of integrated Approaches to understanding Physical activity during the Transition to emerging adulthood (ADAPT) prospective cohort study was conducted, involving 1451 Canadian adolescents (Mage = 15.93 ± 0.53 years; 52.4% female). Participants completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form to report weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and an abbreviated version of the Exercise Identity Scale yearly for four years beginning in Grade 11. A four-wave cross-lagged panel model was used to test bi-directional associations between exercise identity and physical activity behavior. Significant auto-regressive effects for exercise identity and physical activity were observed across all four time points. Significant positive cross-lagged paths were observed for exercise identity predicting future physical activity at all time points; however, none of the cross-lagged paths with physical activity predicting future exercise identity were significant. Collectively, these findings support existing theory that emphasizes the role that identity plays in physical activity behavior. Interventions seeking to attenuate the physical activity declines typically observed during the transition to emerging adulthood should therefore consider adopting behavior change techniques that target identity, as it appears to be an important psychological determinant underlying future physical activity engagement.

A customizable series of microbiology lab activities exploring a foodborne outbreak to enhance student recruitment to a biology program.

As educators at a small university, we are constantly trying to find new and innovative ways of getting high school students interested in a degree in Biology at our school. Thus, we designed an outreach program to draw interested high school students to our campus and participate in a day-long outbreak investigation. The investigation is composed of six distinct activities, each taking between 15 min and 1 h of active time. These activities can be used in conjunction or individually to engage students with basic epidemiology and microbiology. The modules included in this recruitment event are outbreak interviews, DNA fingerprinting analysis, Gram staining, examination of microbial diagnostic tests, use of high-performance liquid chromatography to analyze toxins, and examination of potential food preparation contamination. Our first event was a success, with all participants reporting that they enjoyed their time at the University and found the faculty and staff helpful. One of the students even said, "I wish all school was like this." The goal of this event was to increase potential student interest and enrollment in our program. We hope that in sharing our experience here we can provide other instructors with a menu from which to pick and choose inexpensive, easy, and engaging activities for high school and introductory college students.

Teaching Acid-Base Fundamentals and Introducing pH using Butterfly Pea Flower Tea.

Stimulating interest in science at an early age is important for STEM education. This work details an educational activity utilizing the anthocyanins found in the butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea). This activity was developed for use in official classroom settings, online, and/or at-home with parental or educator guidance. Primary and high school students aged 7 to 14 performed a straightforward extraction of anthocyanin pH indicators from Clitoria ternatea with hot water. Students were able to use this indicator and its vast range of colors to compare the acidity and basicity of different household solutions. Most responses recorded show that students used reasoning from the indicator and a subsequent chemical reaction to correctly differentiate acids from bases and compare their strengths. Overall, this activity's application of non-toxic and easily accessible indicators from the butterfly pea flower assisted in introducing young students to various concepts in acid-base chemistry, including acid/base strength and pH, solute dissolution, neutralization reactions, and qualitative analysis.

Utilizing a Medical School Outreach Program to Help High School Students Explore the Impact of Food Security and Ultra-Processed Foods on Health Risks.

We offered an enrichment program for high school students with the theme "The Environment, Health, and You" during the Summer of 2022 and the Spring of 2023. We developed several educational modules for high school students that provided them with an opportunity to learn and explore the foundations of physiological systems, nutrient needs to maintain health, and the impact that environmental factors can have on them. The modules included videos, discussion boards, games, readings, and labs. These modules were integrated into the first session: Your Body and Health. On day 1, the first module explored basic physiology and anatomy of the body with respect to the organization of cells into organ systems. Additionally, the educational content included information on macro- and micronutrients and their impact on body development, nutrition, and metabolism. The nutrition module explored nutrition concepts and various factors that can impact healthy eating patterns such as food insecurity issues and the consumption of ultra-processed foods. A lab activity on label reading was included to help empower students to make healthy choices. A total of 43 high school students participated in the program. Overall, the quality of the educational content in the modules was rated highly by the students and they indicated that the educational experience inspired them to learn more about the physiology and nutrition concepts associated with human metabolism and the importance of healthy food choices to maintain health.

Prediction of Junior High School Students' Problematic Internet Use: The Comparison of Neural Network Models and Linear Mixed Models in Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: With the rise of big data, deep learning neural networks have garnered attention from psychology researchers due to their ability to process vast amounts of data and achieve superior model fitting. We aim to explore the predictive accuracy of neural network models and linear mixed models in tracking data when subjective variables are predominant in the field of psychology. We separately analyzed the predictive accuracy of both models and conduct a comparative study to further investigate. Simultaneously, we utilized the neural network model to examine the influencing factors of problematic internet usage and its temporal changes, attempting to provide insights for early interventions in problematic internet use. Patients and Methods: This study compared longitudinal data of junior high school students using both a linear mixed model and a neural network model to ascertain the efficacy of these two methods in processing psychological longitudinal data. Results: The neural network model exhibited significantly smaller errors compared to the linear mixed model. Furthermore, the outcomes from the neural network model revealed that, when analyzing data from a single time point, the influences of seventh grade better predicted Problematic Internet Use in ninth grade. And when analyzing data from multiple time points, the influences of sixth, seventh, and eighth grades more accurately predicted Problematic Internet Use in ninth grade. Conclusion: Neural network models surpass linear mixed models in precision when predicting and analyzing longitudinal data. Furthermore, the influencing factors in lower grades provide more accurate predictions of Problematic Internet Use in higher grades. The highest prediction accuracy is attained through the utilization of data from multiple time points.

Implementation of a teen sleep app in Canadian high schools: Preliminary evidence of acceptability, engagement, and capacity for supporting healthy sleep habits.

High school students suffer from mental health challenges and poorer academic performance resulting from sleep disturbances. Unfortunately, approaches to this problem sometimes focus on increasing sleep duration by going to bed early; a strategy with limited success because teens experience a phase delay in bedtimes. There is a need for approaches that leverage behavioural sleep science and are accessible, scalable, and easily disseminated to students. DOZE (Delivering Online Zzz's with Empirical Support) is a self-management app that is grounded in sleep and circadian basic science. Although initial testing supports it as a feasible and acceptable app in a research context, it has not been tested as a strategy to use in schools. The present study tested DOZE in private high schools in Canada. Two-hundred and twenty-three students downloaded the app and completed daily sleep diaries over 4 weeks. Students reported a more regularised routine for bedtime, Mdiff = -0.43 h, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.65, -0.21], and rise time, Mdiff = -0.61 h, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.84, -0.38], in addition to a higher total sleep time, Mdiff = 0.18 h, p < 0.008, 95% CI [0.05, 0.31]. Students also rated DOZE to be highly acceptable. The evidence suggests that students find DOZE to be acceptable and engagement in this nonclinical population was reasonably high under minimal researcher supervision. This makes DOZE an attractive option and a step towards broad-based sleep health services. High powered replications with control groups are needed to increase empirical rigour.

Development of indicators and moral intelligence scales for junior high school students: mixed-method research.

The purposes of this research were (1) to study the indicators of moral intelligence for junior high school students, (2) to develop moral intelligence scales for junior high school students, and (3) to assess the needs of moral intelligence for junior high school students. By the mixed-method research, the sample group used in the research was 11 key informants for in-depth interviews, 100 students in mixed classes of 20 schools, 1,997 students in total. The results show the following:1. The moral intelligence indicators for junior high school students consisted of 6 indicators: Equality, Empathy, Morality, Tolerance, Self-control, and Kindness.2. To create moral intelligence scales for junior high school students, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for each section were.939,0.920 and.841, respectively. With corroborative component analysis classified by the overall composition, it was found that the mean was at a high level (M = 3.955), with a low distribution with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.576 and a distribution coefficient (C.V.) of 14.566.3. For needs assessment of moral intelligence for junior high school students, it was found that the third component of morality had the most needs (PNImodified=0.095), followed by the 5th component of self-control (PNImodified=0.081), the second component of empathy (PNImodified=0.075), the 4th component of tolerance (PNImodified=0.073), the 6th component of kindness (PNImodified=0.055) and the first component of equality (PNImodified=0.053).

Academic Stress Interventions in High Schools: A Systematic Literature Review.

The experience of academic stress is common during high school and can have significant negative consequences for students' educational achievement and wellbeing. High school students frequently report heightened levels of school-related distress, particularly as they approach high-stakes assessments. Programs designed to reduce or prevent academic stress are needed, and their delivery in school settings is ideal to improve treatment access. The current review aimed to examine the effectiveness of high school-based programs in reducing or preventing academic stress. A systematic search returned 31 eligible studies across 13 countries. Programs were categorised according to intervention type, format, and facilitator. Results showed that the methodological quality of most studies was poor, and many used an inactive control group. As predicted by theories of academic stress, the strongest evidence was for programs grounded in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). There was evidence that both universal and targeted approaches can be beneficial. The unique implementation issues for these two formats are discussed. Most programs were delivered by psychologists and were generally effective, but almost all of these were CBT programs. A smaller proportion of programs delivered by teachers were effective. Therefore, future studies should evaluate the implementation success of programs to improve the rate of effective delivery by school staff. Overall, the field will benefit from more randomised controlled trials with comparisons to active control groups, larger sample sizes and longer-term follow-ups.

Prevalence and associated factors of unhealthy diet among adolescents: cross-sectional study among Tunisian high school students.

OBJECTIVES: According to World Health Organization (WHO),Unhealthy Diet (UD)is a major risk factor for chronic diseases. That's why it is important to study the UD and its associated factors. Our study aimed to describe the dietary behavior of young high school students and determine associated factors of UD. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among students of seven high schools in center-eastern Tunisia during the academic year 2021/2022. Data collection was carried out in April2022 by questionnaires. The questions concerned the socio-demographic characteristics, food habits and physical activity. WHO defined UD as the consumption of less than five fruits and vegetables per day. Data analysis was done using SPSS software. RESULTS: A total of 740 adolescents were included. The mean age was17±1.16 years with extremes ranging from 14to19 years. Sex-ratio was 0.66. UD was found among 91.6 % of the study population. At multivariate analysis, eating cake (aOR=4.062; CI [1.685-9.795]; p=0.002),eating fried-food (aOR=3.239; CI [1.118-9.385]; p=0.03)and consuming sweets (aOR=3.263; CI [1.666-6.394]; p=0.001)were independent risk factors of UD. In the other hand, regular physical activity (aOR=0.524; CI [0.294-0.936]; p=0.029)and having breakfast regularly (aOR=0.523; CI [0.297-0.923]; p=0.025)were independent protective factors of UD. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study showed an alarming prevalence of UD. Therefore, it is mandatory to establish effective strategies to support healthy diets and physical activity among adolescents in order to reduce non-communicable diseases related to UD.

Anxiety symptoms and coping strategies among high school students in Vietnam after COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-method evaluation.

Introduction: The objective of the current study was to examine the rate of high school students at risk of anxiety disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, as well as the coping strategies utilized within this demographic. Methods: An evaluation was conducted through the utilization of mixed methods, consisting of a combination of a cross-sectional study and in-depth interviews. In this study, a sample of 3,910 students from 13 high schools in Hanoi, Vietnam were selected for participation. The measurement of symptoms of anxiety disorder was conducted through the application of the seven-item General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale. To comprehend the underlying causes of anxiety and the various coping mechanisms employed, in-depth interviews were conducted. Results: The findings indicate a prevalence rate of anxiety disorder symptoms among students at 40.6% The prevalence rates of mild, moderate, and severe anxiety symptoms were found to be 23.9%, 10.9%, and 5.8%, respectively. In-depth interviews uncovered multiple sources of anxiety experienced by high school students, namely their academic performance, social interactions, prejudicial attitudes from their social circle, and familial expectations. Numerous coping strategies were then documented. Discussion: The current investigation ascertained that there exists a moderate level of anxiety amongst high school students in Hanoi, Vietnam during the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, this study configured potential indicators to identify vulnerable individuals and further suggests the development of targeted interventions.