Sex, Race, Food Security, and Sugar Consumption Change Efficacy Among Low-Income Parents in an Urban Primary Care Setting.

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between food security and parents' self-efficacy to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and sugary snacks in a sample of parents in waiting rooms in community-based primary care clinics in West Tennessee. Results from logistic regression models underscore the need for nuanced analysis, as the results from the pooled regression models differ from those stratified by food security status. Self-efficacy is an important factor for behavior change, and our study highlights the need for additional research examining how social, psychological, and behavioral factors have implications for behavior change self-efficacy.

Attitudes toward vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from HBCU students.

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among black college students and to explain students' reasoning behind their vaccine hesitancy. DESIGN: online survey completed in spring and summer of 2021. Students were recruited via email. SETTING: HBCU campus, North Carolina, USA. SUBJECTS: 397 currently enrolled students. MEASURES: An original survey instrument was developed which included questions on vaccination status and plans to get vaccinated, perceived threat from the coronavirus (adopted from PEW research) exercise behaviors and demographics. Respondents were also given the chance to respond to an open-ended question about their feelings about the vaccine. ANALYSIS: Binary Logistic Regression predicting likelihood that respondent is vaccine hesitant. RESULTS: Confidence in the safety of the vaccine was the strongest predictor of vaccine hesitancy. At the time of the survey only 25% of students had received at least one dose of the vaccine. 37% of the students did not plan on ever getting vaccinated. Other considerations (living with a vulnerable person or concerns about their own vulnerability to COVID) were not associated with getting vaccinated. Students were particularly concerned about side effects from the vaccine. CONCLUSION: Racial disparities in COVID-19 infections, deaths, and vaccinations serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need to better understand the factors that could lead to mitigation of the virus. Fear about the safety of the vaccine among minority populations in particular must be unpacked in order to address valid concerns and overcome hesitancy. This study provides key insights into the contours of those fears.

Examining the Frequency of Religious Practices among Hypertensive and Non-Hypertensive Black Men.

Although Black men in the United States face high rates of hypertension, the nexus of health and religion remain understudied for this population. The present study analyzes religious variables, such as prayer, Bible reading, and religious meditation, to describe the frequency of these practices among hypertensive and non-hypertensive Black men. This study utilizes data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) 3 - Milwaukee African American Sample series, with 135 Black men (51.1% stating that they had experienced hypertension in the past 12 months). Findings suggest that Black men with a diagnosis of hypertension were significantly more likely to report that they prayed and read religious literature more often than their non-hypertensive counterparts. The results of the present study demonstrate key religious practices that hypertensive Black men might use as a potential coping response to their health condition.