Inequalities in premature deaths have increased between the rich and poor in Canada

CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL

Research News

 

Socioeconomic inequalities in premature deaths in Canada have increased over the last 25 years, according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"Although premature mortality rates have declined over time in Canada, those with lower levels of income and education have not benefitted equally from these overall improvements," says Dr. Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Ontario, with coauthors. "As a result of these uneven gains, socioeconomic inequalities in premature mortality have increased in Canada."

To understand how socioeconomic inequalities in premature mortality have changed, researchers analyzed data on adults aged 25-74 years using the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts, which links information from Canada's long-form Census to the Canadian Mortality Database. The study covered the period between 1991 and 2016. Key metrics were socioeconomic status, measured using household income and education, and cause of death.

The relative risk of premature death associated with having a lower income or lower level of education increased steadily over the study period. For example, whereas men in the lowest income group were 110% more likely to die prematurely than their richer counterparts in 1991, they were 180% more likely to die prematurely in 2016. That inequality also increased for lower-income women, who were 70% more likely to die prematurely than their richer counterparts in 1991, but 150% more likely to die prematurely in 2016.

The findings are consistent with those of other international studies that showed increasing mortality gaps between the rich and poor in the United States and Europe.

"We believe that health inequalities are getting worse because underlying social and economic inequalities are getting worse," says Dr. Shahidi. "To resolve health inequalities, governments should pursue policies that will reduce the extent of social and economic inequality in our society, such as raising the minimum wage, improving job security, increasing social assistance rates, and improving access to benefits such as Employment Insurance."

"Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in premature and avoidable mortality in Canada, 1991-2016" is published September 28, 2020.

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Study shows Massachusetts response to COVID-19 in nursing homes helped stem infection rate

State's innovative program can serve as a national model to ease the devastating impact of future pandemics like COVID-19 on frail nursing home residents

HEBREW SENIORLIFE HINDA AND ARTHUR MARCUS INSTITUTE FOR AGING RESEARCH

Research News

A paper just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that adherence to infection control processes, especially proper wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and cohorting strategies, such as grouping residents based on their risk of infection or whether they tested positive for COVID-19, was significantly associated with declines in weekly infection and mortality rates.

Lewis A. Lipsitz, M.D., Director of the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Chief Academic Officer at Hebrew SeniorLife, was the lead author on the report, which analyzed the process and outcome of Massachusetts' novel state-wide COVID-19 infection control program developed to stem the rate of infection among vulnerable nursing home populations.

In April 2020, Massachusetts nursing homes became a hotspot for COVID-19 infections and associated deaths. In response, Governor Charles Baker allocated $130 million in additional nursing home funding for two months. Funding was contingent on compliance with a new set of care criteria, which included mandatory testing of all residents and staff, and a 28-point infection control check-list. The 28 items included:

• six core (must-pass) competencies related to cohorting of COVID-19 cases;
• closing of congregate spaces;
• training and demonstrated proficiency in the donning and removal of PPE;
• proper wearing of PPE;
• the presence of appropriate infection control policies; and
• the ability of staff to recognize and respond to the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection.

Within two days of the Governor's announcement, Hebrew SeniorLife and the Massachusetts Senior Care Association collaborated to rapidly organize a Central Command Committee and five teams responsible for:

• infection control consultation and training;
• PPE procurement; and
• staffing, testing, and data management.

Eighty nursing homes with previous infection control deficiencies, and 43 additional facilities that failed an initial State Executive Office of Health and Human Services audit, were deemed "special focus" for on-site and virtual consultations, and all Massachusetts facilities were offered weekly webinars and answers to questions regarding infection control procedures. The facilities were also informed by the Massachusetts Senior Care Association of available resources for the acquisition of PPE and back-up staff, and the Massachusetts National Guard was mobilized to provide universal testing.

Review and analysis of data collected from the program showed both resident and staff infection rates in special focus facilities rapidly declined to the same low level in both groups after facilities put recommended infection control interventions in place. For example, special focus resident infection rates declined from 10 percent (May 17) to approximately 0 percent (July 5).

"Massachusetts' innovative program was unprecedented in this country," said Dr. Lipsitz. "It helped long-term care providers increase their knowledge of, and access to, best infection control practices and reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread for both residents and staff."

Lou Woolf, President and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife said, "We hope to see this intervention replicated in other states, appropriately funded, and sustained in all nursing homes, so that future waves of COVID-19, and other pandemics, can be prevented or mitigated."

"This study shows the importance of prioritizing surveillance testing, funding for wages, and PPE for nursing homes so that we can protect both our staff and our residents," said Tara Gregorio, President of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association. "Until a vaccine is approved and available widely, these remain our best defenses against COVID-19."

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Co-authors on the study include Alyssa Dufour, Ph.D., and Laurie Herndon, G.N.P., from the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Alida M. Lujan, M.B.A., M.P.A., from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School, Gary Abrahams and Helen Magliozzi from the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, and Mohammad Dar, M.D., from Massachusetts Medicaid (MassHealth).

About the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research

Scientists at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute seek to transform the human experience of aging by conducting research that will ensure a life of health, dignity, and productivity into advanced age. The Marcus Institute carries out rigorous studies that discover the mechanisms of age-related disease and disability; lead to the prevention, treatment, and cure of disease; advance the standard of care for older people; and inform public decision-making.

About Hebrew SeniorLife

Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Based in Boston, the nonprofit organization has provided communities and health care for seniors, research into aging, and education for geriatric care providers since 1903. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit http://www.hebrewseniorlife.org and our blog, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About MSCA

The Massachusetts Senior Care Association represents a diverse set of organizations that deliver a broad spectrum of services to meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities. Its members include more than 400 nursing and rehabilitation facilities, assisted living residences, residential care facilities, and continuing care retirement communities. Forming a crucial link in the continuum of care, Mass. Senior Care facilities provide housing, health care, and support services to more than 100,000 people a year; employ more than 50,000 staff members; and contribute more than $3.5 billion annually to the Massachusetts economy.

 

Research may curb economic losses to power plants after earthquakes

Texas A&M researchers have shown that electrical transformer bushing systems reinforced with steel are more resistant to damage.

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Sitting atop power transformers are wavy shaped bushing systems that play a critical role in supplying communities with electricity. However, these objects are also susceptible to breaking during earthquakes. Once damaged, bushings can cause widespread outages and burden the state with expensive repairs.

In a recent study, Texas A&M University researchers have shown that during high seismic activity, the structural integrity of bushing systems can be better maintained by reinforcing their bases with steel stiffeners. Also, by using probability-based loss assessment studies, they found that the economic burden due to damage to bushing systems from earthquakes is up to 10 times lower for steel-reinforced transformer bushing systems compared to other bushing configurations.

"Transformer bushing systems are vital to electrical substation networks, and these components are especially vulnerable in high-seismic regions, like in California or parts of the northeast," said Dr. Maria Koliou, assistant professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "We have conducted a full risk and loss assessment of the impact of damaged bushings in terms of cost and time to recovery for electrical power networks."

The details of the study are provided in the July issue of the journal Structure and Infrastructure Engineering.

An electrical bushing is a sleeve-like covering that surrounds a conductor carrying a high voltage electrical current. Generally found at close proximity to transformers or circuit breakers, these systems ensure that electric currents do not leak out of metal wires. Thus, bushings are made of insulators, porcelain in particular, and are filled with mineral oil.

Despite their ability to withstand strong electric fields, bushings are brittle and can crack easily in the event of high seismic activity. Consequently, any damage to them is an electrical hazard. More extensive structural injuries to the bushing system can cause widespread power outages and high replacement costs.

One possible way to mitigate damage and thereby repair is by strengthening the bushing with steel plates. Just like a strong foundation can improve a building's stability, steel flexural stiffeners as close as possible to the bushing base has been shown to improve bushing stability during earthquakes. However, Koliou said a more comprehensive analysis of the impact of seismic vulnerability on bushing systems in terms of recovery costs has been lacking.

To address this gap, Koliou and her graduate student, Andrew Brennan, conducted a probabilistic analysis to compare the economic losses incurred from the damage of bushings for different intensities of ground motions. They investigated bushings of different geometries representative of medium- and high-voltage scenarios. More importantly, some bushings had steel plate stiffeners and others did not in their original designs.

Koliou and Brennan found that the economic losses for the earthquake intensities considered in the study were 33-55% lesser when the bushings' bases are reinforced with steel plates. In fact, the expected annual losses for bushings without the steel stiffeners were at least 2.5-10 times larger when subjected to different ground motions.

"Our results show that steel stiffeners are effective at preventing bushings from damage, but what 'effective' means for a structural engineer can have little meaning for someone who is not. We wanted to generalize our findings in more practical terms for stakeholders other than engineers," said Koliou. "And so, we quantified the benefit of using steel stiffeners in terms of a dollar value and the time it would take to recover for a variety of earthquake scenarios, which is more easily interpretable."

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Theater improvisation techniques show promising results for science classroom engagement

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY

Research News

 

A researcher at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has developed a unique method to improve class participation in a graduate-level thermodynamics course by incorporating theater improvisation activities in the classroom. Erin Lavik, associate dean for research and faculty development and professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering at UMBC, wanted to find a way to encourage better participation in a thermodynamics seminar, and thought that allowing students to warm up to each other through theater exercises might improve their confidence when discussing complex topics. Based on her case studies of class participation on days when improv activities were conducted and also on anonymous survey feedback from students, Lavik confirmed that the improv activities led to a higher rate of engagement and participation. The findings are published in Biomedical Engineering Education.

The research was conducted over the course of the Fall 2019, Spring and Summer 2020 terms, and the improvisation techniques were used both in person and digitally, after remote learning became the new normal. Lavik used a variety of improv games at the beginning of class periods. One example is "Yes, and," which encourages students to listen to each other and build upon what the previous person said in order to create a nonsensical story.

The importance of listening in this game fosters an attentive classroom. Everyone is expected to participate at least once in the story, which creates a community of students that are primed to pay attention and respond to one another easily. In the survey data that Lavik collected, students said that when the improv games took place, they felt more alert, engaged, and ready to participate.

These findings are situated in a larger body of evidence indicating that doing improvisation exercises can support alertness. Students who believe that they are able to improvise and think on their feet use that knowledge to reduce their anxiety both in their studies and in general. The positive reinforcement associated with the activities after their completion was intended to leave students feeling more comfortable talking and making mistakes in the course.

Now that most university instruction is taking place online, participation in seminars and discussions is more important than ever, but these platforms make it even less likely that students will participate actively. However, given that the improvisation activities can be done completely online and show promising initial results, Lavik believes that the technique might help to engage everyone more effectively.

"The improv exercises often led to laughter, especially the exercises that were inspired by thermodynamics," says Lavik. "It helps create an environment where it is ok to try out new ideas and experiment. It is easier to ask questions when people feel like they are part of a group."

The use of this interdisciplinary method has proven to be highly effective at engaging students and creating a classroom community, especially important given the common limitations of online learning. Providing a final note on the benefits of this project, Lavik says, "We can do a lot to augment learning by being creative across disciplines. This is just one example of why it is so important to talk across our expertise, sharing ideas and techniques across different fields."

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Reusing tableware can reduce waste from online food deliveries

UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN

Research News

 

IMAGE: THIS IS A TYPICAL CHINESE MEAL THAT WAS ORDERED ONLINE AND INCLUDES PLASTIC TABLEWARE. view more 

CREDIT: ZHOU ET AL

Lifestyles in China are changing rapidly, and ordering food online is an example. However, those billions of delivery meals produce an enormous amount of plastic waste from packaging, but also from food containers and cutlery; in one year, some 7.3 billion sets of single-use tableware accompany the food. Around one-third of the 553 kilotons of municipal solid waste that is generated each day comes from packaging. That is why a group of scientists analysed whether using paper alternatives or reusable tableware could reduce plastic waste and associated life cycle emissions.

Alternatives

Ya Zhou (associate professor at Guangdong University of Technology) and Yuli Shan are the first authors of this paper. Yuli Shan, Dabo Guan (Professor at Tsinghua University) and Yanpeng Cai (Professor at Guangdong University of Technology) are the corresponding authors.

'We quantified the environmental impact and modelled different alternatives,' explains Shan. The alternatives to the single-use plastic tableware were single-use paper alternatives and reusable silicone tableware that is cleaned either by the restaurants that cook the food or in a central cleaning facility.

Paper substitution

Paper may sound like a good alternative since it can be degraded, but single-use polyethylene-coated paper containers and bags actually increased emissions and total waste volume. 'For those areas without paper waste collection and recycling systems, paper substitution is not the optimal option for addressing the takeaway packaging waste dilemma,' says Zhou. Reusable silicon tableware reduced plastic waste by up to 92 per cent, and environmental emissions (carbon, sulfur and nitrogen dioxides, small particulate matter, dioxins) and chemical oxygen demand) and water consumption by more than two-thirds.

Getting an environmentally friendly and, at the same time, safe system of reusable tableware up and running requires some investments. 'A central cleaning facility would be best, also for health inspections to ensure safety, but this requires a system for collecting the used sets.' That is not easy but also not impossible: 'However, it does need a government effort to realize this.'

Zero waste

The Chinese government is taking steps to drastically reduce waste, as the Nature Food paper explains. A number of initiatives have sought new solutions for municipal solid waste management and plastic reduction, including a sorting implementation plan, a 'zero-waste city' pilot programme that started last year and a nationwide single-use plastic ban as from January 2020.

Would it not be easier to deliver the food without tableware? It may be possible in some cases, but not for all takeaway orders, according to Shan: 'Most meals are not eaten at home but in the classroom, during lunch breaks or at the office, when employees work late.' Zhou added that 'reusing tableware provides a potential solution to reduce waste and emissions from takeaway meals and a new strategy for promoting sustainable and "zero-waste" lifestyles'.

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Reference: Ya Zhou, Yuli Shan, Dabo Guan, Xi Liang, Yanpeng Cai, Jingru Liu, Wei Xie, Jinjun Xue, Zhuguo Ma & Zhifeng Yang: Sharing tableware reduces waste generation, emissions and water consumption in China's takeaway packaging waste dilemma. Nature Food, 15 September 2020

 

Scholars untangle marketing's complex role in understanding political activities

News from the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing

AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION

Research News

 

As 2020 began, many pundits predicted a politically charged year, but few predicted that it would include a global pandemic overtaxing healthcare resources, strained U.S. race relations resulting in mass demonstrations across the globe, devastating fires consuming massive swaths of the United States, and a catastrophic global economic downturn. This month's special issue of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing acknowledges the role that marketing does and can play in addressing political activities with articles that explore key topics like elections, voting, corporate political advocacy, and consumer political identities. Two commentaries from an industry veteran and an esteemed journal editor offer both applied and scholarly paths for future marketing strategies and research. While the articles were not intended to respond directly to the specific events, they still provide theories explaining firm, consumer, agency, and other stakeholder behaviors along with strategy implications.

"A Vote of Competence: How a Similar Upbringing to Political Candidates Influences Voting Choice," by Matthew D. Meng and Alexander Davidson

The authors explore a commonly used political strategy: showing how similar political candidates are to constituents and voters. The authors confirm this relationship but expand the understanding as it relates to a candidate's competence along with particular audiences for whom the strategy is most effective.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620943181

"Citizen Participation in Political Markets: Extending Service-Dominant Logic to Public Policy," by Mark Peterson and Robert W. Godby

The results of this study suggest that the decisions offered by citizens in a research setting reflect citizens' competence for informing elected representatives and policy makers regarding budgeting. When constituents can be brought into the process of ongoing governance in an effective and manageable fashion that does not require an expensive referendum or election, distortions of democracy will be reduced.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620912287

"To Change the Law, Defy the Law: Hijacking the Cause and Co-Opting Its Advocate," by Bernard Cova

This research examines how the advocates of a cause respond to corporate approaches that integrate marketing and political activities for the cause. The findings reveal that such marketing activities resemble co-optation of the initial advocate of the cause and hijacking of the cause they advocate for.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620943855

"Brands Taking a Stand: Authentic Brand Activism or Woke Washing?" by Jessica Vredenburg, Sommer Kapitan, Amanda Spry, and Joya A. Kemper

The authors draw on theory to determine how and when a brand engaging with a sociopolitical cause can be viewed as authentic, finding that moderate, optimal incongruence between brand and cause acts as a boundary condition. They explore important policy and practice implications for current and aspiring brand activists, from specific brand-level standards in marketing efforts to third-party certifications and public sector partnerships.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620947359

"The Activist Company: Examining a Company's Pursuit of Societal Change Through Corporate Activism Using an Institutional Theoretical Lens," by Meike Eilert and Abigail Nappier Cherup

Using institutional theory, the authors create a framework showing how corporate activism can address these societal problems through influence and change strategies that can target the institutional environment "top-down" or "bottom-up." This framework further investigates how the company's identity orientation facilitates corporate activism.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620947408

"Political Ideology in Consumer Resistance: Analyzing Far-Right Opposition to Multicultural Marketing," by Sofia Ulver and Christofer Laurell

The authors explore the discursive efforts in far-right consumer resistance to advance a political agenda through protests directed at brands' multicultural advertising and analyze how these consumers conceptualize their adversaries in the marketplace. In contrast to previous framings of adversaries identified in consumer research, where resistance is typically anticapitalist and directed toward firms' unethical conduct or the exploitation by the global market economy per se, the authors find that the following discursive themes stand out in the far-right consumer resistance: the emphasis on the state as main antagonist, the indifference to capitalism as a potential adversary, and overt contestation of liberal ethics.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620947083

"Politics at the Mall: The Moral Foundations of Boycotts," by Daniel Fernandes

This article demonstrates that although both liberals and conservatives engage in consumer political actions, they do so for different reasons influenced by their unique moral concerns: Liberals engage in boycotts and buycotts that are associated with the protection of harm and fairness moral values (individualizing moral values), whereas conservatives engage in boycotts and buycotts that are associated with the protection of authority, loyalty, and purity moral values (binding moral values). In addition, the individualizing moral values lead to a generally more positive attitude toward boycotts, which explains why liberals are more likely to boycott and buycott.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620943178

"Commentary: Brand Activism in a Political World," by Christine Moorman

The Editor in Chief of the venerable Journal of Marketing and author of "The CMO Survey" analyzes CMO's changing opinions on firm activism.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620945260

"Commentary: Patagonia and the Business of Activism," by Vincent Stanley

Patagonia's Director of Philosophy discusses the brand's decision to take public stands on critical issues such as climate change.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620943181

For the full issue and contact information, visit https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ppoa/39/4.

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About the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing

The Journal of Public Policy & Marketing is a forum for understanding the nexus of marketing and public policy, with each issue featuring a wide-range of topics, including, but not limited to, ecology, ethics and social responsibility, nutrition and health, regulation and deregulation, security and privacy.

https://www.ama.org/jppm

About the American Marketing Association (AMA)

As the largest chapter-based marketing association in the world, the AMA is trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover what's coming next in the industry. The AMA has a community of local chapters in more than 70 cities and 350 college campuses throughout North America. The AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM® professional certification, premiere academic journals, and industry-leading training events and conferences.

 

Education: an influencing factor for intergenerational mobility in Canada

Education tied to intergenerational mobility

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE - INRS

Research News

 

Quebec and Montreal, September 25, 2020 - The relationship between the income levels of parents and their children once they reach adulthood is complex, but education could be one of the factors that influence Canadian intergenerational mobility. This according to a study recently published by INRS (Institut national de la recherche scientifique) professor Xavier St-Denis and Statistics Canada researcher Gaëlle Simard Duplain in Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques. The study looks at the role education levels play in intergenerational income mobility in Canada.

Most studies available on the subject present results based on national or regional income mobility, which can be used to make geographic and historical comparisons. "The underlying mechanisms at play in the relationship between the income of parents and the income of their children, including their education levels and job characteristics, hasn't been studied much in Canada," explained Professor St-Denis.

To measure the effects of education on intergenerational mobility in Canada, the two researchers looked at the data from Statistics Canada's Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA), which covers the period from 1982 to 2014. "Our study shows that in Canada, a child's education level explains 40.5% to 50.1% of the correlation between a child's income once they reach adulthood and their parent's income," said Professor St-Denis. "That's similar to the results observed in the United States and the UK."

Income inequality repeated from one generation to the next

According to the research results, social and economic inequalities occur early in life and have long-lasting effects.

The results also point to the existence of differentiation mechanisms that operate throughout the working lives of people with similar levels of education. "Intergenerational mobility partly results from the different characteristics in a child's environment, from their cumulative and complementary effects. It also results from the time, financial resources, and social capital that parents with a higher income are more likely to invest in their children's education," said Professor St-Denis, who recently joined INRS's Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre.

If the income of people living in a society is only marginally dependent on their parents' income, that society is said to have a high degree of intergenerational mobility. In other words, the context in which children grow and evolve does not depend solely on their parents' economic situation. Access to education, for example, could depend not on parents' ability to pay for it, but on the child's interest in pursuing their studies.

Inversely, when the income of individuals in adulthood is, on average, similar to that of their parents, inequalities are reproduced to a much greater degree from one generation to the next. This can result in intergenerational income immobility.

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About the article

"Exploration of the Role of Education in Intergenerational Income Mobility in Canada: Evidence from the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults" was published on September 14, 2020, in Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques.

About INRS

INRS is a university dedicated exclusively to graduate level research and training. Since its creation in 1969, INRS has played an active role in Quebec's economic, social, and cultural development and is ranked first for research intensity in Quebec and second in Canada. INRS is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, with expertise in strategic sectors: Eau Terre Environnement, Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications, Urbanisation Culture Société, and Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie. The INRS community includes more than 1,400 students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and staff.

Source:

 

How do Americans view the virus? Anthropology professor examines attitudes of COVID

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

In her ongoing research about Americans' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, Northern Arizona University anthropology professor Lisa Hardy and her collaborators have talked to dozens of people. A couple of them stand out to the researchers.

Hardy spoke to a man who had polio as a child and had to live in a home with an iron lung away from his family. He said he was not in good health but he was not afraid of COVID-19 because he has seen all of this. A woman told anthropology lecturer Leah Mundell that she was the only Spanish-speaking contact tracer in her county, and she took on the responsibility of helping clients with much more than their physical health, connecting them with services and translating for them as they struggled to access resources.

Hardy's research, to which Mundell contributed, was published this week in Medical Anthropology. "Connection, Contagion, and COVID-19" looks at how Americans' attitudes and responses have changed during the time of the pandemic and how to many people, the virus is not a biological agent but instead a malicious actor. This perception may play a role in the various responses Hardy's team heard, including comments about racism, social justice and mistrust of information.

"Social scientists have done an excellent job of exploring past pandemics with regard to xenophobia--the 'Spanish Flu,' for instance--and how people understand bodies and illness," Hardy said. "This work builds on that by examining the COVID-19 pandemic in the current political moment. The results of this and other research can help to inform areas where collaborative interventions could potentially help to slow the spread of the virus and support well-being for people living through this time."

The research project, which is a collaboration as part of the Social Science Community Engagement Lab, started six months ago, in the early days of the pandemic in the United States. Researchers, including Hardy, Mundell and two others, conducted semi-structured conversational phone interviews with 50 diverse participants. They asked open-ended questions about how people are dealing with the pandemic and their experiences of social and political responses. Then they transcribe the recorded interviews and apply codes to the transcripts to identify patterns. Hardy said this qualitative strategy is ideal for exploring a situation that is rapidly changing and unfolding over time.

As they've called more people, the researchers have seen the interview content change. In more recent interviews, people talked about social uprisings like Black Lives Matter. They're analyzing the relationship between these social movements and perceptions of COVID-19.

Researchers also are talking to more people who have had COVID-19 or had loved ones who got sick. Recent data includes how people reflect on medical care and contact tracing; that information will be useful for pandemic response. They also will continue interviewing after the Nov. 3 election, which will offer insight into the politicization of the pandemics and its effects.

Tracing the logic of different groups also is important for the group's research. Hardy said they've seen an increase in conspiracy theories in more recent interviews, as people across the political spectrum develop unfounded theories about the virus and its reach.

"We want to understand where these ideas are coming from and see how they influence behavior like vaccine uptake, health practices and voting patterns," she said.

The article includes specific responses researchers have collected as they describe their experiences. They run the gamut; interviewees shared fears, concerns and conspiracy theories. Other interviewees talked at length about new connections and circles of care they have formed to help others and to accept help when needed.

"The strength of some of the people who are having to live through hardships is really heartwarming to us," Hardy said. "It gives us hope in this time of tragic loss and tension in the United States."

While the long-term effects of the pandemic are impossible to predict at this point, Hardy anticipates ongoing effects from the loss of loved ones and inability to grieve together as well as long-term health effects in people who survive COVID-19 but continue to have symptoms. But, she added, the country is seeing the development of creative and dynamic strategies for connection and resilience that will hopefully persist through generations.

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Fans arrive like butterflies: Pearl Jam concerts drive tourism, hotel demand

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: A PAIR OF PEARL JAM CONCERTS MADE A CASE THAT LARGER, ONE-OFF EVENTS TEND TO GENERATE MORE HOTEL AND TAX REVENUES THAN SPORTING EVENTS, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH FROM WVU... view more 

CREDIT: JOSHUA HALL

You could say Seattle came alive with more than an even flow of tourism dollars from a pair of highly-anticipated Pearl Jam concerts, according to rockin' new research by West Virginia University economists.

Dubbed the "Home Shows," two Pearl Jam concerts in August 2018 helped net the seaport city $58 million in additional hotel revenue and $9 million in hotel tax revenue. Compare that to Seattle Mariners baseball games, which generate $140,000 in additional hotel revenue on game days, and the researchers make a clear case for large, one-off events as economic boosters.

The study, "Why Go Home? Pearl Jam's 'Home Shows' & Hotel Demand," was authored by Joshua Hall, chair and professor of economics, and Justin Parker, a 2020 Ph.D. economics graduate. It was published in the Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights.

"While many events that attract visitors do not create large economic impacts (sports, for example) because a portion of the attendees are local and thus just represent spending that would happen anyway, events can generate large impacts under the right conditions," Hall said. "The Pearl Jam 'Home Shows' seem to be the perfect conditions.

"Baseball games are primarily visited by local fans. While there will be some out-of-area visitors who stay overnight, our data show they are small and do not shift demand enough to lead to a large increase in room prices and thus hotel revenue and taxes. The key difference is not between a concert and Mariners games, rather it is between events that draw people in from far away - thus requiring hotel nights - and events that mostly draw locals."

Hall believed the timing of the concert - at summer's end in early August - combined with a planned off-day between the two shows made it ideal for loyal fans wanting to combine a live music experience with a vacation. The shows marked Pearl Jam's first in Seattle - their hometown - in five years and attracted fans from across the globe.

Every Pearl Jam show is also different than the one prior, so fans attending both were guaranteed a unique opportunity from each performance.

Hall and Parker found that the concerts, held Aug. 8 and 10, increased average daily room rates by as much as $144 a night and hotel occupancy to more than 90 percent.

One contributor to the Seattle economy was Hall himself, who attended the concerts with his wife, Sabrina, as part of their 20th wedding anniversary. The couple flew from Clarksburg to Seattle via Chicago, and the plane from Clarksburg was full with everyone wearing Pearl Jam apparel, Hall said.

"Then when I checked into the hotel, I chatted with the manager," he said. "He told me that room rates got up to over $400 a night and that he thought everyone in the hotel was a Pearl Jam fan based on their clothing when they checked in. That made me think - based on what I knew about their ticketing system - that this would be the ideal conditions for large economic impacts.

"In the stands I saw and met people from all over the country and world - many international fans bring their country's flags to hold up - which further led me to realize that I wanted to estimate the impact of these shows on hotel demand and hotel tax revenue."

Hall added that research like this can inform policymakers' decisions regarding permitting and other forms of public support for concerts and cultural events.

By contrast, some sporting events do not result in economic boosts for host cities. The City of Charlotte spent $330,000 on public safety surrounding the 2017 PGA Championship, although the event had no significant impact on hotel revenue and taxes, according to one study. Meanwhile, the City of Seattle estimates each World Cup 2026 game hosted will cost $1.32 million for security. Hall projects the city will only be able to recoup those costs through the hotel tax if most attendees are from outside Seattle.

"Given the uniqueness of Pearl Jam the band and the 'Home Shows,' we argue that this case presents an upper bound of what an event designed to attract tourists can have on hotel demand," Hall said. "Tourism, and consequently hotel demand, are a key component of the economic development strategy of many cities."

Citation: "Why go home? Pearl Jam's 'Home Shows' & hotel demand"

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news re

 

Marketing study investigates impact of Viagra TV ads on birth rates

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

Research News

IMAGE: MARKETING RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT AN INCREASE IN ADVERTISING OF ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION DRUGS CONTRIBUTED TO MORE TOTAL BIRTHS IN MASSACHUSETTS. view more 

CREDIT: UT DALLAS

Many marketing studies have examined the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals on sales and market shares. But in a new study, a researcher from The University of Texas at Dallas wanted to know whether drug advertising might have some unintended, population-level health consequences.

"A colleague and I were brainstorming, and I wondered, 'Can Viagra ads result in more babies?'" said Dr. Tongil "TI" Kim, assistant professor of marketing in the Naveen Jindal School of Management and one of the study's co-authors. "With a more or less fixed gestation period, my colleague and I knew that we could compare advertising amount and birth rates after 10 months."

In the study, published online April 28 and in the August print issue of the Journal of Marketing Research, Kim and Dr. Diwas KC of Emory University explored the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising of erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs on birth rate at the population level.

The researchers examined local television commercials for three drug brands: Viagra (sildenafil), Levitra (vardenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil). They compared advertising data with hospital data from Massachusetts between 2001 and 2010, and with 15 million birth certificate records from the U.S. between 2000 and 2004.

They used a type of quasi field experiment -- a way to show causality in economics and marketing -- to address many potential confounding factors. They examined two sets of adjacent rural ZIP codes with similar characteristics, where one side received more ED drug ads than the other side due to discontinuity in TV ad market delineation. In other words, they compared two sets of ZIP codes that are very similar in terms of demographics and socioeconomic factors except for the level of ED drug ads.

Additionally, the researchers considered other variables that might have affected increased birth rates during these time periods, such as inclement or cold weather. They also considered other advertising, over-the-air signal quality and the possibility of couples moving across the television markets' geographic borders, and determined those factors were not major concerns in the study's setting.

In further robustness checks, the researchers replaced ED drug advertising with advertising for an unrelated drug category and found no impact on birth rates. Also, they did not find significant effects in earlier months as gestation would take at least nine months.

The researchers found that in ZIP codes where more ED drug ads ran than in neighboring ZIP codes, the birth rates were higher 10 months after the advertising aired. Their results showed that a 1% increase in ED drug advertising contributed to an increase of 0.04% to 0.08% of total births. They also found the ads particularly increased births among families with children.

The researchers believe that some viewers watched the ads and purchased ED drugs to improve their chances of achieving pregnancy (consumption effect), while others may have been affected by the suggestive nature of the ads without purchasing ED drugs (media effect).

"As for the content of the ads, many of the ED drug commercials during the data period featured suggestive ad copy and content," Kim said, "which resulted in some people deeming ED drug ads inappropriate for family viewing, as demonstrated by a legislative bill that was introduced in 2009 calling to ban ED drug ads on TV between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m."

Further analysis using Google Trends data indicated that more frequent ED drug advertising was associated with higher pregnancy-intent keyword searches.

One popular hypothesis for the increased birth rates focused on older male ad viewers taking the pill and fathering more babies, Kim said. The data, however, did not show an increase in the average age of the fathers. It is possible this effect plays a role equally across different age groups, he said.

An unexpected finding was a stronger effect from the ads on birth rates in regions with lower incomes.

"It was surprising. During our data period, the majority of ED drug consumers paid the full price out of their own pockets because ED drugs were generally not covered by insurance in the U.S.," Kim said.

Based on the increased Google searches with intent to get pregnant and higher birth rates in lower-income areas that cannot be solely explained by the consumption effect, the researchers believe the media effect is possible.

"Can mere TV content affect fertility decisions? Many studies have found this. For example, the launch of TV shows in Brazil about female working professionals was linked to a substantial decrease in the nation's birth rates," Kim said.

The researchers said their study could provide companies a framework to monitor unintended health consequences in relation to the launch and marketing of pharmaceutical goods. Companies should be aware that, beyond simply increasing sales and market shares, marketing activities may have unforeseen spillover effects on societal outcomes, especially if the products are related to health or wellness.

"This is not only a responsible thing to do, but it can also create creative marketing opportunities," Kim said. "For example, companies selling infant-related medicines and goods like children's cold medicine, baby car seats or diapers might use ED drug ads as an additional market variable to better anticipate and predict local pregnancy rates 10 months later -- essentially their market potential -- and improve upon jointly deploying marketing and distribution resources across various regions."

The study also has implications for policymakers. Kim said they should be mindful of the multifaceted and even unexpected outcomes when considering whether to allow direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals -- something that only is permitted in the U.S. and New Zealand. The Food and Drug Administration relaxed restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising in 1997. Since then, TV advertising for pharmaceuticals increased substantially, with more than 80 drug ads estimated to be aired every hour on U.S. television.

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