UVA Health, community pharmacies partner to help Appalachia residents quit smoking

Collaboration tests effectiveness of several smoking cessation approaches

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH SYSTEM

 

IMAGE: UVA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE RESEARCHER MELISSA LITTLE, PHD, MPH, IS LEADING AN INITIATIVE TO HELP MORE RESIDENTS OF RURAL APPALACHIA QUIT SMOKING. view more 

CREDIT: UVA HEALTH

Fourteen independent community pharmacies will team with UVA Health to help residents of rural Appalachia quit smoking and test the effectiveness of multiple smoking cessation programs, including one based on text messaging. The project ultimately aims to lower the region’s cancer rates, which are among the highest in the country.

Backed by more than $5 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute, 14 pharmacies selected for the program in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee will participate in the study. 

“It is clear that publicly available smoking cessation resources are not reaching residents in this region,” said Melissa Little, PhD, MPH, a researcher in the UVA School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences and the leader of this initiative. “We are hoping that by working with local community pharmacies, we’ll be able to help more smokers interested in quitting who otherwise may not have sought help with their quit attempt.”

The Impact of Smoking in Appalachia

Rural Appalachia has some of the highest smoking rates in the United States. For example, an analysis of data from 2015 to 2019 found the smoking rate in rural Appalachian counties was 20.9%, compared with a statewide smoking rate of 13.3%. Higher rates of cancer in rural Appalachia can be attributed to smoking, Little said, as studies have shown that cigarette smoking is estimated to account for 30% of all cancer deaths and 90% of all lung cancer deaths.

However, residents of rural Appalachia are less likely to take advantage of commonly available resources to quit smoking – such as phone counseling and nicotine-replacement therapy – which Little suspects may be due to the shortage of healthcare providers in the region.

She believes community pharmacists based in rural Appalachia are ideally positioned to help residents quit smoking.

“We conducted a small demonstration study in partnership with Gates Pharmacy, a community pharmacy in Mt. Airy, N.C., to determine the feasibility of the approach,” Little said. “Overall, the project was well received by both participants interested in quitting as well as the Gates pharmacists and technicians.”

“The process of recruiting and enrolling patients was simple, the intervention guides were clear and easy to follow, and our entire staff was able to contribute in their own way to the success of the project,” said Hayley Wood, the pharmacy manager at Gates Pharmacy.

The program will evaluate the effectiveness of different combinations of smoking cessation programs. All 768 participants will receive nicotine replacement therapy through gum, a patch or both. 

Additionally, participants will be randomly selected to participate in one of three programs:

• QuitAid: Participants will have one in-person meeting and five follow-up sessions by phone over a month with a pharmacist, who will provide support and help address any questions or concerns about the nicotine-replacement therapy.
• Tobacco Quitline: Participants will have four 20- to 30-minute phone calls over four weeks from a trained tobacco treatment specialist working on the project to assist them in quitting smoking and preventing relapse.
• SmokefreeTXT: A text messaging program developed by the National Cancer Institute that sends participants three to five text messages per day for seven weeks to assist participants in quitting and preventing relapses.

For More Information

The study is expected to begin in April 2023. Pharmacies and smokers interested in the program can learn more by emailing Quitaid@hscmail.mcc.virginia.edu or by calling study coordinator Taylor Reid at 434.924.8894.

A smartphone's camera and flash could help people measure blood oxygen levels at home

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

 

IMAGE: IN A PROOF-OF-PRINCIPLE STUDY, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON AND UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO RESEARCHERS HAVE SHOWN THAT SMARTPHONES ARE CAPABLE OF DETECTING BLOOD OXYGEN SATURATION LEVELS DOWN TO 70%. THE TECHNIQUE INVOLVES HAVING PARTICIPANTS PLACE THEIR FINGER OVER THE CAMERA AND FLASH OF A SMARTPHONE, WHICH USES A DEEP-LEARNING ALGORITHM TO DECIPHER THE BLOOD OXYGEN LEVELS FROM THE BLOOD FLOW PATTERNS IN THE RESULTING VIDEO. view more 

CREDIT: DENNIS WISE/UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

First, pause and take a deep breath.

When we breathe in, our lungs fill with oxygen, which is distributed to our red blood cells for transportation throughout our bodies. Our bodies need a lot of oxygen to function, and healthy people have at least 95% oxygen saturation all the time.

Conditions like asthma or COVID-19 make it harder for bodies to absorb oxygen from the lungs. This leads to oxygen saturation percentages that drop to 90% or below, an indication that medical attention is needed. 

In a clinic, doctors monitor oxygen saturation using pulse oximeters — those clips you put over your fingertip or ear. But monitoring oxygen saturation at home multiple times a day could help patients keep an eye on COVID symptoms, for example.

In a proof-of-principle study, University of Washington and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels down to 70%. This is the lowest value that pulse oximeters should be able to measure, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The technique involves participants placing their finger over the camera and flash of a smartphone, which uses a deep-learning algorithm to decipher the blood oxygen levels. When the team delivered a controlled mixture of nitrogen and oxygen to six subjects to artificially bring their blood oxygen levels down, the smartphone correctly predicted whether the subject had low blood oxygen levels 80% of the time.

The team published these results Sept. 19 in npj Digital Medicine.

"Other smartphone apps that do this were developed by asking people to hold their breath. But people get very uncomfortable and have to breathe after a minute or so, and that's before their blood-oxygen levels have gone down far enough to represent the full range of clinically relevant data," said co-lead author Jason Hoffman, a UW doctoral student in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. "With our test, we're able to gather 15 minutes of data from each subject. Our data shows that smartphones could work well right in the critical threshold range."

Another benefit of measuring blood oxygen levels on a smartphone is that almost everyone has one.

"This way you could have multiple measurements with your own device at either no cost or low cost," said co-author Dr. Matthew Thompson, professor of family medicine in the UW School of Medicine. "In an ideal world, this information could be seamlessly transmitted to a doctor's office. This would be really beneficial for telemedicine appointments or for triage nurses to be able to quickly determine whether patients need to go to the emergency department or if they can continue to rest at home and make an appointment with their primary care provider later."

The team recruited six participants ranging in age from 20 to 34. Three identified as female, three identified as male. One participant identified as being African American, while the rest identified as being Caucasian.

To gather data to train and test the algorithm, the researchers had each participant wear a standard pulse oximeter on one finger and then place another finger on the same hand over a smartphone's camera and flash. Each participant had this same set up on both hands simultaneously.

"The camera is recording a video: Every time your heart beats, fresh blood flows through the part illuminated by the flash," said senior author Edward Wang, who started this project as a UW doctoral student studying electrical and computer engineering and is now an assistant professor at UC San Diego's Design Lab and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

"The camera records how much that blood absorbs the light from the flash in each of the three color channels it measures: red, green and blue," said Wang, who also directs the UC San Diego DigiHealth Lab. "Then we can feed those intensity measurements into our deep-learning model."

Each participant breathed in a controlled mixture of oxygen and nitrogen to slowly reduce oxygen levels. The process took about 15 minutes. For all six participants, the team acquired more than 10,000 blood oxygen level readings between 61% and 100%.

The researchers used data from four of the participants to train a deep learning algorithm to pull out the blood oxygen levels. The remainder of the data was used to validate the method and then test it to see how well it performed on new subjects.

"Smartphone light can get scattered by all these other components in your finger, which means there's a lot of noise in the data that we're looking at," said co-lead author Varun Viswanath, a UW alumnus who is now a doctoral student advised by Wang at UC San Diego. "Deep learning is a really helpful technique here because it can see these really complex and nuanced features and helps you find patterns that you wouldn't otherwise be able to see."

The team hopes to continue this research by testing the algorithm on more people.

"One of our subjects had thick calluses on their fingers, which made it harder for our algorithm to accurately determine their blood oxygen levels," Hoffman said. "If we were to expand this study to more subjects, we would likely see more people with calluses and more people with different skin tones. Then we could potentially have an algorithm with enough complexity to be able to better model all these differences."

But, the researchers said, this is a good first step toward developing biomedical devices that are aided by machine learning.

"It's so important to do a study like this," Wang said. "Traditional medical devices go through rigorous testing. But computer science research is still just starting to dig its teeth into using machine learning for biomedical device development and we're all still learning. By forcing ourselves to be rigorous, we're forcing ourselves to learn how to do things right."

Additional co-authors are Xinyi Ding, a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University; Eric Larson, associate professor of computer science at Southern Methodist University; Caiwei Tian, who completed this research as a UW undergraduate student; and Shwetak Patel, UW professor in both the Allen School and the electrical and computer engineering department. This research was funded by the University of Washington. The researchers have applied for a patent that covers systems and methods for SpO2 classification using smartphones (application number: 17/164,745) 

One way to measure oxygen saturation is to use pulse oximeters — those little clips you put over your fingertip (some shown here in gray and blue). In a proof-of-principle study, University of Washington and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels in a comparable range to the standalone clips. The technique involves having participants place their finger over the camera and flash of a smartphone.

CREDIT

Dennis Wise/University of Washington

For more information, contact Hoffman at jasonhof@cs.washington.edu, Wang at ejaywang@eng.ucsd.edu and Viswanath at varunv9@eng.ucsd.edu. For questions specifically for Matthew Thompson, please contact Leila Gray at leilag@uw.edu.

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JOURNAL

npj Digital Medicine

DOI

10.1038/s41746-022-00665-y 

ARTICLE TITLE

Smartphone camera oximetry in an induced hypoxemia study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Sep-2022

Researchers propose new coupling strategy for organic wastewater treatment

Peer-Reviewed Publication

DALIAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY SCIENCES

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS PROPOSE NEW COUPLING STRATEGY FOR ORGANIC WASTEWATER TREATMENT view more 

CREDIT: DICP

A joint research group led by Prof. SUN Chenglin, Porf. WEI Huangzhao and Prof. LI Rengui from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has developed a new coupling strategy of photocatalytic water oxidation and catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (Photo-CWPO) for efficient organic wastewater treatment.

This study was published in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental on August 17.

CWPO technology is a kind of advanced oxidation process for advanced treatment of organic wastewater using hydroxyl radical (·OH), which is generated from hydrogen peroxide oxidation catalyzed by Fe2+. Nevertheless, low utilization efficiency of H2O2 and difficulty in iron ions cycling lead to high cost and indirect energy consumption, which limits its further large-scale application.

In the proposed Photo-CWPO strategy, efficient circulating of Fe3+/Fe2+ ions was achieved through Fe3+ ions reduction by photogenerated electrons, and meanwhile, photogenerated holes were used to degrade organic pollutants.

The researchers used decahedron BiVO4 photocatalyst to realize efficient circulating of Fe3+/Fe2+ ions with selectivity of ~100%, owing to the unique spatial photogenerated charge separation between different facets of the BiVO4 crystal, which inhibited the formation of iron sludge in the traditional CWPO process.

H2O2 species could be generated via a two-hole-involved oxidation process of H2O on {110} facets of decahedron BiVO4 crystals during the Fe3+ reduction process on the {010} facets, which could replenish the H2O2 consumption and fully utilize both photogenerated electrons and holes for degradation of pollutions. This strategy achieved a much higher total organic carbon removal rate in the coupling system than CWPO process.

"The Photo-CWPO strategy could be applied to mineralize various organic pollutants and showed great universality and stability," said Prof. SUN.

"We have applied this strategy for the treatment of wastewater from coal chemical industry, methanol to olefin industry and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine industry, all of which showed good treatment efficiency," said Prof. WEI.

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JOURNAL

Applied Catalysis B Environmental

DOI

10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121858 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Coupling photocatalytic water oxidation on decahedron BiVO4 crystals with catalytic wet peroxide oxidation for removing organic pollutions in wastewater

Simple, inexpensive surgical procedure for diabetic foot ulcers greatly reduces healing time, amputation rates

UK study finds new day-case surgical procedure accelerates effective healing, reduces recurrence and amputation rates, and cuts healthcare costs by 88% compared to conservative care

Reports and Proceedings

DIABETOLOGIC 

Performing proactive surgery to adjust the mechanics of the foot, appears to be effective to treat diabetic foot ulcers, a common and debilitating complication of diabetes, without the potential complications and at significantly lower cost compared to conservative management.

The preliminary study, being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held this year (19 Sept- 24 Sept), describes how these day-case procedures in 19 patients successfully resolved all foot ulcers, prevented diabetic foot sepsis, and reduced recurrence and amputation rates compared to 15 patients treated conservatively.

“Although the procedure is relatively simple, its potential is revolutionary”, says lead author Dr Adrian Heald from the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, UK.

Diabetic foot ulcers are open sores or wounds that occur in around 15% of people with diabetes at some point in their lives, at an estimated cost of £935 million to the NHS [1]. Ulcers are commonly located in the areas subject to the most weight-bearing like the bottom of the foot, and are responsible for around 80% of lower extremity amputations in people with diabetes.

In the UK, death rates after diabetic foot ulceration are high, with up to half of patients dying within 5 years of developing an ulcer, rising to 70% within 5 years following an amputation [2].

Early intervention is important in the management of diabetic foot ulcers, with people who receive expert care most quickly having the best outcomes. Orthopaedic and vascular surgeons have become embedded within most UK specialist diabetes foot multidisciplinary teams to offer reactive interventions to the common complication of diabetic foot sepsis, such as drainage of abscess or amputation.

In this study, researchers describe how a day-case procedure list within specialist diabetes foot multidisciplinary teams has affected outcomes by performing proactive simple surgical procedures.

Between April 2019 and April 2021, 19 patients with diabetic foot ulcers (without associated abscesses) were offered a percutaneous procedure performed under local anaesthetic by an orthopaedic surgeon, while 14 patients were treated conservatively, with best medical and podiatric management.

The aim of the surgery was to adjust the mechanics of the foot to remove the pressure on the ulcerated region to accelerate healing.

All 19 patients undergoing surgery had evidence of diabetes and/or neuropathy (nerve damage). Of these, 10 patients (average age 71 years, 8 male, 2 female) with toe apex ulcers and damaged flexor tendons underwent toe tendon releases in which the tendon is cut to relax the toe into a straight position.

A further 9 patients (average age 49 years, all male) with ulcers on the sole of the foot behind the toes and tightness in the Achilles tendon underwent Tendo-Achilles lengthening to stretch the tendon to allow the patient to walk flat-footed.

After one year of follow-up, all patients in the surgery group achieved successful ulcer resolution (average time 3.3-4.5 weeks) compared to three patients (36%) in the usual care group (average time 20 weeks; see table in notes to editors).

During follow-up, no patients in the surgery group were admitted for diabetic foot sepsis compared to seven (46%) in the usual care group. And ulcer recurrence occurred in only two patients (10%) in the surgery group compared to 10 (66%) in the conservative treatment cohort.

Similarly, amputation was more common in the usual care group (7 patients, 66%) than the surgery group (2 patients, 10%). No patients in the surgery cohort died, whereas six in the conservative care group died.

The researchers estimate that compared with the average usual care cost of £9,902, the average new procedure cost was £1,211, giving average savings of £8,691 per patient—an 88% reduction in healthcare costs following the procedure.

“Our study is the first in the UK to demonstrate practical and financial feasibility of simple orthopaedic interventions to accelerate healing of mechanical forefoot ulcers for patients with diabetic neuropathy”, says Dr Heald. “We urge other diabetic multidisciplinary foot teams to explore this treatment option.”

For interviews with article authors, please contact Dr Adrian Heald, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, UK T) 44(0)7470 532162 E) adrian.heald@manchester.ac.uk

Alternative contact in the EASD Press Room: Tony Kirby T) + 44(0)7834 385827 E) tony@tonykirby.com

Notes to editors:

[1] Report highlights need for early intervention for diabetic foot ulcers - NHS Digital
[2] Context | Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management | Guidance | NICE

The study received no funding.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

 

This press release is based on an abstract 24 at The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). All accepted abstracts have been extensively peer reviewed by the congress selection committee. There is no full paper at this stage, but the authors are happy to answer your questions. The research has been submitted to a medical journal for publication. There is no poster with this presentation.

Oregon State and partners will receive $50 million grant to develop climate-smart potatoes

Grant and Award Announcement

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: POTATO view more 

CREDIT: BEN DAVIS, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has been awarded a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to work with farmers and Native American Tribes on cropping practices that can enhance soil health and reduce the carbon footprint of the Pacific Northwest potato industry.

Oregon State University is collaborating with the University of Idaho and Washington State University, Tribal nations, commodity groups and potato processing businesses on the five-year project that funded under the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program.

It is one of 70 projects totaling up to $2.8 billion funded by the USDA to support America’s farmers, ranchers and forest owners and to strengthen U.S. rural and agricultural communities by building markets for what the USDA is calling climate-smart commodities, meaning implanting green and climate resilient practices in food and agriculture.

“Oregon State University is privileged to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity to help the potato industry, Native American tribes and other crop producers of all sizes and kinds be part of a national solution to climate challenges,” said Jeffrey Steiner, project leader and director of the OSU Global Hemp Innovation Center.

More than 62% of U.S. potatoes are grown in Oregon, Washington and Idaho and they have an economic value of $2.2 billion annually, according to USDA statistics. Nearly 500,000 acres of potatoes are grown in the three-state region.

Potato production typically uses practices that greatly disturb the soil, particularly at harvest, so organic matter does not build up and greenhouse gases are lost to the atmosphere, project leaders said. This project is designed to assist farmers who want to use soil health building practices that result in climate-smart outcomes.

Oregon State and collaborators at universities and the Soil Health Institute, a nonprofit based in North Carolina, will focus on how climate-smart practices and rotation crops grown with potatoes, those crops produced in the three years between potato crop production years, can offset the effects of the soil-disturbing practices. Rotation crops include cereal grains, alfalfa, corn, hemp and onions. Climate-smart practices include reduced tillage seedings, use of cover crops and mulching residues.

The researchers believe using the proper combinations of these techniques could significantly increase soil organic matter, reduce soil nutrient losses and improve the water holding capacity of the soil – improvements that increase soil health, save water and lead to climate-smart outcomes.

The project team will assess how potatoes and rotation crops are currently being grown on conventional and organic farms and Native Americans lands. By studying what is presently being done and measuring the soil conditions of fields at the beginning of the project, the team will then work with the farmers and Tribal leaders will work to identify soil health building practices and rotation options that work for their farms and land conditions.

Potatoes

CREDIT

Ben Davis, Oregon State University

The effects of the changes will be monitored by measuring soil data. The data will be used in models to verify the approaches are working. Participating farmers and Native American Tribes will receive incentive payments to offset the initial costs of adopting climate-smart practices and to reduce the risks of early-adoption expenses.

“We want to provide potato and other farmers incentives for finding climate-smart practices that make sense for them and their farm conditions,” Steiner said.

The project will also help develop ways to market and promote climate-smart potatoes and other crops. Some of the producers envision selling branded consumer products that could provide a climate-smart premium to participating farmers and processors.

Those working with OSU, University of Idaho and Washington State researchers and Extension specialists on the project are the Soil Health Institute, LoCo+, 7 Generations LLC, Industrial Hemp Association of Washington, Yakima Nation: Confederated Tribes and Bands, Nez Perce Tribe, Lamb Weston, Frito-Lay, Threemile Canyon Farms, Mart Produce, Simplot, Marc Staunton, Scotty Fenters, GMP Orchards LLC, Selkirk Ag LLC and Triangle Ranch.

 

Safer opioid supply program shows improved outcomes for people at high risk of overdose

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL

For people at high risk of overdose enrolled in a safer opioid supply (SOS) program, there was a rapid decrease in emergency department visits and hospitalizations soon after initiation, according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.220892. These programs may help to address the devastating drug poisoning overdose crisis in Canada.

The opioid overdose crisis is a major public health concern, with more than 29 000 opioid-related deaths occurring in Canada from 2016 through 2021, driven mainly by drug poisoning from high and unpredictable levels of fentanyl in the unregulated drug supply. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the overdose crisis, and safer supply programs have been proposed as one potential intervention that may help to address the crisis.

Safer opioid supply programs work to reduce harms by providing prescription opioids to people at high risk of overdose as an alternative to using fentanyl from the unregulated drug supply. Immediate-release hydromorphone is most often prescribed — dispensed daily and provided as take-home doses. Some programs also provide additional health and social supports, such as comprehensive primary care, treatment for medical conditions and access to social support workers. 

However, published evidence on the real-world impacts of SOS programs is lacking.

To understand the impact of one such program, researchers looked at health outcomes, health services utilization and health care costs associated with the introduction Canada's first formal SOS program, started at the London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC) in London, Ontario, in 2016. They looked at data from 82 clients in the program to see how their health outcomes changed after starting the program and compared their outcomes to those of local residents diagnosed with an opioid use disorder who were not exposed to the program. Among program participants, the researchers saw a rapid decrease in emergency department visits, hospitalizations (including hospitalizations for certain bacterial infections associated with injection drug use) and health care costs (excluding costs related to primary care and medication) after the program began.

"These positive impacts were seen very quickly after entering the program," said lead author Dr. Tara Gomes, Unity Health Toronto and ICES, Toronto, Ontario. "We did not see similar changes in a matched group of people with opioid use disorder not enrolled in the program, suggesting that these changes seen in safer supply clients were because of participation in the program, and were not influenced by outside factors."

The average age of people in the study was 41 years and 40% were male. High rates of HIV (34%), Hepatitis C (69.5%) and infectious complications (28%) in the year before enrolment suggests the program is reaching a group of people who had been experiencing serious medical complications from drug use.

No opioid-related deaths occurred among the SOS participants during the 6-year study period.

"There have been concerns raised about SOS programs, and both the improvements in health services usage and lack of negative outcomes detected among clients provides important reassurance about the safety of these programs," said Dr. Gillian Kolla, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia. "It is important to note that the London program also offers comprehensive primary care and social supports to safer supply clients, so it will be important for future research to examine the impact of different program elements on client outcomes."

The authors note that more research is needed to understand the benefits and potential risks of SOS programs, but this initial work suggests positive benefits to participants.

"Our findings provide preliminary evidence that SOS programs can play an important role in the expansion of treatment and harm reduction options available to people who use drugs at high risk of drug poisoning," the authors conclude.

The study was conducted by researchers from Unity Health Toronto; ICES; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and Institute for Health Policy Management and Evaluation, and Department of Family Medicine, University of Toronto; MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario; Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia; London InterCommunity Health Centre, London, Ontario.

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JOURNAL

Canadian Medical Association Journal

DOI

10.1503/cmaj.220892 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Clinical outcomes and health care costs among people entering a safer opioid supply program in Ontario

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Sep-2022

National poll: 2 in 3 parents say their child is self-conscious about their appearance

1 in 5 parents say their teens avoid certain activities due to insecurities and 1 in 3 say their child has been treated unkindly because of their appearance

Reports and Proceedings

MICHIGAN MEDICINE - UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

 

IMAGE: WEIGHT, SKIN CONDITIONS LIKE ACNE AND HAIR WERE THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF INSECURITIES IN KIDS AND TEENS. view more 

CREDIT: C.S. MOTT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL NATIONAL POLL ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HEALTH

TV/RADIO: Click link for broadcast-quality sound bites & b-roll, visuals and script suggestions (Full poll report included here as well.)

The majority of adolescents and teens are self-conscious about their appearance, a new national poll suggests.

Nearly two thirds of parents say their child is insecure about some aspect of their appearance and one in five say their teens avoid scenarios like being in photos because they’re too self-conscious, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at University of Michigan Health.

“Children begin forming opinions about their bodies and looks at a very young age,” said Mott Poll co-director Susan Woolford, M.D. ,M.P.H., a child obesity expert and pediatrician at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

“These findings reinforce research that as kids receive unhealthy messages about societal ideals, it can lead to a poor self-image of themselves. Left unchecked, a preoccupation with appearance and body dissatisfaction may lead to decreased mental health and emotional well-being and increase risks for eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem.”

The nationally representative report is based on responses from 1,653 parents with at least one child ages 8-18 surveyed in April..

Weight, skin conditions like acne and hair were the most common causes of insecurities while fewer parents listed height and facial features. Nearly one in five parents of girls also said their child was self-conscious about their breasts.

Parents of teens are also more likely than parents of younger children ages 8-12 to report their child is insecure about their appearance (73% of teen girls and 69% of teen boys compared to 57% of younger girls and 49% of younger boys.)

“As kids get older, they become more self-aware, are more likely to compare themselves to peers and may be more influenced by media portrayals about beauty and the most desirable body shape, face and look,” Woolford said.

“It’s developmentally normal for adolescents and teens to experience some insecurities, but if it’s interfering with their ability to enjoy social interactions or other activities, they may need help.”

Nearly a third of parents say they notice their child making negative comments about their appearance. Among parents who say that their child is self-conscious about their looks, nearly one in three feel it has a negative impact on their child’s self-esteem while one in five says it affects their child’s willingness to participate in certain activities.

Other parents, mostly those of teens, also say their child avoids being in photos, tries to hide their appearance with clothing or restricts what they eat because of insecurities.

Sometimes, negative self-thoughts are also reinforced by others, the poll finds. One in three parents say their child has been treated unkindly because of their appearance most often by other children, strangers or other family members. Parents’ most common response is to talk with their child about the incident. Less often, they keep their child away from the person making hurtful statements or speak to the person who made the comments.

Overall, parents polled feel that in-person interactions have a greater impact than social media on their child’s view of themselves. However, parents who describe their child as self-conscious about their appearance are twice as likely to say their child is more affected by social media.

Woolford offers parents five ways to nurture positive body and self-image in their kids:

Be a role model of self-love:

If a parent is always body bashing themselves or making negative comments about their looks, they can expect children to follow suit.

“Kids are watching every time you step on that scale and sigh about needing to lose weight or point out your own perceived flaws in the mirror,” Woolford said. “Lead by example to teach them self-love and respect.”

Focus less on looks and instead vocalize appreciation for all the powerful things your body can do, such as helping you feel good through walks, bike rides or swimming.

Embrace body diversity

If you hear your child comment on someone’s body size or appearance, whether it’s someone they know, on a TV show or a stranger, teach them that people come in different sizes and shapes, and have different features. None of them are bad, just different. 

For younger kids, look for children’s books that celebrate body diversity and positivity and read them together.

Avoid even “positive” praise for looks

Especially with young girls, adults tend to make well-meaning comments praising children for their beauty, Woolford says.

But this type of emphasis gives significance to physical appearance and reinforces messages that when someone “looks good” they are more valuable, Woolford says. This can exacerbate a young person’s worries about the opposite also being true and being self-critical.

Instead, adults should focus on a child’s personal qualities, not their body, hair, face or clothing.

Promote family connection through healthy activities

Families should connect through fun movement and healthy eating because they enjoy them, not because they “have to” or someone is on a diet, Woolford says. This promotes healthy habits with a focus on using nutrition and exercise to make your body feel good, not how it looks and may help ward off unhealthy dieting later in life, she says.

Regular and positive family meals also help parents stay connected to kids and encourage open communication about insecurities and an opportunity to address issues together.

Teach them to critically assess media

Children are surrounded by unrealistic ideals. Models in magazines and actors in their favorite TV shows and movies often have similar body shapes that promote thinness while influencers, celebrities and even peers often use filters and editing to enhance images.

Encourage your kids to be critical of what they see on TV or in social media and help them understand how certain images are “perfected.”

“Parents can teach their children to be media literate and savvy so they understand that these portrayals of the perfect body, face and look in advertisements, media and even from their own friends doesn’t reflect reality,” Woolford said.

If needed, limit their time on these types of channels.

“By laying a strong foundation of healthy attitudes, parents can help their children develop a positive body image through youth and adulthood,” Woolford said.

Canada needs a better detection system for respiratory pathogens

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL

Canada needs a better infectious disease surveillance system to detect emerging respiratory pathogens that includes waste-water testing, population-based testing and genomics, according to an analysis published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.220577

Clinical and outbreak management (COM) platforms were critical tools in Canada's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we need expanded surveillance systems to anticipate emerging viruses and support an effective public health response.

"Strengthening surveillance in Canada remains critical," writes Dr. Beate Sander, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and a Canada Research Chair in Economics of Infectious Diseases at University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario. "Although COM platforms are essential for clinical care and contact tracing, robust population-based surveillance systems can better provide actionable data on community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging and re-emerging respiratory pathogens to inform proactive and equitable public health policy."

The authors suggest that a system based on waste-water testing, population-based testing and genomic sequencing of samples will provide accurate, timely data for an integrated, adaptive approach. The system must make surveillance data available in real time to the public and public health community.

"The funding and resources necessary to develop, initiate and sustain expanded surveillance systems will be substantial, but critical public health gains will include reduced morbidity and mortality, economic impact and societal disruption through public health action, policy decisions and programming," says lead author Dr. Isha Berry, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

The analysis was coauthored by researchers from the University of Toronto; Public Health Ontario; ICES; University Health Network; Trillium Health Partners; and St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto.

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JOURNAL

Canadian Medical Association Journal

DOI

10.1503/cmaj.220577 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

A better normal in Canada will need a better detection system for emerging and re-emerging respiratory pathogens

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Sep-2022