ASU researchers to lead AAAS panel on water insecurity in the United States

Arizona State University

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Arizona State University researchers will lead a panel discussion on household water insecurity at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting, which takes place in Phoenix next week.

The panel, “Beyond the Tap: Water Insecurity in the United States,” is organized by Patrick Thomson, a research scientist with ASU’s Arizona Water for All project and will be moderated by Regents and President’s Professor Alexandra Brewis from ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change. The session focuses on growing evidence that water insecurity is an increasing challenge in the United States and other high-income countries.

While water insecurity is often associated with low-income regions, many communities across the U.S. face unreliable access to safe and affordable water. Aging infrastructure, lack of maintenance, and institutional inertia have left water systems vulnerable to extreme weather events such as last year’s Los Angeles wildfires and the recent Eastern Freeze. Rural areas, particularly in the U.S. southern border region, Appalachia and Tribal communities, are especially affected and often rely on small systems, unregulated wells, or trucked water.

National trends show increasing water quality violations and recent studies report unexpected levels of plumbing poverty in U.S. cities. Increased tap water avoidance, due to cost and quality concerns and broader skepticism of piped water supply, are contributing to greater reliance on bottled water and deepening health and economic disparities.

“The problem is complex and deep-seated. It is impossible to fully understand the scope of water insecurity in the U.S. by measuring coverage and cost alone,” said Thomson, who is an incoming faculty member of ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change. “Developing nationally-comparable metrics that better reflect people’s lived experience of water insecurity is a critical step toward understanding the issue and then improving health and wellbeing by giving people a safe, reliable, and trusted water supply.”

Panelists will present research on household water insecurity in the United States and share preliminary findings from a new national study, including: Wendy Jepson, University Professor at Texas A&M University, will discuss national patterns in water insecurity; Justin Stoler, professor at the University of Miami, will present work on diminishing trust in water providers; and Melissa Beresford, associate professor at San José State University, will share new ways of conceptualizing water affordability in the U.S.

The panel will take place as part of the AAAS Annual Meeting, which brings together scientists, policymakers and members of the public from around the world to discuss advances in science and their implications for society.

 

Survey: 3 in 4 skip physical therapy homework, stunting progress

Physical therapists say successful recovery involves adding home exercises to existing routines—like balancing on one leg while brushing teeth.

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

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New survey reveals 3 in 4 patients stunt their own healing by skipping home exercises

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Credit: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

 Multimedia elements available for download: https://bit.ly/3NWbA0I 

Key takeaways:

• A new survey by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center reveals 76% of people admit they don’t complete their physical therapy homework.

• Physical therapists say successful recovery involves adding home exercises to existing routines—like balancing on one leg while brushing teeth.

• Failure to complete homework can lead to additional medical procedures.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Physical therapy is a key step on the path to recovery after injuries or certain surgical procedures. A new survey by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center shows 3 out of 4 (76%) patients don’t complete their physical therapy homework, leading to stalled recoveries and potential surgical setbacks.

“The one to three hours per week a patient spends in physical therapy pales in comparison to the 168 hours we have in a given week,” explained Kyle Smith, PT, a physical therapist at Ohio State Medical Center. “And that one to three hours patients are physically in the clinic is not enough to make big changes in the grand scheme of things.”

Smith and his team of physical therapists at Ohio State work with patients to advance or adjust their at-home physical therapy assignments based on feedback or any barriers the patient may face. Smith will suggest simple changes patients can make to their daily routines like parking farther away at work or the grocery store, balancing on one leg while brushing your teeth, or doing stretches or squats during television shows.

“As physical therapists, we need to educate patients that it is going to take some work on their end to reach the goals they have to ultimately build strength and mobility and decrease the body's pain sensitivity,” said Smith.

Survey results:
The recent survey commissioned by Ohio State asked 1,006 Americans what share of their assigned at-home physical therapy (PT) sessions they completed. One-quarter (24%) of respondents completed all of their assigned homework, while a similar amount (28%) completed 75-99% of their sessions and another group (27%) completed 50-74% of their at-home PT. Only 1 in 10 (11%) completed 25-49% of their exercises, and even fewer (8%) completed 1-25%. There were very few (2%) who said they didn’t complete any of their at-home PT.

The survey shows adults 65 and older are more likely than those under 30 to complete all at-home assigned PT exercises (30% of those 65 and older versus 12% of those under 30). Similarly, this older group of Americans is also much less likely than their younger counterparts to complete only 1-25% of their at-home sessions (5% of those 65 and older versus 15% of those under 30).

The survey also asked about the reasons why respondents did not complete their at-home PT assignments. Four out of 10 (40%) people didn’t complete all their sessions because they forgot/had no reminders, which was the most common reason indicated. In addition, one-third (33%) said it was because they didn’t have enough time or had schedule conflicts.

Survey respondents’ reasons for not completing at-home PT assignments:

• I forgot/no reminders (40%

• Not enough time/schedule conflicts (33%)

• Boring/repetitive (22%)

• Didn’t see results quickly (19%)

• Pain or fear of making it worse (18%)

• No accountability between visits (15%)

• Didn’t have the right space/equipment at home (13%)

• Didn’t think they were necessary (12%)

• Didn’t fully understand the instructions (5%)

• Other (4%)

• None of the above (2%)

Survey methodology:
This study was conducted by SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from September 18 – September 21, 2025, among a sample of 1,006 respondents. The survey was conducted via web (n=976) and telephone (n=30) and administered in English. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data are weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 or older.

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Purity Snelling, a knee replacement patient from Columbus, Ohio, delayed her recovery by skipping the take-home exercises her physical therapist Kyle Smith (left) assigned her. A new survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found the majority of those assigned PT homework do not complete their assignments.

Credit

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

 

National poll finds gaps in community preparedness for teen cardiac emergencies

Parents support CPR and AED training, but readiness varies

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

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While most parents want their teen to provide CPR or use an AED in an emergency, they also report concerns. These include 
fear of emotional distress if the person does not survive, feeling overwhelmed in the moment, legal concerns or worry about doing something wrong.
 

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Credit: Sara Schultz, Michigan Medicine

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, including teens, and a new national poll suggests many schools and families may not be fully prepared to respond.

Only about half of parents say they are aware that their teen’s school has an automated external defibrillator, or AED, on site. Even fewer know where it is located or feel confident that school staff could use it in an emergency, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

“Sudden cardiac arrest in young people is rare, but when it happens, the response has to be immediate,” said Sarah Clark, M.P.H., co-director of the Mott Poll. “Every second matters, and CPR and AED use are critical to survival.”

The nationally representative poll is based on responses from nearly 1,000 parents with at least one child ages 13 to 17, surveyed in August 2025.

Parents aware of the risk, but action lags

Nearly half of parents say they have heard of a child or teen experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, but preparedness seems to lag behind concern.

While more than a third of parents believe all teens should be evaluated for heart disease, only about one in seven say their teen has ever had a heart evaluation, most often during a sports physical.

“Having the pediatrician listen to the teen’s heart and review family history are important first steps,” Clark said. “But some heart conditions in teens cannot be detected with a stethoscope alone. Teens need to report any symptoms that might indicate a possible heart problem.”

For teens who experience heart palpitations, dizziness or other warning signs, electrocardiograms, commonly called EKGs, can identify certain hidden heart conditions and are recommended by some medical organizations.

While estimates vary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that roughly 2,000 young people under age 25 in the United States die each year from sudden cardiac arrest.

AEDs present in schools, but often hard to find

Among parents who say their teen’s school has an AED, only about two in five know where it is located and just over a third feel sure that school staff are trained and ready to use it.

Among parents who don’t know whether their teen’s school has an AED, most say they believe it should.

“Having an AED in a building is not enough,” Clark said. “People need to know where it is and feel confident using it.”

Parents and teens want training and are willing to act

The poll found strong support for CPR and AED training. About four in 10 parents report being trained to use an AED, and nearly nine in 10 say they would be willing to receive free AED training.

Once trained, almost all parents say they would use an AED in an emergency if needed.

Similarly, nearly two-thirds of parents report being CPR certified, and most say they would be willing to receive free CPR training and perform CPR in an emergency if trained.

Fewer teens, however, are receiving training. Only about one in five parents say their teen has CPR training, and just one in 15 say their teen has been trained to use an AED.

Most parents say they would want their teen to provide CPR or use an AED in an emergency. But they also report concerns about teens responding to cardiac emergencies, including fear of emotional distress if the person does not survive, feeling overwhelmed in the moment, legal concerns or worry about doing something wrong.

“Teens can save lives,” Clark said. “With the right training and support, they can act quickly instead of freezing and greatly improve someone’s chances for survival.”

She added that the findings highlight the importance of programs such as Project ADAM, which works to prevent sudden cardiac death in schools and communities by helping them become 'heart safe." The program supports schools in developing emergency response plans, training staff and ensuring access to AEDs.

However, most parents support a strategy that goes beyond training of school staff.

“Sudden cardiac arrest can happen any time, including when school staff aren’t onsite,” Clark said.  “Parents overwhelmingly support broader access to training so that students and parents are prepared to save lives when the unexpected happens.”

 

College students who spend hours on social media are more likely to be lonely – national US study

Heaviest users are 38% more likely to feel isolated

Taylor & Francis Group

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More than half of college students are lonely – and those who use social media the most are particularly likely to feel isolated, a study of tens of thousands of 18 to 24-year-olds in the US shows.

Just 16 hours a week, or two or so hours a day, on social media was linked with higher odds of loneliness, a new peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of American College Health reports.

The study’s authors said that academic institutions should educate students on the effects of social media use and encourage them to set time limits.

Researcher Dr. Madelyn Hill, now an assistant professor at Ohio University, who led the study while completing her doctoral work in University of Cincinnati’s School of Human Services in spring 2025, explains: “We know that people who are lonely are more likely to become depressed. We also know that those who are lonely are more likely to die early.

“Young adulthood is a time of many changes, from leaving home for the first time, to starting college and forming new friendships, and it is vital that colleges and universities do all they can to help their students forge connections with others.”

Previous studies have found that Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are young adults’ favourite social media sites.

Other work shows that excessive social media use can leave less time for face-to-face socialising. However, research on whether this leads to loneliness has produced mixed results.

To address this, Dr. Hill and colleagues analysed data 64,988 18 to 24-year-olds from more than 120 colleges who took part national survey.

Loneliness was measured by asking them how often they felt left out, lacked companionship or felt isolated.

The study found that:

• 54% of the students were lonely. This is in line with other recent research from the US.
• Female and Black students particularly to say they were lonely.
• Students doing hybrid courses were less lonely than those studying face to face, perhaps because they were still able to see their old friends.
• Members of fraternities and sororities were among the least likely to be lonely, maybe owing to more opportunities to attend parties and other gatherings.
• Those who lived at home were lonelier than those with accommodation on campus.

The students were also asked how many hours they spent on social media in a typical week.

About 13% of them used social media excessively i.e. for at least 16 hours a week and, the more they used it, the higher their odds of feeling lonely.

• Those who used it for 16 to 20 hours a week were 19% more likely to say they were lonely than those who didn’t use it at all.
• 21 to 25 and 26 to 30 hours a week were linked with a 23% and 34% higher likelihood of loneliness, respectively.
• The heaviest social media users (at least 30 hours a week) were 38% more likely to report being lonely.

The study’s authors acknowledge that they can’t be sure if excessive social media use leads to loneliness or vice versa.  They suspect it is a bit of both.  Some students who use social media may become lonely because they have less time to see friends in person. Meanwhile, some of those who are lonely may find valuable support online.

The authors also note that some of the students may have underestimated how long they spend online.

Nevertheless, they believe that tackling excessive social media use could lower levels of loneliness.

Senior author of the paper, Dr. Ashley L Merianos, of the University of Cincinnati, highlights the importance of these findings: “These results underscore how widespread loneliness is among college students and highlight that excessive social media use may be replacing the meaningful interactions that protect their mental health. A key public health strategy to combat this loneliness epidemic is to strengthen social connections and help students build supportive relationships with their peers offline.”

Dr. Hill, whose research specialism is to focus on understanding and improving health behaviours such as social media use among children and young adults, concludes: “Academic institutions should educate college students about the potential negative effects of excessive social media use, including loneliness.

“Helping students understand how excessive social media use can affect their well-being may lead to some of them assessing how much time they spend on it.  They may then cut back on it or even set time limits for themselves.

“Institutions should also work to encourage students to attend social events on campus.”

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Journal

Journal of American College Health

DOI

10.1080/07448481.2025.2573108 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Exploration of Excessive Social Media Use with Loneliness Among U.S. College Students

Article Publication Date

16-Feb-2026