APHA 2020 poster sessions cover full spectrum of public health

APHA 2020 is hosting hundreds of poster presentations on just about every public health topic you can imagine. 

All of the posters — which include five- to 10-minute prerecorded presentations — are available at any time throughout the meeting. You can also use the discussion board associated with each presentation to ask questions or leave comments for the presenter. Visit the Poster Sessions program today to start browsing and learning. 

Here’s just a tiny sampling of what you’ll find: 

Vaccine confidence high among young men
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of resources, attention and hope have been focused on the development of an effective vaccine. But once a vaccine is available, will Americans be receptive to getting it? One poster session may have some answers, showing high general vaccine confidence among young men.

The research for poster session 3246, “How do young adults view vaccination? Assessing the 4Cs in a national survey,” was conducted before the pandemic struck and assesses general vaccination attitudes among young sexual minority men.

Between October 2019 and January 2020, 223 study participants were recruited through Facebook and Instagram ads. All participants self-identified as gay, bisexual or queer and had not received any doses of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine. Most were white (55%) or Hispanic (22%). 

Researchers used the 4 Cs to assess vaccine attitudes: confidence (trust in vaccines), calculation (information-seeking behavior), collective responsibility (willingness to protect others) and complacency (not perceiving high disease risk). 

Overall, the men reported high confidence and low complacency. However, there were differences when looking at race and educational attainment. Black men had lower confidence than other groups, while men with higher educational attainment had higher confidence, less complacency and a greater sense of collective responsibility, as compared to those with lower levels of education. 

Researchers said the information can help public health professionals use evidence-based interventions to improve confidence in vaccines, especially among Black men, who have historically faced racism and discrimination in health care. 

Shared exercise among humans and pets improves health
Americans and their pets share a common challenge: overweight and obesity. While 42% of U.S. adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of pet dogs and cats in the U.S. are overweight or obese. 

However, new research presented in poster 2047, “A one health approach to the human-animal bond: Exploring direct and indirect benefits of shared exercise among pet-owner pairs,” showed shared exercise between people and their pet dogs can improve the health of both. In an eight-week prospective study, 18 dog-owner pairs logged shared activity each week. Results showed a decrease in people’s heart rate and blood pressure.

The dogs’ blood pressure also decreased, though researchers said that could have been related to the pets’ increased comfort with having their blood pressure taken. Still, there were significant improvements in the dogs’ attachment to their owners, which has been shown to improve dogs’ care and quality of life. 

No correlation was found between the amount of shared exercise time and improved heart health among the canine participants. The presenters recommended more research to examine how a dog’s behavior affects attachment. For example, one participant whose dog attachment decreased over the study said she didn’t like walking with her dog because it was not fully trained. 

Females and frequent e-cigarette users more likely to use for self-help reasons

The reasons young adults use e-cigarette devices known as “pod mods” — which can deliver high levels of nicotine — vary depending on sex, race and frequency of use. Poster 2026, “Reasons college students use pod-mod e-cigarettes,” examines why college students use JUUL, the most popular pod mod e-cigarette on the market. 

Researchers surveyed students online from a large southwestern university. Measures included age of pod mod initiation, pod mod dependence and use of other types of e-cigarettes or conventional tobacco products. Participants were asked to provide open-ended reasons for using JUUL.

Results showed four primary reasons: self-help, social, experience, and substance use or addiction. Daily pod mod users were 1.67 times more likely to use JUUL for self-help than those who used it one to three days a week. Females were more likely than males to use it for self-help reasons, but males were more likely to use JUUL for the experience. Over half of those who reported use for self-help pointed to stress and anxiety, compared with fewer responses related to boredom, self-medication and appetite suppression.  

Those who had never tried a traditional cigarette and those who used JUUL fewer days a week were more likely to use it for social reasons. American Indians and Alaskan Natives were 3.38 times as likely as whites to use for substance use or addiction reasons, which may indicate that JUUL is either creating or exacerbating health disparities in tobacco use. More than half of those who reported substance use reasons were using JUUL to try to curb a nicotine addiction, while others said it enhanced the effects of alcohol or was an alternative to another tobacco product, such as chewing tobacco. 

Mental health leads health topics across popular TV shows
Despite so many streaming platforms, prime-time TV remains a popular choice in the U.S., providing an important opportunity for health communication. As shown in poster 2046, “The drama of prime-time: Is it healthy?,” TV viewers are constantly exposed to health-related content even on nonmedical shows and without the viewer seeking out that content. 

Studies have already shown people are more likely to model behaviors of those who seem similar to themselves, and social cognitive theory suggests that how TV characters are punished or rewarded for their behaviors influences whether viewers will copy those behaviors. 

To learn more, researchers reviewed the first five episodes of the top three prime-time TV shows in 2019: “FBI,” “This Is Us” and “NCIS.” The episodes had 250 instances of health-related content, covering food and nutrition, physical health, mental health, fitness, safety, substance abuse, medical treatment and body image. “This Is Us” had the highest number of instances at 131, while “FBI” had the lowest at 48. Mental health was the most prevalent topic, highlighting a recent trend of mental health topics in entertainment. 

Researchers are continuing to analyze the data to explore relationships related to gender, race, ethnicity and other factors. The goal of their initial study is to use it as a baseline to examine viewers’ understanding of health-related content. 

Photo by Justin Sullivan, courtesy Getty Images