Prejudice and the Plate: Effects of Weight Bias in Nutrition Judgments

As millions of people turn to social media for health information, better understanding the factors that guide health-related judgments and perceptions in this context is imperative. We report on two Web experiments (n > 400 total) examining the power of society’s widespread weight bias and related stereotypes to influence nutrition judgments in social media spaces. In Experiment 1, meals were judged as lower in nutritional quality when the person who recommended them (the source) was depicted as obese rather than of normal weight, an effect mediated by stereotypic beliefs about the source as a generally unhealthy person. Experiment 2 replicated this effect, which—notably—remained significant when controlling for objective nutritional information (calories and fat content). Results highlight spillover effects of weight bias that extend beyond person perception to color impressions of objects (here, food) that are associated with stigmatized attributes. Implications for everyday nutrition judgments and public health are considered.     

Development and validation of a multivariate predictor of mortality in very low birth weight

Accurate prognosis is critical to the design of all prospective research aimed at improving survival. Predictions based on birth weight, gestational age, or any other single variable, fail to take into account the potentially important contribution of other factors. In order to develop a practical and accurate multivariate model, we studied all singleton pregnancies resulting in viable liveborn infants who weighed less than or equal to 1500 g at birth during 1984 and 1985 at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. When gestational age, birth weight, and/or crown-heel length were considered, no maternal characteristics were significant predictors of mortality. The model with the maximal predictive accuracy (84.5%) used birth weight and 5-minute Apgar score to calculate a probability of mortality. This prognostic model was then validated in a separate cohort of singletons born in 1986. We conclude that clinical trials should require stratification before randomization, using the calculated probability of mortality, rather than birth weight or gestational age alone. Given the ability of models, such as the one presented here, to generate reasonable estimates of mortality, this information might also be used in the clinical setting to assist parents and physicians in individualized decision-making processes for a given infant.     

Life-threatening asthma and anaphylaxis in schools: a treatment model for school-based programs.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric asthma is the No. 1 chronic disease in childhood and is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. In Nebraska, the number of asthma-related deaths is greater than the national average, and in 1998, 2 students died of acute asthma attacks while attending school in the Omaha public schools (OPSs). In response, we designed and implemented a program to respond to this problem. OBJECTIVE: To implement and study a school-based program for the treatment of life-threatening asthma and anaphylaxis in the OPSs. METHODS: The Emergency Response to Life-Threatening Asthma or Systemic Allergic Reactions (Anaphylaxis) Protocol was designed and evaluated in 78 OPSs from 1998 to 2003. Nurses and school staff were trained in the protocol, which required the use of nebulized albuterol and/or intramuscular epinephrine in conjunction with an emergency response procedure. Outcomes were measured by improvement in acute care in schools and survival of students. Results: In the 5 years of evaluation, 98 students were treated successfully. One student died. Of those treated with the protocol, equal numbers had at school both asthma action plans (AAPs) and metered-dose inhalers (MDIs), MDIs only, or neither AAPs nor MDIs. As a result of the program, there has been an increased awareness from parents, teachers, and physicians about the necessity of an emergency response program. In 2002, an outcome of the OPS program resulted in the formation of Attack on Asthma Nebraska to ensure that Nebraska schools have the education, training, and medications to respond to anyone experiencing a life-threatening asthma or anaphylaxis attack at school. The following year, a revised protocol was approved by the Nebraska State Board of Education for use in all Nebraska schools. CONCLUSIONS: Emergency response protocols provide protection for children while in school. This program should serve as a national model for other school-based programs for children and adolescents with asthma and anaphylaxis.     

Nursing practicum: empowering strategies.

The concepts embodied by the practicum are best summarized by students themselves: "Through practicum, I have become more independent and my clinical instructor guided me to independence. I have grown in my own knowledge, skills, performance and confidence in myself." "This course was wonderful--it allows for independence in the clinical area and choice related to the area of study. It improved and developed my self-motivation." "Practicum promotes independence with guidance from faculty and preceptors when needed. The independence promotes decision-making by the student. The course pulls together a lot, if not all, the things taught in school." "I really liked writing my own learning contact and the opportunity to build confidence in my nursing practice."     

Response to the Distilled spirits Industry Council of Australia Inc. position paper 'Alcohol Availability'

A critique is offered of the Distilled Spirits Industry Council position paper 'Alcohol Availability'. It is argued that this position paper presents a simple-minded analysis of the complex relationship between the availability of alcohol and its consumption which pays no attention to the importance of price in determining consumption. As a consequence, it misconstrues the lessons to be drawn from the Victorian experiment in liberalization and fails to consider its implications for the incidence of alcohol related problems.