Suchergebnisse

Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of health promotion interventions in delaying telomere shortening (a biomarker for aging).Data Source:PubMed, PsychINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases.Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria:Inclusion criteria: (1) empirical studies involving human subjects; (2) health promotion intervention studies including both randomized control trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs.; (3) measured telomere length as an intervention outcome; and (4) were written in English. Exclusion criteria: (1) observational studies without any health promotion intervention practices and (2) did not report intervention effects.Data Extraction:Data extraction was performed by two reviewers following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines.Data Synthesis:Substantial heterogeneity in intervention type and study design in the included studies precluded a meta-analysis. We conducted a narrative synthesis instead.Results:Thirty studies were included in the review, of which 16 were RCTs. One-third of the included studies reported significant intervention impacts in delaying telomere shortening, with relatively consistent significant results emerged from weight-loss interventions and interventions involving multiple lifestyle modification components (eg, diet and exercise). Most of supplement intervention studies observed null effects in telomere length.Conclusions:Weight-loss and comprehensive lifestyle intervention strategies show encouraging impacts in delaying telomere shortening. More rigorous studies targeting populations at different age stages through life span are needed.

Purpose: The current study investigated how risk exposures, risk perceptions of COVID-19, and negative attitudes toward general vaccination were related to COVID vaccine acceptance among college students. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Data was collected by online survey using RedCap among college students in South Carolina between September 2020 and October 2020. Sample: 1062 college students in South Carolina. Measures: risk exposures to COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19, perceived susceptibility of COVID-19, negative attitude toward general vaccination, vaccine acceptance of COVID-19. Analysis: Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the association of these factors with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance controlling for key demographics. Results: Perceived severity of COVID-19 was positively associated with vaccine acceptance (ß = 0.19, p < 0.001). Higher level of risk exposures (ß = −0.08, p = 0.007) and negative attitude toward general vaccination (ß = −0.38, p < 0.001) were associated with low vaccine acceptance. Conclusion: We need tailored education messages for college students to emphasize the severity of COVID-19, address the concerns of side effects of general vaccines by dispelling the misconception, and target the most vulnerable subgroups who reported high level of risk exposures while showed low intention to take the vaccine.

AbstractSocial media analysis provides an alternate approach to monitoring and understanding risk perceptions regarding COVID‐19 over time. Our current understandings of risk perceptions regarding COVID‐19 do not disentangle the three dimensions of risk perceptions (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and negative emotion) as the pandemic has evolved. Data are also limited regarding the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on COVID‐19‐related risk perceptions over time. To address these knowledge gaps, we extracted tweets regarding COVID‐19‐related risk perceptions and developed indicators for the three dimensions of risk perceptions based on over 502 million geotagged tweets posted by over 4.9 million Twitter users from January 2020 to December 2021 in the United States. We examined correlations between risk perception indicator scores and county‐level SDOH. The three dimensions of risk perceptions demonstrate different trajectories. Perceived severity maintained a high level throughout the study period. Perceived susceptibility and negative emotion peaked on March 11, 2020 (COVID‐19 declared global pandemic by WHO) and then declined and remained stable at lower levels until increasing once again with the Omicron period. Relative frequency of tweet posts on risk perceptions did not closely follow epidemic trends of COVID‐19 (cases, deaths). Users from socioeconomically vulnerable counties showed lower attention to perceived severity and susceptibility of COVID‐19 than those from wealthier counties. Examining trends in tweets regarding the multiple dimensions of risk perceptions throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic can help policymakers frame in‐time, tailored, and appropriate responses to prevent viral spread and encourage preventive behavior uptake in the United States.

BACKGROUND: To control the COVID-19 pandemic, governments need to ensure a successful large-scale administration of COVID-19 vaccines when safe and efficacious vaccines become available. Vaccine acceptance could be a critical factor influencing vaccine uptake. Health information has been associated with vaccine acceptance. For college students who are embracing a digital era and being exposed to multimedia, the sources of COVID-19 vaccine information and their trust in these sources may play an important role in shaping their acceptance of vaccine uptake. METHODS: In September 2020, we conducted an online survey among 1062 college students in South Carolina to understand their perceptions and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination. Descriptive analysis and linear regression analysis were used to investigate vaccine information sources among college students and examine how COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was associated with information source and trust level in each source. RESULTS: The top three sources of COVID-19 vaccine information were health agencies (57.7%), mass media (49.5%), and personal social networks (40.5%). About 83.1% of the participants largely or always trusted scientists, 73.9% trusted healthcare providers, and 70.2% trusted health agencies. After controlling for key demographics, vaccine acceptance was positively associated with scientists as information sources but negatively associated with pharmaceutical companies as sources. Higher trust levels in mass media, health agencies, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies was significantly associated with higher COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. However, trust in social media was negatively associated with vaccine acceptance. DISCUSSION: College students use multiple sources to learn about upcoming COVID-19 vaccines including health agencies, personal networks, and social media. The level of trust in these information sources play a critical role in predicting vaccine acceptance. Trust in health authorities and scientists rather than social media is ...

Patients' rights are central in today's legislation and social policies related to health care, including HIV care, in not only Western countries but around the world. However, given obvious socio-cultural differences it is often asked how or to what extent patients' rights should be respected in non-Western societies such as China. In this paper, it is argued that the patients' rights framework is compatible with Chinese culture, and that from the perspective of contemporary patient rights healthcare providers have a duty to disclose truthfully the diagnosis and prognosis to their patients, that the Chinese cultural practice of involving families in care should - with consent from the patient - be promoted out of respect for patients' rights and well-being, and that healthcare providers should be prepared to address the issue of disclosing a patient's HIV status to sexual partner(s). Legally, the provider should be permitted to disclose without consent from the patient but not obliged to in all cases. The decision to do this should be taken with trained sensitivity to a range of ethically relevant considerations. Post-disclosure counseling or psychological support should be in place to address the concerns of potentially adverse consequences of provider-initiated disclosure and to maximize the psychosocial and medical benefits of the disclosure. There is an urgent need for healthcare providers to receive training in ethics and disclosure skills. This paper concludes also with some suggestions for improving the centerpiece Chinese legislation, State Council's "Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Control" (2006), to further safeguard the rights and well-being of HIV patients.

Patients' rights are central in today's legislation and social policies related to health care, including HIV care, in not only Western countries but around the world. However, given obvious socio-cultural differences it is often asked how or to what extent patients' rights should be respected in non-Western societies such as China. In this paper, it is argued that the patients' rights framework is compatible with Chinese culture, and that from the perspective of contemporary patient rights healthcare providers have a duty to disclose truthfully the diagnosis and prognosis to their patients, that the Chinese cultural practice of involving families in care should – with consent from the patient – be promoted out of respect for patients' rights and well-being, and that healthcare providers should be prepared to address the issue of disclosing a patient's HIV status to sexual partner(s). Legally, the provider should be permitted to disclose without consent from the patient but not obliged to in all cases. The decision to do this should be taken with trained sensitivity to a range of ethically relevant considerations. Post-disclosure counseling or psychological support should be in place to address the concerns of potentially adverse consequences of provider-initiated disclosure and to maximize the psychosocial and medical benefits of the disclosure. There is an urgent need for healthcare providers to receive training in ethics and disclosure skills. This paper concludes also with some suggestions for improving the centerpiece Chinese legislation, State Council's "Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Control" (2006), to further safeguard the rights and well-being of HIV patients.

The co-infection of viral hepatitis and tuberculosis (TB) among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) makes the syndemic of HIV even worse as there is higher mortality and morbidity among PLWHA with co-infections compared to people with HIV mono-infection. In the current study, we explored predictors and sequelae among a group of Chinese PLWHA to guide future program strategies and enhance the repertoire of action for both preventative and clinical purposes. Between October 2012 and August 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional study in Guangxi Autonomous Region (Guangxi) of China. With an overall participation rate of 90%, we finally recruited 3002 patients with 2987 (99.5%) completed the survey and were included in the data analysis. We employed both predictive and explanatory modeling strategies to explore predictors and sequelae of co-infections among PLWHA. The overall prevalence of co-infection was 15.6% with 4.4% of HBV, 5.4% of HCV and 4.8% of TB, respectively. Predictors of co-infections included history of injecting drugs or drinking alcohol, sharing needles, having sex with sex workers or casual partners, higher viral loads and lower CD4 counts. Meanwhile, co-infections were associated with various physical and psychological problems among PLWHA. As an entangled phenomenon, co-infections among PLWHA produce continuous and shifting scenarios, which add complexity to clinic, epidemiological and political ways of dealing with health risks among PLWHA in China. Exploring predictors and sequelae can help to prevent and manage co-infection comorbidities among PLWHA.

Abstract
The Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) is a large-scale and important program designed to enhance and coordinate high-quality human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) research. This paper explores the long-term (1985–2019) causal impacts of the CFAR program and its enlargement (three enlargement waves when new centers were recruited) on HIV/AIDS research collaboration. The dataset consists of HIV/AIDS-related research article publications collected from the Web of Science. First, the study applies the propensity score matching method combined with difference-in-difference (DiD) models to test the overall causal impact of the CFAR program on HIV/AIDS research collaboration. Then, by categorizing institutions into different groups based on recruitment stages and defining ten intra-/inter-group collaborations, the study constructs time-varying DiD models to explore the causal impacts of three enlargement waves of CFAR for the ten collaborations. The results show that CFAR and its enlargements have positive impacts on HIV/AIDS research collaboration, although the enlargements' impacts are heterogeneous and specifically vary over time and across collaborations.