An Evaluation of an eHealth Tool Designed to Improve College Students' Label-Reading Skills and Feelings of Empowerment to Choose Healthful Foods

Unmet Healthcare Needs among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for System-Wide and Structural Changes for Service Delivery

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, college students faced health disparities in addition to a negative burden on academic performance; however, little is reported in the literature regarding healthcare utilization. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among consenting college student participants aged 18 or older from a Hispanic-serving institution. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to analyze demographic characteristics and the types of healthcare services needed by such characteristics. Logistic regression was used to adjust for noted sex differences in associations between reporting limited healthcare services and types of healthcare services. Results: The study population of 223 participants was mostly Hispanic/Latino (65%) and female (73%). Of the population, 11% reported they could not obtain needed healthcare services, with time being reported as the most common reason. Significant associations were found between seeking general healthcare services/routine screening, seeking mental health services, and seeking sexual health services with reporting limited healthcare services, with sex-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.90 (95% CI: 1.08, 3.36), 3.21 (95% CI: 1.44, 4.15), and 2.58 (95% CI: 1.05, 6.35), respectively. Conclusions: Availability and inability to obtain health services may exacerbate college student health disparities. Targeted interventions are needed in the population to mitigate the potential burdens of unmet healthcare needs, particularly among minority college students.

Development and proposed evaluation of an eHealth learning tool for undergraduate university students in Ireland

Undergraduate university students are at a critical stage of development in terms of their academic, social, psychological and behavioural health. Patterns established during these formative years can last a lifetime. eHealth tools have the potential to be engaging, convenient and accessible to a wide range of students by providing health information and enhancing the uptake of positive health behaviours. The 'Healthy Trinity Online Tool' (H-TOT) was developed in collaboration with students and a transdisciplinary team with decades of experience between them in terms of research, clinical responsibility and service delivery. Developmental steps undertaken included: a literature review to formulate the topic content choices; a survey of students to check the relevance and suitability of topics identified; and, the tacit experience of the development team. This co-design model led to the development of content encompassing academic life, healthy eating, physical activity, mood, financial matters, alcohol, tobacco, drugs and relaxation. Qualitative focus groups were subsequently conducted for in-depth exploration of the usage and functionality of H-TOT. The theoretical underpinnings include the locus of control and social cognitive theory. Evidence-based behavioural change techniques are embedded throughout. During early pre-piloting of H-TOT, the team identified and solved content functionality problems. The tone of the content was also revised to ensure it was non-judgemental. To make the H-TOT as interactive as possible, video scenarios were included and all content was audio-recorded to allow playback for students with visual or learning difficulties. Evaluation plans for the pilot year of H-TOT are outlined.

How Do Smart Device Apps for Diabetes Self-Management Correspond with Theoretical Indicators of Empowerment? An Analysis of App Features

OBJECTIVES

Smart device apps for diabetes have the potential to support patients in their daily disease management. However, uncertainty exists regarding their suitability for empowering patients to improve self-management behaviors. This paper addresses a general research gap regarding theoretically based examinations of empowerment in diabetes research, by examining how diabetes app features correspond with conceptual indicators of empowerment.

METHODS

We examined features of 121 apps for diabetes self-management available in Singapore, with the second highest proportion of diabetes among developed nations, for psychological empowerment (feeling of empowerment) and for behavioral empowerment (social support).

RESULTS

Diabetes apps studied offered a narrow range of features, with limited feature-sets corresponding to indicators of empowerment. Customization as a strategy to improve perceived relevance of diabetes self-management as an indicator of psychological empowerment was especially limited. Moreover, there was a lack of features supporting patients' communication with healthcare professionals and within their private social networks.

CONCLUSIONS

Mobile apps for diabetes self-management failed to provide relevant features for empowering patients. Specific practical recommendations target improved adoption, sustained usage, and effectiveness of diabetes self-management apps.

Assessment of an e-training tool for college students to improve accuracy and reduce effort associated with reading nutrition labels

Objective: Nutrition labels are often underutilized due to the time and effort required to read them. We investigated the impact of label-reading training on effort, as well as accuracy and motivation. Participants: Eighty college students (21 men and 59 women). Methods: The training consisted of a background tutorial on nutrition followed by three blocks of practice reading labels to decide which of two foods was the relatively better choice. Label-reading effort was assessed using an eye tracker and motivation was assessed using a 6-item scale of healthy food-choice empowerment. Results: Students showed increases in label-reading accuracy, decreases in label-reading effort, and increases in empowerment. Conclusions: The nutrition label e-training tool presented here, whether used alone or as part of other wellness and health programs, may be an effective way to boost students' label-reading skills and healthy food choices, before they settle into grocery shopping habits.