Linking a Child’s Environment to Obesity

Sep 4, 2018

The Issue

There is a global childhood obesity epidemic and researchers in the United States are working toward solutions, including prevention. Compared to adults, there has been relatively little research linking a child’s environment to their weight. This report was published in The Obesity Journal on August 23,2018. It is a continuation of findings from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids (NIK) study, and focuses on both physical activity and nutrition environments. Two factors that can affect a child’s weight, in addition to behavioral factors, like daily energy intake and sedentary behavior.

The Study

A team of researchers gathered data twice over a two year span, in four types of different metropolitan neighborhoods in two large cities. They looked at several factors, like the age of the parents and the proximity of a quality park, then compared these data for each child to the child’s BMI. A favorable neighborhood in the study had a supermarket nearby with good nutrition and a quality park within walking distance of the child’s home. Less favorable neighborhoods had fast food easily accessible, no supermarkets nearby and nowhere for the children to play within a 1/2 mile. The findings looked at whether the neighborhood characteristics predicted the children outcomes going forward over the two years of the study.

As a result, the study showed that children living in less favorable neighborhoods were 41% to 49% more likely to be overweight, and that these effects were found across two years. City planners and developers can use this evidence when designing neighborhoods that support healthy families.

The Importance of Environments

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, a co-author on the study, noted “This study is unique and important in that it allowed us to make clear comparisons between ‘healthier’ and ‘less healthy’ food and activity environments over multiple years. The findings underscore how important environments can be in shaping behaviors and the health of children.”

Neighborhoods Impact on Kids (NIK) is an observational study, evaluating cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of neighborhood-level activity and nutrition environments with children’s weight status and obesity. The study is led by Dr. Brian Saelens, currently at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

View the article

Evaluating Healthy Vending Policies for Youth in Four Cities – Report Now Available

Jul 30, 2018

Best Practices

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH and her team recently conducted an evaluation of healthy vending policies and initiatives affecting youth in four cities.

  • Chicago Parks District in Chicago, Illinois
  • Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Springdale, Arkansas.

Vending machines are a common source for low nutrient, energy-dense snacks and beverages. Consequently, youth can easily access vending machines at many public spaces such as parks, recreation centers, and swimming pools. Increasing the availability of healthier options in vending machines is one way to influence healthier snacking behaviors. Furthermore, it is aligned with the CDC recommendation for communities to make healthier food and beverage options more readily available in public venues.

Many cities are beginning to adopt healthy vending policies in public areas, but more could be done to develop, implement, and evaluate these healthy vending polices is limited.

 

The Design

This study used a mixed-methods, multiple-case study design and included semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders from each city. The site visits at each city included surveys with adults using the vending machines and observations of the available products in vending machines. In addition to a review of documents, including nutrition standards, policies, requests for proposals (RFPs), vending contracts, sales data, and any existing evaluation tools were collected from each site.

The research findings are summarized in this report. It describes the major similarities and differences across four cites/counties who chose healthy vending practices. The report emphasizes what works and what doesn’t when developing, executing, and evaluating healthy vending policies and initiatives.


This research was supported by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 Evaluating Healthy Vending Policies for Youth in Four Cities

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH; Julie Bromberg, MHS; Yasaman Mirafzali; Sarah Green, MPH

Download the full report

Is it dementia? Dr. Jason Karlawish helps you identify the signs

Jul 3, 2018

Aging happens differently for everyone and forgetting some details for daily tasks is not always cause for alarm. But there are signs that you or a loved one are showing signs of dementia or other diseases, like Alziemer’s. Dr. Jason Karlawish published an article with AARP as part of their Disrupt Dementia campaign.

Dr. Karlawish a researcher on the Healthy Brain Research Network and the Cognitive Aging Communication Project, both funded supplements to the UPenn Prevention Research Center. He also serves as the director of the Penn Memory Center.  Dr. Karlawish writes about what to look for and the risks involved with allowing the disease to progress without intervention.

Read about the signs to look for and his personal experience with an aging parent here. Tweet about your experiences, using the hashtag #DisruptDementia and tag @AARP and @jasonkarlwish.

Community Scholars In-Residence

Jun 18, 2018

A call for Community Scholars

Applications are now being accepted for the Community Scholars-in-Residence program which will be focused on cancer prevention and control research.

Through this program, scholars will develop relationships with a community research partner of their choosing, identify research opportunities, and co-develop research projects during a one to two-year tenure with a community partner organization.

Eligibility: Standing pre/post docs with an interest in conducting community-engaged health research Project Topics: Projects must focus on cancer prevention and control research, and must be co-developed with a community partner Program Duration: 12-24 months Funding: Each Scholar/Community Organization team will receive up to $5,000 for their project Program Start: September 2018. Application Deadline: June 1, 2018 EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE!

Program Structure:

Faculty Mentorship: Scholars will identify a mentor from qualified faculty in the area of cancer prevention and control research. Mentors will guide the development, implementation and evaluation of the project. Scholars are expected to meet with their mentor on a monthly basis. Mentors will receive $500 (for discretionary funds) for their support.

Community Partner Organization: The community partner organization should be identified by the scholar and can include any community organization that provides, plans for, coordinates, organizes, pays for, or regulates health/public health services or impacts health outcomes in the community.

Time Commitment: Scholars will devote an average of 4-6 hours per week to this program and it is expected that a majority of the time will be spent with the community partner.

Formal Training: Scholars will participate in a one-day kick-off workshop that will cover key community-engaged research skills and participate in regular meetings and trainings that will provide opportunities for sharing personal experiences and lessons learned. Representatives from the community partner organizations will be invited to participate in the meetings.

Funding: Scholars will develop a project and submit a proposal for funding (up to $5,000 per project). We suggest building in a minimum of $500 for your host organization.

Please contact Jill McDonald at jillmcd@upenn.edu  for more information and a program application.

 

Funding for this program comes from Community Engagement and Research Core in the Penn CTSA and the UPenn Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN).

A Tobacco-Free Penn Campus

Jun 12, 2018

The Student Health Service/Campus Health department at the University of Pennsylvania created videos to accompany their tobacco-free campus campaign. Watch their video, supported by the University of Pennsylvania Prevention Research Center (UPenn PRC), to learn more about their plans to improve health and create a more beautiful and sustainable campus.

 

Visit their website for more information on this ongoing project and look for the signage that alerts students and staff that Penn is Tobacco Free. Student Health Services has also provided a Tobacco Cessation Resources brochure to help students quit smoking.

Health Equity Research Snapshot Highlights CDC Prevention Research Centers

May 23, 2018

centers researching health equity

 

As a part of their continued commitment to improving the health of individuals and populations, academic medical centers are conducting research to find solutions for inequities in health and health care. The 2018 Health Equity Research Snapshot, an initiative of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), highlights seven videos featuring innovative community-partnered research projects within AAMC member medical schools with preventative medicine residency programs, and explores how people and their communities can avoid or counter risks for chronic illnesses. The effort is a collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Prevention Research Centers, a network of 26 academic research centers across the country.

 

For more information and to view the videos, visit www.aamc.org/healthequitysnapshot.

Click “Philadelphia, PA” to see our video!

Advances in Alzheimer’s imaging are changing the experience of Alzheimer’s disease

May 3, 2018

Stites, S.D., Milne, R., Karlawish, J.
Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring
Volume 10, 1 January 2018, Pages 285-300

  • PRC Investigator, Dr. Jason Karlawish joined S.D. Stites and R. Milne to study how a bio marker-based diagnosis can help a patient during each stage of Alzheimer’s Disease. The stigma or shame that can come with the disease can affect how a patient feels about themselves. Dr. Karlawish and his colleagues explored how changes in the way a patient is diagnosed can help address these stigmas.

Read more about the Healthy Brain Research Network here.

Coverage of Hawaii’s ban on certain sunscreens and the risks involved

Apr 2, 2018

Preserve Marine Ecosystems

Hawaii proposed and then passed a bill banning sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate in order to “preserve marine ecosystems.” PRC director and Penn professor, Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, co-authored an op-ed for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser titled, “Suncreens save lives, have limited impact on coral reefs.” Dr. Glanz was on a sabbatical for the first part of 2018, and served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Together with Kevin Cassel, president of the Hawaii Skin Cancer Coalition, the piece was published, March 29, 2018.

Acknowledging health factors and disparities

Glanz and Cassel start by acknowledging that sunscreen is a key factor in preventing skin cancer. Furthermore, they call on legislators to fund more research on the ingredients in sunscreen and the effects they have on Hawaii’s natural resources.

Their article caught the attention of the local media and they called on Dr. Glanz to present her views on the impact this decision could have on those at risk for skin cancer. In addition, they bring light to the higher price for sunscreens that don’t contain those ingredients. This could prevent people from purchasing those products. “The cost of these so-called reef-friendly products for sunscreen ranges anywhere from two times to as much as six to eight times as much as what is on the shelves now.” She points out that it isn’t just beachgoers that are affected, there are a number of jobs in Hawaii requiring people to work outside and they could be the most at risk.

Resources

READ the article here.
WATCH Karen’s interview with Hawaii News Now ↓
LISTEN to her interview with SiriusXM, Knowledge@Wharton with Dan Loney on May 17, 2018. ↓

Mahealani Richardson of Hawaii News Now interviewed Karen Glanz and Kevin Cassel on this topic and the story aired April 4, 2018. After Hawaii passes the legislation, Ms. Richardson shares an update.

Click here to see the story on Hawaii News Now.

 

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

by Karen Glanz on Knowledge@Wharton

Listen to Karen’s interview with Dan Loney at SiriusXM Knowledge@Wharton, (Wharton Business Radio) on May 17, 2018 HERE.

Colon Cancer Prevention Month

Mar 26, 2018

In honor of Colon Cancer Awareness Month, we’ve assembled some highlights of the work being done by researchers at the UPenn PRC towards colorectal cancer prevention. We’re helping local health clinics increase colorectal screening rates by addressing barriers to screening, such as financial help for uninsured patients or training healthcare workers to follow-up with patients. #ColorectalCancer
 
  • We work with the local American Cancer Society and the Health Federation of Philadelphia (HFP), to help Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) adopt quality programs that help to increase colorectal cancer screening rates. In addition to increased rates, these programs range from financial help for uninsured clients to changing which personnel are responsible for following up with patients who need to be screened.
  • We’re contributing to an ongoing study with the Cancer Prevention & Control Research Network (CPCRN) FQHC work group, where we administered a survey and conducted interviews about implementation of evidence based interventions to increase CRC screening in FQHCs.
  • Our Community Scholars In-Residence Program matches doctoral candidates, medical students, and postdocs with community programs. They research cancer prevention and control at the community level. This project is supported by CPCRN and the Community Engagement and Research Core (CEAR Core).

Investigator Spotlight

Chyke Doubeni, MD, FRCS, MPH

Dr. Chyke Doubeni examined the barriers to screenings which provide early identification and prevention of colorectal cancer for low-income patients.

Featured Publications:

Singal AG, Corley DA, Kamineni A, Garcia M, Zheng Y, Doria-Rose PV, Quinn VP, Jensen CD, Chubak J, Tiro J, Doubeni CA, Ghai NR, Skinner CS, Wernli K, Halm EA. Patterns and predictors or repeat fecal immunochemical and occult blood test screening in four large health care systems in the United States American Journal of Gastroenterology, Feb. 2018

In a study of over 300,000 patients, Dr. Doubeni and his co-authors found factors in hospitals that are associated with whether patients complete colorectal cancer screenings in the recommended time frame. Their results suggest that screening rates increase if the hospital/clinic focuses their attention and follow-up with patients.

Peterse EFP, Meester RGS, Gini A, Doubeni CA, Anderson DS, Berger FG, Zauber AG, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I.Value Of Waiving Coinsurance For Colorectal Cancer Screening In Medicare Beneficiaries, Health Affairs (Project Hope), Dec. 2017

Dr. Doubeni and his colleagues have also modeled the potential effects of waiving coinsurance payments for Medicare patients who have colorectal cancer screening. They find that even if waiving the coinsurance raises the number of people screened by less than one percent, these measures would strike a good balance between cost and health benefits impacts.

 

A national survey of young women’s beliefs about quitting indoor tanning: implications for health communication messages

Mar 23, 2018

Indoor tanning is a risk factor for skin cancer, particularly among young, white women. Our researchers found that persuasive health messages that encourage young women to quit indoor tanning should focus on their beliefs that it helps their appearance and mood, rather than the health risks.

20% of our nation’s young, white women indoor tan, knowing the risk of skin cancer. In November and December of 2015, a national online  survey was conducted with 279 non-Hispanic white women, ages 18-25 in the United States, who indoor tan.

This survey investigated the young women’s beliefs and attitudes as well as social influences that kept them from quitting.

“Young women were most concerned about skin damage and that quitting tanning might affect their mood,” says Amy Bleakley PhD, MPH, lead author of the study. “It was interesting that quitting tanning to prevent skin cancer did not motivate their intention to quit. Health messages that focus on appearance and mood instead of skin cancer may be more effective in encouraging young women to quit indoor tanning.”

Researchers suggest that health messages from doctors, parents and other loved ones aimed at discouraging indoor tanning should highlight the belief that quitting indoor tanning will reduce skin damage. In addition, messages should counter the belief that quitting will make them less happy. Finally, messages should highlight key people who would approve of them quitting indoor tanning.

Read the article here.

 

Amy Bleakley, Amy Jordan, Morgan E Ellithorpe, DeAnn Lazovich, Sara Grossman, Karen Glanz

Translational Behavioral Medicine, ibx007, https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibx007
Published: March 15, 2018

 

Year in Review

Jan 18, 2018

2017 marked our 3rd year as a Prevention Research Center funded by the CDC. We look forward to new and continued collaborations across Penn, the Philadelphia area, and the PRC Network in 2018!

 

PIK Seminar on Health Disparities

Dec 7, 2017

On November 29, 2017, three of University of Pennsylvania’s distinguished professors presented their collaboration on Health Disparities in the second PIK seminar. Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) is a program where the hand-picked professors collaborate and “bring knowledge together across disciplines and use that knowledge to illuminate some of the most fundamental issues of our time.”

Sarah Tishkoff, Dorothy Roberts, and Karen Glanz with Provost Wendell Pritchett.

The speakers:

  • Karen Glanz, MPH, PhD of Perelman School of Medicine and School of Nursing
  • Sarah Tishkoff, PhD of the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences
  • Dorothy Roberts, JD of Penn Law and School of Arts and Sciences
  • Introduction by Provost Wendell Pritchett.

They presented their ideas on Health Disparities: Integrating Knowledge from Genomics, Social Sciences and Law to a group of about 140 at the Law Auditorium in the Jordan Medical Education Center. There was a live-stream of the presentation for those that couldn’t make it.

You can view the live-stream video of the seminar HERE.
Each presentation is also featured on the Penn LDI site HERE.

After taking questions, the speakers and audience continued the conversation at a reception in the beautiful atrium.

 

The atrium at Jordan Medical Education Center.