Farmers' Markets
O‘ahu needs more farmers' markets that accept SNAP debit cards, finds a new study led by Opal Vanessa Buchthal DrPH, assistant professor with the Office of Public Health Studies. The study used GIS spatial analysis of O‘ahu to look at market locations and income levels of neighborhoods. Results showed that only nine of the 55 farmers' markets on O‘ahu accept SNAP debit cards. Buchthal and colleagues concluded that if farmers' markets in just six specific neighborhoods (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/using-spatial-analysis-to-examine-best-placement-of-electronic-benefit-transfer-services-at-farmers-markets-in-honolulu-county-hawaii-usa/40B9427C04BB4BDAE110871DEB11D613) could start accepting the debit cards, then the percentage of O‘ahu's SNAP participants who would have access to a nearby market that takes the cards would increase from the current 44 percent to 67 percent. The study was published August 29 in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
Cervical Cancer Screening
In areas where women have limited access to healthcare, visual inspection of the cervix offers a low-resource method of cervical cancer screening. Researchers led by Susan Driscoll PhD, MPH, assistant professor with the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, reviewed previous studies that had looked at whether community-based programs using adequately-trained community health workers (CHWs) could expand access to screening. Results showed that the sensitivity in detecting cervical cancer (https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijgo.12535) by visual inspection was 15 percentage points higher among CHWs than physicians. Provider training was a significant predictor of the sensitivity and specificity of the screening. The study was published in the September issue of the International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.
Rat Lungworm Disease
More research is needed to improve diagnosis and treatment of angiostrongyliasis, or rat lungworm disease, according to a viewpoint paper. The nematode (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) that causes the disease is found in rats and in slugs and snails, but cases have occurred in children under age 1 who have had no known direct exposure to slugs. It is possible, although not proven, that rainwater catchment systems provide another route (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschemneuro.7b00299) of human exposure, according to senior author Susan Jarvi PhD, professor with The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, and colleague Kathleen Howe. Current work is focusing on developing an immunoassay to estimate the exposure of people in east Hawai‘i. The paper was published in a recent issue of the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.
Eating Habits of Teenagers
A new study of eating behaviors suggests that for teen girls on O‘ahu, BMI is positively correlated with uncontrolled eating and emotional eating, and also with cognitive restraint, which means consciously restricting food to control or lose weight. Senior author Jinan Banna PhD, RD, associate professor with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and colleagues gathered data from 84 girls ages 9 to 13. Given that there was no correlation between energy intake and restrained eating in this study, the results suggest that other factors, such a desire to give a socially acceptable answer on a questionnaire, may help explain the positive correlation between restrained eating and BMI (http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/9/1279/htm). The study is published in the September issue of the journal Nutrients.
Native Hawaiian Diaspora
Native Hawaiian elders living in California (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10823-017-9335-3) who left Hawai‘i during their teen or young adult years report that they experienced a higher standard of living and less discrimination after they moved, according to a study led by Colette Browne DrPH, professor with the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, and Kathryn Braun DrPH, professor with UH Public Health. Through key informant interviews and focus groups, the study found that financial concerns are a common barrier to accessing long-term care. A strong love of Hawai‘i persisted with all of the participants. Strategies to support these elders and their caregivers may include attending to financial needs and improving the cultural sensitivity of their social service and health care providers. The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology.
Ovarian Cancer
Women with ovarian cancer who have recently (within the past 2 years) used aspirin or other NSAIDs after their diagnosis may have lower risk of dying from ovarian cancer (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(18)30373-5/abstract), according to a new epidemiological study. Researchers led by Melissa Merritt PhD, assistant researcher with the UH Cancer Center, looked at data from about 240,000 nurses who were part of the Nurses' Health Study and the Nurses' Health Study II. If the findings are confirmed, clinical trials should look at whether the use of aspirin and other NSAIDs after an ovarian cancer diagnosis could improve women's prognosis, as well as determine the dose levels that are most protective, Merritt and colleagues wrote. The study was published in the August issue of The Lancet Oncology.