Jen Holland

New study shows that university students experienced increased psychological distress during COVID-19, but utilized fewer support services

mthomp7 — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:09:35 +0000

New study shows that university students experienced increased psychological distress during COVID-19, but utilized fewer support services mthomp7 Wed, 10/30/2024 - 07:09

Underrepresented students, particularly women of color, were less likely to receive mental health services during the pandemic.

PhD in Public Health candidate Elaine Russell and her mentor Kenneth Griffin, a professor in the Department of Global and Community Health, in ��AV’s College of Public Health, worked with Tolulope Abidogun, also a PhD in Public Health student, and former Global and Community Health professor Lisa Lindley, now of Lehigh University, to analyze data from the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA III) in an effort to understand how university students’ mental health needs changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PhD in Public Health candidate Elaine Russell studied how university students’ mental health needs changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“More U.S. college students suffered from mental health concerns during the pandemic, but fewer received necessary mental health treatment,” says Russell.

This study is the first to use a national dataset to examine changes in university students’ psychological well-being and their utilization of mental health services from pre-COVID-19 to peak pandemic. Russell and the research team found that, consistent with prior research related to diverse populations, racial/ethnic, gender, and sexual minority groups were at a greater risk of suffering from poor mental health during the pandemic. Additional findings revealed that, during the pandemic, students of color, especially female students of color, were less likely to receive mental health services.

“When developing innovative approaches to improving mental health outcomes on college campuses, it is important to be culturally sensitive and understand the diverse needs of the specific student population,” says Russell.

The study used data from before the COVID-19 pandemic (Fall 2019 and early Spring 2020) and during the pandemic (Spring 2021) to examine mental health symptoms and utilization of mental health services among university students. The sample was limited to full-time undergraduate students aged 18-24 attending four-year universities in the United States. In addition to analyzing the entire sample of university students, the team examined demographic subgroups based on race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Several validated psychological testing scales were used in the study to indicate students’ self-reported levels of psychological distress, loneliness, overall stress, psychological well-being, and resilience. Additional survey questions asked about COVID-19 specific stressors, including the students’ concern over themselves or their loved ones getting COVID-19 and being unable to spend time with the people they care about due to the pandemic lockdowns. Students’ use of mental health services within the 12 months preceding the survey was also assessed.

“These findings are important to better understand sub-groups who disproportionally suffer from severe psychological distress but may not be accessing the necessary care,” the study reports. While issues such as a lack of access to mental health services and discrimination within the health care system are undoubtedly factors in students’ reluctance to seek mental health care, the stigma surrounding mental health is also prohibitive.

“Improvements in mental health resources must also address stigma and empower students to access necessary care,” Russell says, specifying the use of peer health educators and making efforts to normalize mental health treatment may be effective prevention strategies.

Russell concludes by calling for future research to increase understanding of the barriers to mental health service use among high-risk university students.

“Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students’ psychological distress, well-being, and utilization of mental health services in the United States: Populations at greatest risk” was published online in Frontiers in Public Health in October 2024.

The authors are Elaine Cooper Russell, ��AV; Tolulope M. Abidogun, ��AV; Lisa L. Lindley, Lehigh University; and Kenneth W. Griffin, ��AV.

In This Story

Kenneth W. Griffin, PhD, MPH

Topics

coronavirus; covid-19

College of Public Health

Nursing professor serves as special advisor on US President’s Cancer Panel

Taylor Thomas — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 19:16:37 +0000

Nursing professor serves as special advisor on US President’s Cancer Panel Taylor Thomas Fri, 10/11/2024 - 15:16

In This Story

Caroline Sutter, DNP

The President’s Cancer Panel hosted a public meeting on Thursday, September 12, 2024, entitled “Developing and Retaining a Robust and Diverse Cancer Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities Across the National Cancer Program”. The meeting is part of the Panel’s development of recommendations and reports to President Joe Biden.

Caroline Sutter, health workforce expert, was asked to be a special advisor to the Panel at their public meeting. Sutter is nationally recognized for her work implementing and evaluating models of community health care access and system navigation. She is a credentialed Family Nurse Practitioner and one of the co-founders of the Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinic. Sutter currently serves as the codirector of the Center for Health Workforce at Mason, which was established to address the shortage of health workers in Virginia on top of her position as a professor in the College of Public Health School of Nursing.

You can listen to the recordings of the meetings from September 12 and 13 here. Learn more about the President’s Cancer Panel and the National Cancer Plan.

Topics

Nursing Faculty

Cancer Prevention and Control

Center for Health Workforce

public health workforce

Faculty and Staff News

New study finds associations between use of skin care products and exposure to potential developmental toxicants

mthomp7 — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 13:15:40 +0000

New study finds associations between use of skin care products and exposure to potential developmental toxicants mthomp7 Wed, 09/04/2024 - 09:15

In This Story

Michael S. Bloom, PhD, MS, FACE

Use of skin care products is associated with exposure to phthalates and phthalate-replacement chemicals in young children, according to the new and first-of-its-kind study at ��AV's College of Public Health.

A new study led by primary investigator Michael S. Bloom, professor in the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason’s College of Public Health, has found that use of skin care products including lotions, hair oils, hair conditioners, ointments, and sunscreen is associated with higher levels of phthalates in children’s urine. The associations depend in part upon the child’s racial and ethnic identity and their sex as assigned at birth. The study was co-authored by two George Mason Master of Public Health alumni, Juliana Clark and Kelly Garcia.

A new study led by primary investigator Michael S. Bloom has found that use of skin care products including lotions, hair oils, hair conditioners, ointments, and sunscreen is associated with higher levels of phthalates in children’s urine. Photo by Michelle Thompson/College of Public Health

“This is the first study to suggest that different skin care products used by young children may differentially increase exposure to endocrine-disrupting phthalates and phthalate replacements in young children,” said Bloom.

Phthalates and phthalate-replacement compounds are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, meaning they may interfere with the body’s hormones. Exposure to these chemicals in early childhood has been associated with neurodevelopmental, reproductive, and metabolic disease concerns in previous studies. Some of these chemicals are often used as carriers for the active ingredients in skin care products; others may be used in plastic packaging.

The study collected medical data from 630 children between the ages of 4 and 8 from 10 different sites across the United States, including a clinical examination and a urinalysis. The child’s parent or guardian was also asked to complete a survey within 24 hours prior to the child’s examination, which included questions regarding the child’s sociodemographic information (race/ethnic identity, sex assigned at birth, etc.). It also asked parents to list all the skin care products, including lotions, soaps, shampoos, oils, and cosmetics, that were applied to the child’s skin in the 24 hours prior to their examination, with as much specificity as possible regarding the product type and brand or generic name.

“We found associations between recent use of different skin care products and higher concentrations of phthalate and phthalate-replacement compounds,” said Bloom. “There were different relationships between the use of skin care products and the endocrine-disrupting chemicals in children depending on their racial and ethnic identities and their sex assigned at birth. We also found that distinct patterns of using multiple skin care products were predictive of higher concentrations of phthalates and phthalate replacements.”

While Bloom and his team say that further studies are necessary to confirm these findings, the results suggest that children in different racial and ethnic groups may experience different levels of risk for exposure to phthalates. In particular, they found the highest levels of phthalates and phthalate replacements in the urine of non-Hispanic Black participants. The differences may correlate to brand availability and preferences, methods and timing of product application, and/or the frequency of use by children with different racial and ethnic identities.

“The results can inform policies to address the use of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in skin care products that may be used on children and to help advise parents’ decisions about using products to limit their children’s exposure to potential developmental toxicants,” said Bloom.

“Impact of skin care products on phthalates and phthalate replacements in children: the ECHO-FGS” was published online in Environmental Health Perspectives in September 2024. This research was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) study.

Additional authors include: Juliana Clark, ��AV; John L. Pearce, Medical University of South Carolina; Pamela L. Ferguson, Medical University of South Carolina; Roger B. Newman, Medical University of South Carolina; James R. Roberts, Medical University of South Carolina; William A. Grobman, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Anthony C. Sciscione, Christiana Care Health System; Daniel W. Skupski, New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital; Kelly E. Garcia, ��AV; John E. Vena, Medical University of South Carolina; Kelly J. Hunt, Medical University of South Carolina; the ECHO-FGS study group.

Topics

Master of Public Health

Environmental Chemicals

Research

College of Public Health Professor Carolyn Drews-Botsch receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to teach and research with the Royal College of Surgeons

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:26:33 +0000

College of Public Health Professor Carolyn Drews-Botsch receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to teach and research with the Royal College of Surgeons Mary Cunningham Thu, 06/20/2024 - 13:26

In This Story

Carolyn Drews-Botsch, PhD, MPH

��AV professor Carolyn Drews-Botsch was recognized with the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award in Medical Sciences and will teach and conduct research with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) during the fall of 2024.

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators, and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Fulbright Scholars exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections, and work to address complex global challenges.

Drews-Botsch, a professor in George Mason's College of Public Health, will collaborate with the faculty at RCSI to on curriculum development its new online master’s program in population health, particularly in epidemiologic methods. She will also conduct research on the impact of amblyopia, colloquially known as “lazy eye,” on children’s lives and health.

Specifically, she will use longitudinal data sets from the U.S. and Ireland whether children with amblyopia get less physical activity and are more likely to become obese than other children. By using data from two countries, the results will be more generalizable to other populations.

“The Fulbright award will allow me to advance important research on amblyopia, which has far-reaching impact—beyond one’s vision,” said Drews-Botsch. “Reading speed, balance, coordination can be impacted—and the hypothesis is that this is causing an increase in obesity in children with this condition.”

More than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. 

Topics

Fulbright

Fulbright Scholars

GCH Faculty

public health research

Research

Kim McNally becomes George Mason’s first PhD in public health

Taylor Thomas — Thu, 02 May 2024 15:50:40 +0000

Kim McNally becomes George Mason’s first PhD in public health Taylor Thomas Thu, 05/02/2024 - 11:50

��AV's College of Public Health started its new PhD in Public Health in 2021 with a cohort of six students. Just three and a half years later, Fairfax County Health Department School Nurse Kim McNally will be the program's first PhD to walk across the Commencement stage at EagleBank Arena this May.

By training the future public health workforce, including epidemiologists, nurses, nutritionists, health administrators, and social workers, George Mason’s College of Public Health—the first in Virginia—helps reduce the public health worker shortage, and its students and graduates help individuals and communities get healthy and stay healthy. Since the PhD program's inception, the college has accepted 27 students.

Kim McNally (center) with her mentors Professor Ali Weinstein and Professor Amira Roess. Photo provided

After receiving her bachelor's in social work from Rutgers University, McNally went to work in child protective services, ultimately deciding it was not for her. She went back to school, earning her bachelor's in nursing and master's in nursing education from Western Carolina University. After a year working in a hospital, she realized her love of public health, which led to her applying to George Mason’s brand-new PhD program in public health. McNally successfully defended her dissertation in April.

Throughout her studies, McNally continued to work full time as a public health school nurse for the Fairfax County Health Department as part of the School Health program, which provides schools with school health aides and public health nurses. Her current position as a school health nurse in Fairfax County has been instrumental to PhD goals.

McNally’s primary research during her PhD was looking at ways to improve HPV vaccine compliance, particularly among seventh graders. In fact, it was this goal that led her to getting her PhD in the first place:

“I really wanted to jump right in and do an intervention. But then I had to take a step back when I realized that we didn’t have the research to support developing one intervention over another. And so that’s where it started. [It] was just looking at a way to empower school nurses in particular,” said McNally.

As for what she plans to do now that she’s completed her degree, McNally still isn’t sure.

“I love my job,” she said. “It’s an amazing job. I work with amazing people so I would love to stay in school health.”

However, she also would like to work with schools and the health department to support school health nurses because the one thing she has heard over and over again is that school nurses are overburdened.

McNally is also very passionate about mobile health clinics. She says in the years she has been working in schools in Northern Virginia, she has never seen a mobile health clinic on a registration day or during an open house that offered the HPV vaccine and other immunizations required by Virginia state law for students in public schools.

As she looks toward Commencement this May, McNally said she couldn’t have reached her goals without George Mason and her mentors. McNally’s family, mentors, and well-wishers from the College of Public Health were in attendance as she defended her dissertation.

“Dr. [Amira] Roess [professor of Global Health and Epidemiology] has been my faculty mentor since day one and she’s been really amazing, really supportive. Guiding when guiding was needed but also letting me grow on my own,” McNally said.

She also took inspiration from her mentor Ali Weinstein, a professor in the Department of Global and Community Health, and how well she balanced the research aspect with the people aspect.

“We definitely need numbers and rates, but we also need to understand why people choose to vaccinate or choose not to vaccinate. I do feel like it definitely prepared me for my future goals," McNally said.

“I’m excited to see how Kim will continue to impact the fields of school nursing and public health,” said Roess. “She is a terrific role model for our current and future doctoral students.”

Adds Weinstein: “Her work is impactful and meaningful because of the combination of practical knowledge that highlighted a gap in public health practice.”

Learn more about the PhD in Public Health program here.