Faculty Bibliography

Poor dietary choices are a leading cause of chronic disease, but nutrition is rarely discussed in clinical practice. Nutrition is taught in less than a third of medical schools and physicians in practice empirically report low levels of comfort and self-efficacy in discussing nutrition with patients. A two-part presentation was created and shared with second-year medical students at a college of medicine. Students were given pre-work that included a brief (15 minutes) pre-recorded presentation and an e-resource entitled "Practical Nutrition for the Primary Care Provider" and then engaged in a live virtual session with a brief lecture and question and answer period (45 minutes). A survey was administered following the live presentation to evaluate the extent to which the presentation met the stated objectives and could impact participants' future practice. One-hundred and six students participated in the live lecture. Eighty-eight students (83%) provided survey feedback. Over two-thirds of respondents indicated that the presentation completely met the objectives, 57% indicated that they would definitely talk to patients with chronic disease about nutrition, and 52% indicated they would incorporate diet assessment in visits with patients with chronic disease. Nutrition is integral to disease prevention and management. Many students provided comments on the importance of the topic and benefit of the information. Further research is necessary to determine the optimal time and place for nutrition education in medical training. This presentation and e-resource are evidence-based, brief, and provided tools for participants to access once in practice.

OBJECTIVE:The use of financial incentives to promote physical activity (PA) has grown in popularity due in part to technological advances that make it easier to track and reward PA. The purpose of this study was to update the evidence on the effects of incentives on PA in adults. DATA SOURCES/METHODS:Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsychINFO, CCTR, CINAHL and COCH. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA/UNASSIGNED:Randomised controlled trials (RCT) published between 2012 and May 2018 examining the impact of incentives on PA. DESIGN/METHODS:A simple count of studies with positive and null effects ('vote counting') was conducted. Random-effects meta-analyses were also undertaken for studies reporting steps per day for intervention and post-intervention periods. RESULTS:23 studies involving 6074 participants were included (64.42% female, mean age = 41.20 years). 20 out of 22 studies reported positive intervention effects and four out of 18 reported post-intervention (after incentives withdrawn) benefits. Among the 12 of 23 studies included in the meta-analysis, incentives were associated with increased mean daily step counts during the intervention period (pooled mean difference (MD), 607.1; 95% CI: 422.1 to 792.1). Among the nine of 12 studies with post-intervention daily step count data incentives were associated with increased mean daily step counts (pooled MD, 513.8; 95% CI:312.7 to 714.9). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:after incentives were removed, though post-intervention 'vote counting' and pooled results did not align. Nonetheless, and contrary to what has been previously reported, these findings suggest a short-term incentive 'dose' may promote sustained PA.

Increasing global urbanization limits interaction between people and natural environments, which may negatively impact population health and wellbeing. Urban residents who live near parks report better mental health. Physical activity (PA) reduces depression and improves quality of life. Despite PA's protective effects on mental health, the added benefit of urban park use for PA is unclear. Thus, we examined whether park-based PA mediated associations between park proximity and mental distress among 3652 New York City residents (61.4% 45 + years, 58.9% female, 56.3% non-white) who completed the 2010-2011 Physical Activity and Transit (PAT) random-digit-dial survey. Measures included number of poor mental health days in the previous month (outcome), self-reported time to walk to the nearest park from home (exposure), and frequency of park use for sports, exercise or PA (mediator). We used multiple regression with bootstrap-generated 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals (BC CIs) to test for mediation by park-based PA and moderation by gender, dog ownership, PA with others, and perceived park crime. Park proximity was indirectly associated with fewer days of poor mental health via park-based PA, but only among those not concerned about park crime (index of moderated mediation = 0.04; SE = 0.02; 95% BC CI = 0.01, 0.10). Investment in park safety and park-based PA promotion in urban neighborhoods may help to maximize the mental health benefits of nearby parks.