Shoshana Arai

Digital Technology Ownership, Usage, and Factors Predicting Downloading Health Apps Among Caucasian, Filipino, Korean, and Latino Americans: The Digital Link to Health Survey

Background Interventions using mobile health (mHealth) apps have been effective in promoting healthy lifestyle behavior change and hold promise in improving health outcomes to thereby reduce health disparities among diverse racial/ethnic populations, particularly Latino and Asian American subgroups (Filipinos and Koreans) at high risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Latinos and Asian Americans are avid digital technology owners and users. However, limited datasets exist regarding digital technology ownership and use, especially among specific racial/ethnic subgroups. Such information is needed to inform development of culturally tailored mHealth tools for use with lifestyle interventions promoting healthy behaviors for these at-risk racial/ethnic populations. Objective The intent of the study was to examine (1) digital technology ownership and usage, and (2) factors predicting downloading health apps for Caucasian, Filipino, Korean, and Latino American subgroups. Methods A cross-sectional survey conducted in August 2013 through December 2013 recruited 904 participants (Caucasians n=172, Filipinos n=250, Koreans n=234, and Latinos n=248), age >18 years, from California community events, clinics, churches, and online. English, Spanish, and Korean surveys were administered via paper or online. Descriptive statistics characterized the sociodemographics and digital technology ownership/usage of the 904 participants. Differences among groups in categorical variables were examined using chi-square statistics. Logistic regression was used to determine factors predicting downloading health apps. Results Overall, mean age was 44 years (SD 16.1), with 64.3% (581/904) female. Only 44.7% (404/904) of all participants reported English as their primary language (Caucasian 98.3%, 169/172; Filipino 67.6%, 169/250; Korean 9.4%, 22/234, and Latino 17.7%, 44/248. Overall, mobile phone ownership was 92.8% (839/904). Compared to all groups, Koreans were more likely to own a mobile phone (82.8%, 194/234), computer (91.4%, 214/234), or tablet (55.2%, 129/234), whereas Latinos (67.5%, 167/248; 65.3%, 162/248; 24.4%, 61/248, respectively) were least likely. Internet access via mobile phones (90.5%, 818/904) was higher than computers (78.6%, 711/904). Odds of downloading health apps increased with college (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.44-4.80) or graduate school (OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.43-6.00) compared to some high school; and family history of heart attack (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.16-3.51). Odds of downloading health apps were reduced with: race/ethnicity, Latino (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.20-0.69), and Korean (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.31-0.88) compared to Caucasians; increasing age (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.95-0.97); and completing paper surveys (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.34-0.75). Conclusions This survey study uniquely targeted specific racial/ethnic subgroups. Results indicated that despite a narrowing racial/ethnic “digital divide”, some disparities still exist, particularly among racial/ethnic groups with less education and whose primary language is not English. Findings will be used to inform development and evaluation of culturally tailored mHealth apps for use with interventions promoting healthy behavior change for Filipinos, Koreans, and Latinos.

Ensuring Cross-Cultural Equivalence in Translation of Research Consents and Clinical Documents A Systematic Process for Translating English to Chinese

The aim of this article is to describe a formal process used to translate research study materials from English into traditional Chinese characters. This process may be useful for translating documents for use by both research participants and clinical patients. A modified Brislin model was used as the systematic translation process. Four bilingual translators were involved, and a Flaherty 3-point scale was used to evaluate the translated documents. The linguistic discrepancies that arise in the process of ensuring cross-cultural congruency or equivalency between the two languages are presented to promote the development of patient-accessible cross-cultural documents.

Thirst in Critically Ill Patients: From Physiology to Sensation

Critically ill patients often report distressful episodes of severe thirst, but the complex biochemical, neurohormonal mechanisms that regulate this primal sensation still elude clinicians. The most potent stimuli for thirst are subtle increases in plasma osmolality. These minute changes in osmolality stimulate central osmoreceptors to release vasopressin (also known as antidiuretic hormone). Vasopressin in turn acts on the kidneys to promote the reabsorption of water to correct the increased osmolality. If this compensatory mechanism fails to decrease osmolality, then thirst is triggered to motivate drinking. In contrast, thirst induced by marked volume loss, or hypovolemic thirst, is subject to the tight osmoregulation of the renin-angiotensin aldosterone system and accompanying adrenergic agonists. Understanding the essential role that thirst plays in salt and water regulation can provide clinicians with a better appreciation for the complex physiology that underlies this intense sensation.

Challenge of assessing symptoms in seriously ill intensive care unit patients: Can proxy reporters help?*

Objective: Determine levels of agreement among intensive care unit patients and their family members, nurses, and physicians (proxies) regarding patients’ symptoms and compare levels of mean intensity (i.e., the magnitude of a symptom sensation) and distress (i.e., the degree of emotionality that a symptom engenders) of symptoms among patients and proxy reporters. Design: Prospective study of proxy reporters of symptoms in seriously ill patients. Settings: Two intensive care units in a tertiary medical center in the Western United States. Patients: Two hundred and forty-five intensive care unit patients, 243 family members, 103 nurses, and 92 physicians. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: On the basis of the magnitude of intraclass correlation coefficients, where coefficients from .35 to .78 are considered to be appropriately robust, correlation coefficients between patients’ and family members’ ratings met this criterion (≥.35) for intensity in six of ten symptoms. No intensity ratings between patients and nurses had intraclass correlation coefficients >.32. Three symptoms had intensity correlation coefficients of ≥.36 between patients’ and physicians’ ratings. Correlation coefficients between patients and family members were >.40 for five symptom-distress ratings. No symptoms had distress correlation coefficients of ≥.28 between patients’ and nurses’ ratings. Two symptoms had symptom-distress correlation coefficients between patients’ and physicians’ ratings at >.39. Family members, nurses, and physicians reported higher symptom-intensity scores than patients did for 80%, 60%, and 60% of the symptoms, respectively. Family members, nurses, and physicians reported higher symptom-distress scores than patients did for 90%, 70%, and 80% of the symptoms, respectively. Conclusions: Patient–family intraclass correlation coefficients were sufficiently close for us to consider using family members to help assess intensive care unit patients’ symptoms. Relatively low intraclass correlation coefficients between intensive care unit clinicians’ and patients’ symptom ratings indicate that some proxy raters overestimate whereas others underestimate patients’ symptoms. Proxy overestimation of patients’ symptom scores warrants further study because this may influence decisions about treating patients’ symptoms.

Family history and body mass index predict perceived risks of diabetes and heart attack among community-dwelling Caucasian, Filipino, Korean, and Latino Americans—DiLH Survey

AIM The purpose of the study was to explore the perceived risk for diabetes and heart attack and associated health status of Caucasian, Filipino, Korean, and Latino Americans without diabetes. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 904 urban adults (mean age 44.3±16.1 years; 64.3% female) in English, Spanish or Korean between August and December 2013. RESULTS Perceived risk for developing diabetes was indicated by 46.5% (n=421), and 14.3% (n=129) perceived themselves to be at risk for having a heart attack in their lifetime. Significant predictors of pessimistic diabetes risk perceptions: Filipino (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.7; 95% CI: 1.04-2.86) and Korean (AOR=2.4; 1.33-4.48) ethnicity, family history of diabetes (AOR=1.4; 1.00-1.84), female gender (AOR=1.4; 1.04-1.96), high cholesterol (AOR= 1.6; 1.09-2.37) and higher body mass index (BMI) (AOR=1.1; 1.08-1.15). Predictors of pessimistic heart attack risk perceptions were family history of an early heart attack (AOR=2.9; 1.69-5.02), high blood pressure (AOR=2.4; 1.45-3.84), and higher BMI (AOR=1.1; 1.04-1.12) after controlling for socio-demographic factors. Older age, physical inactivity, smoking, and low HDL levels were not associated with risk perceptions. CONCLUSION Multiple risk factors were predictive of greater perceived diabetes risk, whereas, only family history of heart attack, high blood pressure and increases in BMI significantly contributed to perceived risk of heart attack among ethnically diverse at risk middle-aged adults. It is important that healthcare providers address the discordance between an individuals risk perceptions and the presence of actual risk factors.

Identifying Factors Associated With Dropout During Prerandomization Run-in Period From an mHealth Physical Activity Education Study: The mPED Trial.

Background The mobile phone-based physical activity education (mPED) trial is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating a mobile phone-delivered physical activity intervention for women. The study includes a run-in period to maximize the internal validity of the intervention trial, but little is known about factors related to successful run-in completion, and thus about potential threats to external validity. Objective Objectives of this study are (1) to determine the timing of dropout during the run-in period, reasons for dropout, optimum run-in duration, and relevant run-in components, and (2) to identify predictors of failure to complete the run-in period. Methods A total of 318 physically inactive women met preliminary eligibility criteria and were enrolled in the study between May 2011 and April 2014. A 3-week run-in period was required prior to randomization and included using a mobile phone app and wearing a pedometer. Cross-sectional analysis identified predictors of dropout. Results Out of 318 participants, 108 (34.0%) dropped out prior to randomization, with poor adherence using the study equipment being the most common reason. Median failure time was 17 days into the run-in period. In univariate analyses, nonrandomized participants were younger, had lower income, were less likely to drive regularly, were less likely to have used a pedometer prior to the study, were generally less healthy, had less self-efficacy for physical activity, and reported more depressive symptoms than randomized participants. In multivariate competing risks models, not driving regularly in the past month and not having used a pedometer prior to the study were significantly associated with failure to be randomized (P=.04 and .006, respectively), controlling for age, race/ethnicity, education, shift work, and use of a study-provided mobile phone. Conclusions Regular driving and past pedometer use were associated with reduced dropout during the prerandomization run-in period. Understanding these characteristics is important for identifying higher-risk participants, and implementing additional help strategies may be useful for reducing dropout. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01280812; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01280812 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6XFC5wvrP).

Gender Differences in Lay Knowledge of Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms Among Community-dwelling Caucasian, Latino, Filipino, and Korean Adults - DiLH Survey

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in lay knowledge of type 2 diabetes symptoms among community-dwelling Caucasian, Latino, Filipino, and Korean Americans. Design and Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of 904 adults (172 Caucasians, 248 Latinos, 234 Koreans, and 250 Filipinos) without diabetes at community events, community clinics, churches, and online in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego from August to December 2013. Participants were asked to describe in their own words signs and/or symptoms of diabetes. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association of lay symptom knowledge with gender after controlling for potential confounding factors. Results Overall, the average age of the sample populations was 44 (SD ±16.1) years, 36% were male, and 58% were married. Increased thirst/dry mouth following increased urinary frequency/color/odor and increased fatigue/lethargy/low energy were the most frequently reported signs and symptoms (19.8%, 15.4%, and 13.6%, respectively). After controlling for known confounding factors, women were 1.6 (95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.3, P = .004) times more likely than men to report at least 1 diabetes symptom. However, this gender difference in knowledge of diabetes signs and symptoms did not significantly differ across Caucasians, Latinos, Filipinos, and Korean Americans (P = .87). Conclusion The findings underscore the importance of improving public knowledge and awareness of signs and symptoms of diabetes, particularly in men.

Development of a Mobile Phone-Based Weight Loss Lifestyle Intervention for Filipino Americans with Type 2 Diabetes: Protocol and Early Results From the PilAm Go4Health Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian subgroup in the United States, and were found to have the highest prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared to all Asian subgroups and non-Hispanic whites. In addition to genetic factors, risk factors for Filipinos that contribute to this health disparity include high sedentary rates and high fat diets. However, Filipinos are seriously underrepresented in preventive health research. Research is needed to identify effective interventions to reduce Filipino diabetes risks, subsequent comorbidities, and premature death. Objective The overall goal of this project is to assess the feasibility and potential efficacy of the Filipino Americans Go4Health Weight Loss Program (PilAm Go4Health). This program is a culturally adapted weight loss lifestyle intervention, using digital technology for Filipinos with T2D, to reduce their risk for metabolic syndrome. Methods This study was a 3-month mobile phone-based pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) weight loss intervention with a wait list active control, followed by a 3-month maintenance phase design for 45 overweight Filipinos with T2D. Participants were randomized to an intervention group (n=22) or active control group (n=23), and analyses of the results are underway. The primary outcome will be percent weight change of the participants, and secondary outcomes will include changes in waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin A1c, physical activity, fat intake, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Data analyses will include descriptive statistics to describe sample characteristics and a feasibility assessment based on recruitment, adherence, and retention. Chi-square, Fishers exact tests, t-tests, and nonparametric rank tests will be used to assess characteristics of randomized groups. Primary analyses will use analysis of covariance and linear mixed models to compare primary and secondary outcomes at 3 months, compared by arm and controlled for baseline levels. Results Recruitment was completed in January, 2016, and participant follow-up continued through June, 2016. At baseline, mean age was 57 years, 100% (45/45) of participants self-identified as Filipinos, and the cohort was comprised of 17 males and 28 females. Overall, participants were obese with a baseline mean body mass index of 30.2 kg/m2 (standard deviation 4.9). The majority of participants were immigrants (84%, 38/45), with 47% (21/45) living in the United States for more than 10 years. One third of all participants (33%, 15/45) had previously used a pedometer. Conclusions This study will provide preliminary evidence to determine if the PilAm Go4Health weight loss lifestyle intervention is feasible, and if the program demonstrates potential efficacy to reduce risks for metabolic syndrome in Filipinos with T2D. Positive results will lend support for a larger RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of the PilAm Go4Health intervention for Filipinos. ClinicalTrial ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02290184; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02290184 (Archived at http://www.webcitation.org/6k1kUqKSP)

Filipinos Fit and Trim - A feasible and efficacious DPP-based intervention trial

Introduction Filipino Americans are at higher risk for obesity and related Type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared to other Asian subgroups and non-Hispanic whites. Yet, there are limited research studies to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes for Filipinos. Weight loss lifestyle intervention trials such as the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) can reduce obesity and T2D risks through physical activity and healthy eating. Methods Thus, we conducted a pilot Fit&Trim (DPP-based) intervention study - a randomized controlled trial 3-month intervention augmented with mobile technology + 3-month maintenance follow-up with a waitlist control. The objective assessed the intervention feasibility and potential efficacy to reduce T2D risks in Filipino Americans with overweight/obesity. The overall study goal was a mean 5% weight reduction. Results Sixty-seven eligible Filipino men and women were enrolled and randomized to either an intervention or waitlist control group. Participant retention was 91%. In Phase 1 (baseline to 3-months), the intervention group had greater weight reduction compared to the waitlist control (−4.3% vs. −0.88%; cross-level interaction = −0.85 (−1.4, −0.35). In Phase 2 (3- to 6-months), after receiving the Fit&Trim intervention, the waitlist group also had similar significant weight reduction [-4.8% (- 0.75 (−0.92, −0.58)]. A majority of intervention group (57%) also maintained their weight loss. Overall, 41% of study participants achieved a 5% weight loss. Conclusion The Fit&Trim intervention demonstrated feasibility and potential efficacy for Filipino Americans. Findings warrant a further larger, longer trial to test the Fit&Trim feasibility and effectiveness in a real-world Filipino community setting. ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT02278939.