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1. Health Literacy, Health Numeracy, and Trust in Doctor: Effects on Key Patient Health Outcomes

   https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12267  

   Netemeyer, Richard G.; Dobolyi, David G.; Abbasi, Ahmed; Clifford, Gari; Taylor, Herman (July 2019, Journal of Consumer Affairs)

   This research examines the roles of health literacy, health numeracy, and trust in doctor on: (1) patient anxiety when consulting a doctor; (2) frequency of physician consultations; and (3) patient subjective well‐being (SWB). Our sample consisted of 4,040 adults representative of the United States in terms of age, income, and education, but equally split among White/Caucasian (50%) and Black/African American (50%) respondents. We found that functional and communicative health literacy and trust in doctor have linear and curvilinear relationships with anxiety when consulting a doctor. Health numeracy had no effect. Anxiety when consulting a doctor was associated with a lower number of physician consultations and lower SWB. We observed direct linear effects of health literacy, health numeracy, and trust in doctor on frequency of physician consultations and SWB, as well as some curvilinear effects. We found a negative relationship between health numeracy and SWB. We discuss implications of these findings for health and public policy. 

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2. Water and mental health

   https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1461  

   Wutich, Amber; Brewis, Alexandra; Tsai, Alexander (July 2020, WIREs Water)
3. Health Information Sourcing and Health Knowledge Quality: Repeated Cross-sectional Survey

   https://doi.org/10.2196/39274  

   Korshakova, Elena; Marsh, Jessecae K; Kleinberg, Samantha (January 2022, JMIR Formative Research)

   Background People’s health-related knowledge influences health outcomes, as this knowledge may influence whether individuals follow advice from their doctors or public health agencies. Yet, little attention has been paid to where people obtain health information and how these information sources relate to the quality of knowledge. Objective We aim to discover what information sources people use to learn about health conditions, how these sources relate to the quality of their health knowledge, and how both the number of information sources and health knowledge change over time. Methods We surveyed 200 different individuals at 12 time points from March through September 2020. At each time point, we elicited participants’ knowledge about causes, risk factors, and preventative interventions for 8 viral (Ebola, common cold, COVID-19, Zika) and nonviral (food allergies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [ALS], strep throat, stroke) illnesses. Participants were further asked how they learned about each illness and to rate how much they trust various sources of health information. Results We found that participants used different information sources to obtain health information about common illnesses (food allergies, strep throat, stroke) compared to emerging illnesses (Ebola, common cold, COVID-19, Zika). Participants relied mainly on news media, government agencies, and social media for information about emerging illnesses, while learning about common illnesses from family, friends, and medical professionals. Participants relied on social media for information about COVID-19, with their knowledge accuracy of COVID-19 declining over the course of the pandemic. The number of information sources participants used was positively correlated with health knowledge quality, though there was no relationship with the specific source types consulted. Conclusions Building on prior work on health information seeking and factors affecting health knowledge, we now find that people systematically consult different types of information sources by illness type and that the number of information sources people use affects the quality of individuals’ health knowledge. Interventions to disseminate health information may need to be targeted to where individuals are likely to seek out information, and these information sources differ systematically by illness type. 

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4. Student loans, physical and mental health, and health care use and delay in college

   https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2151840  

   Kuperberg, Arielle; Williams, Kenneshia; Mazelis, Joan Maya (January 2023, Journal of American College Health)

   Objective: Determine relationships between college students’ student loan presence and self-rated physical and mental health, major medical problems, mental health conditions, physical, dental, and mental health care visits and delays, and medication use and reductions. Participants: A total of 3,248 undergraduates at two regional public U.S. universities, surveyed Spring 2017. Methods: OLS and Logistic regression. Results: Loan presence was related to significantly worse self-rated physical and mental health and more major medical problems, but not to mental health conditions, or physical or mental health medication use. Respondents with loans were less likely to visit the dentist and more likely to report delaying medical, dental, and mental health care, and reducing medication use to save money. Conclusions: Results provide evidence of health and health care use divides among college students by loan presence. 

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5. Moving Toward an Agenda on Ocean Health and Human Health in Europe

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00037  

   Borja, Angel; White, Mathew P.; Berdalet, Elisa; Bock, Nikolaj; Eatock, Claire; Kristensen, Peter; Leonard, Anne; Lloret, Josep; Pahl, Sabine; Parga, Mariluz; et al (February 2020, Frontiers in Marine Science)

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