Human papillomavirus (HPV) is currently the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, with potentially serious health consequences, including cervical cancer. Young adults are particularly at risk of infection, but many remain unvaccinated. Low health literacy may contribute to poor knowledge of HPV and lack of vaccine uptake, and women living in the Southeastern United States are particularly at risk for lower vaccination rates and cervical cancer screening adherence. Three-hundred-sixty undergraduates at a Southeastern U.S. University completed measures of health literacy, sexual attitudes, and HPV knowledge in 2016. Less than half of both male and female participants had completed an HPV vaccine series, and there were no differences in health literacy scores between participants who had completed a vaccine series and those who had not. Forty subjects were familiar with HPV vaccines but not the virus itself. More than half of these individuals had received at least one dose of an HPV vaccine, highlighting a lack of knowledge regarding the purpose of this vaccine. While health literacy was not related to vaccination status, it was associated with greater knowledge of both HPV and available vaccines. Participants who were familiar with HPV had higher health literacy than participants who were not. College students hold serious misconceptions about HPV that may be redressed through public health education programs to increase health literacy and knowledge. Such public health interventions would potentially increase HPV vaccine uptake, leading to decreased cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates.

Pet ownership literature remains mixed regarding associations with mental and physical health outcomes among older adults. The present study investigates the relationship between pet ownership and depression, health, and physical activity in an older adult sample balanced by sex (male/female), race (White/Black), and urban/rural status. Participants were adults aged 65+ recruited between 1999 and 2001 in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging. Participants completed the Geriatric Depression Scale, a single-item self-reported health measure, and a physical activity questionnaire. Dog owners reported better subjective health and were more likely to walk for exercise as compared to non-pet owners. Cat owners did not differ from non-pet owners in terms of self-reported health or walking. White participants were more likely than Black participants to report ownership of a pet. No relationships were found between pet ownership and symptoms of depression. Findings were not influenced by sex, race, or geographical location. Dog ownership may be associated with positive physical health behaviors and subjective health perceptions. Additional research focused on mechanisms and cognitive impact is needed. Although there may be physical health benefits of dog ownership, adopting a pet should not be viewed as a simplistic solution to alleviating depression in older adults.

In May 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report describing the aging of the state prison population from 1993 to 2013 (Carson & Sabol, 2016). During this period, the number of prisoners aged 55 or older sentenced to serve more than 1 year increased 400% (in 1993, 3% of the total state prison population was 55 or older whereas in 2013 this figure rose to 10%). Some reasons for this increase are longer sentences in the United States and the international demographic shift toward longer lifespans. Notably, the United States incarcerates more individuals per capita than does any other nation (Wilper et al., 2009). On December 31, 2013, 40% of state prisoners aged 55 or older had been imprisoned for at least 10 years, compared with 9% in 1993 (Carson & Sabol, 2016). Between 1993 and 2013, more than 65% of prisoners aged 55 or older were serving time for violent offenses, compared with a maximum of 58% for other age groups. Forty percent of such prisoners were admitted to prison after age 55 (Carson & Sabol, 2016). Carson (2014) summarized the demographic characteristics of federal and state prison