No abstract

Recently resettled refugee populations may be at greater risk for exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a virus that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), and face unique challenges in following recommendations to protect their health. Several factors place resettled refugees at elevated risk for exposure to persons with COVID-19 or increased severity of COVID-19: being more likely to experience poverty and live in crowded housing, being employed in less protected, service-sector jobs, experiencing language and health care access barriers, and having higher rates of co-morbidities. In preparing for and managing COVID-19, resettled refugees encounter similar barriers to those of other racial or ethnic minority populations, which may then be exacerbated by unique barriers experienced from being a refugee. Key recommendations for resettlement and healthcare providers include analyzing sociodemographic data about refugee patients, documenting and resolving barriers faced by refugees, developing refugee-specific outreach plans, using culturally and linguistically appropriate resources, ensuring medical interpretation availability, and leveraging virtual platforms along with nontraditional community partners to disseminate COVID-19 messaging.

Objective: According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2009, the top food category with teen-directed marketing expenditures was sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). The present study reports on exposure to SSB advertisements using self-report data from adolescents. Design: Cross-sectional study design using descriptive statistics to assess selfreported frequency of exposure to SSB advertisements and multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between frequency of SSB advertising exposure and sociodemographic variables. Setting: Online survey conducted at home. Subjects: US adolescents aged 12-17 years (n 847). Results: Among the surveyed adolescents, 42 % to 54 % reported seeing/hearing SSB advertisements ≥ 1 time/d. Those aged 14-15 years were more likely to report seeing/hearing soda, sports drink and energy drink advertisements ≥ 1 time/d than 16-to 17-year-olds. Males were more likely to report seeing/hearing sports drink advertising ≥ 1 time/d than females. Non-Hispanic black adolescents were more likely to report seeing/hearing fruit drink and sports drink advertisements ≥ 1 time/d than non-Hispanic white adolescents. Adolescents whose parents had high-school education or less were more likely to report seeing/hearing soda, fruit drink and energy drink advertisements ≥ 1 time/d than adolescents whose parents were college graduates. Conclusions: Almost half of the adolescents sampled reported daily SSB advertising exposure, with higher exposure among African Americans and adolescents with less educated parents. These data can help inform potential actions that decision makers might take, such as education of adolescents and their caregivers on the potential impact of beverage advertising, especially among groups at higher risk for obesity.

These findings suggest that many youth may be unaware or misinformed about the potential health effects and nutritional content of energy drinks. Efforts to improve education among youth about the potential adverse effects of consuming energy drinks are needed.