Background: COVID-19 has taken its toll on citizens in all 50 states of the United States. The United States (U.S.) leads the world with 30,291,863 confirmed reported cases and 549,664 deaths as of March 29, 2021 compared to globally confirmed cases at 127,442,926 and 2,787,915 deaths as of March 29, 2021. The U.S. federal government primarily left the response to the virus to individual states, and each implemented varying measures designed to protect health of citizens and the state’s economic well-being. Unintended consequences of the virus and measures to stop its spread may include decreased physical activity and exercise, shifting access and consumption of food, and lower quality-of-life. Therefore, our primary goal was to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on health and well-being by measuring changes in physical activity, mental health-quality of life, food security and nutrition in adults ages 40 and older. We believed shifts in health behaviors would be more prevalent in minorities, less educated, lower socio-economic status, older adults, and those with underlying health conditions, so a secondary goal was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on these sub-populations. Methods: We conducted an online survey with 9969 adults 40 years and older between 9 August and 15 September 2020 in urban areas across the four U.S. census regions. The survey included questions about demographic variables, pre-existing health conditions, physical activity, access to food, quality-of-life, and nutritional food status and asked participants to respond with information from pre-pandemic and pandemic conditions. We used paired-sample t-tests to detect changes in variables after the start of the pandemic and Cohen’s d to determine effect sizes. Results: Our main findings showed a decrease in physical activity since the onset of COVID-19 for minorities and non-minorities. Food security also slightly increased for minorities during the pandemic, but we found no other changes in food security, quality-of-life indicators, or nutritional status of those who responded to this survey. Conclusions: It is concerning that physical activity declined. Such activity helps maintain physical and mental health, and it is also an important time to socialize for many older adults. In many ways, our data indicate that the older adult population in U.S. cities may be more resilient than expected during the pandemic. However, the pandemic could have negative impacts that we did not detect, either due to the survey instrument or the timing of our survey, so the health and well-being of older adults should continue to be monitored in order to mitigate potential negative impacts.

The unpredictable and volatile economic context, ever-changing demography, explosion of technology, and rapid disruptive health delivery models are only a few of the factors characterizing the constant flux permeating the health care system. Current educational initiatives are corrective and reactive rather than reflective and proactive. Some renowned nurse educators and educational leaders pioneered the departure from a learning emphasis on what nurses do to what nurses become. To foster students’ creative initiatives, faculty of an RN-to-BSN three-semester program thread five stages of a creativity process of exposure, inquiry, discovery, reflection, and evaluation into three interrelated courses in the program of study.

Background: The global outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly altered everyday routines, even influencing dietary behaviors and food choices. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on changes in the consumption of various food sources and to examine the likelihood of nutritional vulnerability while exploring potential age and sex differences. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design through an online survey using the Qualtrics platform. Participants’ nutritional risk was assessed both before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (retrospectively) using the Dietary Screening Tool. This study involved a large sample of 10,050 participants aged between 40 and 100 years. The main outcome measures included changes in food consumption after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (from 9 August to 15 September 2020) and the likelihood of being classified as “nutritionally vulnerable” across different age and sex groups. Paired-samples t-tests were used to compare dietary changes before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, chi-square tests were used to explore categorical differences, and binary logistic regression was used to assess the likelihood of nutritional vulnerability. Results: The analysis revealed significant sex- and age-related differences in food consumption patterns after the onset of the pandemic. Men had a 30% greater likelihood of decreased dairy and processed meat consumption than women after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant reductions in the consumption of processed meats (130%), vegetables (96%), lean protein (33%), and dairy (11%) were observed among individuals aged 40–60 years compared to those aged 81–100 years. The 61–80-year age group had a greater reduction in dairy consumption (21%) than the 81–100-year age group. Furthermore, women exhibited 17% greater odds of being classified as “nutritionally vulnerable” after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, age did not emerge as a significant predictor of nutritional vulnerability. Conclusions: The findings of this study can inform public health practitioners when developing interventions for improving dietary habits during and after pandemics, especially among vulnerable populations.

Background/Objectives: Hispanic adolescents experience disproportionately high rates of obesity and diet-related health risks, yet the family and parenting factors that shape their dietary behaviors remain incompletely understood. This study examined associations between parent sociodemographic characteristics and family meal frequency; among general parenting styles, food parenting practices, and family meal frequency; and between family meal frequency and adolescent intake across major USDA food groups, among Hispanic parent–adolescent dyads. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 251 Hispanic parent–adolescent dyads (adolescents aged 10–17 years). Parents reported sociodemographic characteristics, general parenting styles (Comprehensive General Parenting Questionnaire), and food parenting practices (Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire). Adolescents self-reported dietary intake using the Youth/Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire. Family meal frequency was categorized as ≤2, 3–6, or ≥7 meals per week. Results: Older parents (p = 0.034) and married parents (p = 0.036) reported more frequent family meals than younger and unmarried parents. In adjusted multivariable models, more frequent family meals were associated with greater parental responsiveness (overall p = 0.009), involvement (overall p = 0.006), expectations (overall p = 0.047), monitoring (overall p = 0.037), and encouragement (overall p < 0.001). None of the five food group outcomes—dairy, fruit, grains, protein foods, or vegetables—showed a significant overall adjusted association with family meal frequency. Conclusions: Frequent family meals appear closely connected with supportive parenting practices among Hispanic adolescents, independent of sociodemographic characteristics, but were not independently associated with intake of any specific food group. Interventions to improve adolescent nutrition in Hispanic families may benefit from promoting both regular family meals and supportive food parenting practices.