Papers by Laurie Hoffman-Goetz
Journal of Cancer Education, 2009
Socioeconomic status is a strong correlate of health status. Low literacy is associated with barr... more Socioeconomic status is a strong correlate of health status. Low literacy is associated with barriers to health information and anxiety about disease. Using 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey data, the relationship between self-reported health status and proxy measures of literacy (Hispanic ethnicity, education, and media variables), cancer anxiety, and cancer information seeking were assessed. Low literacy, measured by proxy variables, was associated with a greater likelihood of reporting fair-poor health status. Reporting excellent-good health status was less likely for people reporting frustration finding cancer information (odds ratio [OR] 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52-0.89), worry about cancer (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.35-0.89), and increased chance of getting cancer (OR 3.5, 95% CI 0.24-0.51). Proxy variables for literacy suggest a possible contribution to health status disparities.
Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2000
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2015
International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2007
apoptosis l " splenocytes l " exercise training l " mouse l " Bcl-2 l " caspase 3
Nutrition, 2007
The objective of this study was to describe the effects of short-term dietary exposure of bovine ... more The objective of this study was to describe the effects of short-term dietary exposure of bovine lactoferrin (Lf) on intestinal lymphocyte apoptosis and expression of tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣) in healthy mice. Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: 0% Lf (n ϭ 16), 0.2% Lf (n ϭ 16), and 2.0% Lf (n ϭ 15). Bovine Lf was administered orally, as part of the diet, for 4 consecutive days. Intestinal lymphocytes (ILs) were isolated and analyzed for percentages of CD4, CD8, apoptotic CD4, and apoptotic CD8 cells using flow cytometry. Pro-(caspase-3) and anti-(Bcl-2) apoptotic protein expressions and TNF-␣ expression in ILs were determined by Western blotting. Results: There were significant increases in the percentages of CD4 (P ϭ 0.02) and apoptotic CD4 (P ϭ 0.02) ILs in bovine Lf-fed compared with control mice. Percentages of CD8 and apoptotic CD8 cells and expression of caspase-3 and Bcl-2 in ILs did not differ significantly by diet group. In contrast, the expression of TNF-␣ was significantly lower in Lf-fed versus control mice (P ϭ 0.01). Conclusion: Short-term dietary Lf decreased TNF-␣ expression in ILs and increased apoptosis of CD4 ILs in healthy mice.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2005
Introduction: Submandibular lymph nodes (SLN) are important for immune responses to antigens in t... more Introduction: Submandibular lymph nodes (SLN) are important for immune responses to antigens in the eye and oral mucosa. Athletes and exercise participants may be at increased risk of ocular, oral, and upper respiratory tract infections. Purpose: This study was conducted to examine the effects of voluntary training on the distribution, number, and apoptotic status of SLN lymphocytes in response to an acute bout of strenuous exercise. Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were assigned to voluntary wheel-running (WR) exercise (N ϭ 20) or were sedentary (N ϭ 10) for 16 wk. SLN lymphocytes were examined immediately (EXϩImm) or 24 h (EXϩ24 h) following strenuous treadmill exercise, or exposure to treadmill conditions without running (NonEX). Intracellular glutathione (GSH), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), cell viability (propidium iodide uptake, PI), surface phosphatidylserine (Annexin V), T-lymphocyte (CD3 ϩ , CD4 ϩ , CD8 ϩ), and B-lymphocyte (CD19 ϩ) phenotype distribution and number were assessed. Results: The WR mice had a higher number and percent CD8 ϩ SLN lymphocytes, higher MMP, and lower Annexin V Ϫ /PI ϩ SLN lymphocytes than controls. Regardless of training status, an acute bout of strenuous exercise decreased the total and phenotype specific (CD3 ϩ , CD4 ϩ , CD8 ϩ) number of cells, MMP, and GSH levels immediately after exercise. Conclusion: WR in mice improved some aspects of cell viability in SLN lymphocytes compared with controls, but did not prevent the transient cell loss after acute treadmill exercise. Given the depletion in intracellular GSH levels, oxidative stress may account for the decline in SLN lymphocyte numbers following acute exercise. Loss of SLN lymphocytes may have consequences for ocular, oral, and upper respiratory tract health in some exercise participants and athletes during periods of overtraining.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1993
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1994
Journal of Health Communication, 2007
Printed cancer information often is written at or beyond high school reading levels, despite lowe... more Printed cancer information often is written at or beyond high school reading levels, despite lower average literacy abilities of the public. The objectives of this exploratory study were twofold: (1) to evaluate older adults' comprehension of breast (BC), prostate (PC), and colorectal (CC) cancer information; and (2) to determine if comprehension of BC, PC, and CC information varies according to text readability. Comprehension of printed cancer resources was evaluated with 44 community-dwelling older adults using the Cloze procedure and recall questions. Participants' comprehension scores were compared with Simple Measure of Gobbledegook (SMOG) readability scores (< grade 13 vs. grade 13þ). Overall, older adults had satisfactory comprehension of cancer information as measured by Cloze (.86 AE .01) and recall (.71 AE .02). For CC information written at grade 13, however, a significant negative correlation between readability and Cloze comprehension was found (r s ¼ À.44, SE ¼ .17, p ¼ .019), indicating poorer participant comprehension at higher readability levels. Comprehension of BC or PC information did not vary by readability level. Though readability plays a role in older adults' understanding of cancer information, cancer type and content are also important factors that influence comprehension. Use of plain language is recommended for CC resources.
Journal of Cancer Education, 2008
Background. Although colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in Canad... more Background. Although colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in Canada, only 4% to 14% of eligible adults follow screening recommendations. In this pilot study, we explored older Canadians' perception of the barriers and enabling factors associated with CRC screening participation. Methods. Interviews from 100 participants, age 50 through 90 years, were analyzed using a mixed qualitative and quantitative methods approach. We used constant comparative analysis, Pearson χ 2 , and Fisher's exact probability tests. Results. Themes impacting screening participation included physician screening recommendations, reasons for declining screening, surprise at CRC information, and barriers to understanding cancer information. Conclusion. Education emphasizing the importance of early detection through screening is needed.
Cognitive Informatics in Health and Biomedicine, 2017
Conveying numerical information across language and cultural barriers presents unique challenges,... more Conveying numerical information across language and cultural barriers presents unique challenges, which have not been well addressed in the literacy and numeracy literature to date. The primary language spoken prior to learning English may be an important factor in health numeracy for English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) immigrants. This is because languages differ in the number of numeric concepts such as whole numbers, probabilities, proportions or rates embedded in their structure. Some languages have more of these numeric concepts than others. Speakers of a language with fewer numeric concepts may be constrained in their numeracy skills and may have difficulties comprehending numeric information that contains numeric concepts that are absent in their primary language. Some languages, such as Kikuyu—a language spoken by the Agikuyu people of Kenya—lack concepts and words for some numerical forms, such as fractions and ratios. In contrast, Mandarin has many numeric concepts. In this chapter we consider how language may affect numeracy of older non-native speakers of English whose primary languages differ in the representations of numeric concepts.
Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2001
Local newspapers are an important source of health news, especially in small communities. We desc... more Local newspapers are an important source of health news, especially in small communities. We describe the amount and type of cancer information in Ontario daily newspapers dichotomized by circulation size (&gt; 400,000 or &lt; 40,000) and community size (&gt; 250,000 or &lt; 25,000 people) for 1991. All cancer articles (n = 1027) in five newspapers with large circulations, serving large communities, and five newspapers with small circulations, serving small communities, were read and evaluated for focus and newsplay. Although large newspapers had an absolute greater number of cancer articles, there were no significant differences by newspaper size in the number of cancer articles per 1,000 pages. Large newspapers included more cancer articles with a scientific vs. human interest focus than did small newspapers (p &lt; 0.001). Large newspapers tended to use wire services whereas small newspapers tended to use staff reporters. Differences in the type and amount of cancer information varies by newspaper and community size, potentially contributing to differences in community cancer information resources.
American journal of men's health, Jan 14, 2015
The Movember Foundation raises awareness and funds for men's health issues such as prostate a... more The Movember Foundation raises awareness and funds for men's health issues such as prostate and testicular cancers in conjunction with a moustache contest. The 2013 Movember campaigns in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom shared the same goal of creating conversations about men's health that lead to increased awareness and understanding of the health risks men face. Our objective was to explore Twitter conversations to identify whether the 2013 Movember campaigns sparked global conversations about prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and other men's health issues. We conducted a content analysis of 12,666 tweets posted during the 2013 Movember campaigns in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom (4,222 tweets from each country) to investigate whether tweets were health-related or non-health-related and to determine what topics dominated conversations. Few tweets (n = 84, 0.7% of 12,666 tweets) provided content-rich or actionable health information...
BMC Oral Health, 2016
Background: Inadequate functional health literacy is a common problem in immigrant populations. T... more Background: Inadequate functional health literacy is a common problem in immigrant populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between oral (dental) health literacy (OHL) and participation in oral health care among Brazilian immigrants in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design and a convenience sample of 101 Brazilian immigrants selected through the snowball sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression modeling. Results: Most of the sample had adequate OHL (83.1 %). Inadequate/marginal OHL was associated with not visiting a dentist in the preceding year (OR = 3.61; p = 0.04), not having a dentist as the primary source of dental information (OR = 5.55; p < 0.01), and not participating in shared dental treatment decision making (OR = 1.06; p = 0.05; OHL as a continuous variable) in multivariate logistic regressions controlling for covariates. A low average annual family income was associated with two indicators of poor participation in oral health care (i.e., not having visited a dentist in the previous year, and not having a dentist as regular source of dental information). Conclusion: Limited OHL was linked to lower participation in the oral health care system and with barriers to using dental services among a sample of Brazilian immigrants. More effective knowledge transfer will be required to help specific groups of immigrants to better navigate the Canadian dental care system.
Can J Public Health, 2015
OBJECTIVE: Skin cancer is a significant public health problem among Canadians. Knowledge and atti... more OBJECTIVE: Skin cancer is a significant public health problem among Canadians. Knowledge and attitudes about health are informed by mass media. The aim of our study was to describe the volume and nature of coverage of skin cancer and recreational tanning in Canadian women's magazines. METHODS: Directed content analysis on article text and images in six popular Canadian women's magazines (Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Homemakers, Flare, FASHION, ELLE Canada) from 2000-2012 with attention to risk factors, ultraviolet radiation (UV) exposure and protection behaviours, and early detection. Six popular American women's magazines were used for a between-country comparison. RESULTS: There were 154 articles (221 images) about skin cancer and tanning published over 13 years. Volume of coverage did not increase in a linear fashion over time. The most common risk factor reported on was UV exposure (39%), with other risk factors less frequently identified. Although 72% of articles promoted sunscreen use, little content encouraged other protection behaviours. Only 15% of articles and 1% of images discouraged indoor tanning, while 41% of articles and 53% of images promoted the tanned look as attractive. Few articles (<11%) reported on early detection. Relative to American magazines, Canadian magazines had a greater proportion of content that encouraged sunscreen use and promoted the tanned look and a lesser proportion of content on risk factors and early detection. CONCLUSION: Skin cancer and tanning messages in Canadian women's magazines had a narrow focus and provided limited information on risk factors or screening. Conflicting messages about prevention (text vs. images) may contribute to harmful UV behaviours among Canadian women.
Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, Jan 13, 2015
Mass media is an influential source of skin cancer and tanning information for the public, but we... more Mass media is an influential source of skin cancer and tanning information for the public, but we know little about its content or emphasis. The objective of this research was to describe the volume and nature of skin cancer and tanning messages in 20 popular U.S. men's and women's magazines (2000-2012). We used a directed content analysis to determine frequency information about risk factors and ultraviolet (UV) behaviors in 608 articles and 930 images. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests determined coverage differences based on content type (text vs. image) and target audience (women vs. men). UV exposure was the most common risk factor mentioned (37.7 %) and sunscreen use the most common behavior encouraged (60.0 %); information about other risk factors and protective behaviors was uncommon. Both articles (25.2 %) and images (36.9 %) promoted the tanned look as attractive. In most cases, images infrequently contained helpful information on skin cancer risk factors and...
Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, Jan 4, 2015
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer of the reproductive system in men. Mass m... more Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer of the reproductive system in men. Mass media campaigns have long been a tool for raising awareness of important health issues and changing health behavior. The Movember campaign was launched in Canada in 2007 with the goal of creating conversations about men's health in order to raise awareness and understanding about prostate cancer. In 2012, testicular cancer was added to the Movember Canada campaign agenda. Social networking sites such as Twitter are popular platforms for conversations in the digital age. Our objective was to determine if the Movember Canada 2013 campaign accomplished the goal of creating conversations about prostate and testicular cancers on the social media platform of Twitter. We conducted a content analysis of 4222 Canadian tweets posted during the November 2013 Movember Canada campaign to investigate whether tweets were health-related or non-health-related and to determine what topics of discussion...
Ethnicity & disease, 2006
Cancer prevention educational resources intended for members of ethnically diverse populations sh... more Cancer prevention educational resources intended for members of ethnically diverse populations should be tailored to the specific cancer knowledge and beliefs of individual ethnic groups. Culturally sensitive printed materials on cancer prevention have been proposed in the literature. 1) To explore definitions of the term cultural sensitivity (CS) and their application to the development and testing of cancer prevention education materials for ethnic minority groups; and 2) to assess the use of instruments or scales used to measure the CS of cancer information resources. A list of articles explicitly on the CS of cancer prevention education materials was assembled by searching the databases of PubMed, CancerLit, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts for articles published between 1994-2004. Ten studies that met inclusion criteria were included in this review. Most articles included breast cancer resources (90%) and targeted African American populations (70%). Few studies defined the ...
Encyclopedia of Exercise Medicine in Health and Disease, 2012
Comparison of immune function in athletes and nonathletes reveals that the adaptive immune system... more Comparison of immune function in athletes and nonathletes reveals that the adaptive immune system is largely unaffected by athletic endeavour. The innate immune system appears to respond differentially to the chronic stress of intensive exercise, with natural killer cell activity tending to be enhanced while neutrophil function is suppressed. However, even when significant changes in the level and functional activity of immune parameters have been observed in athletes, investigators have had little success in linking these to a higher incidence of infection and illness. Many components of the immune system exhibit change after prolonged heavy exertion. During this 'open window' of altered immunity (which may last between 3 and 72 hours, depending on the parameter measured), viruses and bacteria may gain a foothold, increasing the risk of subclinical and clinical infection. However, no serious attempt has been made by investigators to demonstrate that athletes showing the most extreme post-exercise immunosuppression are those that contract an infection during the ensuing 1 to 2 weeks. This link must be established before the 'open window' theory can be wholly accepted. The influence of nutritional supplements, primarily zinc, vitamin C, glutamine and carbohydrate, on the acute immune response to prolonged exercise has been measured in endurance athletes. Vitamin C and glutamine have received much attention, but the data thus far are inconclusive. The most impressive results have been reported in the carbohydrate supplementation studies. Carbohydrate beverage ingestion has been associated with higher plasma glucose levels, an attenuated cortisol and growth hormone response, fewer perturbations in blood immune cell counts, lower granulocyte and monocyte phagocytosis and oxidative burst activity, and a diminished pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokine response. It remains to be shown whether carbohydrate supplementation diminishes the frequency of infections in the recovery period after strenuous exercise. Studies on the influence of moderate exercise training on host protection and immune function have shown that near-daily brisk walking compared with inactivity reduced the number of sickness days by half over a 12-to 15-week period without change in resting immune function. Positive effects on immunosurveillance and host protection that come with moderate exercise training are probably related to a summation effect from acute positive changes that occur during each exercise bout. No convincing data exist that moderate exercise training is linked with improved T helper cell counts in patients with HIV, or enhanced immunity in elderly participants.
SAGE Open, 2014
Mathematics self-efficacy plays an important role in the performance of quantitative tasks. The o... more Mathematics self-efficacy plays an important role in the performance of quantitative tasks. The objective of this study was to examine the role of mathematics self-efficacy in numeracy and health numeracy among immigrants (60 Mandarin-speaking and 60 Kikuyu-speaking immigrants to Canada) for whom English was a second language (ESL). Two French Kit numeracy tasks (the addition, and the addition and subtraction correction tasks) constituted objective measures of numeracy, and the numeracy component of a health literacy instrument (The Short Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults [S-TOFHLA]) constituted the health numeracy measure. We measured math self-efficacy using the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) and the Subjective Numeracy Scale (SNS). All measures were presented in English. Kikuyu speakers had lower math self-efficacy ( p < .05) compared with Mandarin speakers ( p < .05). Mandarin speakers outperformed Kikuyu speakers in numeracy ( p < .001) and health n...
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Papers by Laurie Hoffman-Goetz