Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Social Issues, Technology / 18.05.2020
What Are the Cell Phone Policies for Students in US Schools?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
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Dr. Tandon[/caption]
Pooja S. Tandon, MD, MPH
Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development
Seattle Children's Research Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Cell phone use is common among middle and high school students, yet we do not have an understanding of school cell phone policies and practices in the U.S. We conducted a survey of public schools serving grades 6-12. The survey sent to over 1,100 school principals, representing a national sample of schools across the U.S., asked questions about the presence of a cell phone policy for students and staff and restrictions on phone use. Additional questions addressed consequences of policy violation, the use of cell phones for curricular activities and principals’ attitudes toward cell phone policies.
Dr. Tandon[/caption]
Pooja S. Tandon, MD, MPH
Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development
Seattle Children's Research Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Cell phone use is common among middle and high school students, yet we do not have an understanding of school cell phone policies and practices in the U.S. We conducted a survey of public schools serving grades 6-12. The survey sent to over 1,100 school principals, representing a national sample of schools across the U.S., asked questions about the presence of a cell phone policy for students and staff and restrictions on phone use. Additional questions addressed consequences of policy violation, the use of cell phones for curricular activities and principals’ attitudes toward cell phone policies.
Barbara Chaiyachati, MD PhD
SafePlace: The Center for Child Protection and Health
Division of General Pediatrics
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,
Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Children in foster care have high rates of medical problems including chronic diseases. There is less known about the differences in mortality for children in foster care.
Looking at national data from 2003 to 2016, this study finds that children (ages 1 to 18) in foster care have higher mortality compared to children in the general population and that the difference in mortality has increased over time. 
Adawiyah Jami[/caption]
Adawiyah Jamil, AdvMDerm
Associate Professor at Department of Medicine
University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: We commonly observed poor dietary pattern and multiple food restrictions imposed on atopic dermatitis (AD) children by their parents in our daily clinical practice. Food allergy is often associated with AD, however excessive and medically unsubstantiated restriction may lead to various health issues. AD is a chronic skin disease, like any other chronic diseases it affects an individual’s general health. Growth and development are key measures of health in children. We embarked on this study as we were very worried of the consequences of medically unsupervised food restriction, especially those with severe disease. We were concerned about how our atopic dermatitis children are eating and how to help them.
Dr. Wiener and Christopher Waters, Research Labs Director, WVU School of Dentistry[/caption]
R. Constance Wiener, DMD, PhD
Associate Professor
West Virginia University School of Dentistry
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemical groups that have had a wide variety of uses due to their ability to their ability to repel water and stains. They might be found in food packaging, water-repellant clothing and carpeting, paints, fire-fighting foam, and water, for example. Although many are no longer manufactured in the United States, PFAS persist in the environment as they do not readily break down. Adverse health effects have been speculated especially for low birthweight babies, immunological effects, certain cancers and thyroid hormone disruption.1 With these considerations, we hypothesized that there may be an association of PFAS with tooth development and subsequent dental caries (cavities).
Dr. Hongying (Daisy) Dai[/caption]
Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Biostatistics | College of Public Health
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: E-cigarette use increased dramatically from 11.7% to 27.5% for high school students and from 3.3% to 10.5% for middle school students during the periods of 2017 - 2019. In September 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that youth e-cigarette use is reaching an epidemic proportion.
Exposure to secondhand aerosol (SHA) from e-cigarettes is not harmless as e-cigarettes aerosol contains nicotine and potentially harmful substances, including carbonyl compounds, TSNAs, heavy metals, and glycols. This study analyzed the 2015-2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) and the main findings are:
Dr. Diaz[/caption]
Lucia Diaz, M.D., is chief of pediatric dermatology, dermatology residency associate program director and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Dell Medical School. She is also co-director of the dermatology-rheumatology combined clinic at Dell Children’s Medical Center.
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Dr. Jaquez[/caption]
Sasha Jaquez, Ph.D. is a pediatric psychologist at Dell Children's Medical School/Dell Children's Medical Center and specializes in seeing children with chronic medical illness, including skin disorders.
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Dr. Breyer[/caption]
Benjamin N. Breyer MD, MAS, FACS
Associate Professor
Departments of Urology and Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, San Francisco
Vice-Chair of Urology
Chief of Urology, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
Director, UCSF Male Genitourinary Reconstruction and Trauma Surgery Fellowship
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There has been a large increase in upright scooter usage among adults as a mode of transportation. It's convenient for commuters and may encourage greater use of public transit leading to less car traffic in cities.