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KU study shows political ideology determines health behavior, especially during pandemic
LAWRENCE — New research from the University of Kansas adds to the evidence that political ideology can be a social determinant of health, especially during public health crises. For the study, the authors conducted two surveys and a review of studies on ideology and health. “What this study shows is political partisanship and ideology seem to be one of the most significant drivers of health behavior when it comes to COVID-19,” said lead author Mugur Geana, associate professor of journalism and director of KU’s Center for Excellence in Health Communications to Underserved Populations.
KU researcher part of teams developing treatments for COVID-19, other infectious diseases
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas researcher is at the center of two projects aimed at developing treatments for infectious diseases, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Scott Lovell, director of KU’s Protein Structure & X-Ray Crystallography Lab, and three collaborators recently received a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases to develop an antiviral therapeutic treatment that could help people who have contracted SARS-CoV-2. Lovell’s lab also recently began another project managing the protein crystallography work for the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease.
Three KU seniors named finalists for Marshall Scholarships
LAWRENCE — Three seniors at the University of Kansas have advanced in the competition for prestigious scholarships for study in the United Kingdom. Anton Barybin, Lawrence; Joseph Hartung, St. Louis; and Erin Sturd, Overland Park, are finalists for Marshall Scholarships, which provide funding for graduate study at any university in the United Kingdom.
Office ‘small talk’ proves more beneficial than distracting for employees, study finds
LAWRENCE — Small talk is natural and pervasive in office environments. But a new study argues it’s also beneficial for employees. Patrick Downes, University of Kansas assistant professor of management, published “Office Chit-Chat as a Social Ritual: The Uplifting Yet Distracting Effects of Daily Small Talk at Work” in the Academy of Management Journal.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings
KU study shows political ideology determines health behavior, especially during pandemic
LAWRENCE — When considering determinants of an individual’s health outcomes, doctors and researchers consider personal factors like age, race, gender or socioeconomic factors such as education quality, economic stability or health care access. A new study from the University of Kansas adds to the evidence that political ideology can be a social determinant of health, especially during public health crises.
Researchers have long considered that a person’s association with an ideological view may have bearing on health behaviors on a long-term basis, such as embracing bans on public smoking to prevent lung cancer, or opposing vaccines due to concerns about secondary effects, but the COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to study how it plays into behavior during a public health emergency. For the study, the authors conducted two surveys and a review of studies on ideology and health, finding that political beliefs did influence attitudes and health behavior during the pandemic.
“What this study shows is political partisanship and ideology seem to be one of the most significant drivers of health behavior when it comes to COVID-19,” said lead author Mugur Geana, associate professor of journalism and director of KU’s Center for Excellence in Health Communications to Underserved Populations. “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines social determinants of health as the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, play, worship and age that affect a wide range of health outcomes. Because ideology depends on group affiliation and influences interpersonal relationships, we think it should also be considered a social determinant of health.”
That finding is especially important to remember in a time of significant political polarization in the United States, wrote Geana and co-authors Nathaniel Rabb and Steven Sloman of The Policy Lab at Brown University. The study was published in the journal SSM-Population Health.
For the study, researchers first conducted a convenience sample survey on social media through the Center for Excellence and Health Communications to Underserved Populations, followed by a survey with a nationally representative sample through Brown’s Policy Lab. Respondents were asked about their political ideological beliefs as well as their knowledge of COVID-19, attitudes and beliefs related to COVID-19 risk factors, and demographic information. The surveys, conducted in late 2020, also asked where people received information on the pandemic, if they intended to get vaccinated, if they had COVID-19 themselves or knew anyone who did, if they wore masks and practiced social distancing, and other related questions. Data analysis from both surveys suggested that ideology was a significant predictor for all dependent behavioral variables, and in most cases, the strongest one.
For the third part of the study, authors conducted a review of 181 papers on the emerging COVID-19 behavioral literature and analyzed the results from 44 selected studies that examined ideology’s influence on health behaviors. It was shown to be a significant predictor of responses in 79% of the studies’ estimates, and it had the largest effect on COVID-19 related behaviors in 39% of these. No other variable, such as age, gender, education or race/ethnicity, was the best predictor in nearly as many studies.
The three sources of data, taken together, contribute to the growing body of knowledge that individuals’ political ideology will influence how they behave in relation to their own health and that of the public. That has significant potential ramifications on public health as well as for health policy and strategic communications.
“It was obvious we expected to see differences in attitudes and behaviors based on political partisanship, but we wanted to know how much of an impact it has, and if our findings reflect those from other studies,” Geana said. “Much to our surprise, we found that ideology was the best predictor of COVID-19 related behavior. When we take that all in, it suggests that in times of crisis, which the pandemic was, and in a polarized society, ideology is a significant driver of how people behave when it comes to their health.”
Geana said the study was not intended and should not be used to advocate for any ideology or argue that any ideology is right or wrong. The purposed was to contribute to the body of knowledge of how ideology influences health behavior in times of crises and to create awareness about this phenomenon for policymakers, health officials and health communicators, especially in the hyperpolarized climate of the United States.
Geana has conducted similar studies into how Kansas residents received information on the pandemic and assessed risk, as well as comparing how the United States and Chile, two seemingly different nations, approached the crisis. Together, these studies show the importance of considering multiple variables, including ideology or political partisanship, when assessing health behavior, and promotes understanding that one message will not resonate equally with all in terms of health interventions and when addressing the valid concerns people may have in regard to their health.
“This shows we need to keep an open mind and be sure the messages for the health interventions we are designing are appropriate for the audience we are trying to reach at that moment in time,” Geana said.
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Contact: Rylie Koester, Office of Research, 785-864-0375, [email protected], @ResearchAtKU
KU researcher part of teams developing treatments for COVID-19, other infectious diseases
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas researcher is at the center of two projects aimed at developing treatments for infectious diseases, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
Scott Lovell, director of KU’s Protein Structure & X-Ray Crystallography Lab, and three collaborators recently received a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases to develop an antiviral therapeutic treatment that could help people who have contracted SARS-CoV-2.
The project involves principal investigators Kyeong-Ok “KC” Chang, a virologist at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine; William Groutas, a medicinal chemist at Wichita State University; and Stanley Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa.
The group began collaborating more than a decade ago to develop inhibitors that reduce or interfere with the activity of a viral protein, or main protease, found in both human and animal viruses, including noroviruses and coronaviruses.
“We were already working on an NIAID-funded project to develop inhibitors of the MERS coronavirus,” Lovell said, “so it made sense to leverage that expertise against the new SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
Lovell is the structural biologist for the group. His lab uses a technique called X-ray crystallography to determine the three-dimensional structure of a protein, which provides insight into protein function and guides drug development by providing a picture of the protein and drug interactions.
In the structure-determination process, the lab prepares a synthetic version of a protein to grow crystals and collect X-ray diffraction data that are used to determine the three-dimensional structure of the protein.
“Drug discovery is always a team effort,” Lovell said. “We have virologists and medicinal chemists who develop and study the effectiveness of the inhibitors against a specific viral protein named the main protease, which plays an important role in the propagation of the virus. As a structural biologist, my job is to figure out how those inhibitors bind to the protease at the atomic level. Having this information enables us to tailor-make more effective inhibitors using what is termed a structure-based approach.”
Lovell’s lab also recently began another project managing the protein crystallography work for the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease, which is one of only two structural genomics centers in the country aimed at the structure determination of proteins from infectious organisms.
SSGCID’s goal is to determine the structures of proteins that play a role in bacterial or viral pathogenesis, or the process by which an infection leads to disease. SSGCID determines 70 to 100 protein structures each year and deposits them in databases that are publicly available to researchers. This resource provides an archive of protein structures that researchers worldwide can access to determine their potential as targets for the development of therapeutic drug treatments for both human and animal diseases.
“This work by Dr. Lovell and his collaborators is extremely significant in the effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat posed by infectious disease worldwide,” said Erik Lundquist, associate vice chancellor for research and professor of molecular biosciences. “These projects highlight the excellence and international reputation of Dr. Lovell in structural biology of infectious diseases. The critical expertise and work done in KU core labs has enabled projects such as these to have global impact.”
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Three KU seniors named finalists for Marshall Scholarships
LAWRENCE — Three seniors at the University of Kansas have advanced in the competition for prestigious scholarships for study in the United Kingdom.
Anton Barybin, Joseph Hartung and Erin Sturd are finalists for Marshall Scholarships, which provide funding for graduate study at any university in the United Kingdom.
The Office of Fellowships, a unit of Academic Success, coordinates KU’s endorsement process and supports candidates through the application process. Students interested in applying for these awards in future years are encouraged to contact the office by email at [email protected]. Depending on other eligibility requirements, students may apply for these awards as seniors or recent graduates.
KU students have previously won nine Marshall Scholarships.
Anton Barybin, of Lawrence, is majoring in chemistry. He is the son of Misha and Ekaterina Barybin and a graduate of Lawrence Free State High School. In 2020 he was selected for the Beckman Scholars Program, a 15-month program designed to enrich the development of young scientists. He was also awarded a Kansas IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) scholarship. He serves as a research ambassador for the Undergraduate Research Center. Barybin began research in the lab of Susan Lunte, Ralph N. Adams Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, in the summer before his freshman year at KU. Barybin’s research focuses on the design of separation-based sensors for monitoring neurotransmitters. Barybin is co-author on a peer-reviewed publication from Lunte’s lab and has presented his research at a regional meeting of the American Chemical Society and at a K-INBRE Symposium. He also presented virtually at the 2021 Pittcon conference and the Fall ACS meeting. Last spring, Barybin was named a Goldwater Scholar.
Joseph Hartung, from St. Louis, is the son of John and Mary Hartung. A graduate of St. Louis University High School, he is double majoring in history and global & international studies and triple minoring in African & African-American studies, national security studies and political science. Hartung is a member of the University Honors Program and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. Hartung has conducted research for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on attacks by Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa on military bases (with a publication forthcoming), on environmental security in Nigeria for the U.S. Military Advisor Training Academy and on international perceptions of African security issues for the U.S. Army Foreign Military Studies Office. Hartung has interned for both the U.S.
Department of State and Department of Defense, where he directly supported U.S. policy efforts in sub-Saharan Africa. He is proficient in Kiswahili and received a Boren Scholarship to study the language, though his program was delayed due to the pandemic. In June, he was announced as a recipient of the national Phi Beta Kappa Key Into Public Service Award. Hartung has played trombone in various KU ensembles and is a member of the KU Sailing Club.
Erin Sturd, of Overland Park, is majoring in chemical engineering with an emphasis in bioengineering and minoring in Spanish. Sturd is the daughter of Deana and Joseph Sturd and a graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Sturd works with Mark Shiflett, Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, at the Institute for Sustainable Engineering. In her research, for which she received an Undergraduate Research Award from the Center for Undergraduate Research, she studies polymeric membranes and mixed-matrix membranes for hydrofluorocarbon separation and hydrogen separation for gas recycling. She previously participated in an internship at the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis. This past fall she had two presentations at the American Institute for Chemical Engineering meeting, and she has presented at two KU Undergraduate Research symposia and a showcase. She is a member of the Multicultural Scholars Program, is an Office of Fellowships Rising Scholar and serves as an iHAWKe Ambassador. Sturd has served as the president of the Engineering Student Council and a School of Engineering Self Fellow and is captain of the KU Crew.
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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
Office ‘small talk’ proves more beneficial than distracting for employees, study finds
LAWRENCE — Sports. Weather. Lunch. Weekend plans …
Small talk is natural and pervasive in office environments. But a new study argues it’s also beneficial for employees.
“People generally feel better, have more positive social emotions and a sense of connection when engaging in small talk,” said Patrick Downes, assistant professor of management at the University of Kansas School of Business. “These little conversations go a long way in making us feel like we belong.”
His new article, “Office Chit-Chat as a Social Ritual: The Uplifting Yet Distracting Effects of Daily Small Talk at Work,” is based on a study of the effect this routine had on 151 workers. The research found that small talk proved both enriching and disruptive for employees, but the positives far outweighed the negatives. It appears in the Academy of Management Journal.
Defined as “communication whose substance is inconsequential,” small talk offers a means of building rapport and connection by acknowledging the presence of others. It also acts as a “social lubricant” by helping individuals transition between daily activities, according to the article.
“What we think is ‘important talk’ in organizations is telling each other stuff about tasks, about strategy, about communicating how we can do something better,” said Downes, who co-wrote the paper with Jessica Methot, Rutgers University; Emily Rosado-Solomon, California State University-Long Beach; and Allison Gabriel, University of Arizona.
“By definition, small talk is the opposite of that because we’re not discussing tasks. We’re talking about the weather or football – it’s all stuff that is off-task.”
Although data indicates such chit-chat comprises roughly one-third of adults’ speech, its effects on employee satisfaction were largely ignored. Downes’ team recruited full-time employees who worked outside the home in a traditional (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) schedule. Administered for 15 consecutive workdays, the surveys contained measures of small talk, positive social emotions, sleep quality and cognitive engagement.
The impetus for the study occurred when Downes and a co-author were having a debate during a lunchtime chat, ironically, about the value of small talk.
“Jess thought most people genuinely like small talk. And I thought people hate doing small talk but know they have to do it. We actually talked to one person who said, ‘I have small talk with co-workers in my office only so they don’t steal when my office door is open,’” he said.
Following the results of their study, Downes said he was wrong about the perceived value of this practice.
“The results show that people generally like it,” he said. “They feel they go home with healthier emotions.”
Their company also reaps the benefits.
“To the extent a business can create spaces for belonging, it’s worth the off-task. It’s worth the inefficiency, so to speak. If you elevate an individual’s sense of belonging, ultimately, you’re going to get it back in the end as a manager when someone goes the extra mile or when people back each other up. If you don’t have that kind of citizenship, there can be a lot of friction in organizational processes,” he said.
Not all small talk is constructive, obviously. That often depends on who is the one doing the talking.
“We tested a trait called ‘self-monitoring,’ which is simply reading the room. It relies on appropriately interpreting the context and making the right response to that context,” he said.
“High self-monitors generally have a better sense of belongingness and are less distracted. Small talk should be fluid and natural. It kind of follows a script. And once the script is played out, it’s time to be done and either get to business or leave. Any time it’s not fluid, that’s when you run into problems. You don’t get the benefits and do get more of the distraction from it.”
Raised in suburban Kansas City, Downes is currently in his first year at KU (although he did earn his undergraduate degree at the school). He teaches topics in human resources and studies people’s social contexts at work.
Regardless of the findings in his latest paper, he said he is “not a fan” personally of casual small talk.
“Yet I still do it because I want to be connected to my colleagues in the long run – that’s why I leave my office door open,” Downes said. “Even if the conversations are interrupting, the data suggests small talk is good both for me and for the organization.”
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