Young Black men who have sex with men’s (YBMSM) attitudes and personal beliefs about themselves and their risk for HIV can be modified as a result of experiences with racism and HIV stigma. In-depth ...qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 HIV-negative YBMSM, aged 18–24, in North Carolina and Maryland. Data were thematically analyzed to capture participants’ experiences and thoughts related to stigmatizing experiences and their perception of risk for HIV. Participants reported experiencing HIV stigmatizing and blatant racist commentary related to their identities as YBMSM. Participants described diverse strategies to distance themselves from these negative stereotypes and decrease their sexual risk for HIV. The findings highlight that HIV stigma and racial stereotypes are one of the many types of discrimination that YBMSM experience within the Black and gay communities and in society; leading to psychological distress and an altered perception of self and sexual risk.
Carceral facilities are epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic, placing incarcerated people at an elevated risk of COVID-19 infection. Due to the initial limited availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the ...United States, all states have developed allocation plans that outline a phased distribution. This study uses document analysis to compare the relative prioritization of incarcerated people, correctional staff, and other groups at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and morbidity.
We conducted a document analysis of the vaccine dissemination plans of all 50 US states and the District of Columbia using a triple-coding method. Documents included state COVID-19 vaccination plans and supplemental materials on vaccine prioritization from state health department websites as of December 31, 2020. We found that 22% of states prioritized incarcerated people in Phase 1, 29% of states in Phase 2, and 2% in Phase 3, while 47% of states did not explicitly specify in which phase people who are incarcerated will be eligible for vaccination. Incarcerated people were consistently not prioritized in Phase 1, while other vulnerable groups who shared similar environmental risk received this early prioritization. States' plans prioritized in Phase 1: prison and jail workers (49%), law enforcement (63%), seniors (65+ years, 59%), and long-term care facility residents (100%).
This study demonstrates that states' COVID-19 vaccine allocation plans do not prioritize incarcerated people and provide little to no guidance on vaccination protocols if they fall under other high-risk categories that receive earlier priority. Deprioritizing incarcerated people for vaccination misses a crucial opportunity for COVID-19 mitigation. It also raises ethical and equity concerns. As states move forward with their vaccine distribution, further work must be done to prioritize ethical allocation and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to incarcerated people.
Voicing Jordanian Adolescents' Suicide Dardas, Latefa Ali; Price, Malena M; Arscott, Joyell ...
Nursing research (New York),
2021 Jan/Feb, Volume:
70, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Studies focusing on adolescent suicide in Arab countries are particularly scarce, with the few available undertaken from within an epidemiological paradigm.
This study aimed to understand Jordanian ...adolescents' perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward suicide.
A qualitative design using 12 dual-moderator focus group discussions was conducted in public schools. Participants were selected from the three main regions of the country (rural southern, urban central, and suburban northern). Participants included Jordanian adolescent boys and girls, aged 14-17 years, who reported experiencing mild to moderate depressive symptoms. A relational content analysis approach was used for coding data, and a content analysis was used to identify salient thematic categories. Data were analyzed using NVivo software.
Four themes emerged, including perceived risk factors, perceived protective factors, active and passive suicidal ideations, and e-games and Internet influences. Main risk factors were depression; anxiety; stigma, shame, and isolation; family issues; life pressures; and guilt. Conversely, religiosity, perceived positive family functioning, and availability of long-term goals seemed to confer resilience to adolescents' suicidal ideation and behavior. Passive suicidality (having death wishes without any plans to complete suicide) was noticed most among participants who feared jeopardizing the family's reputation if they committed suicide. Several boys with active suicidal ideations used the Blue Whale Challenge e-game to learn how to complete suicide and relinquish their problems.
Suicide is a multifactorial problem requiring multimodal strategies. Evidence from this research suggests that those most passionate about the outcome of interest are encouraged to redouble efforts to reduce modifiable risk factors, enrich protective factors, target the underlying psychiatric illness that informs suicidal ideations and behavior, and research the effect of social media and Internet activity more deeply. Parents are advised to monitor the online activities of their children and familiarize themselves with the digital applications they use.
Native American (NA) women experience higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to other U.S. racial/ethnic groups, yet previous research has not sufficiently examined the complex ...determinants shaping their IPV experiences. This research explores the interplay of family networks and legal systems influencing NA women’s IPV experiences. Data were collected through in-depth individual and group interviews with 42 NA survivors and 41 health/social service providers from July 2016 to June 2017 in NA communities from three different U.S. regions. We used Grounded Theory to develop emergent themes from the data, focusing on system-level risk and protective factors of women’s of IPV experiences. In terms of family systems, participants indicated that NA communities were comprised of highly influential and interwoven family systems, making them powerful sources of support for both survivors and their partners who use violence. Participants described how intergenerational violence exposures contributed to the normalization of violence. In terms of legal systems, participants described inconsistent consequences for abusers of NA women, insufficient protection from legal systems, and manipulation of jurisdictional complexities. Interactions between family and legal systems influenced decision-making and outcomes. Family and community-based approaches, and the incorporation of traditional language and cultures, are needed to promote healing. Our findings reflect the complex ways that family and legal systems shape NA women’s IPV experiences. Results provide insight into how NA women interact with and navigate these systems when experiencing IPV and how these systems impact decision-making and the ability to be safe from IPV. Research is needed to advance understanding of the inter-relationships between intergenerational trauma, family systems, and legal systems on IPV survivors’ mental health and wellness. To make meaningful change, further research examining IPV from an interdisciplinary perspective that explores the interplay of social determinants of health inequities is needed.
To promote safe and positive health outcomes by utilizing culturally relevant evidence-based interventions for immigrant and refugee women survivors of intimate partner violence, their active ...participation in research is critical. With 43.6 million immigrants and refugees living in the United States, there is a need for research studies to eliminate health disparities in these populations. However, barriers to recruiting and retaining these populations in research prevent the provision of quality and culturally informed services to meet their needs. The aim of this article is to discuss the recruitment and retention strategies employed and analyze the methodological and ethical challenges in the context of the weWomen Study. The use of a multifaceted approach informed by best practices maximized recruitment efforts and active participation that generated high numbers of immigrant and refugee women participants. The study also substantiated the need for more community-based participatory approaches to engage community members in the development of culturally appropriate approaches that instill a sense of ownership over the research process. Active research participation of immigrant and refugee survivors will help investigators understand their unique needs and facilitate the implementation of targeted evidence-based interventions.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) disproportionately affects marginalized women in the United States. This calls for effective safety planning strategies to reduce the risk for future revictimization ...and address safety needs of survivors from marginalized groups. This review identified types of interventions that incorporated safety planning and were successful in reducing the risk for future revictimization among IPV survivors from diverse groups, examined elements of safety planning in effective interventions, and described challenges or limitations in safety planning intervention research with marginalized women. A systematic search of five databases was performed. The search resulted in inclusion of 17 studies for synthesis. The included studies were quantitative, U.S.-based, evaluated interventions with a safety planning component, and had an outcome of change in IPV. Effective interventions that incorporated safety planning were empowerment and advocacy focused. Elements included were comprehensive assessments of survivors’ unique needs and situations, educating them about IPV, helping them identify threats to safety, developing a concrete safety plan, facilitating linkage with resources, providing advocacy services as needed, and conducting periodic safety check-ins. For survivors with mental and behavioral health issues, effective interventions included psychotherapeutic approaches along with safety planning to address survivors’ co-occurring health care needs. Although most studies reported positive findings, there were limitations related to designs, methods, adequate inclusion, and representation of marginalized women and cultural considerations. This calls for additional research using rigorous and culturally informed approaches to establish an evidence base for effective interventions that specifically address the safety planning needs of marginalized survivors of IPV.
Physical characteristics used to identify racial groups vary with geography and do not correspond to underlying biological traits” (Cerdeña et al., 2020). ...race is not a biological reality but a ...social construct. During the study, penicillin was later identified as an appropriate treatment for syphilis; however, treatment was withheld while researchers continued observing the progression of the disease among participants. Throughout the study, the boys were placed on a low-protein diet, not allowed water intake during overnight sessions and were not given any prescribed maintenance medications for underlying chronic conditions, such as asthma (Brown, 2003). ...HeLa cells have been used for human genome studies, virology and for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022).
People incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic face higher vulnerability to infection due to structural and social factors in carceral settings. Additionally, due to the higher prevalence of ...chronic health conditions among carceral populations, they are also at risk for more severe COVID-19 disease. This study was designed to explore the experiences of people incarcerated in prisons and jails in Maryland during the height of the pandemic.
We conducted semi-structured phone interviews between January 2021 and April 2022 with ten individuals incarcerated in Maryland carceral facilities during the height of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic and were subsequently released from prison or jail. We transcribed the interviews, coded them, and engaged in content analysis, an inductive analytical approach to developing themes and meaning from qualitative data.
Four themes emerged from participants' descriptions of their experiences: (1) distress from fear, vulnerability, and lack of knowledge about COVID-19 and how to protect themselves, (2) shortcomings of prison and jail administrators and other personnel through lack of transparency and arbitrary and punitive enforcement of COVID-19 protocols, (3) lack of access to programming and communication with others, and (4) absence of preparation for release and access to usual re-entry services.
Participants responded that the prison and jails' response during the COVID-19 pandemic was ill-prepared, inconsistent, and without appropriate measures to mitigate restrictions on liberty and prepare them for release. The lack of information sharing amplified their sense of fear and vulnerability unique to their incarceration status. Study findings have several institutional implications, such as requiring carceral facilities to establish public health preparedness procedures and making plans publicly available.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a national and international public health and human rights concern. Immigrant women are disproportionately affected by IPV that includes homicides. This study ...explored the perspectives of survivors of IPV, who are immigrants to the United States, regarding their sources of strength that enhance their safety and promote coping in abusive relationships. Data for this qualitative study were collected from ethnically diverse immigrant women residing in Massachusetts, Arizona, Virginia, Washington, D.C., New York, Minnesota, and California, using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Eighty-three in-depth interviews were conducted with adult immigrant survivors of IPV who self-identified as Asian (n = 30), Latina (n = 30), and African (n = 23). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Women identified both external (e.g., community support, support from social service agencies) and internal (e.g., optimism, faith, beliefs) sources of strength. The study highlights how these sources can adequately address needs of survivors and offers areas for improvement in services for survivors. The findings are informative for practitioners serving immigrant survivors of IPV in legal, social service, and physical and mental health settings.
We sought to explore characteristics and risk factors associated with transactional sex in a sample of young black and Latinx sexual minority cisgender men and transgender women of age 15 to 24 years ...who were living with or at high risk for HIV infection and whether these associations vary by gender identity and HIV status.
A total of 454 black and Latinx sexual minority cisgender men and transgender women from Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC; and St. Petersburg/Tampa, Fl, were recruited to participate in a multisite study that included a 45-minute baseline Web-based survey and HIV-1 rapid testing. Bivariate analysis was used to explore factors associated with transactional sex. Factors significant at p-value <.20 in bivariate analysis were entered into a final logistic regression models; and models were further stratified by gender identity and HIV status.
The mean age was 21.3 (standard deviation = 2.5), with 14.7% (n = 65) identifying as transgender, and 103 youth (22.7%) reporting lifetime transactional sex. Transactional sex was associated with transgender identity, recent unstable housing in the last 12 months, poorer perceived financial well-being, coerced sex, and marijuana use. Differences were noted by gender identity and HIV status, with marijuana use associated with transactional sex in cisgender men and unstable housing and sexual coercion in youth living with HIV.
Young black and Latinx cisgender men and transgender women are at a high risk for engaging in transactional sex. Transactional sex may create a syndemic for HIV risk exposure through co-occurring and reinforcing conditions of unstable housing, violence, and substance use.
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