Lost and Found: Identifying Right Pulmonary Embolus in Transit Using the Suprasternal Notch Approach.

• The SSN window is critical in detecting clot in transit leading to saddle thrombus. • The RPA may be the only place that PE can be visualized. • SSN views provide accurate data necessary to confirm thrombus in pulmonary arteries.

Supporting syringe services programs in the initiation and scale-up of vaccine administration: findings from in-depth interviews.

Background: Vaccine-hesitant persons who inject drugs are at increased risk for several vaccine-preventable diseases. However, vaccination rates among this population remain low. While syringe services programs (SSPs) are places where persons who inject drugs feel comfortable accessing services, few offer vaccination services.

Implementing the COVID-19 Rapid Community Assessment on Vaccine Confidence: Lessons Learned From Alabama and Georgia.

Engaging communities is a key strategy to increase COVID-19 vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was developed for community partners to obtain insights about barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake and to engage community partners in designing interventions to build vaccine confidence. In spring 2021, 3 CDC teams were deployed to Alabama and Georgia to conduct a rapid community assessment in selected jurisdictions.

Vaccination barriers and opportunities at syringe services programs in the United States, June-August 2021-A cross-sectional survey.

Background: Syringe services programs (SSPs) are an important venue for reaching people who inject drugs (PWID) to offer preventive services; however, not all SSPs offer vaccinations. We aimed to describe barriers and opportunities for SSPs to offer vaccinations.

Methods: During June-August 2021, we conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional survey of SSP providers in the United States.

Reddit on PrEP: Posts About Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for HIV from Reddit Users, 2014-2019.

Social media forums provide a window into how gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men talk about pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention (PrEP) outside of research contexts. To examine information exchange about this important pillar of HIV prevention, discussions around PrEP were collected from the r/askgaybros subreddit of the social media site Reddit (2014-2019). Post titles and asks were qualitatively coded to identify themes describing the primary purpose of the post.

Beyond Disease Intervention: Exploring an Expanded Role for Partner Services in the MATRix-NC Demonstration Project.

Background: Disease intervention specialists (DIS) provide partner services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We assessed an expansion of DIS services for clients with HIV and/or syphilis, and contacts within their social and sexual networks.

Methods: Black and Latinx cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men diagnosed with HIV and/or syphilis in 4 urban North Carolina counties were referred to designated DIS, who were trained to recruit clients as "seeds" for chain-referral sampling of sociosexual network "peers.

Intersection of Syphilis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Networks to Identify Opportunities to Enhance HIV Prevention.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis infection continue at disproportionate rates among minority men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. The integration of HIV genetic clustering with partner services can provide important insight into local epidemic trends to guide interventions and control efforts.

Methods: We evaluated contact networks of index persons defined as minority men and transgender women diagnosed with early syphilis and/or HIV infection between 2018 and 2020 in 2 North Carolina regions.

Hand hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic among people experiencing homelessness-Atlanta, Georgia, 2020.

People experiencing homelessness are at risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and may experience barriers to hand hygiene, a primary recommendation for COVID-19 prevention. We conducted in-depth interviews with 51 people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in Atlanta, Georgia during May 2020 to August 2020 to (1) describe challenges and opportunities related to hand hygiene and (2) assess hand hygiene communication preferences. The primary hand hygiene barrier reported was limited access to facilities and supplies, which has disproportionately impacted people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

An Investigation of Early Syphilis Among Men Who have Sex with Men: Alaska, 2018: Findings from a 2018 Rapid Ethnographic Assessment.

The state of Alaska had a sharp increase in cases of primary and secondary syphilis among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in 2018, centered in Anchorage. A rapid ethnographic assessment was conducted in October 2018 to examine contextual factors contributing to local increases in syphilis. The assessment team conducted qualitative interviews with 64 (N=49 interviews) key informants in Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Valley identified through the STD/HIV program at the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health (ADPH):  ADPH staff (n = 11; 22%) Medical Providers (n = 18; 37%), Community-Based Organizations/Partners (n = 9; 18%), and GBMSM Community Members (n = 11; 22%).

Get In, Get Tested, Get Care: STD Services in Urban Urgent Care Centers.

Background: Recent evidence indicates increased use of urgent care centers (UCCs) for sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing. We sought to learn more about STD services in UCCs in a large metropolitan area.

Method: Using a modified rapid gap assessment approach, we interviewed staff from 19 UCCs in metro Atlanta, GA.

Papillary fibroelastoma in the left atrium.

Described herein is a 71-year-old woman with previous angina pectoris who suddenly developed slurred speech and right-arm weakness. She was found to have significant coronary narrowing, a small mass in the left atrium attached to the endocardium near the orifice of the appendage, and multifocal punctate cerebral lesions in the distribution of the left middle cerebral artery. The left atrial mass was excised and confirmed to be a papillary fibroelastoma.

Improving Linkage, Retention, and Reengagement in HIV Care in 12 Metropolitan Areas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the Enhanced Comprehensive HIV Prevention Planning (ECHPP) project to support 12 health departments' improvement of their HIV prevention and care portfolios in response to new national guidelines. We systematically analyzed 3 years of progress reports to learn how grantees put into practice local intervention strategies intended to link people to, and keep them in, HIV care. All grantees initiated seven activities to support these strategies: (1) improve surveillance data systems, (2) revise staffing duties and infrastructures, (3) update policies and procedures, (4) establish or strengthen partnerships, (5) identify persons not in care, (6) train personnel, and (7) create ways to overcome obstacles to receiving care.

Efficacy of the Young Women's CoOp: An HIV Risk-Reduction Intervention for Substance-Using African-American Female Adolescents in the South.

HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk-reduction interventions are needed to address the complex risk behaviors among African-American female adolescents in disadvantaged communities in North Carolina. In a two-group randomized trial, we reached 237 sexually active, substance-using African-American female adolescents, to test a risk-reduction intervention, the Young Women's CoOp (YWC), relative to a nutrition control. In efficacy analyses adjusting for baseline condom use, at three-month follow-up participants in the YWC were significantly less likely to report sex without a condom at last sex relative to control.

Association between parent-adolescent communication about sex-related topics and HIV testing, United States. 2006-2013.

Adolescents need information about sex-related topics in order to reduce risk behavior and engage in healthy sexual decision-making. Parents have the potential to be an important source of this information. Using the 2006-2010 and 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth, we examined associations between parent-adolescent communication before age 18 about sex-related topics and HIV testing among respondents aged 18-24 that ever had sexual intercourse (women = 3893; men = 3359).

A user-centered model for designing consumer mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps).

Background: Mobile technologies are a useful platform for the delivery of health behavior interventions. Yet little work has been done to create a rigorous and standardized process for the design of mobile health (mHealth) apps. This project sought to explore the use of the Information Systems Research (ISR) framework as guide for the design of mHealth apps.

Young Sexual Minority Males in the United States: Sociodemographic Characteristics And Sexual Attraction, Identity and Behavior.

Context: HIV incidence is increasing among 13-24-year-old U.S. men who have sex with men, yet limited research is available to guide HIV prevention efforts for this population.

Gang membership and marijuana use among African American female adolescents in North Carolina.

The southeastern US sustains the highest high school dropout rates, and gangs persist in underserved communities. African American female adolescents who drop out of school and are gang members are at substantial risk of exposure to severe violence, physical abuse, and sexual exploitation. In this study of 237 female African American adolescents 16-19 years of age from North Carolina who dropped out or considered dropping out, 11% were current or past gang members.

Using the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model to Guide the Development of an HIV Prevention Smartphone Application for High-Risk MSM.

HIV remains a significant public health problem among men who have sex with men (MSM). MSM comprise 2% of the U.S.

Lessons Learned From Delivering Imara, an HIV/STI Risk Reduction Intervention for African American Girls in Juvenile Detention.

A critical need exists for efficacious interventions to reduce sexual risk and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among African American girls in juvenile detention. Adapting evidence-based interventions is one strategy for developing interventions that might protect detained African American girls from adverse sexual health outcomes. To support development and implementation of evidence-based HIV/STI prevention interventions for this population, this qualitative study describes lessons learned from delivering Imara, an adapted HIV/STI prevention intervention for detained African American girls.

Efficacy of an adapted HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention intervention for incarcerated women: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: We tested the efficacy of an adapted evidence-based HIV-sexually transmitted infection (STI) behavioral intervention (Providing Opportunities for Women's Empowerment, Risk-Reduction, and Relationships, or POWER) among incarcerated women.

Methods: We conducted a randomized trial with 521 women aged 18 to 60 years in 2 correctional facilities in North Carolina in 2010 and 2011. Intervention participants attended 8 POWER sessions; control participants received a single standard-of-care STI prevention session.

Context of risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections among incarcerated women in the south: individual, interpersonal, and societal factors.

Incarcerated women are disproportionately affected by HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to risk factors before, during, and after imprisonment. This study assessed the behavioral, social, and contextual conditions that contribute to continuing sexual risk behaviors among incarcerated women to inform the adaptation of an evidenced-based behavioral intervention for this population. Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 current and 28 former women prisoners to assess HIV/STI knowledge, perceptions of risk, intimate relationships, and life circumstances.

Efficacy of an HIV/STI sexual risk-reduction intervention for African American adolescent girls in juvenile detention centers: a randomized controlled trial.

Few HIV/STI interventions exist for African American adolescent girls in juvenile detention. The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention to reduce incident STIs, improve HIV-preventive behaviors, and enhance psychosocial outcomes. We conducted a randomized controlled trial among African American adolescent girls (13-17 years, N = 188) in juvenile detention from March 2011 to May 2012.

Correlates of gang involvement and health-related factors among African American females with a detention history.

Background: Prior studies have assessed relationships between gang membership and health-related factors. However, the existing literature has largely failed to consider how individual and broader social contextual factors might be related to such gang involvement among African American females. Thus, the aim of the present study was to identify empirically driven correlates of gang involvement and then better understand the relationship between gang membership and health-related behaviors for African American females, after controlling for covariates of gang involvement.