Predicting and responding to change: Perceived environmental uncertainty among substance use disorder treatment programs.

Introduction: Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs offering addiction health services (AHS) must be prepared to adapt to change in their operating environment. These environmental uncertainties may have implications for service delivery, and ultimately patient outcomes. To adapt to a multitude of environmental uncertainties, treatment programs must be prepared to predict and respond to change.

Coping With Disasters and Pandemics Through Experience and Community: How African American Older Adults Navigate Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery.

Objective: Studies have reported that minorities are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Few studies have elucidated the lived experiences of African American older adults, and the resiliency displayed in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters.

Methods: This study used 4 recorded focus groups with 26 African American older adults who have spent most of their lives living in Houston, Texas to assess safety, economic, and health concerns related to the pandemic and similarities or differences with other types of disasters that are specific to Houston/ the Gulf Region of Texas, such as Hurricane Harvey.

Workforce Diversity and disparities in wait time and retention among opioid treatment programs.

Background: Workforce diversity is a key strategy to improve treatment engagement among members of racial and ethnic minority groups. In this study, we seek to determine whether workforce diversity plays a role in reducing racial and ethnic differences in wait time to treatment entry and retention in different types of opioid use disorder treatment programs.

Methods: We conducted comparative and predictive analysis in a subsample of outpatient opioid treatment programs (OTPs), who completed access and retention survey questions in four waves of the National Drug Abuse Treatment System Survey (162 OTPs in 2000, 173 OTPs in 2005, 282 OTPs in 2014, and 300 OTPs in 2017).

Correlates of Social Isolation Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The past year has severely curtailed social interactions among older adults given their high rates of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. This study examined social, behavioral, and medical correlates of social isolation among community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and stratified findings to explore unique differences in two typically neglected populations, African American and Hispanic older adults. Working with community-based organizations and senior living centers, the research team administered a survey to older adults 55 years of age and older ( = 575).

Church Attendance and Mobility Limitation Among Black and White Men With Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is a significant impediment that can reduce physical functional status. Mobility is fundamental for quality of life and church attendance to be associated with improved physical functioning. Few studies have examined how religious participation have implications for mobility limitation among men in general and among prostate cancer survivors in particular.

Stability in a large drug treatment system: Examining the role of program size and performance on service discontinuation.

Background: Little is known about the stability of public drug treatment in the United States to deliver services in an era of expansion of public insurance. Guided by organizational theories, we examined the role of program size, and performance (i.e.

Religious Coping and Quality of Life Among Black and White Men With Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is a significant impediment in men's lives as this condition often exacerbates stress and reduces quality of life. Faith can be a resource through which men cope with health crises; however, few studies examine how religion or spirituality can have implications for racial disparities in health outcomes among men. The purpose of this study is to assess the associations between religious coping and quality of life among black and white men with prostate cancer.

Race differences in mobility status among prostate cancer survivors: The role of socioeconomic status.

The objective of this paper was to determine whether there were any race differences in mobility limitation among PCa survivors, and understand the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on this relationship. Data consisted of 661 PCa survivors (296 Black and 365 White) from the Diagnosis and Decisions in Prostate Cancer Treatment Outcomes (DAD) Study. Mobility limitation was defined as PCa survivors who reported difficulty walking a quarter mile or up 1 flight of stairs.

Organizational factors associated with practitioners' support for treatment of opioid use disorder in the emergency department.

Background: Despite the significant increase in emergency room visits for opioid overdose, only few emergency departments (ED) have implemented best practices to treat people with opioid use disorders (OUD). Some implementation gaps may be due to practitioner factors; such as support for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for OUD in the ED. In this study, we explore the relationship between inner setting characteristics of the EDs (e.

Drivers of continued implementation of cultural competence in substance use disorder treatment.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the key characteristics of organizational decision makers predicted continued implementation of five different practices that represent organizational cultural competence in one of the largest and most diverse substance use disorder (SUD) treatment systems in the United States. We analyzed data collected from SUD treatment programs at four-time points: 2011 (N = 115), 2013 (N = 111), 2015 (N = 106), and 2017 (N = 94). We conducted five mixed-effect linear regression models, one per each outcome to examine the extent to which program director's transformational leadership and ethnic background (Latino) predicted (1) knowledge of minority community needs; (2) development of resources and linkages to serve minorities; (3) reaching out to minority communities; (4) hiring and retention of staff members from minority backgrounds; and (5) development of policies and procedures to effectively respond to the service needs of minority patients.

Primary Care Physicians Beliefs about Prostate-Specific Antigen Evidence Uncertainty, Screening Efficacy, and Test Use.

Background/purpose: Little is known about primary care physicians' (PCPs) beliefs about prostate cancer screening efficacy, evidence uncertainty, and their actual screening behaviors. We examined factors associated with PCP beliefs about screening efficacy and uncertainty and whether beliefs were associated with prostate specific-antigen (PSA) test use.

Methods: The 2008 National Survey of Primary Care Physicians' Practices Regarding Prostate Cancer Screening collected information on physicians' attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to prostate cancer and screening (n=1,256).

Prevalence and Correlates of Major Depressive Symptoms among Black Men with Prostate Cancer.

Objectives: The objectives of our study were to determine the prevalence of major depressive symptoms and identify factors that are associated with major depressive symptoms among Black men with prostate cancer (PCa).

Design: This study consisted of 415 Black men aged 40-81 years that entered the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry during the years 2007-2008. The primary outcome variable was depressive symptoms (CES-D).

Black Pastors' Views on preaching about sex: barriers, facilitators, and opportunities for HIV prevention messaging.

Objectives: Despite the disproportionately high rates of heterosexually transmitted HIV infection among US Blacks and ongoing need for effective inexpensive behavioral interventions, the use of sermons as an HIV prevention tool in Black churches has received little research attention. The Black church plays an important role in Black communities and is a potential ally in development and delivery of sexual risk prevention messages. The objective of this study was to examine Black pastors' thoughts about whether sermons should address issues related to heterosexual relationships - and the barriers and facilitators to discussing these topics in a sermon setting.

High Levels of Medical Mistrust Are Associated With Low Quality of Life Among Black and White Men With Prostate Cancer.

Background: Medical mistrust is thought to affect health care-based decisions and has been linked to poor health outcomes. The effects of medical mistrust among men with prostate cancer are unknown. Thus, the goal of the current study is to examine the association between medical mistrust and quality of life (QOL) among black and white men with prostate cancer.

Racial Disparity in Time Between First Diagnosis and Initial Treatment of Prostate Cancer.

Background: Disparities among patients with prostate cancer exist across the continuum of care. The interval of time that lapses between first diagnosis and treatment is another disparity that may exist but has not been fully explored.

Methods: Our study looked at the data of 749 men (353 black and 396 white) who were 40 to 81 years of age when they entered the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry during the years 2007 and 2008.

Factors Associated with Men's Assessment of Prostate Cancer Treatment Choice.

The objective of this study is to examine factors among a group of African American and White men in North Carolina and their assessment of prostate cancer treatment choice or belief that treatment chosen was best. A sample of men (N = 877) with a history of prostate cancer diagnosis was recruited from the North Carolina Cancer Registry during 2007-2008 and asked to participate in a telephone interview covering several measures about their initial prostate cancer treatment. Logistic regression was used to assess demographic, psychosocial, and clinical factors on whether they felt that they had chosen the best treatment for the disease.

Examining characteristics of congregation members willing to attend health promotion in African American churches.

Background: Although churches are an important partner for improving health within the African American community, it is not known how congregants are best reached by health promotion activities and thus how best to target members in recruitment. This study examined how characteristics of churches and congregants' beliefs and interests in faith-based health promotion related to their willingness to attend church-based health promotion activities.

Method: We surveyed adult congregants (n = 1,204) of 11 predominately African American churches in North Carolina.

Connecting communities to health research: development of the Project CONNECT minority research registry.

Introduction: Prevention and treatment standards are based on evidence obtained in behavioral and clinical research. However, racial and ethnic minorities remain relatively absent from the science that develops these standards. While investigators have successfully recruited participants for individual studies using tailored recruitment methods, these strategies require considerable time and resources.

"In my house": laying the foundation for youth HIV prevention in the Black church.

Background: This article describes the process our community-academic partnership used to lay the groundwork for successful implementation of an adolescent-focused, evidence-based HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum in two Black churches.

Objectives: We highlight the challenges encountered and lessons learned in building a relationship with two churches, garnering the pastor's support, and implementing the curriculum within church youth groups.

Methods: We engaged a Community Advisory Board (CAB) made up of youth, parents, and diverse faith leaders to ensure community relevance and guide project development, implementation, and evaluation.

Gunshot victims at a major level I trauma center: a study of 343,866 emergency department visits.

Background: Disturbing trends regarding the sex, age, and race of gunshot victims have been reported in previous national studies; however, gunshot trends have not been well documented in individual cities in the southeastern United States.

Objectives: 1) Analyze trends in gunshot wounds, particularly the association between gunshot wounds and race, among victims presenting to a Level I Trauma Center in Middle Tennessee; 2) Compare specific characteristics of gunshot victims to the general Emergency Department (ED) population.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 343,866 ED visits from 2004 to 2009.

Participating in research: attitudes within the African American church.

We assessed associations between pastor and congregant characteristics and congregant attitudes about research participation among African American churches. Respondents shared their attitudes regarding how willing, ready, and confident they were about research participation. The outcome measure, the index of research preparedness, summed responses across the domains of willingness, readiness, and confidence.

Assessing the readiness of black churches to engage in health disparities research.

We assessed church readiness to engage in health disparities research using a newly developed instrument, examined the correlates of readiness, and described strategies that churches used to promote health. We pilot tested the instrument with churches in a church-academic partnership (n = 12). We determined level of readiness to engage in research and assessed correlates of readiness.

Predicting glaucoma diagnosis in an elderly sample: revisiting the established populations for epidemiologic studies of the elderly.

Unlabelled: Though research has examined race as an important factor in defining the scope of glaucoma in the United States, further exploration into other specific factors may help inform the design of preventive services to decrease rates of blindness due to glaucoma among minority groups.

Methods: This study examined glaucoma diagnosis among a sample of elderly patients from the North Carolina Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly.

Results: Caucasians without diabetes are more likely to have a glaucoma diagnosis.

Trends in prostate-specific antigen test use, 2000-2005.

Objective: This study examined prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test use among men and identified sociodemographic and health-related characteristics associated with its use over time.

Methods: The National Health Interview Survey collected information on PSA test use among 16,058 men > or = 40 years of age in 2000 and 2005. We examined two outcomes: (1) having had a recent (within two years) screening PSA test and (2) having had three or more PSA tests in the past five years (to indicate frequent use).

Near miss maternal mortality in a multiethnic population.

Purpose: To determine the impact of ethnicity on "near miss"/severe obstetric morbidity in a multi-ethnic, tertiary care population.

Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional analysis using birth data for 12,774 women with Medicaid who gave birth between January 1994 and January 2005 at Duke University. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to compare ethnic groups and risk factors for severe obstetric morbidity and mortality using codes for conditions corresponding to the WHO definitions of near miss maternal morbidities.