Objective: The authors examined changes in perceived anxiety, stress, and mental health symptoms (i.e., psychological distress) reported by recipients of New York State public mental health services during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as whether these changes varied by demographic characteristics or pandemic-related socioeconomic challenges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough increasingly being recognized as a driver of poor health and health inequities, there is limited research on the pervasive effects of racism on population health. In this editorial, we set the context and invite contributions for a BMC Public Health Collection of articles titled, "Racism as Public Health Crisis."
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo articles recently published in this journal identified racial inequities in routine psychiatric practice. This Open Forum discusses the need for a paradigm shift in inequities research. The two articles reviewed here, one by Shea and colleagues on racial-ethnic inequities in inpatient psychiatric civil commitment and one by Garrett and colleagues on racial-ethnic disparities in psychiatric decisional capacity consultations, are examples of the new research gaze.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLimited empirical data and research exists about stigmatizing attitudes and perceptions held by law enforcement officers towards persons with mental illness and substance use issues. Pre- and post-training survey data from 92 law enforcement personnel who attended a 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training was used to investigate training-related changes in mental illness stigma and substance use stigma. Training participant's mean age was 38.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Racial Ethn Health Disparities
August 2023
Objective: The purpose of this paper was to measure if people with greater "structural literacy," as indicated by greater awareness of racial and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19 impact, would hold fewer negative attitudes against those perceived to be Asian in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A survey was administered between April and August 2020 to participants from two longitudinal cohorts in New York State. The survey assessed anti-Asian attitudes relating to COVID-19, awareness of racial and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19, residential location, socioeconomic status, and other demographic information.
Background: Black women and Latinas in their thirties continue to be at risk for HIV transmission via heterosexual intercourse.
Methods: Informed by the Theory of Gender and Power, this study investigated a longitudinal path model linking experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination in late adolescence to sexual risk behaviors in adulthood among 492 Black women and Latinas. We also tested whether ethnic-racial identity exploration served as a resilience asset protecting women against the psychological impact of ethnic-racial discrimination.
Background: Older persons living with HIV (PLWH) need routine healthcare to manage HIV and other comorbidities. This mixed methods study investigated digital equity, constituted as access, use and quality, of HIV and specialty telehealth services for PLWH > 50 years during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when services transitioned to remote care.
Methods: A survey of closed and open-ended questions was administered to 80 English (N = 63) and Spanish (N = 17) speaking PLWH receiving HIV care at an Academic Medical Center (N = 50) or a Federally Qualified Health Center (N = 30) in New York State.
: Data on Internet utilization is needed, particularly during a time when in-person services are limited or only available virtually. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of Internet use among persons who use drugs and assess adoption of an interactive, risk reduction informational website - . : Participant recruitment occurred in pharmacies participating in the New York State pharmacy syringe access program ( = 209).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This survey examined the experiences of individuals receiving treatment in a large public mental health system during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: The survey, conducted between May and June 2020, assessed four domains: impacts on mental health, experiences with telehealth, access to care and resources, and sources and adequacy of support. Descriptive analyses were conducted.
Addressing racial disparities in health outcomes is an urgent priority for many health care organizations, leading health care managers to explore the potential for organization-level interventions to yield substantive health gains. In recent literature, it is suggested that Black patients who are treated by Black physicians may achieve superior health outcomes in some settings. In this case discussion, we consider a case in which a medical director considers implementing a voluntary program to promote racially concordant care for Black patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The purpose of this study is to assess community pharmacists' attitudes and experiences related to naloxone dispensation and counseling in non-urban areas in New York State to better understand individual and structural factors that influence pharmacy provision of naloxone.
Materials And Methods: The study conducted interviewer-administered semistructured surveys among community pharmacists in retail, independent, and supermarket pharmacies between October 2019 and December 2019. The 29-item survey ascertained pharmacists' demographic and practice characteristics; experiences and beliefs related to naloxone dispensation; and attitudes toward expansion of pharmacy services to include on-site public health services for persons who use opioids.
Homelessness and housing instability undermine engagement in medical care, adherence to treatment and health among persons with HIV/AIDS. However, the processes by which unstable and unsafe housing result in adverse health outcomes remain understudied and are the focus of this manuscript. From 2012 to 2014, we conducted qualitative interviews among inpatients with HIV disengaged from outpatient care (n = 120).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealthcare and social services providers are deemed culturally competent when they offer culturally appropriate care to the populations they serve. While a review of the literature highlights the limited effectiveness of cultural competence training, its value remains largely unchallenged and it is institutionally mandated as a means of decreasing health disparities and improving quality of care. A plethora of trainings are designed to expose providers to different cultures and expand their understanding of the beliefs, values and behavior thus, achieving competence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to investigate predictors of male sexual partner risk among Latinas and Black women in their late thirties. We used multiple regression analysis to examine factors associated with male sexual partner risk among 296 women who participated in two waves of the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study (New York, 2011-2013 and 2014-2016). Women who experienced childhood sexual abuse had higher risk partners than those who did not [b = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomedical HIV prevention uptake has not taken hold among Black and Latinx populations who use street-marketed drugs. A pilot intervention providing a PEP informational video and direct pharmacy access to a PEP starter dose was conducted among this population. Four study pharmacies were selected to help facilitate syringe customer recruitment (2012-2016).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn New York City, over 90% of women newly diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are Black and Latina; a quarter of these infections occur among 30-39 year-olds. A survey was administered to 343 Black and Puerto Rican women (2014-2016) to examine two HIV infection risk factors: relationship exclusivity and having experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA). A majority of male partners (69.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Epidemiologic reports available on synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) have focused on sociodemographics, indicating high prevalence of SC use predominantly among white, relatively affluent, males. However, there is emerging evidence suggesting high SC prevalence among socioeconomically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minority males.
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the risk correlates of SC use among psychosocial vulnerable communities.
HIV-related 'conspiracy beliefs' include ideas about the genocidal origin of HIV and the nature and purpose of HIV-related medications. These ideas have been widely documented as affecting myriad health behaviours and outcomes, including birth control use and HIV testing. Most HIV-related research has quantitatively explored this phenomenon, and further qualitative research is necessary to better understand the complexity of these beliefs as articulated by those who endorse them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite treatment advances that have improved the health and life expectancy of HIV-positive people and contribute to the prevention of HIV transmission, HIV stigma is still frequently experienced by HIV-infected individuals and those close to them. This study investigated the types of HIV-related stigma experienced by HIV-negative adults in serodiscordant heterosexual relationships when their partner's HIV-positive status was revealed to family and friends and their strategies to manage such stigma. In-depth interviews were conducted in New York City with 56 men and 44 women who were HIV negative and had been in a relationship for at least six months with an HIV-positive partner of the opposite sex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany low-income people of color living with HIV are not virally suppressed. More research is needed to understand how socially marginalized, disengaged, or inconsistently engaged people living with HIV (PLWH) contend with antiretroviral therapy (ART)-related challenges, particularly in the context of interactions with HIV care providers. Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with low-income Black and Hispanic PLWH in the New York City area who were currently, or recently, disengaged from outpatient HIV health care at the time of the interview.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe reproductive desires of HIV-positive men have been investigated far less than those of HIV-positive women, especially in the US. This qualitative study of a sample of 94 HIV-positive men in New York City who were in a relationship with a woman of reproductive age examined their reasons for wanting a child as well as the conditions under which they would feel ready to attempt conception. Participants felt a child would make them feel normal, give meaning to their lives, or make others in their life happy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor about 30 years, soon after the onset of the AIDS epidemic, sexual-health messaging has emphasized personal responsibility for using condoms to protect from acquiring or transmitting HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. Those who did not use condoms during casual sexual encounters may therefore feel compelled to offer to others aware of their behavior what sociologists have called "accounts," an impression-management strategy to avoid unfavorable judgment. We analyzed accounts-excuses and justifications-from qualitative interviews with 150 adults who had unprotected sex in the past 3 months with at least two different partners met online (ages 18-50, mean: 33.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeterosexuals' use of the Internet for meeting romantic or sexual partners is rapidly increasing, raising concerns about the Internet's potential to facilitate encounters that place individuals at risk for acquiring HIV or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). For example, online sharing of personal information and self-revelations can foster virtual intimacy, promoting a false sense of familiarity that might accelerate progression to unprotected sex. Therefore, it is critical to understand how those who meet sexual partners online attempt to assess the possible risk of acquiring HIV or STIs posed by having unprotected sex with a new partner and decide whether to use a condom.
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