Associations of Minority Stressors, Alcohol Use Disorder, Resilience, and HIV Testing Self-Efficacy Among Community-Based Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in a Southern U.S. City: A Causal Mediation and Moderation Analysis.

Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) face multiple minority stressors (e.g., homophobia, racism, and presumed HIV status) that may indirectly erode their confidence in pursuing HIV testing uptake through exacerbating alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Understanding the potential implementation determinants of Our Plan: a couples-based digital human immunodeficiency virus prevention intervention for same-gender male couples.

Background: There has been a proliferation of digital health interventions (DHIs) focused on addressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment outcomes, including couples-based interventions with same-gender male couples. However, the barriers and facilitators of implementing couples-based HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention interventions using digital platforms in community-based organizations remains largely unknown. The goal of this study was to explore the implementation determinants of Our Plan, a couples-based DHI designed for new relationships of same-gender male couples and dyadic, sexual partnerships.

Factors Associated with Planned Future Use of PrEP in the Next 3 Months and Likelihood to Use PrEP Among Black Cisgender HIV-negative Women in Texas.

Identifying and then addressing barriers and leveraging facilitators is important to help increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among Black women vulnerable to HIV acquisition. The present cross-sectional study examined what factors were associated with future plans to use PrEP, and general likelihood to use it among a convenience sample of 152 adult, Black cisgender women from three metropolitan areas in Texas. The final multivariable logistic regression model revealed that relationship status (aOR = 0.

"Our Community Comes First": Investigating Recruitment Ads That Represent and Appeal to Black Women for Online, HIV-Related Research Studies.

Background: Black women are underrepresented in health-related research. Consulting Black women in the creation of recruitment materials may help increase their representation in research studies, but few of these recruitment materials have been evaluated. This manuscript reports on the impact of two ads (one featuring older women and one featuring younger women) created through multiple focus group sessions with Black women.

HIV Prevention Intervention-related Research with Adult, Sexual Minority Hispanic Men in the United States: A Systematic Review.

The systematic review describes aims to synthesize the HIV prevention intervention-related research conducted among adult, US sexual minority Hispanic men since 2012. Following PRISMA guidelines, 15 articles representing 14 studies were included in the review: 4 randomized controlled trials, 5 pilots, and 5 formative projects. Two interventions had PrEP-related outcomes whereas 7 focused on behavioral (e.

Use of Stated Preference Methods in HIV Treatment and Prevention Research in the United States: A Systematic Review.

Stated preference (SP) methods are increasingly being applied to HIV-related research and continuously provide researchers with health utility scores of select healthcare products or services that populations consider important. Following PRISMA guidelines, we sought to understand how SP methods have been applied in HIV-related research. We conducted a systematic review to identify studies meeting the following criteria: SP method is clearly stated, conducted in the United States, was published between 01/01/2012 and 02/12/2022, and included adults aged 18 and over.

Dimensions of Sexual Health Conversations among U.S. Black Heterosexual Couples.

Sexual health communication is an important feature of healthy intimate relationships; however, some couples may avoid discussing difficult matters (e.g., HIV/STI testing, sexual satisfaction) to minimize interpersonal conflict.

Evidence and implication of interventions across various socioecological levels to address pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake and adherence among men who have sex with men in the United States: a systematic review.

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) represents a proven biomedical strategy to prevent HIV transmissions among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States (US). Despite the design and implementation of various PrEP-focus interventions in the US, aggregated evidence for enhancing PrEP uptake and adherence is lacking. The objective of this systematic review is to synthesize and evaluate interventions aimed to improve PrEP uptake and adherence among MSM in the US, and identify gaps with opportunities to inform the design and implementation of future PrEP interventions for these priority populations.

Perspectives on a Couples-Based, e-Health HIV Prevention Toolkit Intervention: A Qualitative Dyadic Study with Black, Heterosexual Couples in New York State.

Web-based technology provides an unparalleled opportunity to increase access and uptake of couples-based HIV prevention interventions. e-Health HIV prevention interventions for US Black heterosexual couples have largely been understudied. To address this gap, we applied the Assessment Phase of the ADAPT-ITT Framework to investigate Black heterosexual couples' perspectives on an existing e-Health, couples-based HIV prevention intervention.

Efficacy of a Telehealth Delivered Couples' HIV Counseling and Testing (CHTC) Intervention to Improve Formation and Adherence to Safer Sexual Agreements Among Male Couples in the US: Results from a Randomized Control Trial.

This paper reports the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the efficacy of Nexus, a telehealth delivered intervention that combines Couples' HIV counseling and testing (CHTC) with home-based HIV-testing, examining the impact of the intervention on the couples' formation and adherence to safer sexual agreements. Between 2016 and 2018, 424 couples were recruited online from the U.S and randomized to the intervention arm (a telehealth delivered CHTC session with two home HIV-testing kits) or a control arm (two home HIV-testing kits), with study assessments at baseline, 3 and 6 months.

HIV Prevention Research With U.S. Military Service Members: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: With the goal of maintaining mission readiness, the U.S. Department of Defense monitors a variety of health behaviors among its active duty military service members, including sexual health, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections.

Dyadic effects of enacted stigma, internalized homophobia, and communal coping on depressive symptoms among cisgender sexual minority male couples.

The present study investigated the dyadic direct and indirect effects of enacted stigma on depressive symptoms via internalized homophobia and whether communal coping moderated the effects of enacted stigma on internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms. Hypotheses were tested using actor-partner interdependence models with a sample of 543 cisgender sexual minority male couples. Results showed both partners' enacted stigma experiences were associated with elevated levels of internalized homophobia via actor and partner effects.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Stigma and Beliefs in the Efficacy of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: An Analysis of a Cross-Sectional Survey of Male Couples in the United States.

Increasing the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among male couples is critical to the success of the United States' Ending the HIV Epidemic campaign. By leveraging dyadic data from a larger cross-sectional study of male couples, the present analysis examined individual, partner, and relationship characteristics associated with PrEP stigma and perceived efficacy of PrEP. Actor-Partner Independence Models were fit separately for both outcomes.

Partner Support and Communication for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Use Among Male Couples.

Between one to two-thirds of HIV infections among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men are from primary partners, and there has been increased research attention focused on strategies to increase PrEP adoption among male couples. While there is evidence that partner support is a strong correlate of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adoption, there has been a lack of attention on PrEP communication dynamics among male couples. In this paper, we build upon this literature through analysis of dyadic data from a large cross-sectional survey of 543 concordant sero-negative and serodiscordant male couples to examine individual and relationship factors associated with reports of partner communication around PrEP, comfort in discussing PrEP, and perceived partner-level support for PrEP use.

Dyadic Influences on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Use and Attitudes Among Male Couples.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) affords an opportunity to significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection among male couples. We used cross-sectional dyadic data from 382 concordant-negative male couples to examine demographic and relationship characteristics associated with current PrEP use, willingness to use PrEP in the future, and perceived ability to adhere to PrEP using Actor-Partner Independence Models. Few partnered men reported currently using PrEP (16.

Effectiveness of mHealth Interventions for Improving Contraceptive Use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.

Background: mHealth interventions are being tested to improve contraceptive uptake in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, the effectiveness of these interventions has not been systematically reviewed.

Objectives: The primary objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of mHealth interventions to improve contraceptive uptake and adherence in LMICs. A second objective was to identify mHealth features and behavior change communication components used in these mHealth interventions.

Analysis of Male Couples' Sexual Agreements After Using an eHealth, Couples-Based HIV Prevention Intervention in Lima, Peru.

Few studies have investigated the composition of male couples' sexual agreements and whether their agreement composition differs by dyad HIV serostatus. To help assess the utility that agreements could have for sexual health and prevention, the present study analyzed dyadic paradata collected from an acceptability project of an eHealth HIV prevention toolkit intervention with 42 male couples in Lima, Peru (16 serodiscordant, 12 seroconcordant positive, 14 seroconcordant negative). Couples used the toolkit as designed, which included an agreement builder activity to encourage formation of a tailored agreement by selecting items from five categories (wellness, sex with partner, sex with others, social etiquette, substance use).

Reducing HIV Risk Behaviors Among Black Women Living With and Without HIV/AIDS in the U.S.: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review provides an examination of the status of HIV/AIDS prevention interventions for Black, heterosexual women in the U.S. from 2012 to 2019.

Perceived facilitators of decision-making and usage of biomedical HIV prevention strategies: findings from an online, qualitative study with same-gender male couples in the United States.

The early stages of gay and bisexual men's relationships are a critical period for communicating about HIV prevention strategies. This study sought to: (1) explore facilitators to decision-making to use prevention strategies and (2) describe the prevention strategies being used by same-gender male couples in new relationships. Individual interviews were conducted with 76 partnered men, representing 37 couples and 2 individuals.

Percutaneous CT-Guided Cryoablation of the Celiac Plexus: A Retrospective Cohort Comparison with Ethanol.

Purpose: To retrospectively analyze and compare the incidence of diarrhea in patients who underwent cryoablation of the celiac plexus for intractable abdominal pain versus ethanol therapy over a 5-year period.

Materials And Methods: From June 2014 to August 2019, 83 patients were identified who underwent neurolysis of the celiac plexus for management of intractable abdominal pain by using either cryoablation (n = 39 [59% female; age range, 36-79 years old [average, 60 ± 11 years old]) or alcohol (n = 44 [48% female; age range, 29-76 years old [average, 60 ± 12 years old]). Pain scores and reports of procedure-related complications or side effects, with special attention to diarrhea and/or other gastrointestinal symptoms, were collected from follow-up visits at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months post-intervention and were compared between groups.

Percutaneous CT-Guided Cryoablation of the Bilateral Pudendal Nerves for Palliation of Intractable Pain Related to Pelvic Neoplasms.

Objectives: The purpose of this report is to describe the effect of computed tomography-guided bilateral pudendal nerve cryoablations on pain and time to discharge in the setting of acute hospitalizations secondary to refractory pelvic pain from cancer.

Methods: Investigators queried the medical record for patients who underwent pudendal nerve cryoablation using the Category III Current Procedural Technology code assignment 0442T or Category I code 64640 for cases prior to 2015. The resulting list was reviewed, and procedures performed on inpatients for intractable pelvic pain related to neoplasm were selected.

Collection and Handling of Thoracic Small Biopsy and Cytology Specimens for Ancillary Studies: Guideline From the College of American Pathologists in Collaboration With the American College of Chest Physicians, Association for Molecular Pathology, American Society of Cytopathology, American Thoracic Society, Pulmonary Pathology Society, Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology, Society of Interventional Radiology, and Society of Thoracic Radiology.

Context.—: The need for appropriate specimen use for ancillary testing has become more commonplace in the practice of pathology. This, coupled with improvements in technology, often provides less invasive methods of testing, but presents new challenges to appropriate specimen collection and handling of these small specimens, including thoracic small biopsy and cytology samples.

Recommendations From a Descriptive Evaluation to Improve Screening Procedures for Web-Based Studies With Couples: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Although there are a number of advantages to using the internet to recruit and enroll participants into Web-based research studies, these advantages hinge on data validity. In response to this concern, researchers have provided recommendations for how best to screen for fraudulent survey entries and to handle potentially invalid responses. Yet, the majority of this previous work focuses on screening (ie, verification that individual met the inclusion criteria) and validating data from 1 individual, and not from 2 people who are in a dyadic relationship with one another (eg, same-sex male couple; mother and daughter).