Widening Racial Disparities in the US Overdose Epidemic.

Introduction: . More Americans died in 2021 from drug overdose than from vehicle accidents and firearms combined. Unlike earlier phases, the current epidemic is marked by its disproportionate impact on communities of color.

The quality of telemedicine consultations for sexually transmitted infections in China.

The burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continues to increase in developing countries like China, but the access to STI care is often limited. The emergence of direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine offers unique opportunities for patients to directly access health services when needed. However, the quality of STI care provided by telemedicine platforms remains unknown.

Sexual and Gender Minority Invisibility in Cancer Studies: A Call for Effective Recruitment Methods to Address Cancer Disparities.

#LGBTQ+ people with cancer are invisibilized: A call for #intersectional cancer research (link here) #healthequity

An Incognito Standardized Patient Approach for Measuring and Reducing Intersectional Healthcare Stigma.

Background: Consistent evidence highlights the role of stigma in impairing healthcare access in people living with HIV (PLWH), men who have sex with men (MSM), and people with both identities. We developed an incognito standardized patient (SP) approach to obtain observations of providers to inform a tailored, relevant, and culturally appropriate stigma reduction training. Our pilot cluster randomized control trial assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of an intervention to reduce HIV stigma, anti-gay stigma, and intersectional stigma.

Experiences of American Health Departments, Health Systems, and Community Organizations in COVID-19 Vaccine Provision for Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant Communities.

Effective provision of COVID-19 vaccines could mitigate the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by many immigrant communities. To describe organizational experiences in using COVID-19 vaccination programs, qualitative interviews were conducted from September 2020 to April 2021 with representatives from public health, health system, and community organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic among immigrant communities across the United States. Interviews followed a semistructured interview guide and were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded.

Understanding COVID-19 Health Disparities With Birth Country and Language Data.

Introduction: Understanding of COVID-19-related disparities in the U.S. is largely informed by traditional race/ethnicity categories that mask important social group differences.

"Beyond just the four walls of the clinic": The roles of health systems caring for refugee, immigrant and migrant communities in the United States.

Unlabelled: This article is part of the Research Topic 'Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict'.

Introduction: Refugee, immigrant and migrant (hereafter referred to as "immigrant") communities have been inequitably affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is little data to help us understand the perspectives of health systems on their role, in collaboration with public health and community-based organizations, in addressing inequities for immigrant populations.

Evaluation of Preferred Language and Timing of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Disease Outcomes.

Importance: Beyond traditional race and ethnicity demographic characteristics, additional discrete data variables are needed for informed health interventions in the US.

Objective: To examine whether COVID-19 vaccine uptake patterns and associated disease outcomes differ among language preference groups.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cohort study of 851 410 individuals aged 18 years or older in a large multispecialty health system in Minnesota and western Wisconsin was conducted between December 15, 2020, and March 31, 2022.

Sexual mixing patterns in men who have sex with men: network approaches for smart resource allocation.

Background: Age-based sexual mixing patterns in men who have sex with men (MSM) can greatly inform strategic allocation of intervention resources to subsets of the population for the purpose of preventing the greatest number of new HIV infections.

Methods: Egocentric network data collected from MSM participating in annual HIV sentinel surveillance surveys were used to assess age-dependent mixing and to explore its epidemiological implications on the risk of HIV transmission risk (among those HIV-infected) and HIV acquisition risk (among those not infected).

Results: Mixing in this sample of 1605 Chinese MSM is relatively age assortative (the average of values expressing the degree of preferential mixing were 2.

Evaluation of Strategies to Improve Uptake of Expedited Partner Therapy for Treatment in Minnesota: A Decision Analytic Model.

Unlabelled: Despite the established effectiveness of expedited partner therapy (EPT) in partner treatment of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STI), the practice is underutilized. To estimate the relative effectiveness of strategies to increase EPT uptake (numbers of partners treated for chlamydia). We developed a care cascade model of cumulative probabilities to estimate the number of partners treated under strategies to increase EPT uptake in Minnesota.

Longitudinal Trajectories of Alcohol Use in Vietnamese Adults with Hazardous Alcohol Use and HIV.

A three-armed drinking cessation trial in Vietnam found that both a brief and intensive version of an intervention effectively reduced hazardous drinking in people living with HIV. We used group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) to assess the extent to which findings may vary by latent subgroups distinguished by their unique responses to the intervention. Using data on drinking patterns collected over the 12 months, GBTM identified five trajectory groups, three of which were suboptimal ["non-response" (17.

Biomedical contraceptives and their association with condom use consistency among female sex workers in China: Results from a national cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To characterize contraceptive needs and patterns of use among Chinese FSW and investigate the effect of contraceptive choice on condom use practices with clients.

Methods: Data come from a cross-sectional study conducted in eight cities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Kunming, Jiaozhou, Yunfu, Xiangyang and Longnan) throughout seven provinces in China between August 17 and October 17, 2019. We used logistic regression to compare odds of consistent condom use with clients between FSW who do and do not use biomedical contraceptives (defined as oral pills, injectables/implants/patches/rings, intrauterine devices, and sterilization) and assessed subgroup effects of interest.

Correction: Expanding syphilis test uptake using rapid dual self-testing for syphilis and HIV among men who have sex with men in China: A multiarm randomized controlled trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.

A Statewide Mixed-Methods Study of Provider Knowledge and Behavior Administering Expedited Partner Therapy for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.

Background: Expedited partner therapy (EPT) refers to the practice of having patients diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea deliver medication directly to their partner(s) to treat them presumptively for infection. Although EPT facilitates timely treatment and prevents reinfection, it remains underused. We used findings from key informant interviews to design and implement a statewide survey to estimate knowledge and utilization of EPT and to identify barriers and facilitators to EPT among Minnesota providers.

Cognitive factors influenced physical distancing adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic in a population-specific way.

Even early in the COVID-19 pandemic, adherence to physical distancing measures was variable, exposing some communities to elevated risk. While cognitive factors from the Health Belief Model (HBM) and resilience correlate with compliance with physical distancing, external conditions may preclude full compliance with physical distancing guidelines. Our objective was to identify HBM and resilience constructs that could be used to improve adherence to physical distancing even when full compliance is not possible.

Expanding syphilis test uptake using rapid dual self-testing for syphilis and HIV among men who have sex with men in China: A multiarm randomized controlled trial.

Background: Low syphilis testing uptake is a major public health issue among men who have sex with men (MSM) in many low- and middle-income countries. Syphilis self-testing (SST) may complement and extend facility-based testing. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and costs of providing SST on increasing syphilis testing uptake among MSM in China.

Sexualized Drug Use Among Female Sex Workers from Eight Cities in China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

There is a rich literature on sexualized drug use (i.e., drug use before or during sex) for men who have sex with men but less data from female sex workers (FSW), particularly from low- and middle-income countries.

The Value and Interpretation of Race and Ethnicity Data in the Era of Global Migration: A Change Is in Order.

Human migration and travel are leading to increasingly diverse populations throughout the world. Data collection practices need to adapt to these changes to expand our understanding of health disparities and to optimize the efforts to address health equity, particularly during public health emergencies such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Race and ethnicity classifications in the United States have failed to evolve since the 1970s despite an increasingly diverse population.

Gay Dating Apps in China: Do They Alleviate or Exacerbate Loneliness? The Serial Mediation Effect of Perceived and Internalized Sexuality Stigma.

Gay dating apps have become increasingly popular and been intensively used. However, studies that closely examine the effects of gay dating app usage on mental health outcomes are few. This study tackles an unsolved question on whether gay dating apps alleviate or exacerbate loneliness through perceptions of sexuality stigma.

Spatiotemporal analysis of 11 years of data from southern China.

Background: Urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) globally. Reviews suggest high and persistently endemic STI epidemics in low and middle income countries. However population-based prevalence estimates in these settings are less common, underscoring the need for analyses of available data to characterize patterns of disease burden.

Health, economic, and social implications of COVID-19 for China's rural population.

This study examines the effects of local and nationwide COVID-19 disease control measures on the health and economy of China's rural population. We conducted phone surveys with 726 randomly selected village informants across seven rural Chinese provinces in February 2020. Four villages (0.

Sexual Health Influencer Distribution of HIV/Syphilis Self-Tests Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in China: Secondary Analysis to Inform Community-Based Interventions.

Background: Social network-based strategies can expand HIV/syphilis self-tests among men who have sex with men (MSM). Sexual health influencers are individuals who are particularly capable of spreading information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) within their social networks. However, it remains unknown whether a sexual health influencer can encourage their peers to self-test for HIV/syphilis.

Evaluation of work resumption strategies after COVID-19 reopening in the Chinese city of Shenzhen: a mathematical modeling study.

Objectives: As China is facing a potential second wave of the epidemic, we reviewed and evaluated the intervention measures implemented in a major metropolitan city, Shenzhen, during the early phase of Wuhan lockdown.

Study Design: Based on the classic SEITR model and combined with population mobility, a compartmental model was constructed to simulate the transmission of COVID-19 and disease progression in the Shenzhen population.

Methods: Based on published epidemiological data on COVID-19 and population mobility data from Baidu Qianxi, we constructed a compartmental model to evaluate the impact of work and traffic resumption on the epidemic in Shenzhen in various scenarios.