Objective: To understand the perspectives of key informant experts regarding the relationship between food insecurity and gestational diabetes mellitus risk reduction behaviors among young American Indian and Alaska Native females.
Methods: Participants were adult key informants with expertise in food/nutrition and health within Tribal communities (N = 58) across the US. Data were collected through 1:1 interviews using a semistructured moderator guide and analyzed using thematic content analysis methods.
Objective: Universal screening and counseling are recommended for alcohol use during pregnancy, but no prior study has examined differences in prenatal counseling by race or ethnicity. We used Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data to assess differences in provision of counseling on prenatal alcohol use between American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) women during prenatal care.
Methods: We analyzed data from 2014-2015 from the four PRAMS states with the highest number of births to AI/AN women: Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Washington.
American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) are disproportionately impacted by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), subsequent type 2 diabetes, and food insecurity. It is prudent to decrease risk of GDM prior to pregnancy to decrease the intergenerational cycle of diabetes in AI/AN communities. The purpose of this project is to describe and examine food insecurity, healthy eating self-efficacy, and healthy eating behaviors among AI/AN females (12-24 years old) as related to GDM risk reduction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Attitudes about alcohol misuse and dependence influence alcohol use and help-seeking behavior. Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) people have higher rates of alcohol-related morbidity and mortality but engage in treatment at lower rates than the general population. No validated instruments exist to assess attitudes of AN/AI people about alcohol misuse and dependence to inform treatment and prevention efforts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To examine risk factors for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and factors associated with breastfeeding patterns among women with GDM from different racial/ethnic groups.
Methods: We used data from Phase 8 (2016-2018) of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. We used logistic regression to estimate factors associated with GDM and with breastfeeding initiation, and conducted survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves, and Cox proportional hazards regression to analyze early cessation of breastfeeding.
Objectives: Our aim was to assess the cross-sectional associations between food insecurity and cardiometabolic health indicators in American Indian young adults compared with non-Hispanic white, black, Asian or Pacific Islander and Hispanic young adults.
Design: Data from the fourth wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were used. Variables included a self-assessed measure of risk of food insecurity, indicators of cardiometabolic health (body mass index, haemoglobin A1c, blood pressure) and sociodemographic characteristics.
Background: Studies have demonstrated relations between food insecurity, the lack of access to enough nutritious food, and greater risk of diet-sensitive chronic diseases. However, most prior evidence relies on cross-sectional studies and self-reported disease.
Objectives: The objective was to assess the longitudinal relation between risk of food insecurity in young adulthood and changes in diet-sensitive cardiometabolic health outcomes across 10 y among non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Hispanic adults.
Objective: To explore the perspectives of urban-dwelling American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) older adults regarding determinants of healthy eating, food insecurity, and opportunities for an urban clinic to improve resources.
Methods: Semistructured interviews (n = 24) with older adults (aged ≥ 60 years) at 1 urban AI/AN serving clinic. Telephone-based interviews were audio-recorded, professionally transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.
This study aimed to quantify and examine reproductive healthcare denials experienced by individuals receiving employer-sponsored health insurance. We conducted a national cross-sectional survey using probability and non-probability-based panels from December 2019-January 2020. Eligible respondents were adults employed by any Standard and Poor's 500 company, who received employer-sponsored health insurance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) adults have a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related complications than non-AI/AN adults. As healthy eating is a cornerstone of diabetes self-management, nutrition education plays an important role in diabetes self-management education.
Objective: To understand stakeholder perspectives on facilitators and barriers to healthy eating for AI/AN adults with T2D in order to inform the cultural adaptation of an existing diabetes nutrition education curriculum.
Introduction: Estimates of prenatal alcohol use among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women are limited. This study sought to characterize pre-pregnancy and prenatal alcohol use among AI/AN women in the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) dataset, evaluate variation in alcohol use by state and rural/urban residence, and evaluate associations between potential risk factors and prenatal alcohol use among AI/AN and non-Hispanic white (NHW) women.
Methods: We pooled PRAMS data from five states (Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Washington) from 2015 to 2017.
J Health Care Poor Underserved
May 2021
Indigenous peoples experience a disparate burden of chronic diseases and lower access to health education resources compared with other populations. Technology can increase access to health education resources, potentially reducing health inequities in these vulnerable populations. Although many Indigenous communities have limited access to the Internet, this barrier is decreasing as tribes and Indigenous-serving organizations work to improve TechQuity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Little is known about the association of psychosocial factors with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among American Indians with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study described functional social support, emotional support, coping, resilience, post-traumatic stress disorder, and HRQoL, among American Indians by diabetes status and, among those with diabetes, examined the association of these factors with HRQoL.
Methods: Using data from the Cherokee Nation Health Survey collected between 2017 and 2019, we evaluated differences in each measure of interest according to diabetes status, using t-test and Chi-squared tests of association.
Objectives: Postpartum tubal ligation provides demonstrated benefits to women, but access to this procedure is threatened by restrictions at Catholic healthcare institutions. We aimed to understand how insured employees assign responsibility for postpartum sterilization denial and how it impacts their view of the quality of care provided.
Study Design: We conducted a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of employees at Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 companies utilizing a dual panel drawn from Amerispeak, a probability-based research panel, and a non-probability panel.
Background: Psychological stress and coping experienced during pregnancy can have important effects on maternal and infant health, which can also vary by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Therefore, we assessed stressors, coping behaviors, and resources needed in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of 162 perinatal (125 pregnant and 37 postpartum) women in the United States.
Methods: A mixed-methods study captured quantitative responses regarding stressors and coping, along with qualitative responses to open-ended questions regarding stress and resources needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM
February 2020
Background: Despite millions of U.S. women receiving obstetric/gynecologic or reproductive care in a hospital each year, little is known about which factors matter most to women in choosing a hospital for this care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerspect Sex Reprod Health
December 2020
Context: Although one in four U.S. women has an abortion in her lifetime, barriers to abortion persist, including distance to care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo examine risk factors for elevated blood pressure and hypertension in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), compared to three other ethnic groups in the US. Weighted relative risk regression models, stratified by race/ethnicity, were used to measure the associations between risk factors and elevated blood pressure and hypertension in AI/ANs, compared to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics, with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. In all groups, females had a lower risk of both elevated blood pressure and hypertension than males.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Although abortion is common in the United States, patients face substantial barriers to obtaining an abortion. Recently enacted abortion restrictions pose such barriers.
Objectives: To assess the association between a state legislative climate that is highly restrictive toward abortion provision and the abortion rate and to evaluate whether distance to a facility providing abortion care mediates the association between legislative climate and the abortion rate.
Objective: To explore stakeholder perspectives regarding online diabetes nutrition education for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Design: Qualitative data were collected through focus groups and interviews. Focus group participants completed a brief demographic and internet use survey.
Context: Abortion is generally prohibited in Catholic hospitals, but less is known about abortion restrictions in other religiously affiliated health care facilities. As religiously affiliated health systems expand in the United States, it is important to understand how religious restrictions affect the practices of providers who treat pregnant patients.
Methods: From September 2016 to May 2018, in-depth interviews were conducted with 31 key informants (clinical providers, ethicists, chaplains and health system administrators) with experience working in secular, Protestant or Catholic health care systems in Illinois.
Menstruation frequently poses psychological, social, and health challenges for young women living in low- and middle-income countries. In countries such as India, where menstruation is stigmatised, it can be particularly difficult. This paper examines challenges related to menstruation for young women living in slums in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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