COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in a small rural southern state: Results of a weighted random sample survey.

Objective: COVID-19 remains a significant health threat to the United States (U.S.) and the world even after the development of effective vaccines.

A longitudinal study of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence and mitigation behaviors among college students at an Arkansas University.

Assess university students' SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence and mitigation behaviors over time. Randomly selected college students ( = 344) in a predominantly rural Southern state. Participants provided blood samples and completed self-administered questionnaires at three timepoints over the academic year.

Adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with global and situational meaning.

COVID-19 has created pervasive upheaval and uncertainty in communities around the world. This investigation evaluated associations between discrete dimensions of personal meaning and psychological adjustment to the pandemic among community residents in a southern US state. In this cross-sectional study, 544 respondents were assessed during a period of reopening but accelerating infection rates.

SARS-CoV-2 Incidence in K-12 School Districts with Mask-Required Versus Mask-Optional Policies - Arkansas, August-October 2021.

Masks are effective at limiting transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (1), but the impact of policies requiring masks in school settings has not been widely evaluated (2-4). During fall 2021, some school districts in Arkansas implemented policies requiring masks for students in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12). To identify any association between mask policies and COVID-19 incidence, weekly school-associated COVID-19 incidence in school districts with full or partial mask requirements was compared with incidence in districts without mask requirements during August 23-October 16, 2021.

Hopelessness and HIV infection: an exploratory study with a gender-specific perspective.

Background: An understudied psychological response to HIV-related stressors among people living with HIV is hopelessness. Hopelessness is the expectation that things will not improve and feeling helpless to change one's current situation. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence and levels of hopelessness and its direct and indirect contributors in people living with HIV in Sweden.

Anxiety, depressive, and trauma symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evaluating the role of disappointment with God.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to pervasive social and economic disruptions. This cross-sectional investigation aimed to evaluate associations between religious/spiritual factors and mental health symptoms among community residents in a southern US state. In particular, we focused on perceptions of God's distance, a salient aspect of religious/spiritual struggle that has received little scrutiny in health research.

National vaccine coverage trends and funding in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Background: From 2006 to 2011 nearly 174,000 deaths were prevented in Latin America and the Caribbean through vaccination of children under five, which is widely attributed to the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Despite near global adoption of EPI recommendations, vaccination coverage shows substantial variation across world regions. Causes for low immunizations within regions are multifaceted and include vaccination program costs.

Mental health outcomes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic: Prevalence and risk factors in a southern US state.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the functioning of individuals and institutions around the world. This cross-sectional registry-based study examined some of the burdens of the pandemic, the prevalence of mental health difficulties, and risk factors for psychosocial morbidity among community residents in Arkansas. The study focused on a period of gradual reopening but rising infection rates.

A Social Network Analysis of Cooperation and Support in an HIV Service Delivery Network for Young Latino MSM in Miami.

: The study aimed to identify HIV prevention, testing, and care services prioritizing young Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) in an HIV service delivery network in Miami-Dade County, Florida, by visually describing structural features and processes of collaboration within and between health and social venues.: The study used cross-sectional data from 40 social and healthcare venues providing goods and services to young Latino MSM. Each venue provided information surrounding HIV-related services provided and collaborations with other venues.

Multiplex Competition, Collaboration, and Funding Networks Among Health and Social Organizations: Toward Organization-based HIV Interventions for Young Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Background: Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have the highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States. Decades into the HIV epidemic, the relationships that YMSM-serving health and social organizations have with one another has not been studied in depth.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the competition, collaboration, and funding source structures of multiplex organization networks and the mechanisms that promote fruitful relationships among these organizations.

Multiplex crack smoking and sexual networks: associations between network members' incarceration and HIV risks among high-risk MSM.

This study examined HIV risks in the multiplex crack-smoking and sexual networks of incarcerated drug-using men who have sex with men (MSM) and their associates. We estimated the associations between the network members' incarceration, self-reported HIV infection, and trading sex for money. Our analytic sample consisted of 508 crack-smoking or sexual partnerships of 273 high-risk MSM.

Project SMART: Preliminary Results From a Test of the Efficacy of a Swedish Internet-Based HIV Risk-Reduction Intervention for Men Who Have Sex With Men.

In Sweden, 57 % of HIV transmission occurs among MSM, and other sexually transmitted infections are increasing, supporting the need for innovative interventions. The Internet is a potentially useful HIV-prevention platform, but there is a lack of such programs in Sweden. The purpose of this exploratory study was to test the efficacy of the Internet-based SMART intervention to decrease HIV sexual risks in Swedish MSM.

The Impact of Comprehensive Pre-visit Preparation on Patient Engagement and Quality of Care in a Population of Underserved Patients with Diabetes: Evidence from the Care Management Medical Home Center Model.

This study evaluated the impact of pre-visit preparation, a key component of Patient-Centered Medical Home guidelines, on compliance with recommended tests and screenings in a diabetic patient population receiving care in Federally Qualified Health Centers in Miami-Dade County. The pre-visit preparation consisted of a pre-visit phone call to review patient compliance with recommended tests and screenings, provide encouragement for self-care goal setting, answer patient questions, assure referrals and tests were scheduled, and notify an in-center patient care team about which services are required at the upcoming visit. Aggregated data from 7 health centers and a cohort analysis of 7491 patients showed significantly higher compliance among those who were successfully contacted prior to the visit compared to those who were not successfully contacted at 24 months for all compliance measures included in the study.

Structural Characteristics of Migrant Farmworkers Reporting a Relationship with a Primary Care Physician.

Migrant farmworkers are disproportionately affected by many adverse health conditions, but access healthcare sparingly. This study of migrant farmworkers examined the distribution and general characteristics associated with having access to healthcare. Access to healthcare was measured by asking whether the participants (N = 413) had a primary care physician.

Venue-Mediated Weak Ties in Multiplex HIV Transmission Risk Networks Among Drug-Using Male Sex Workers and Associates.

Objectives: We investigated the structural characteristics of a multiplex HIV transmission risk network of drug-using male sex workers and their associates.

Methods: Using a sample of 387 drug-using male sex workers and their male and female associates in Houston, Texas, we estimated an exponential random graph model to examine the venue-mediated relationships between individuals, the structural characteristics of relationships not linked to social venues, and homophily. We collected data in 2003 to 2004.

Leadership Qualities Emerging in an Online Social Support Group Intervention.

Technology-delivered interventions addressing a broad range of problems for which clients present for therapy are proliferating. However, little is known of leadership dynamics that emerge in online group interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess the types of leadership qualities that would emerge in an online social support group intervention to improve medication adherence for men with HIV, and to characterize the demographic and psychosocial profiles of leaders.

Care Management Medical Home Center Model: Preliminary Results of a Patient-Centered Approach to Improving Care Quality for Diabetic Patients.

This article presents preliminary findings of the impact of an innovative care management model for diabetic patients. The model was implemented by seven Federally Qualified Health Centers serving 10,000 diabetic patients in Miami-Dade County. A primary intervention of this model is a centralized care management team that makes previsit phone calls to diabetic patients who have scheduled appointments.

A network analysis of relationship dynamics in sexual dyads as correlates of HIV risk misperceptions among high-risk MSM.

Objectives: Relationship dynamics influence the perception of HIV risk in sexual dyads. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of relational dynamics on knowledge or perception of a partner's HIV status in a sample of most at-risk men who have sex with men (MSM): drug-using male sex workers. The study identified relationship dimensions and examined their association with misperceptions about a particular partner's HIV status.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Sexual Network Mixing: A Log-Linear Analysis of HIV Status by Partnership and Sexual Behavior Among Most at-Risk MSM.

Mixing patterns within sexual networks have been shown to have an effect on HIV transmission, both within and across groups. This study examined sexual mixing patterns involving HIV-unknown status and risky sexual behavior conditioned on assortative/dissortative mixing by race/ethnicity. The sample used for this study consisted of drug-using male sex workers and their male sex partners.

Feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of an online peer-to-peer social support ART adherence intervention.

This study describes the results of an online social support intervention, called "Thrive with Me" (TWM), to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. HIV-positive gay or bisexually-identified men self-reporting imperfect ART adherence in the past month were randomized to receive usual care (n = 57) or the eight-week TWM intervention (n = 67). Self-reported ART outcome measures (0-100 % in the past month) were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up.

Sexual and geographic organisation of men who have sex with men in a large East African city: opportunities for outreach.

Objectives: To describe geographical and dispersion patterns of men who have sex with men (MSM)-related venues in a large East African city and their associations with times, participants and venue type.

Methods: Mapping of MSM sites in Dar es Salaam was carried out by community research workers who catalogued, observed and reported data on venue sites, formality, times of operation, type of participant, police or vigilante activity, length of operation and the degree to which it is known both in and outside the MSM and gay communities.

Results: There is a large and widely disseminated MSM/gay satellite cultures of at least 98 sites, which has some formal sites, but is largely informal and operates within mixed entertainment environments and at particular times (including some weekend-only locales) across the city.

Dimensions of gender relations and reproductive health inequity perceived by female undergraduate students in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam: a qualitative exploration.

Introduction: Increasing evidence indicates that gender equity has a significant influence on women's health; yet few culturally specific indicators of gender relations exist which are applicable to health. This study explores dimensions of gender relations perceived by female undergraduate students in southern Vietnamese culture, and qualitatively examines how this perceived gender inequity may influence females' sexual or reproductive health.

Methods: Sixty-two female undergraduate students from two universities participated in eight focus group discussions to talk about their perspectives regarding national and local gender equity issues.

Perceived gender inequality, sexual communication self-efficacy, and sexual behaviour among female undergraduate students in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

Background: Worldwide, the literature on sexual behaviour has documented associations between gender-based relationship inequality and sexual communication ability and the actual use of condoms or other contraceptives among young women. This study aimed to examine these associations among undergraduate female students in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 1181 female third-year students from two universities in the Mekong Delta was conducted.

Factors associated with past research participation among low-income persons living with HIV.

We described influences on past research participation among low-income persons living with HIV (PLWH) and examined whether such influences differed by study type. We analyzed a convenience sample of individuals from a large, urban clinic specializing in treating low-income PLWH. Using a computer-assisted survey, we elicited perceptions of research and participating in research, barriers, benefits, "trigger" influences, and self-efficacy in participating in research.