Using Facebook Advertisements for Women's Health Research: Methodology and Outcomes of an Observational Study.

Background: Recruitment of diverse populations for health research studies remains a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges by limiting in-person recruitment efforts and placing additional demands on potential participants. Social media, through the use of Facebook advertisements, has the potential to address recruitment challenges.

The Creation of a Program of Engagement and Outreach for COVID-19 Among African Americans Through Community-Academic Partnerships.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. Over a 7-week period in late 2020, with funding from the NC Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, the West Greenville Health Council (WGHC), a community-academic, non-profit partnership, engaged and activated a 27-member organizational partnership network for COVID-19 health communication and personal protective equipment (PPE) distribution in African American communities in Eastern North Carolina.

Cervical Cancer Screening Behaviors and Perceptions of Medical Mistrust among Rural Black and White Women.

Background: This study examined the relationship of medical mistrust using the Group-based Medical Mistrust Scale (GBMMS), and Papanicolaou testing behaviors among rural Black and White women.

Methods: Utilizing a convenience sample, a cross-sectional study was performed. Inclusion criteria included self-identification as a non-Hispanic Black or White woman, at least 21 years of age, and a resident of one of the selected counties in the region.

Comparison of Cancer Fatalism Among Rural Smokers and Nonsmokers.

This study examined the relationship of cancer fatalism, using the Powe Fatalism Inventory (PFI), and smoking status (active smoker and nonsmoker) among rural adults. Utilizing a convenience sample, a cross-sectional study was performed. Inclusion criteria included being at least 18 years of age and a resident of one of the selected counties in the rural region.

Organizational-Level Recruitment of Barbershops as Health Promotion Intervention Study Sites: Addressing Health Disparities Among Black Men.

This article describes the process and results associated with the organizational-level recruitment of Black barbershops into Fitness in the Shop (FITShop), a 6-month barbershop-based intervention study designed to promote physical activity among Black men. Organizational-level recruitment activities included (1) a telephone call to prospective barbershop owners to assess their interest and eligibility for participation, (2) an organizational eligibility letter sent to all interested and eligible barbershops, (3) a visit to interested and eligible barbershops, where a culturally sensitive informational video was shown to barbershop owners to describe the study activities and share testimonies from trusted community stakeholders, and (4) a signed agreement with barbershop owners and barbers, which formalized the organizational partnership. Structured interviews were conducted with owners of a total of 14 enrolled barbershops, representing 30% of those determined to be eligible and interested.

Residential Segregation and Racial Cancer Disparities: A Systematic Review.

Background: This paper provides the first review of empirical studies of segregation and black-white cancer disparities.

Methods: We searched all years of PubMed (through May 2016) using these terms: racial segregation, residential segregation, neighborhood racial composition (first terms) and (second terms) cancer incidence, mortality, survival, stage at diagnosis, screening. The 17 (of 668) articles that measured both segregation and a cancer outcome were retained.

Rural Shop-Based Health Program Planning: a Formative Research Approach Among Owners.

African American barbershops and beauty salons are settings that have been identified as a significant and culturally relevant venue to reach minority populations for health promotion activities. By being located in almost every town in the USA, this setting is a viable means to promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans. The purpose of this formative research project was to assess African American barbershop and beauty salon owners' perceptions of providing health promotion programming in their shops, as well as to obtain information on health topics of interest and strategies for implementation.

Estimating the Prevalence of Heat-Related Symptoms and Sun Safety-Related Behavior among Latino Farmworkers in Eastern North Carolina.

In hot weather, thermal heat generated by the body, combined with environmental heat from the sun, can lead outdoor workers to experience heat-related stress, severe illness, or even death. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of heat-related symptoms and potential risk factors associated with sun safety-related behavior among Latino farmworkers. Data from interviewer-administered questionnaires were collected from a cross-sectional survey among farmworkers (N = 158) from August to September 2013.

Residential Segregation and Overweight/Obesity Among African-American Adults: A Critical Review.

The relationship between residential segregation and overweight/obesity among African-American adults remains unclear. Elucidating that relationship is relevant to efforts to prevent and to reduce racial disparities in obesity. This article provides a critical review of the 11 empirical studies of segregation and overweight/obesity among African-American adults.

Self-rated health, objective health, and racial discrimination among African-Americans: Explaining inconsistent findings and testing health pessimism.

African-Americans sometimes rate their health as Poor/Fair in the absence of chronic diseases. Theoretically, this lack of correspondence between self-rated health and objective health is due to racial discrimination that results in rating one's health negatively and in terms of social rather than health variables. We tested this Health Pessimism model with 2118 African-Americans.

Using the PRECEDE Planning Approach to Develop a Physical Activity Intervention for African American Men Who Visit Barbershops: Results From the FITShop Study.

African American (AA) men have a higher prevalence of many chronic disease risk behaviors compared to Caucasian men, including physical inactivity. Innovative ways to reach AA men with interventions to increase physical activity (PA) and decrease other key risk factors are needed to reduce health disparities in this population. The barbershop is a natural but underutilized setting for reaching AA men.

Molecular characterization of field resistance to Fusarium head blight in two US soft red winter wheat cultivars.

In the soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) regions of the US, Fusarium head blight (FHB, caused by Fusarium spp.) resistance derived from locally adapted germplasm has been used predominantly.

Marker-trait associations in Virginia Tech winter barley identified using genome-wide mapping.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) provide an opportunity to examine the genetic architecture of quantitatively inherited traits in breeding populations. The objectives of this study were to use GWAS to identify chromosome regions governing traits of importance in six-rowed winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) germplasm and to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers that can be implemented in a marker-assisted breeding program.