Pain Care Disparities and the Use of Virtual Care Among Racial-Ethnic Minority Groups During COVID-19.

Background And Objective: COVID-19 led to an unprecedented reliance on virtual modalities to maintain care continuity for patients living with chronic pain. We examined whether there were disparities in virtual specialty pain care for racial-ethnic minority groups during COVID-19.

Design And Participants: This was a retrospective national cohort study with two comparison groups: primary care patients with chronic pain seen immediately prior to COVID-19 (3/1/19-2/29/20) (N = 1,649,053) and a cohort of patients seen in the year prior (3/1/18-2/28-19; n = 1,536,954).

Improving depression management with support from close others: A thematic analysis of individuals with depression and their partners in care.

Objectives: With support from others, individuals with depression can build skills and implement lifestyle changes that help them manage their illness. The objective of the current study was to understand how the CarePartners for Depression Program, a randomized clinical trial aimed at enhancing the role of caregivers in the management of depression, improved communication and shared understandings of depression among individuals with depression and their close others.

Methods: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with individuals with depression and their caregivers who participated in the CarePartners program.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on nonpharmacological pain management trials in military and veteran healthcare settings: an evaluation informed by implementation science.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted healthcare and clinical research, including a suite of 11 pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs), across clinics within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD). These PCTs were designed to evaluate an array of nonpharmacological treatments and models of care for treatment of patients with pain and co-occurring conditions. The aims of the study are to (a) describe modifications to PCTs and interventions to address the evolving pandemic and (b) describe the application of implementation science methods for evaluation of those PCT modifications.

Antecedents to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among patients and employees in the Veterans Health Administration.

The present study sought to understand the antecedents to COVID-19 vaccination among those reporting a change in vaccine intention in order to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the United States. We employed semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion with vaccinated and unvaccinated Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employees and Veterans at three Veterans' Affairs medical centers between January and June 2021. A subset of these participants (n=21) self-reported a change in COVID-19 vaccine intention and were selected for additional analysis.

Implementation Potential of Moral Reconation Therapy for Criminal Recidivism in Mental Health Residential Programs.

Objective: Criminal recidivism is common among patients in mental health residential treatment programs. Moral reconation therapy (MRT) has empirical support for reducing criminal recidivism by modifying antisocial cognitions and behaviors; however, its implementation potential in noncorrectional settings has been rarely studied. This potential was examined in a three-site effectiveness-implementation trial of MRT for justice-involved veterans receiving residential mental health treatment in the U.

A Web-Based, Population-Based Cirrhosis Identification and Management System for Improving Cirrhosis Care: Qualitative Formative Evaluation.

Background: Cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, is a debilitating condition that affects millions of US adults. Early identification, linkage to care, and retention of care are critical for preventing severe complications and death from cirrhosis.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to conduct a preimplementation formative evaluation to identify factors that could impact implementation of the Population-Based Cirrhosis Identification and Management System (P-CIMS) in clinics serving patients with cirrhosis.

Vaccine hesitancy as an opportunity for engagement: A rapid qualitative study of patients and employees in the U.S. Veterans Affairs healthcare system.

Although COVID-19 vaccines have been available to many U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system employees and Veteran patients since early 2021, vaccine receipt data indicates some groups are not receiving them.

"You put yourself at risk to keep the relationship:" African American women's perspectives on womanhood, relationships, sex and HIV.

Recent trends indicate that HIV and STI infection rates are rising among adults over the age of 50, and African American women have the highest rates of HIV infection across racial and ethnic groups of women in the USA. Limited research has examined factors that contribute to HIV risk among older African American women. The current study used Collins' Black Feminist Thought to examine and understand attitudes and perceptions around HIV and sexual risk behaviours among African American women aged 50 years and older.

An Examination of the Association Between Patient Experience and Quality of Mental Health Care Among Women Veterans.

Improving patient experience is one strategy that may increase the quality of mental health care if better experience is linked to the likelihood of a potentially therapeutic dose (PTD) of treatment. This study sought to examine: (1) the proportion of women veterans who obtained a PTD of mental health treatment; and (2) the association between women's experiences with Veterans Health Administration (VHA) mental health services and obtaining a PTD of mental health treatment. We assessed patient experience via a survey that measured experiences with gender-sensitive care, ease of getting care, perceived quality of care, and extent to which care met needs.

Opportunity or Burden? A Behavioral Framework for Patient Engagement.

Background: Engaging patients as partners in their care is clinically appealing, yet challenging to implement, and we lack a measurement framework that is applicable to vulnerable populations. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study to refine a conceptual framework that reflects an individual's propensity to engage with care.

Objectives: Our objectives were to refine the framework's domains of engagement behavior; identify key behaviors within each domain that describe engagement with providers, health systems or settings; and illustrate examples for each behavior where higher self-efficacy describes an opportunity to enhance engagement, and lower self-efficacy describes difficulties with engagement that risk burden.

"I'm not White, I have to be pretty and skinny": A qualitative exploration of body image and eating disorders among Asian American women.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships between body image, eating disorders, and treatment-seeking motivations among Asian American women in emerging adulthood (ages 18-24). Twenty-six Asian American women participated in qualitative focus groups of 4 to 6 individuals each from December 2015 to February 2016. Constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze focus group data.

Racial and ethnic disparities in use of a personal health record by veterans living with HIV.

Objective: To examine sociodemographic characteristics associated with use of My HealtheVet (MHV) by veterans living with HIV.

Materials And Methods: Veterans Health Administration administrative data were used to identify a cohort of veterans living with HIV in fiscal years 2011-2017. Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine demographic characteristics and racial/ethnic differences in MHV registration and tool use.

Condom Use Efficacy and Sexual Communication Skills Among African American College Women.

Despite condom use being the most protective measure against the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), little is known about the intermediary relationships between condom negotiation, assertive sexual communication, and condom use efficacy. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships between these constructs within the context of an HIV prevention intervention. We examined two samples of African American college women participating in two HIV prevention interventions, one of which was based on social learning theory ( N = 214).

Examining the influence of mental health on dual contraceptive method use among college women in the United States.

Objectives: To examine mental health influences on dual contraceptive method use (i.e., the use of a hormonal contraceptive or intrauterine device with a condom barrier) among college women.

Change in Risk Perceptions and Marijuana and Cigarette Use Among African American Young Adult Females in an HIV Prevention Intervention.

Cigarette smoking and marijuana use have been tied to increased risky sexual behaviors, which may exacerbate risk of HIV transmission and other STIs (sexually transmitted infections). Research suggests that change in general perceptions of risk is associated with change in non-domain-targeted behaviors. The goal of the current study was to determine whether change in general risk perceptions among African American college females enrolled in a culturally-tailored HIV prevention intervention would be associated with decreased cigarette and marijuana use over time.

Racial comparisons in perceptions of maternal and peer attitudes, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders among African American and White women.

Although once thought primarily to affect White women, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating exist among all racial groups. In the current study, the authors determined whether the relationship between participants' perceived maternal/peer attitudes toward appearance and the outcomes of body dissatisfaction and eating pathology varied by race. Self-reported data, including measures of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, body mass index (BMI), and perceptions of maternal/peer attitudes, were collected from December 2012 to May 2013 at a large Mid-Atlantic university.

Distant but relative: Similarities and differences in gender role beliefs among African American and Vietnamese American women.

Objectives: Research attempting to identify similarities or disentangle differences in ethnic minority gender role beliefs has been largely absent in the literature, and a gap remains for qualitative examinations of such phenomena. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap in the literature by providing a qualitative examination of the differences and similarities of gender role beliefs among African American and Vietnamese American women.

Methods: Thematic analyses were conducted with data gathered from 8 focus groups with 44 African American women (mean age = 44 years) and 4 focus Groups 47 Vietnamese American women (mean age = 42 years).

An Examination of Influences on Body Dissatisfaction Among Asian American College Females: Do Family, Media, or Peers Play a Role?

Objective: The etiology of body dissatisfaction and its correlates (eg, disordered eating) among ethnic minorities is generally unknown. The purpose of this study was to replicate the tripartite model of influence in an Asian American college female sample in order to examine this relationship.

Participants: Participants were 80 undergraduate Asian American females between the ages of 18 and 25.

The use of alcohol mixed with energy drinks and experiences of sexual victimization among male and female college students.

Much research has documented negative associations with the consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED). To date, few research studies have examined the relation between AmED and sexual victimization. Furthermore, research on sexual victimization among men is less studied.

Ethnic and gender differences in normative perceptions of substance use and actual use among college students.

The primary objective of this study was to examine whether perceived norms about cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use differed from actual use by ethnicity using data from the 2011 College Health Survey (N = 974). Analyses of covariance controlling for year in college and sorority or fraternity membership indicated a higher mean discrepancy scores for all substances for minority students compared with White students. Results suggest that minorities may be at an increased risk for substance use due to their perception that the typical student is using more than they actually are.