Factors Associated with Beneficiary Outcomes from Community Health Programs in Predominantly Low-Income African American Communities in Mississippi USA.

Background: Community health programs (CHPs) can improve the conditions of disadvantaged populations through direct health and support services.

Objective: We examine factors associated with two CHP beneficiary outcomes including program needs being met and satisfaction in the low-income and predominantly African American cities of Belzoni and Jackson in Mississippi, USA.

Methods: A retrospective and cross-sectional design is implemented using chi squared tests and regression analysis of 108 survey responses from a convenience sample.

(Re)defining their place at the table: Frank discussions by adults with disabilities on contemporary self-advocacy.

Adults with disabilities have long been at the forefront of disability advocacy in the United States. Grounded in the tenets of radical disability studies and principles of disability justice, this study explored the lived experiences of 12 adults with disabilities, including intellectual disability and developmental disabilities, with a particular focus on self-advocacy. Two focus groups were primary data sources.

Community study to uncover the full spectrum of rheumatic heart disease in Uganda.

Objective: Estimates of the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in many endemic countries are limited to samples of children attending schools, which generate an incomplete picture of disease burden in communities. The present study conducted household-based RHD screening in a representative community in Gulu district, Uganda.

Methods: Members of households identified through a two-stage cluster-sampling approach between the ages of 5 years and 50 years were invited to undergo limited cardiac testing with a handheld echocardiogram to assess for the presence of RHD.

The Differential Effects of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis C Virus on Bone Microarchitecture and Fracture Risk.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected individuals have a significantly greater osteoporotic fracture risk than HIV-monoinfected persons, despite the fact that HIV/HCV coinfection has not been associated with lower bone mineral density (BMD) than HIV or HCV alone. To evaluate if changes in bone microarchitecture, measured by trabecular bone score (TBS), could explain these differences, we performed a prospective, cross-sectional cohort study of virologically suppressed HIV-infected subjects, untreated HCV-infected subjects, HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects, and uninfected controls.

Methods: We enrolled 532 male subjects: 57 HIV/HCV coinfected, 174 HIV infected, 123 HCV infected, and 178 controls.

A phenomenological study of romantic love for women in late life.

Romantic love in late life is often beneficial, though not without challenges. Financial concerns and objections of adult children can interfere with a late-life individual's decision to commit to a romantic relationship. In this study, the experience of romantic love for women who enter committed relationships in later life was examined.

Circadian Phase-Shifting Effects of Bright Light, Exercise, and Bright Light + Exercise.

Limited research has compared the circadian phase-shifting effects of bright light and exercise and additive effects of these stimuli. The aim of this study was to compare the phase-delaying effects of late night bright light, late night exercise, and late evening bright light followed by early morning exercise. In a within-subjects, counterbalanced design, 6 young adults completed each of three 2.

Circadian rhythms of psychomotor vigilance, mood, and sleepiness in the ultra-short sleep/wake protocol.

Despite its advantages as a chronobiological technique, the ultra-short sleep/wake protocol remains underutilized in circadian rhythm research. The purpose of this study was to examine circadian rhythms of psychomotor vigilance (PVT), mood, and sleepiness in a sample (n=25) of healthy young adults while they adhered to a 3 h ultra-short sleep/wake protocol. The protocol involved 1 h sleep intervals in darkness followed by 2 h wake intervals in dim light, repeated for 50-55 h.

Circadian variation in swim performance.

Previous findings of time-of-day differences in athletic performance could be confounded by diurnal fluctuations in environmental and behavioral "masking" factors (e.g., sleep, ambient temperature, and energy intake).