Publications by authors named "Thespina Yamanis"

Latino immigrants living in the United States were highly vulnerable to the health and economic consequences brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. We use the conceptual framing of workplace dignity, worth that is acknowledged based on performance of job responsibilities, to explore Latino immigrants' experiences during the early months of the pandemic. A qualitative study was conducted with (), a community health center serving low-income Latino immigrants.

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This study analyzed electronic health record (EHR) data from 2016 through 2019 from a federally qualified health center (FQHC) serving predominantly low-income Latine immigrants in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to examine how changes in health insurance coverage relate to changes in health care use.

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Background: Critical to efforts to end the HIV epidemic is the identification of persons living with HIV who have yet to be diagnosed and engaged in care. Expanded HIV testing outreach efforts need to be both efficient and ambitious, targeting the social networks of persons living with HIV and those at above-average risk of undiagnosed HIV infection. The ubiquity of mobile phones across many high HIV prevalence settings has created opportunities to leverage mobile health (mHealth) technologies to engage social networks for HIV testing outreach, prevention, and treatment.

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This paper explores the definition of, and perceived community attitudes, toward , a Swahili street term for a type of transactional sex practised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Rooted in economic and gender disparity, transactional sex increases adolescent girls' and young women's vulnerability to HIV and gender-based violence. We sought to understand perceived community attitudes about kudanga, and how the internalisation of norms surrounding gender-based violence relate to the experiences of young women who practise kudanga.

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Out-of-school adolescent girls/young women (AGYW) in Africa are at increased risk for HIV and are underserved by HIV prevention interventions. Identifying social networks of out-of-school AGYW may be a strategic approach for reaching them. A sequential mixed methods study design was used.

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Aim: Process evaluations for social and behavioral interventions are increasingly important as interventions become more complex and multi-faceted. Conducting process evaluations in low-resource international settings can be challenging. Process evaluations in low-resource international settings can help inform and improve quality of ongoing intervention implementation.

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Objectives: Mass COVID-19 vaccination in Africa is required to end the pandemic. In low-income settings, street-level bureaucrats (SLBs), or public officials who interact directly with citizens, are typically responsible for carrying out vaccination plans and earning community confidence in vaccines. The study interviewed SLBs to assess their perceptions of the factors affecting COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Tanzania.

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Among 145 individuals surveyed in Tanzania, 42% indicated willingness to test for human immunodeficiency virus in response to a confidential, phone-based text message. On average, participants were likely to provide contact information for 1.5 members of their social networks, suggesting high feasibility and moderate acceptability of a novel mHealth human immunodeficiency virus testing intervention.

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Context: This article aims to highlight challenges and adaptations made by local health officials in Tanzania in working to contain and manage COVID-19.

Methods: The study takes an inductive approach, drawing on the reported experiences of 40 officials at different levels of government across four purposefully selected regions in July 2020. Interviewees were asked about the guidance they received to contain COVID-19, the source of that guidance, their challenges and successes in implementing the guidance, and if and how they adapted the guidance to their particular setting.

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Purpose: Fear of deportation and its relationship to healthcare access has been less studied among immigrant Latinx men who have sex with men (MSM), a population at risk for HIV and characterized by their multiple minority statuses. The first step is to accurately measure their fear of deportation.

Approach: We used an exploratory sequential mixed methods design.

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Latinx immigrants have poorer access to health care, compared to non-Latinx Whites. Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) provide clinical and community programing to address their clients' health needs. One mechanism by which FQHC's may strengthen Latinx immigrant well-being is by promoting their individual and community resilience.

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Undocumented Latinx immigrants experience unique factors prior to migration, during migration, and after migration that shape their health. Our review summarizes the limited but growing literature highlighting how exposure to trauma, immigration enforcement, changes to social networks, and discrimination negatively affect the mental and physical health of undocumented Latinx immigrants. We also discuss how policies and social ties can promote their health.

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Despite calls to engage men in HIV and intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention efforts, effective approaches to reach and engage men in low-resource, high-HIV prevalence settings are limited. We identified and engaged social networks of mostly young men in a study designed to evaluate the efficacy of a combined microfinance and peer health leadership intervention to prevent HIV and IPV. We conducted a cluster-randomized trial among 60 social networks locally referred to as "camps" within Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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Latinx men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Identifying the role of multiple syndemic factors associated with sexual risk behaviors is imperative in order to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies. Cross-sectional data for this study were derived from three cycles of the Philadelphia portion of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System.

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Background: This article presents lessons learned from a microfinance and health intervention for young men designed to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STI) and intimate partner violence (IPV) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We describe the different strategies we used to identify and train young men to become change agents within their social networks.

Description: A cluster-randomized trial with 60 camps was undertaken in the Kinondoni District of Dar es Salaam.

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Black and Latina transgender women (BLTW) are disproportionately impacted by HIV but remain underrepresented in HIV and health services research. Between March 2016 and May 2017, BLTW (N = 201) were recruited in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC through convenience sampling for a survey assessing multilevel determinants of HIV risk and treatment outcomes. Interviews concluded with a rapid oral HIV test.

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Background: Black and Latina transgender women (BLTW) face significant HIV disparities with estimated HIV prevalence up to 50% and annual incidence rates as high as 2.8 per 100 person-years. However, few studies have evaluated the acceptability and uptake of high-impact HIV prevention interventions among BLTW.

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Lack of legal immigration status is associated with poor HIV-related outcomes for immigrant Latinx sexual and gender minorities (LSGM). LSGM often meet eligibility criteria for legal immigration relief. A Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) may thus be strategic to improve their health.

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Poverty is associated with numerous poor health outcomes. Youth unemployment in Tanzania is approximately 13.7%, and concentrates in urban areas.

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In our work as clinicians, researchers, and immigrant rights advocates, we have noted increased anxiety about the possibility of deportation and disruptions in care among immigrants with HIV. Before the 2016 US elections, patients rarely asked about HIV treatment in their home countries. However, since the increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric and arrests by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, patients have voiced concerns about the availability of HIV treatment in their home countries much more frequently.

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Latina transgender women (LTW) are disproportionately vulnerable to depression, although the role of immigration/documentation status (legal authority to live/work in the U.S.) in depression has not been explored.

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Men continue to test for HIV at a low rate in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent quantitative evidence from sub-Saharan Africa indicates that encouragement to test for HIV from men's network members is associated with higher previous HIV testing and HIV self-testing (HIVST) willingness. Leveraging this positive network influence to promote HIVST among men is a promising strategy that could increase HIV testing.

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