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Whereas research on caregiving is well documented, less is known about gender inequalities in caregiver stress, coping mechanisms, and health outcomes, all of which may vary by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This scoping review investigated racial and ethnic disparities using the Stress Process Model among male caregivers. Several databases were searched including Academic Search Premier, Medline Complete, APA PsycInfo, CINHAL, Google, ProQuest, and Web of Science. Included were peer-reviewed articles in English, published from 1990 to 2022. A total of nine articles fulfilled inclusion criteria. Most of the articles indicated that compared to White male caregivers, African American male caregivers provided more hours of care, assisted with more activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and experienced more financial stress. In terms of coping style, one study found African American male caregivers, compared to White male caregivers, held negative religious beliefs. Another study showed that they were at a higher risk for stroke than their White counterparts. The search revealed a dearth of studies on racial disparities in stress, coping, and health outcomes among male caregivers. Further research is needed on the experiences and perspectives of male minority caregivers. © 2023 by the authors.

ABSTRACT: Breastfeeding affords numerous health benefits to mothers and children, but for women with HIV in the United States, avoidance of breastfeeding is recommended. Evidence from low-income countries demonstrates low risk of HIV transmission during breastfeeding with antiretroviral therapy, and the World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding and shared decision making about infant feeding options in low-income and middle-income countries. In the United States, gaps in knowledge exist surrounding the experiences, beliefs, and feelings of women with HIV surrounding infant feeding decisions. Undergirded by a framework of person-centered care, this study describes the experiences, beliefs, and feelings of women with HIV in the United States surrounding recommendations for breastfeeding avoidance. Although no participants reported consideration of breastfeeding, multiple gaps were identified with implications for the clinical care and counseling of the mother-infant dyad. Copyright © 2023 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

Mobile health apps have been widely considered in the healthcare sector as innovative channels to reach patients and their families. Accordingly, the aim of the chapter was to investigate factors that influence the customers' adoption of digital health apps in Algeria. The authors adopted an extende...

The college student population is among the highest risk group for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV. Safe sex practices, which are intended to mitigate risks associated with sexually transmitted infections, are often negated in the population of heterosexual college students. Historically, research on safe sex practices has shown that the burden of behavior change and the focus on educational efforts historically fall onto the female population. There is little published on how safe sex education for males impacts attitudes and behaviors towards safe sex practices. This community-based participatory research (CBPR) project explored heterosexual college male attitudes and behaviors about safe sex responsibilities with the goal of creating effective health promotion messages to increase safer sex. The research team comprised almost entirely of undergraduate male students, which strengthened the design and translation of results to practice. A mixed methods design was employed utilizing both focus groups and surveys as data collection (n=121). Results showed that young men are still prioritizing pregnancy prevention over disease contraction and/or testing, and relying on female partners to initiate safe sex. Implications for health promotion practice efforts on college campuses include: male-led peer education programming and support and messaging around screening and prevention of STIs. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

The use of Critical Race Theory, Photovoice, and Community-Based Participatory Research has helped uncover the root causes of issues such as systemic racism in the fields of public health and health promotion. Often, we see studies using traditional research methods to investigate potential causal factors of disparities in minoritized communities report only quantitative data. While these data are imperative for understanding the severity of disparities, quantitative-only approaches cannot address nor can they improve the critical root causes of these disparities. As a team of BIPOC graduate students in public health, we conducted a community-based participatory research project using Photovoice methodology to explore inequities in Black and Brown communities exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participatory nature of this research revealed cumulative challenges across the social determinants of health in New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut. It allowed us to engage in local-level advocacy to promote health equity as our findings illuminated the need for community-led and community-engaged action. Health and racial inequities cannot be effectively addressed if public health research and programming do not collaborate with the community to build community capacity, empowerment, and trust. We describe our experiences doing community-based participatory research to investigate inequities and provide reflections on their value for public health students. As responses to health inequities and disparities become more politically polarized in the United States, it is critical for public health and health education students to use research methodologies that elevate communities that have been historically marginalized and neglected. Together, we can catalyze equitable change.

Black women in the United States (U.S.) disproportionately experience adverse pregnancy outcomes, including maternal mortality, compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups. Historical legacies of institutionalized racism and bias in medicine compound this problem. The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color may further worsen existing racial disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. This paper discusses structural and social determinants of racial disparities with a focus on the Black maternal mortality crisis in the United States. We explore how structural racism contributes to a greater risk of adverse obstetric outcomes among Black women in the U.S. We also propose public health, healthcare systems, and community-engaged approaches to decrease racial disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality.

Objective: Recent epidemiological research has found food insecurity to be a growing public health concern among college students. This study investigated food insecurity, mental health, and substance use behaviors among state university undergraduate students. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: This was a secondary data analysis of the Student Health Survey. Undergraduate participants ( n = 589) completed the paper-based survey, which had an 84% response rate overall. Results: Approximately 38.5% of students were considered food insecure, 24.8% experiencing low food security, and 13.8% experiencing very low food security. Having a diagnosis of depression, experience of depressive symptoms, and marijuana use in the past 30 days were associated with food insecurity. Conclusion and Implications: Food insecurity is a serious health concern for college students. The results of this study indicate collocating food security and counseling services may enhance existing student resources to better support students facing food and nutrition insecurity, substance use, and depression.

Objective: We examined students’ perceptions and opinions regarding others’ COVID-19 mitigation behaviors and how these behaviors impacted feelings of safety and desire for on-campus engagement. Participants: Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at a midsize regional state university during the Spring 2021 semester (n = 893). Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized with an online and anonymous questionnaire. Scale means were calculated followed by ANOVAs to determine significance. Results: Two independent variables impacted students’ feelings of safety for on-ground courses and activities: living situation (on campus, with roommates) and school year (freshman/sophomores). Underclassmen were more likely to desire in-person campus engagement. Conclusions: Students showed a willingness to return to campus, but also concern over peer behaviors and remaining safe. Returning to a pre-pandemic social environment is critical for students’ mental health, and making students feel safe on campus is an important first step to return campuses to vibrant educational and social communities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of food insecurity among college students and its relationship to on-campus food purchasing patterns and barriers to eating a healthy and sufficient diet, including the relative cost of food items on campus compared to national chain grocery stores. Design: A campus-wide survey using stratified sampling among undergraduates and food audit. Setting: An urban public university in New England. Subjects: A total of 951 surveys completed by undergraduates. Measures: Demographic characteristics, behavioral factors and food security status (measured using the USDA 6-item short form) were collected. Method: Descriptive and multivariable analyses were conducted to describe differences between food insecure and food secure undergraduates. Results: Overall, 35% of undergraduates experienced food insecurity in the past year (response rate = 92%). Food insecure undergraduates had different on-campus purchasing patterns than their food secure counterparts. Food insecure students were more likely to report barriers to healthy eating on all measures, including prices (AOR= 8.12, P <.0001), to experience housing insecurity (AOR= 2.64, P =.001) and to report that transportation is a barrier to buying groceries (AOR= 1.63, P =.01). After multivariable adjustment, food insecure undergraduates had higher odds of being African American (AOR= 1.57, P =.031) or other races (more than 1 race) (AOR= 3.35, P =.002) compared to white undergraduates. Conclusions: Food insecure college students face a variety of barriers to healthy eating on campus, including high food pricing on campus and limited transportation options. Further research is needed to inform campus resource development, policies and programming focused on food insecurity prevention for college students. © The Author(s) 2022.

Breastfeeding has health benefits for both infants and mothers, yet Black mothers and infants are less likely to receive these benefits. Despite research showing no difference in breastfeeding intentions by race or ethnicity, inequities in breastfeeding rates persist, suggesting that Black mothers face unique barriers to meeting their breastfeeding intentions. The aim of this study is to identify barriers and facilitators that Black women perceive as important determinants of exclusively breastfeeding their children for at least 3 months after birth. Utilizing a Barrier Analysis approach, we conducted six focus group discussions, hearing from Black mothers who exclusively breastfed for 3 months and those who did not. Transcripts were coded starting with a priori parent codes based on theory-derived determinants mapped onto the Socioecological Model; themes were analysed for differences between groups. Facilitators found to be important specifically for women who exclusively breastfed for 3 months include self-efficacy, lactation support, appropriate lactation supplies, support of mothers and partners, prior knowledge of breastfeeding, strong intention before birth and perceptions of breastfeeding as money-saving. Barriers that arose more often among those who did not exclusively breastfeed for 3 months include inaccessible lactation support and supplies, difficulties with pumping, latching issues and perceptions of breastfeeding as time-consuming. Lack of access to and knowledge of breastfeeding laws and policies, as well as negative cultural norms or stigma, were important barriers across groups. This study supports the use of the Socioecological Model to design multicomponent interventions to increase exclusive breastfeeding outcomes for Black women.

Pharmaceutical products, including active pharmaceutical ingredients and inactive ingredients such as packaging materials, have raised significant concerns due to their persistent input and potential threats to human and environmental health. Discourse on reducing pharmaceutical waste and subsequent pollution is often limited, as information about the toxicity of pharmaceuticals in humans is yet to be fully established. Nevertheless, there is growing awareness about ecotoxicity, and efforts to curb pharmaceutical pollution in the European Union (EU), United States (US), and Canada have emerged along with waste disposal and treatment procedures, as well as growing concerns about impacts on human and animal health, such as through antimicrobial resistance. Yet, the outcomes of such endeavors are often disparate and involve multiple agencies, organizations, and departments with little evidence of cooperation, collaboration, or oversight. Environmental health disparities occur when communities exposed to a combination of poor environmental quality and social inequities experience more sickness and disease than wealthier, less polluted communities. In this paper, we discuss pharmaceutical environmental pollution in the context of health disparities and examine policies across the US, EU, and Canada in minimizing environmental pollution.