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Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Examining The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Covid-19 Vaccine Safety And Intention To Receive It Among African Americans In Mississippi, Tija L. Johnson

Honors Theses

In March of 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to the ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 disease. While scientific developers were seeking to understand the biochemical mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, political and public health leaders implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing measures, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. As the world began to adjust to the new realities, the race to create an effective vaccine was on. With the later development of the COVID-19 vaccine, receptiveness to the vaccine across the world varied, and in the United States, vaccine hesitancy was an …

African American Mothers' Narratives Of Breastfeeding Support From Healthcare Providers, Tessa Treadwell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Research indicates that African American women breastfeed at the lowest rates of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S. Breastfeeding has shown to have numerous health benefits for both mother and baby, making the lower rates of breastfeeding among African Americans a public health concern. Racial disparities in healthcare may contribute to these discrepancies. This research will analyze the perceptions of information and social support for breastfeeding provided by healthcare providers among a sample of African American mothers who breastfed their babies. The study asks: Do participants regard their healthcare providers as supportive of breastfeeding? Data were collected through in-depth qualitative …

Factors Associated With Belief In Conspiracies About Hiv/Aids Among Hiv-Positive African-American Patients, Andrew A. Zekeri, Youssouf Diabate

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine factors associated with belief in conspiracies about HIV/AIDS among HIV-Positive African American patients. Survey data were collected from 256 African American patients living with HIV/AIDS attending two HIV clinics in Montgomery and Dothan, Alabama. The study used multiple regression analysis to examine how sociodemographic factors contribute to belief in conspiracies about HIV/AIDS. Education and age were significantly related to belief in conspiracies about HIV/AIDS among men and women. Beliefs in conspiracies about HIV/AIDS may be a barrier to HIV prevention among African Americans. Public health officials should work toward obtaining the …

Elevated Depressive Symptoms In A Community Sample Of African-Americans And Whites, Robert J. Jagers, Fernando A. Wagner, Pamela E. Scott-Johnson, Yan Wang, Dorothy C. Browne

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study examined demographic and psychosocial correlates of elevated depressive symptoms among African-Americans and Whites from comparable socioeconomic and neighborhood backgrounds. 851 African-Americans and 597 Whites from adjacent census tracts were interviewed using previously validated indicators of depressive symptoms, social support, religious practices and various demographic characteristics. More Whites than African-Americans reported elevated depressive symptoms and the groups also differed on several demographic variables and psychosocial variables. Employment, marital status and age were salient demographic covariates for African Americans, while income was for Whites. For both groups, social support and church attendance were inversely associated with depressive symptoms. Prayer was …

Evaluating “Not In Mama's Kitchen” Second-Hand Smoke Campaign In Georgia, Jonathan B. Vangeest, Verna L. Welch

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

In 2003-2005, the Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc. initiated the Not in Mama’s Kitchen (NIMK) second-hand smoke (SHS) prevention campaign in Georgia as part of their effort to reduce exposure to SHS in African American communities statewide. This initiative was evaluated using baseline data from pledge cards as well as data from a self-administered mail survey of 1,000 campaign participants. 14,770 Georgians participated in NIMK, signing pledges to make their homes and cars smoke free. Majorities of those surveyed followed through with their pledge, banning tobacco use in their homes (76.1%) and cars (80.2%). The program was cited by 65.4% …

African American Adults’ Experiences With The Health Care System: In Their Own Words, Keri A. Jupka, Nancy L. Weaver, Vetta L. Sanders-Thompson, Nicole M. Caito, Matthew W. Kreuter

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

African Americans suffer a disproportionate burden of death and illness from a number of different chronic diseases. Inequalities in health care practices and poor patient and provider communication between African American patients and health care professionals contribute to these disparities. We describe findings from focus groups with 79 urban African Americans in which the participants discussed their interactions with the healthcare system as well as beliefs and opinions of the healthcare system and professionals. Analysis revealed five major themes: (1) historical and contextual foundations; (2) interpersonal experiences with physicians and other health care workers; (3) discrimination; (4) trust, opinions and …

Beyond The It Magic Bullet: Hiv Prevention Education And Public Policy, Fay C. Payton

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Analytic applications are vital in the assessments of public health and surveillance as these applications can drive resource allocation, community assessment and public policy. Using a dataset of nearly 90,000 patient hospital encounters, the number of instances with an ICD code of HIV and co-morbidities was identified. Blacks accounted for 75 percent of HIV hospital encounters in the dataset. While business analytic applications informed this study of cross-tabulations and interaction effects among race, age and gender, there appears to be a significant relationship among HIV diagnoses and substance abuse. Payer data is informed by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project …

A Review Of Smoking Among Rural African Americans: Recommendations For Research And Cessation Interventions, Susan Hedgecock, Anita Fernander

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objective: The purpose of this review is to synthesize the available literature on smoking among rural African Americans.

Methods: Using search terms “rural” “African American” “Black” and “smoking” 19 relevant articles were identified in the Medline data base. Findings gleaned from the 19 articles are presented in four categories: a) smoking prevalence, b) smoking behavior and patterns, c) smoking cessation interventions and quitting, and d) smoking-related outcomes.

Results: There may be gender differences, a pattern of late onset of smoking, and a preference for mentholated brands among rural African American smokers. There is no evidence that rural African Americans are …

Differential Effects Of Race And Poverty On Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions, Farrukh B. Hakeem, Daniel L. Howard, Timothy S. Carey, Yhenneko J. Taylor

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study is a continuation of an earlier study that examined hospitalization rates for ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) conditions, as a proxy for quality of care, and found evidence of a racial disparity among African American and White Medicare beneficiaries. The current study sought to determine whether neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) explained this disparity. Differences in rates of ACS hospitalizations by race were assessed using Cochran-Mantel Haenszel tests and Poisson regression. Unadjusted rate ratios for ACS hospitalization for African Americans vs. Whites were found to be higher in low poverty areas (rate ratio (RR)=1.13; 95% CI (1.08, 1.17)) than in …

Recruitment Of African Americans For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment Research, Georgia Michalopoulou, Pamela Falzarano, David Rosenberg

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

A systematic review of recruitment approaches was conducted as a step towards creating a culturally sensitive approach to enhance participation of African Americans into our Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) treatment research. From this review, a recruitment plan providing a collaborative partnership between the African American community and the clinical investigators was adopted. We sought to increase participation in OCD research by developing culturally sensitive educational materials, implementing strategies such as recruiter ethnic match, encouraging individuals to participate by a pastor, and providing education in the community that attempted to decrease stigmatization of mental illness and target cultural suspicion of institutional …