Systemic effects of the COVID pandemic on rural black American men’s interpersonal relationships: A phenomenological examination
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Curtis M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC11023195 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:BackgroundThe interpersonal theory of suicide (IPTS) is one of the most intensively researched contemporary theories on the development of suicidal ideation and behaviour. However, there is a lack of carefully conducted prospective studies.AimsTo evaluate the main predictions of the IPTS regarding the importance of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness and capability for suicide in predicting future suicide attempts in a prospective design.MethodPsychiatric in-patients (n = 308; 53.6% (n = 165) female; mean age 36.82 years, s.d. = 14.30, range 18-81) admitted for severe suicidal ideation (n = 145, 47.1%) or a suicide attempt completed self-report measures of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, capability for suicide, hopelessness, depression and suicidal ideation as well as interviews on suicide intent and suicide attempts and were followed up for 12 months. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis were conducted.ResultsThe interaction of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness and capability for suicide was not predictive of future suicide attempts, but perceived burdensomeness showed a significant main effect (z = 3.49, P < 0.01; OR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.59-3.58) and moderate performance in screening for future suicide attempts (area under the curve AUC = 0.729, P < 0.01).ConclusionsThe results challenge the theoretical validity of the IPTS and its clinical utility - at least within the methodological limitations of the current study. Yet, findings underscore the importance of perceived burdensomeness in understanding suicidal ideation and behaviour.
| S-EPMC7576651 | biostudies-literature
Project description:During the COVID-19 pandemic, most universities closed or reduced clinical placements (CPs), limiting nursing students' opportunities to practice communication and interpersonal skills before graduating. When applied in nursing curriculums, Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) enhances students' understanding of the theoretical concepts of communication and interpersonal skills, representing a valuable educational tool when CPs are reduced, as during the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive phenomenological study aims to describe the contribution of DMT in promoting third-year nursing students' relational skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-four nursing students who attended a DMT workshop completed a reflective journal. Data were analysed using content analysis. Three themes emerged: struggling to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, lived experience of DMT, and professional identity development. The first theme illustrates the connection participants made between their experiences during the DMT workshop and the caregiving challenges imposed by the pandemic; the second theme describes how the workshop fostered emotional and physical connections among its participants; the third theme focuses on the awareness participants acquired regarding their professional role during the workshop. When CPs opportunities are limited, DMT workshops can represent an educational tool to promote interpersonal and communication skills among nursing students, facilitating their transition into the profession.
| S-EPMC9858882 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is causing widespread morbidity and mortality. It has led to a myriad of mental health problems, particularly in health care providers (HCPs). To strengthen the fight against COVID-19, it is essential to investigate the mental health challenges being faced by the HCPs, their emotional responses, and coping strategies.ObjectivesWe aimed to explore the lived experiences of frontline HCPs in rural India during the peak of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThrough purposive heterogenous snowball sampling, five HCPs in rural Dhanbad were recruited and one-on-one double-blind unstructured interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed and master themes and subthemes were extracted by interpretative phenomenological analysis.ResultsSix master themes and 23 subthemes were identified. Our findings demonstrate that the participants were under mental duress due to heavy workloads, fear of getting infected and transmitting the infection, urban-rural disparities in access to medical supplies and peer support, and negative social perception of HCPs during the pandemic. Most HCPs have not yet processed the psychological effects of being at the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in a resource-poor setting; however, spirituality seems to be an important coping mechanism that helps them get through the day.ConclusionsThis study is unique in the sense that not many studies have been conducted to evaluate the psychological issues of Indian HCPs during this pandemic. Much less is known about the mental health of HCPs in rural settings. Moreover, novel findings such as negative social perception of HCPs during the pandemic and HCPs resorting to spirituality as a coping strategy against stress, open a plethora of research opportunities wherein the results of this qualitative study, along with the existing literature and findings of future quantitative studies, can establish better understanding of the impact of the pandemic on HCPs.
| S-EPMC9409569 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although Black American mothers and infants are at higher risk for morbidity and mortality than their White counterparts, the biological mechanisms underlying these phenomena remain largely unknown. To investigate the role that lifetime stressor exposure, perceived stressor severity, and systemic inflammatory markers might play, we studied how these factors were interrelated in 92 pregnant Black American women. We also compared inflammatory marker levels for women who did versus did not go on to give birth preterm. During the early third trimester, women completed the Stress and Adversity Inventory for Adults to assess the stressors they experienced over their lifetime. Women also provided blood samples for plasma interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α quantification. Preterm births were identified by medical record review. Controlling for relevant covariates, there were significant positive associations between average levels of both overall and acute perceived stressor severity and plasma IL-1β levels. Controlling for perceived stress at assessment and exposure to racial discrimination did not affect these results. Mediation models revealed that exposure to more chronic stressors was related to higher plasma IL-1β levels, as mediated by higher average levels of overall perceived stressor severity. Exposure to fewer acute stressors was related to higher plasma IL-1β levels, as mediated by higher average levels of acute perceived stressor severity. Finally, women who went on to give birth preterm had higher levels of plasma IL-6. These data thus highlight the potential importance of assessing and addressing lifetime stressor exposure among mothers before and during maternal-infant care.
| S-EPMC8885874 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundEvidence indicates that clients' dissatisfaction with providers' competencies within maternal and child health (MCH) continues to impact trust in formal health care systems, service uptake, continuity with care, and MCH outcomes. A major problem with existing interventions is the failure to address all the complexities of provider-client relationships necessitating targeted, contextualized, innovative solutions that place providers and clients at the forefront as agents of change in optimizing intervention design and implementation. To improve the provider-client relationship, the Aga Khan University is piloting a human-centered design (HCD) intervention where MCH nurses and clients are invited to partner with researchers in the intervention design and evaluation process.ObjectiveThe objective of this research is to co-design an intervention package (prototype) for improving nurse-client relationships in the rural Shinyanga region of Tanzania using a series of iterative HCD steps, involving key stakeholders to tailor solutions for complex problems impacting provider-client interactions in MCH care.MethodsThe following 5-step HCD approach will be implemented: (1) community-driven discovery through qualitative descriptive research methods using focus group discussions and key informant interviews; (2) co-design of an intervention package through consultative ideation and cocreation meetings with nurses, clients, and other stakeholders; (3) prototype validation through qualitative insight gathering using focus group discussions; (4) refinement and adaptation meeting; and (5) documentation and sharing of lessons learned before the final prototype is tested and validated in a broader community.ResultsA prototype characterized by a package of interventions for improving nurse-client relationships in MCH care in rural contexts is expected to be developed from the co-design process.ConclusionsAn HCD approach provides a novel entry point for strengthening provider-client relationships, where clients are invited to partner with providers in the design of acceptable and feasible interventions.International registered report identifier (irrid)DERR1-10.2196/37947.
| S-EPMC9305451 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess differences in COVID-19 vaccine willingness and uptake between rural and nonrural adults, and within rural racial-ethnic groups.MethodsWe utilized data from the COVID-19's Unequal Racial Burden online survey, which included 1,500 Black/African American, Latino, and White rural adults (n = 500 each). Baseline (12/2020-2/2021) and 6-month follow-up (8/2021-9/2021) surveys were administered. A cohort of nonrural Black/African American, Latino, and White adults (n = 2,277) was created to compare differences between rural and nonrural communities. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess associations between rurality, race-ethnicity, and vaccine willingness and uptake.FindingsAt baseline, only 24.9% of rural adults were extremely willing to be vaccinated and 28.4% were not at all willing. Rural White adults were least willing to be vaccinated, compared to nonrural White adults (extremely willing: aOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.30-0.64). At follow-up, 69.3% of rural adults were vaccinated; however, only 25.3% of rural adults who reported being unwilling to vaccinate were vaccinated at follow-up, compared to 95.6% of adults who were extremely willing to be vaccinated and 76.3% who were unsure. Among those unwilling to vaccinate at follow-up, almost half reported distrust in the government (52.3%) and drug companies (46.2%); 80% reported that nothing would change their minds regarding vaccination.ConclusionsBy August 2021, almost 70% of rural adults were vaccinated. However, distrust and misinformation were prevalent among those unwilling to vaccinate at follow-up. To continue to effectively combat COVID-19 in rural communities, we need to address misinformation to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates.
| S-EPMC10474244 | biostudies-literature
Project description:While Black girls and women are disproportionately impacted by sexual health disparities, there continues to be an overwhelming focus on individual risk behaviors within prevention initiatives, which offers a fragmented narrative of the multidimensional nature of risk and plausibly limits effectiveness of prevention programs and attenuates reductions in disparities. Because sexual health is experienced within an individual's beliefs/values, interpersonal relationships, and behaviors and reflects larger social and cultural systems, it is important to critically examine common theories used to inform HIV/STI prevention interventions for Black women and girls. To fill this gap in the literature, we critique two commonly used theories in HIV/STI prevention interventions, namely the social cognitive theory and the theory of gender and power, by highlighting theoretical and practical strengths and weaknesses. We propose research implications that incorporate key strengths of the two theories while adding new concepts grounded in the intersectionality theory. The overall goal is to introduce a more comprehensive conceptual model that is reflective of and applicable to the multidimensional sexual experiences of Black girls and women within the evolving definition of sexual health and behavior.
| S-EPMC8621381 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Black/African American women from low-resource, rural communities bear a disproportionate burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. This study examined associations between menthol smoking and socioeconomic deprivation with nicotine dependence and quitting behaviors among Black/African American women cigarette and/or little cigar/cigarillo smokers, aged 18-50 living in low-resource, rural communities. Baseline survey data from a randomized controlled behavioral/intervention trial (#NCT03476837) were analyzed (n = 146). Outcomes included time to first tobacco product (cigarette/little cigar/cigarillo) use within 5 min of waking, Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) score, and ever attempting to quit cigarettes. Socioeconomic deprivation measures included education, income, and receiving supplemental nutritional assistance (SNAP) program benefits. In adjusted regression analyses, menthol smoking was associated with both greater FTND scores and time to first tobacco product use within 5 min of waking, but not ever attempting to quit cigarettes. Regardless of menthol status, only 25.0% of smokers reported that they would quit smoking if menthol cigarettes were banned. The proportion of smokers who smoked their first tobacco product within 5 min of waking increased slightly with greater socioeconomic deprivation. Additional research and targeted efforts are needed to reduce nicotine dependence among Black/African American women smokers living in rural, low-resource communities where access to cessation services is limited.
| S-EPMC8535496 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite efforts to diversify research and health programs, Black American men remain a "hard-to-reach" population while collectively suffering from some of the worst health outcomes in the United States. Faith- and community-based approaches have shown potential to engage Black Americans in health promotion and health research activities. The purpose of this article is to examine health research participation and trust in research among a sample of Black American men in rural North Carolina who attended a community-based health symposium, culturally tailored for Black American men (n = 112). A cross-sectional survey was administered among men to learn about health status, health concerns, and perception of health research. Among 106 men who completed the survey, most reported no prior participation in health research (68.87%), but almost a third of men reported interest in participating in health research. No significant differences in trust in research was found based on interest in research participation (interested in research participation, not interested in research participation, no response), presenting an opportunity to increase the trustworthiness of medical institutions and build relationships with this population. These findings will inform future research and health programming for Black American men in rural locations.
| S-EPMC11805886 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC11347877 | biostudies-literature