The world through my eyes: A photovoice project with youth experiencing homelessness.

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) are infrequently included in the development, organization, and provision of homelessness-related services. This lack of youth voice and services tailored for their expressed needs can lead to underutilization of services, dissatisfaction, and poor outcomes. Photovoice, a participatory research method, has been used to empower persons from marginalized populations and to provide a platform for them to share their voices. This photovoice project partnered with six YEH (18-20 years old). Participants worked together, with the support of two group facilitators, to take photographs, identify themes, write narratives that best represented their lived experience, and share their concerns and ideas for the community. Photos and narratives were shared with decisionmakers at community-based showings. Attendees of the showings anecdotally reported having an increased awareness of YEH issues. The showings served as a catalyst in the community to address the challenges of YEH. Recommendations for research and practice are provided.

The Value and Validity of Self-Reported Survey Data on the Rape Experiences of College Students.

Self-reported survey data on the extent and nature of rape and sexual assault experienced by a population represent an important source of information because these crimes often go unreported, and are thus undercounted in law enforcement or other official statistics. This article compares Campus Climate Survey Validation Study (CCSVS) data to Clery Act data in an effort to (1) assess the validity of the CCSVS data and the Clery Act data based on the extent to which they corroborate one another, and (2) estimate the extent to which Clery Act data potentially underestimate the true incidence of rape. The results help to establish the extent to which self-report surveys on sexual victimization are needed to understand the magnitude of the problem among a given population.

Sensitivity of Sexual Victimization Estimates to Definitional and Measurement Decisions.

Self-report surveys are subject to measurement error associated with variation in the methodology employed. The current analysis uses data from the Campus Climate Survey Validation Study (CCSVS) to examine the impact that measurement decisions have on estimates. The findings demonstrate that asking victims to provide detailed information in an effort to properly place incidents in time and classify incidents by type resulted in relatively minor decreases in estimate magnitude. Ultimately, asking respondents to provide or confirm additional incident-level information for proper classification resulted in more complete information with very little impact on estimates.

Adapting Mindfulness Training for Military Service Members With Chronic Pain.

INTRODUCTION: Rates of chronic pain in military personnel are disproportionately high. Chronic pain is often associated with mental health and substance use disorders as comorbid conditions, making treatment of chronic pain complex. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are a promising behavioral approach to managing chronic pain and psychosocial sequelae. The unique nature of the military context may require adaptations to original MBIs for successful delivery in active-duty military populations. This study adapted the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program to create a mindfulness training program that was relevant to active-duty Army personnel experiencing chronic pain. This article delineates the adaptation process employed to modify the MBSR program to the military context and discusses the resulting training program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The adaptation process consisted of three iterative stages: 1) Drafting the preliminary intervention protocol with recommendations from stakeholders, including military healthcare providers; 2) Refining the preliminary protocol after pretesting the sessions with research team members and a military Veteran advisory committee; and 3) Delivering the preliminary protocol to one cohort of active-duty Soldiers with chronic pain, collecting feedback, and further refining the intervention protocol. RESULTS: Military-related adaptations to MBSR addressed three areas: military culture, language and terminology, and practical and logistical factors relevant to implementation in the military setting. This adaptation process resulted in a live, online program with six, weekly, sessions. Feedback from a military Veteran advisory committee resulted in modifications, including increasing military-relevant examples; preliminary testing with the target population resulted in additional modifications, including shortening the sessions to 75 min and structuring discussions more efficiently. CONCLUSIONS: The adaptation process was successful in generating an engaging mindfulness training program that was highly relevant to the military context. Obtaining input from stakeholders, such as military healthcare providers and active-duty soldiers, and iterative feedback and modification, were key to the process. Moreover, the program was designed to maintain the integrity and core elements of MBIs while adapting to military culture. A future randomized controlled trial design will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in improving chronic pain in military personnel. This program is responsive to the military's call for nonpharmacologic treatments for chronic pain that are easily accessible. If effective, the mindfulness program has the potential for widespread dissemination to complement standard care for Service Members experiencing chronic pain.

Literature Review of Research on Chronic Pain and Yoga in Military Populations.

Background: Although yoga is increasingly being provided to active duty soldiers and veterans, studies with military populations are limited and effects on chronic pain are largely unknown. We reviewed the existing body of literature and provide recommendations for future research. Methods: We conducted a literature review of electronic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science, and Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Social Science & Humanities). The studies were reviewed for characteristics such as mean age of participants, sample size, yoga type, and study design. Only peer-reviewed studies were included in the review. Results: The search yielded only six studies that examined pain as an outcome of yoga for military populations. With one exception, studies were with veteran populations. Only one study was conducted with Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans. One study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Four of the five studies remaining used pre/post design, while the last study used a post-only design. Conclusions: Studies on the use of yoga to treat chronic pain in military populations are in their infancy. Methodological weaknesses include small sample sizes, a lack of studies with key groups (active duty, OEF/IEF veterans), and use of single group uncontrolled designs (pre/post; post only) for all but one study. Future research is needed to address these methodological limitations and build on this small body of literature.

HIV Risk Behavior and Prevention Considerations Among Military Personnel in Three Caribbean Region Countries: Belize, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic.

BACKGROUND: We review research findings and the limitations of recent qualitative and quantitative studies of HIV prevalence and risk behaviors in military populations in three Caribbean countries (Dominican Republic, Belize, and Barbados). METHODS: This research shows how mental health issues, disordered substance use, and structuring aspects of the occupational field produce and reproduce patterns of risk behaviors. RESULTS: We discuss the use of formative research, the Positive Health, Dignity, and Prevention framework, and the use of implementation science (including research methods that employ alternative methodological assumptions to better elucidate both cultural nuances and unknown components of program impact in different military populations) as a means to tailor individual prevention strategies to military populations. CONCLUSION: We conclude that greater adaption and ingenuity in prevention could improve behavioral prevention of HIV among military personnel in the Caribbean region.