Assessing a Continuing Education Course for Dental Hygienists to Improve HPV and HPV Vaccine Knowledge and Self-efficacy.

Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection and causes anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers. Although HPV-related cancers can be prevented through vaccination, HPV vaccination rates are low compared to other vaccines. One of the strongest indicators for vaccination is provider recommendation, and dental health providers are well positioned to promote HPV vaccination among their patients. The purpose of this study was to determine if a continuing education (CE) course could improve dental hygienists' HPV-related knowledge and self-efficacy related to HPV vaccination recommendations. Data were collected from a sample of participants (n = 202) at a large dental hygiene conference in the southern US. A pre- and post-tests were administered with the CE course and differences in HPV vaccine knowledge and self-efficacy in counseling, recommending, and referring for the HPV vaccine were analyzed using SAS. HPV vaccine knowledge overall significantly increased post-CE (p < .001) and improvement was seen among several specific knowledge areas. However, knowledge regarding the common sites of HPV-related oral and oropharyngeal cancers remained moderate (82% correct) even after the CE intervention. There was no significant change from pre-test to post-test in participants' self-efficacy related to counseling patients about the HPV vaccine, recommending the HPV vaccine to patients, or referring patients for the vaccine. This study demonstrates that continuing education can improve dental hygienists' HPV-related knowledge. Since dental providers may play an important role in HPV-related cancer prevention, future work should develop continuing education tools that can motivate changes in self-efficacy and ultimately improve practice behaviors.

Transgender Incarceration and Law Enforcement as a Source of Harm: Upstream and Primordial Prevention Perspectives.

In the United States (US), transgender individuals are more likely to experience violence and sexual assault in jails and prisons compared with cisgender peers. Harms of incarceration on transgender individuals include limited access to medical care and hormone therapy, as well as being housed in facilities based on biological sex instead of gender identity. However, there has been insufficient research on addressing factors that lead to transgender individuals being incarcerated in the first place. In this article, we argue the need to focus on law enforcement interactions with transgender individuals in the US to reduce incarceration-related harms. Using the perspectives of primordial prevention and focusing on upstream factors that create health-related harms, we assert that focusing on law enforcement is a necessary component in addressing how the criminal justice system harms transgender individuals.

Governing with contagion: Pandemic politics, COVID-19, and undermining public health in Florida.

The United States approached the COVID-19 pandemic with inconsistent responses that varied by state. In Florida, legislators passed laws contrary to mitigating the pandemic. These laws included banning county and municipal efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 through mask mandates, social distancing, and prohibiting vaccination mandates during infectious disease epidemics. Moreover, the Legislature simultaneously prioritized policies of social exclusion, passing bills that constrained the rights of transgender individuals, Black Lives Matter protestors, and educators. In this article, I use the perspectives of critical medical anthropology and "governing through contagion" to examine Florida's COVID-19 response. I argue the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for legislators to obfuscate their political power and advance a politics of social division while simultaneously passing policies that undermined human health. I refer to this process as governing with contagion: Using a pandemic as a politically expedient backdrop to conceal power and simultaneously harm human health.

Direct-to-Consumer Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening Methods: Preferred Communication Sources and Channels Among Young Adult Women.

BACKGROUND: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening methods use self-collected samples in a nonclinical setting. Direct-to-consumer methods may reach a population of women who avoid screening because of stigma and privacy concerns, or who lack access to clinical care. Little is known about the salient dissemination approaches to promote these methods. The study's purpose was to identify preferred sources and communication channels for information about DTC methods among young adult women. METHODS: Participants were sexually active 18- to 24-year-old college women at one university, recruited via purposive sampling using campus email, list-servs, and campus events to participate in an online survey (n = 92). Interested participants were invited to participate in in-depth interviews (n = 24). Both instruments were guided by the Diffusion of Innovation theory to identify relevant communication channels. RESULTS: Survey participants ranked healthcare providers as their preferred source of information, followed by the Internet and college- and university-based resources. Race was significantly associated with the ranking of partners and family members as information sources. Interview themes focused on healthcare providers legitimizing DTC methods, using the Internet and social media to increase awareness, and linking DTC method education to other services provided by the college. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed common information sources that college-aged women may use when researching DTC method information and potential channels and strategies for DTC uptake and dissemination. Using trusted sources including healthcare providers, trusted Web sites, and established college resources as dissemination channels may be beneficial to increase the awareness and use of DTC methods for STI screening.

Immigration and Immigrant Policies, Health, and Health Equity in the United States.

Policy Points There is growing attention to the role of immigration and immigrant policies in shaping the health and well-being of immigrants of color. The early 21st century in the United States has seen several important achievements in inclusionary policies, practices, and ideologies toward immigrants, largely at subnational levels (e.g., states, counties, cities/towns). National policies or practices that are inclusionary toward immigrants are often at the discretion of the political parties in power. Early in the 21st century, the United States has implemented several exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies, contributing to record deportations and detentions and worsening inequities in the social drivers of health.

A socioecological perspective to contraceptive access for women experiencing homelessness in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Although persons who are pregnancy-capable and experiencing homelessness may have a strong desire to avoid pregnancy, they face unique barriers to contraception. This multimethod qualitative study aimed to identify preferences for, barriers to, and facilitators of contraceptive access and use among women experiencing homelessness in the United States using a systems perspective. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted semistructured interviews with women experiencing homelessness (n = 19), healthcare providers (n = 6), and social service providers (n = 6). We recruited participants from community-based, housing, and medical organizations in North Texas in the United States. Two coders conducted thematic analysis and reached consensus for codes. RESULTS: Women participants were in emergency shelter, unsheltered, or transitional/rapid rehousing. We stratified themes using the Socioecological Framework to illustrate factors affecting contraception access at individual, interpersonal, organizational and community, and societal levels. Notable results include women's preferences for long-acting reversible contraception, difficulties healthcare providers face in initiating contraceptive counseling, and the underutilized role of social service providers in reproductive healthcare. Insurance policies, connections between health clinics and community organizations, and organizational priorities both facilitated and hindered women experiencing homelessness's access to women's healthcare services. CONCLUSION: This study identified opportunities throughout the healthcare and social service systems to support contraceptive access for women experiencing homelessness. Future interventions should strengthen and leverage these connections to promote access among this vulnerable population with the goal of supporting reproductive autonomy. IMPLICATIONS: This study explored the reproductive health needs of women experiencing homelessness. Multilevel interventions, such as interdisciplinary care, patient-centered approaches, and an emphasis on health literacy, are needed to adequately provide the preferred methods of contraception for women experiencing homelessness, thus enabling reproductive autonomy for this population.

Mapping transgender policies in the US 2017-2021: The role of geography and implications for health equity.

Transgender individuals globally face varying policy contexts that can influence their health. In the United States (US), a patchwork of exclusionary and inclusive policies exists, creating potentially different social and political contexts that shape transgender health depending on the state. In this article, we consider how recent legislation introduced in US states focused on transgender people may be a political determinant of health and affect health equity goals. To advance this aim, we employed the perspective of legal epidemiology to systematically search a US legal database (Westlaw) for policies focused on transgender individuals proposed between January of 2017 and September of 2021.698 policies were analyzed as affirming or exclusionary of transgender identities and categorized by content. We calculated a ratio of affirming versus exclusionary bills to create "exclusionary density" and "affirming density" measures. Those measures were used to calculate an inclusivity score and corresponding maps of inclusivity and exclusionary contexts by US state. Exclusionary and affirming density measures showed deeply polarized policy responses to transgender individuals depending on US state. Further, we observed differences in magnitude regarding the laws being proposed. Exclusionary laws largely focused on criminalization while inclusionary laws focused on representation in government agencies. These findings highlight that transgender individuals in the US can experience vastly different political contexts depending on where they live.

Typical Sources and Locations of Marijuana among US Young Adults: Differences by Sexual Minority Status.

Background: With the widespread legalization of cannabis and use among all age groups, location and source of cannabis remains to be researched, especially among minority populations. Methods: We pooled data from the 2018-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and investigated differences by sexual minority status of where individuals obtained cannabis. Results: Results found that gay/lesbian and bisexual individuals who reported use were more likely to get marijuana from buying it, trading it for something else and getting it for free or sharing someone else's, compared to heterosexual individuals. Furthermore, more than one in five lesbian/gay individuals reported obtaining marijuana from someone they just met while nearly 25% of bisexual women reported obtaining marijuana from a friend. Conclusions: Findings from the present study may inform harm reduction and policy initiatives.

Responding to "Don't Say Gay" Laws in the US: Research Priorities and Considerations for Health Equity.

Introduction: Despite increased legal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identifying (LGBTQ +) people in the USA over the past 30 years, there has been an increasing number of anti-LGBTQ + laws proposed and passed at the state level. One of the most notorious laws, Florida's HB 1557, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" law, garnered substantial national attention for prohibiting discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in public school classrooms. Other states quickly proposed similar laws, but little scholarship exists on the potential impacts of these laws. Methods: We explore the potential health equity ramifications of laws like Florida's HB 1557, focusing on the individual, interpersonal, and broader policy and practice implications. Examining these policies through the lens of political determinants of health, we identify theoretical and methodological approaches needed to address recent "Don't Say Gay" policies. Results: Theoretical approaches emphasizing power, intersectionality, and the role of politics in health should guide research examining the impacts of recent anti-LGBTQ + policies. Laws like Florida's HB 1557 emphasize the need for methodological approaches that emphasize collaborative engagement between researchers and community members, and future research may be needed to understand how stressors created by law and policy can have individual and interpersonal consequences. Conclusions: Public health researchers have a role to play in reversing policies that negatively affect LGBTQ + individuals and undermine health equity. Research combating harmful policies may require theoretical approaches attentive to power differences and methodological approaches that squarely focus on disrupting power imbalances.

Consumer-Based Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening Among Young Adult Women: The Negative Influence of the Social System.

BACKGROUND: Young adults (ages 18-24 years) are disproportionately burdened by sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but STI screening rates are low among this age group. Negative social factors, such as stigma, influence STI screening behavior, but it is unknown if alternative methods such as consumer-based screening can reduce these barriers. This study examined how stigma impacts consumer-based STI testing among young adult women. METHODS: Qualitative data were collected via in-depth interviews with sexually active women aged 18 to 24 years enrolled at a large public university in the South (n = 24). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically with a priori and emergent codes by 2 coders ( κ = 0.83). RESULTS: Participants from this study perceived that sexual activity was viewed positively for men but negatively stigmatized for women. Furthermore, lack of sexuality education in schools was another contributor to stigma because abstinence-only education is commonly provided in this region. Participants felt that offering information on consumer-based STI screening methods may be beneficial to address these barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Stigma and social influences must be accounted for in future research and interventions to meet the STI screening needs of young adult women. Findings from this research can inform the development of targeted interventions for women who may perceive heightened stigma to STI screening.

Determining Perceived Self-Efficacy for Preventing Dengue Fever in Two Climatically Diverse Mexican States: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Knowledge of dengue fever and perceived self-efficacy toward dengue prevention does not necessarily translate to the uptake of mosquito control measures. Understanding how these factors (knowledge and self-efficacy) influence mosquito control measures in Mexico is limited. Our study sought to bridge this knowledge gap by assessing individual-level variables that affect the use of mosquito control measures. A cross-sectional survey with 623 participants was administered online in Mexico from April to July 2021. Multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression models were used to explore factors that predicted mosquito control scale and odds of taking measures to control mosquitoes in the previous year, respectively. Self-efficacy (ß = 0.323, p-value = < 0.0001) and knowledge about dengue reduction scale (ß = 0.316, p-value =< 0.0001) were the most important predictors of mosquito control scale. The linear regression model explained 24.9% of the mosquito control scale variance. Increasing age (OR = 1.064, p-value =< 0.0001) and self-efficacy (OR = 1.020, p-value = 0.0024) were both associated with an increase in the odds of taking measures against mosquitoes in the previous year. There is a potential to increase mosquito control awareness and practices through the increase in knowledge about mosquito reduction and self-efficacy in Mexico.

Health and immigration systems as an ethnographic field: Methodological lessons from examining immigration enforcement and health in the US.

The complexity of health systems and their social, political, and economic contexts has resulted in a call for multidisciplinary research that can appropriately examine the relationships and interactions surrounding health systems. Anthropologists, who have a disciplinary training that emphasizes social structures and human relationships, are well-suited to conduct health systems research. However, there remains a gap in anthropologically-ground methodological approaches for conducting in-depth, qualitative research that simultaneously conceptualizes and maps out a health system and examines connections between health systems and other social structures, such as immigration enforcement systems. Without such methodological approaches, limitations in examining a health system and its constituent elements will persist, and health and social scientists will miss opportunities to identify links between different factors in a health system and outside the system itself. In this article, I use ethnographic research examining the health-related consequences of immigration enforcement laws and police practices in the United States to show how to examine relationships between multiple social systems. In doing so, I provide an example for how to conduct in-depth, qualitative health systems research by merging theoretical frameworks in health sciences and anthropology to demonstrate how medical anthropologists can conceptualize a health system as a social field for ethnographic inquiry. Overall, I argue that such an approach permits anthropologists a way to conduct rigorous health systems research that emphasizes relationships and reveals potentially hidden interactions.

Stakeholders' perspectives on system-level barriers to and facilitators of HPV vaccination among Hispanic migrant farmworkers.

OBJECTIVES: Latinx populations suffer from a disproportionate burden of HPV-related cancers, yet vaccination completion rates nationally among this population remain low, with 46% of females and 35% of males completing the vaccine series. Given the heterogeneity of Latinx populations, sub-populations such as Latinx individuals who live in migrant farmworker communities experience additional system-level barriers to healthcare utilization. Thus, we examined stakeholder perceptions of barriers and facilitators to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among Latinx migrant farmworkers. Such information is critical to informing intervention development targeting vaccination uptake and completion, ultimately decreasing HPV-related cancer disparities. DESIGN: Guided by the PRECEDE-PROCEED model and the Social Ecological Model (SEM), interviews were conducted with diverse stakeholders (n = 13) representative of health, social services, and political sectors. Stakeholders were asked about their perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of HPV vaccination among migrant farmworkers. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Responses were coded according to components of the SEM. RESULTS: Micro-level facilitators identified included positive attitudes and vaccine acceptance among parents. Meso-level facilitators included availability of free or low-cost health care clinics, and macro-level facilitators included federal programs (e.g. Medicaid, Vaccine for Children). Micro-level barriers included lack of education and low health literacy. Meso-level barriers included poor patient-provider communication, lack of access (e.g. clinics not stocking/administering the vaccine; limited clinic hours; lack of reminder systems; insufficient organizational structure), public perceptions/attitudes towards HPV vaccination, and lack of healthcare service continuity due to migratory patterns. Macro-level barriers included public perceptions and attitudes towards HPV vaccination, transportation, vaccine availability and coverage for non-citizens, and lack of school entry policy. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that multi-level interventions should be developed to leverage existing facilitators while addressing system-level barriers, ultimately creating a supportive environment for HPV vaccine initiation and completion among this marginalized population comprised of individuals living in migrant farmworker communities.

Intersectionality and Syndemics: A Reply to Sangaramoorthy and Benton.

This commentary responds to Sangaramoorthy and Benton's commentary about the possibilities and pitfalls of putting intersectionality and syndemics into conversation. Echoing their emphasis on the significant stakes of intersectionality in advancing health equity and social justice, I assert the need for health and social scientists to advance scholarship and activism that works to dismantle white supremacy. Doing so requires using every theoretical and methodological tool possible, including an intersectionality-informed syndemics. Using ongoing fieldwork from Central Florida as an example, I provide a brief ethnographic account of what an intersectionality-informed syndemics might look like on-the-ground, and how such an effort might advance long-term, intersectional social justice goals.

Syndemic statuses: Intersectionality and mobilizing for LGBTQ+ Latinx health equity after the Pulse shooting.

As a theoretical framework, syndemics offers a way to examine interactions between two or more pathogens or social phenomena that interact synergistically to exacerbate poor health. The concept allows for interrogating the social, political, and economic circumstances responsible for disease clusters, but it insufficiently considers how social factors themselves interrelate to create complex forms of social subjugation. Failing to examine intersecting inequalities that produce the social contexts in which syndemic interactions occur will inhibit efforts to correct the root causes of poor health. To address this shortcoming, I argue there is a need for research on syndemics to be informed by intersectionality-a framework that considers how multiple interlocking types of oppression create distinct structural inequalities and life experiences. Advancing this argument, I draw from ethnographic fieldwork in Orlando, Florida, following the Pulse nightclub shooting, which disproportionately affected LGBTQ+ Latinx individuals who experience intersecting forms of social marginalization and are part of a population at risk for an HIV and psychopathology syndemic. Key informant interviews (n = 13) revealed how LGBTQ+ Latinx organizations emerged after the shooting to mobilize for greater health equity and health programs that directly respond to populations who experience unique inequalities related to their intersecting LGBTQ+ and Latinx identities. Findings from this article show how attention to intersectionality can inform efforts to mitigate existing syndemics and prevent future syndemics. Such efforts are needed to adequately examine the social contexts in which syndemics arise and to respond to the social and political phenomena that interact to inform health-related vulnerability.

Organizing for Black Lives and Funding COVID-19 Relief: Community Responses to Systemic Racism and Imagining Public Health 4.0.

Structural racism is a root cause of poor health in the United States and underlies COVID-19-related disparities for Black and Latinx populations. We describe how one community-based organization responded to structural racism and COVID-19 in Florida. Informed by the literature on how public health practice changed from emphasizing prevention (Public Health 1.0) to collaboration between governmental and public health agencies (Public Health 2.0) and examining social determinants of health (Public Health 3.0), we call for a politically engaged Public Health 4.0. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(S3):S201-S203. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306408).

Sexual Consent Communication among Sexual and Gender Minority College Students.

Sexual scripts and consent communication methods are seldom explored outside of heterosexual, cisgender relationships. To date, little research has been conducted to determine how sexual and gender minority (SGM) students conceptualize and communicate consent. This study explored SGM undergraduate students' (n = 81) sexual consent communication scripts using open-ended survey items. We conducted a thematic freelisting analysis to assess the domains of consent and non-consent scripts using Smith's Salience Score (S). Salient indicators of consent were verbal communication (S = .31; 38%); however, more specific forms of verbal communication were listed as a spectrum, including: asking (a request, S = .16; 23%), saying (a statement, S = .16; 20%), and telling (a command, S = .10; 13%). The most salient indicators of verbal non-consent were on a similar spectrum: saying no (S = .42; 9%), verbal communication broadly (S = .23; 27%), and telling no (S = .06; 7%). Salient physical indicators of both consent and non-consent also followed a spectrum in their descriptions. Future research among SGM college students should explore the meanings, patterns, and differences in consent communication and sexual scripts.

Multi-level determinants to HPV vaccination among Hispanic farmworker families in Florida.

Background: HPV vaccination is the primary prevention method for HPV-related cancers, although among Hispanic populations, migrant farmworkers may experience exacerbated challenges to HPV vaccination due to intersecting political, social, and personal contexts. This study explored multi-level determinants of HPV vaccination among Hispanic migrant farmworker families.Methods: Using a community-engaged approach and guided by the socio-ecological model, Intervention Mapping, and PRECEDE-PROCEED constructs, we recruited parents who had a daughter and/or son age 9-15 years from a rural, faith-based, community organization in Florida. Three focus groups (n = 13) were conducted in Spanish and constant comparison methods were used to analyze qualitative data.Results: Micro-level determinants included moderate HPV vaccine knowledge, desire for more HPV vaccine information, concerns about HPV vaccine completion, health/preventive motivations, past experiences with the healthcare system, and parental gender roles related to health care. Macro-level determinants included facilitators (e.g. transportation services, clinics open after work hours, governmental programs) and barriers (e.g. supervisor/employment inflexibility, long clinic wait times) to accessing health care and vaccination in general (including HPV vaccination). Participants shared their preferences for future interventions that would meet the needs of this community, and discussed potential content and mechanisms for receiving HPV information, as well as what might facilitate their overall access, uptake, and completion of the HPV vaccine series.Discussion: Determinants to HPV vaccination emerged and underscore the importance of addressing the multi-level factors when designing and delivering an HPV vaccine intervention for this Hispanic migrant farmworker population. Improving HPV vaccination rates requires responding to situational and structural hardships that disproportionately impact this group. Thus, community-tailored and culturally appropriate multi-level interventions are needed, while emphasizing existing knowledge assets and preferences favorable towards HPV vaccination, with the ultimate goal of the decreasing HPV-related disparities. Findings suggest interventions must reach beyond the individual level to account for this unique population's lived experiences.