Tailor Made: A Pilot Virtual Weight Loss Intervention Individually Tailored for African American Men.

This study tests the acceptability and feasibility of the first virtual weight loss study individually tailored for middle-aged African American men. Tailor Made is a 3-month randomized controlled pilot of a weight loss intervention that included 58 overweight or obese African American men (mean age of 50.4; SD = 7.9). Control group participants received a Fitbit activity tracker and Bluetooth-enabled scale and copies of the self-led Tailor Made curriculum. Intervention group participants received the same Fitbit, Bluetooth-enabled scale, and curriculum and also participated in weekly, 45-minute virtual small group, professional-led education sessions using the Tailor Made curriculum and received three SMS text messages weekly: (a) a message individually tailored on African American Manhood that links men's values, goals, and motivation to health-promoting behavior; (b) a goal-tracking message to monitor physical activity, healthier eating, and lifestyle changes; and (c) a reminder 24 hours before their session. Participation rates in weekly small group sessions, randomization, and attendance at the assessments suggest that Tailor Made was feasible and acceptable. Only among intervention group participants, we found a small and significant decrease in BMI between baseline and final. In addition, active minutes of physical activity decreased for the control group while active minutes for the intervention group remained steady throughout the intervention. In sum, we demonstrated that a virtual, individually tailored weight loss intervention is feasible and acceptable to African American men. Participants valued the convenience of a virtual intervention, but there were a number of ways we may be able to enhance the potential benefits of this approach.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Oral Health Promotion among Oral Health Providers in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

AIM: This study was to establish a baseline level of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of oral health promotion (OHP) among oral health providers in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study also described and evaluated the factors that facilitate or limit the practice of OHP and examined the relationship between the level of knowledge and attitude that practitioners have of OHP and their OHP practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire included demographic questions and questions on the KAP of oral health promotion. Out of 365 questionnaires that were disseminated, 106 questionnaires were fully completed. Cross- tabulation was conducted to establish factors associated with KAP scores. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors that were associated with the practice of OHP. RESULTS: The baseline level of oral health providers' knowledge and attitude toward OHP was fair. Only a few providers have integrated OHP into their practice. Age of participants was significantly associated with knowledge of OHP among the providers. Also, there was a significant difference in mean attitude scores toward OHP by education level. The practice of OHP was significantly related to education level and facility type. CONCLUSION: Further research focusing on different cities or geographical regions in the KSA is needed to validate this finding. Also, the finding supports the need for continuous training in OHP to ensure that health providers understand and apply OHP practices in their work. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Due to the scarcity of data that measure OHP among oral health providers in the KSA, proper education and training programs by governmental authorities are difficult to implement. This study will provide baseline measures for future investigations for academicians and practitioners, alike.

Use of Social Network Strategy Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men for HIV Testing, Linkage to Care, and Reengagement in Care, Tennessee, 2013-2016.

OBJECTIVES: Tennessee was 1 of 8 states that received funding from the Care and Prevention in the United States Demonstration Project, which aimed to reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality among racial/ethnic and sexual minority populations. The objective of this study was to describe implementation of a social network strategy (SNS) program, which leverages personal connections in social networks, to reach people with undiagnosed HIV infection for HIV testing. We targeted young black men who have sex with men (MSM) at 3 agencies in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, during 2013-2016. METHODS: Specialists at the 3 agencies identified MSM with and without diagnosed HIV infection (ie, recruiters) who could recruit members from their social networks for HIV testing (ie, network associates). Both recruiters and network associates received OraQuick rapid and confirmatory HIV tests. We used χ2 and Fisher exact tests to assess differences in demographic characteristics, HIV testing, and care engagement status by agency. RESULTS: Of 1752 people who were tested for HIV in the SNS program, 158 (9.0%) tested positive; of these, 80 (50.6%) were newly diagnosed with HIV. Forty-seven of the 78 (60.3%) people who were previously diagnosed with HIV were not in care in the previous 12 months; of these, 27 (57.4%) were reengaged in medical care. Of 80 people newly diagnosed with HIV, 44 (55.0%) were linked to care. CONCLUSIONS: The SNS program ascertained HIV status among a high-risk population in a heavily burdened region. Further program evaluation is needed to understand how to improve linkage to care among people with newly diagnosed HIV.