Age, race/Hispanic origin, and COVID-19 mortality among sickle cell disease patients in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a global health challenge, with 6.7 million deaths worldwide as of January 2023. It has illuminated the health iniquities in underserved communities and populations like those with sickle cell disease (SCD). Researchers have associated the COVID-19 outcome among SCD patients in other regions of the globe. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional observational study was to investigate the relationship between age, race/Hispanic origin, and COVID-19 mortality among persons with SCD in the United States from January 2020 to March 2021. The Krieger ecosocial theory of disease distribution framed the study. Data were drawn from an existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provisional SCD death data set (N = 140). The binary logistic regression analysis result showed a statistically significant relationship between age and race/Hispanic origin and COVID-19 mortality. The variability between ages was 42.9%;race/Hispanic origin was 29.9%;and age and race/Hispanic origin were the highest, with 62.4% dying from COVID-19. Non-Hispanic Black patients were 9.6 times more likely to die overall but those aged 60+ were 17.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the reference groups (0-19-year-old and other race). This study can benefit the research community, public health workers, medical professionals, and policymakers to understand better and influence policy on developing and prioritizing age- and race-tailored preventive protocols and medical care. They may minimize pain and suffering while mitigating mortality from COVID-19 and other unforeseen future pandemics within the SCD community at home and abroad and positively effect social change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Evaluation of the Spanish-Language Cancer Educational Webinar Series "Vamos a educarnos contra el cáncer" with the RE-AIM Framework.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare for patients with chronic diseases, including cancer. Barriers to healthcare increased, especially for racial and ethnic minorities. While many institutions developed webinars to educate community members, few webinars used a community-based participatory approach, employed a theory-based engagement design, and were evaluated. This manuscript reports the outcomes of "Vamos a educarnos contra el cáncer," a 2021 webinar series. Monthly educational webinars were conducted in Spanish on cancer-related topics. The presentations were delivered by Spanish-speaking content experts from different organizations. Webinars were conducted using the video conferencing platform Zoom. Polls were launched during the webinar to collect data and evaluate each webinar. The RE-AIM model of reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance was used to evaluate the series. The SAS Analytics Software was used for analysis and data management. Two hundred ninety-seven people participated with over 3000 views of the webinar recordings (Reach); 90% rated the sessions as good or excellent (Effectiveness); 86% agreed to adopt or improve a cancer-related behavior, and 90% reported willingness to adopt or improve a cancer-related action for someone else (Adoption); 92% reported feeling engaged (Implementation). The series has produced a resource library, manual of operations, and agreement of the Hispanic/Latino Cancer Community Advisory Board (CAB) to continue the webinar series in the future (Maintenance). Overall, these results highlight the impact of this webinar series and provide a standard approach to planning, delivering, and evaluating webinars as a strategy for cancer prevention and control in a culturally appropriate manner.

Psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in a Hispanic sample: Testing the buffering role of resilience and perceived social support.

The current study examined the effects of specific COVID-19 stressors (i.e., family member's death due to COVID-19, COVID-19 infection, and school/financial stressors) on stress, anxiety, and depression and the potential buffering roles of resilience and perceived social support in the association between COVID-19 stressors and psychological symptoms in a Hispanic university student sample (n = 664). Participants were classified in three stressor groups: those reporting a family member's death due to COVID-19 (15.7%), those reporting their own or a family member's COVID-19 infection but no COVID-19 death (35.5%), and those reporting only school and/or financial stressors due to the pandemic (48.8%). Participants completed self-report measures online. Over 50% of participants with a COVID-19 death or infection in the family reported clinical levels of depression symptoms and over 40% endorsed clinically elevated anxiety symptoms. A series of moderation analyses with multi-categorical predictors found that among relatively highly resilient people, the magnitudes of the impact of COVID-19 infection or death on stress, anxiety, and depression were similar to the effect of a financial/school stressor alone, suggesting the buffering role of resilience. Perceived social support did not play a buffering role in the associations. Family member death due to COVID-19 and COVID-19 infection had significant negative psychological impacts on Hispanic young adults. Internal personal resources such as resilience, rather than external personal resources such as perceived social support, appear to be a critical factor that may help protect Hispanic individuals' mental health from the worst stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors Affecting Hispanics' Access to Healthcare During the COVID-19 Pandemic:An Integrative Review

Hispanics comprise more than one third of U.S. COVID-19 cases. This higher prevalence is associated with determinants toaccess that existed long before the pandemic. Using the Preferred Report Items for Systematic Review and Metanalysis(PRISMA) guidelines, this review examined 20 studies that addressed barriers faced specifically by Hispanics in the UnitedStates, Sampling methods are described and the synthesized research findings are organized using the TheoreticalFramework of Access, which classified barriers as either structural or personal. Results suggested that Hispanics had lowerCOVID-19 knowledge than other groups. The article discussion considers possible causes, such as low health literacy levels,an inability to reach or pay for services, a mistrust of healthcare providers, or a lack of access to information. To increase U.S.Hispanics' COVID-19 knowledge and encourage safer behaviors, culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriateinformation is needed. © 2023,Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. All Rights Reserved.

How the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped demographic variation in mental health among diverse engineering student populations

Mental health issues have long posed a challenge on university campuses. While no population is immune, research has shown that students from marginalised backgrounds can have higher rates of mental health issues and suffer worse outcomes as a result. These discrepancies have been attributed to everything from different cultural norms to the micro-aggressions and other barriers that students from marginalised populations face on university campuses. With the onset of COVID-19 in the United States, many residential universities switched to a remote learning model, fundamentally changing the relationship between students, campus, and family support. This work uses survey data from students in the United States to explore how COVID-19 affected mental health issues among students from different backgrounds. While the pandemic drastically increased rates of depressive disorder among all respondents, discrepancies between mental health rates for women and Hispanic/Latinx compared to men and White respondents either decreased or disappeared. Additionally, respondents identifying as Asians were less likely to screen positive for several mental health conditions than White, Non-Hispanic respondents. These findings may point to important new insights about the ways in which engineering education undermines some groups' mental health. ©, Engineers Australia.

Examining the roles of acculturative stressors and cultural factors in major health and safety issues among Hispanic/Latino farmworkers

Statement of the problem: Hispanic/Latino farmworkers are at increased risk of adverse health and safety outcomes. Heightened levels of acculturative stress and the unique cultural characteristics and beliefs reported by this group increase workers' vulnerability for adverse outcomes. Method: The first project consisted of a systematic review examining threats to the health and safety of Hispanic/Latino agricultural workers attributable to climate change, focusing specifically on their risk for heat-related illnesses (HRI) and cultural factors and beliefs increasing workers' vulnerability for HRI. The second project was a secondary data analysis focused on identifying potential relationships between acculturative stressors, cultural factors, and workers' recent utilization of healthcare services in the United States. The final project was an exploratory study identifying COVID-19 associated stress experienced by a largely foreign-born group of Hispanic/Latino farmworkers in North Carolina. Like the preceding projects, this study focused on acculturative stressors and cultural beliefs potentially impacting workers' experiences with COVID-19. Results: The first project determined that Hispanic/Latino farmworkers were indeed at increased risk for HRI. Workers occupational safety behaviors were informed by common cultural beliefs and misconceptions, increasing workers' risk for HRI. The second project found that there were statistically significant associations between the outcome, workers' recent utilization of healthcare services in the United States, and the predictors foreign-born status, migrant worker status, work authorization (legal work authorization versus undocumented status), reading English language proficiency, and gender. The third project found that Hispanic/Latino farmworkers surveyed struggled with some level of COVID-19 stress with roughly half of participants reporting concerns about their ability to provide for and see family members as a result of COVID-19.Conclusion: This dissertation identified a number of cultural factors and acculturative stressors impacting Hispanic/Latino farmworkers' health. Overall, the findings of this dissertation support the need for further research on the relationships between acculturative stressors, cultural factors, and health behaviors among Hispanic/Latino farmworkers. These relationships should be important considerations in research concerning Hispanic/Latino farmworkers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Color-blind racial attitudes in nursing students and faculty

Racial color-blindness is a meritocratic ahistorical false belief surrounding the denial, minimization, and distortion of the existence of racism that has detrimental effects on health. Critical race theory effectively centered race for this analysis. Faculty of all races except African American/Black had higher racial color-blindness than students on all 3 of the following sub-concepts of the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale: Unawareness of Racial Privilege, Institutional Discrimination, and Blatant Racial Issues. These are all disadvantages to student success and show that nursing faculty may not be optimally poised to speak on the social determinants of health. Findings also showed that Latina/o/Hispanic students and students of "All Other Races" were less aware of racial privilege than White and Black/African American students. Students with lower GPAs were less aware of racial privilege and those with higher GPAs were more racially color-blind on the sub-concept of Institutional Discrimination. The sample for this study, comprised of nursing students and nursing faculty in a selection of California Community Colleges across Southern California was much more diverse than those in other similar studies where the sample was comprised predominantly of White people. A cross sectional within-subjects descriptive research design was used. Participants completed the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale. While the Everyday Discrimination Scale was completed to control for experiences of discrimination in their level of racial color-blindness, it did not show a statistically significant relationship. Of the faculty in the sample, 52% were non White compared to the national average of 15.9% non-White for nursing faculty. The findings related to first language and language spoken at home are a strong indicator of the high diversity of the sample. English was the first language for 58% of the students and 86% of the faculty. English was the language spoken at home for 73% of the students and 91% of the faculty, while 67% of students and 65% of faculty were born in the United States. The year 2020 had unique historical events surrounding the dual pandemic of COVID-19 and racism. The heightened sensitivity to racism and police brutality as a result of the murder of George Floyd surely had some influence on the data collected for this study. The results support interventions related to raising awareness about color-blind racial attitudes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Disparities in COVID-19 case counts and incidence in Florida by race and ethnicity at the county and state level

Background: In 2020, as COVID-19 spread across the United States, reports of disparities in COVID-19 incidence and mortality by race and ethnicity soon followed. This study assessed COVID-19 case counts and incidence by race and ethnicity at county and state levels focusing on Florida. Methods: Counts of COVID-19 were collected from June through December 2020. Chi square analyses assessed disparities in case distribution and linear regressions assessed disparities in incidence and potential interaction between predictors. Results: Race and ethnicity were significant predictors of COVID-19 incidence. Mean incidence was 4.9, 6.6, and 14.3 per 1,000 people among White, Black, and Other populations and 10.9 and 5.0 per 1,000 people among Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations. Incidence was greatest among the Other population (P=0.3825), and greater among Hispanic than non-Hispanic populations (P=0.0057). Conclusion: This study illustrates the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 upon racial and ethnic minorities and highlights the need to improve race and ethnicity data collection in disease reporting.

Collegiate student-athlete psychological distress and counseling utilization during COVID-19

The onset of COVID-19 and cancellation of collegiate sports may have exacerbated student-athletes' psychological distress. Within a national sample of collegiate athletes (N = 5,755;66.7% women), we determined how gender and race related to rates of depression, stress, and counseling use at the beginning of the pandemic (April/May 2020). Overall, 26.5% (n = 1,526) and 10.6% (n = 612) endorsed clinical levels of depression and stress, respectively;25.1% (n = 1,443) and 69.7% (n = 4,014) reported subclinical levels. Few athletes (2.3%-17.1%) reported counseling use before or after the onset of COVID-19;those who did reported higher levels of depression and stress than those who never sought services. The female athletes reported higher rates of depression, stress, and counseling use than the male athletes. There were no race effects. Athletic departments must address their student-athletes' psychological distress by facilitating a higher use of mental health services.

Feasibility and acceptability of parenting interventions delivered in Spanish to caregivers of children with autism and other developmental delays: A mixed-methods design

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or developmental delay (DD) experience increased stress due to raising a child with a disability, particularly if the child also presents with challenging behaviors. As such, there is benefit to developing evidence-based interventions that: 1) help parents cope with stress, and 2) manage the challenging behaviors of their children. This is particularly true for underserved groups, including Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latinx populations, who are often underrepresented in intervention research. Two promising interventions in reducing caregiver stress are psychoeducation/support groups and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR);an intervention effective in reducing child challenging behaviors is Behavioral Parent Training (BPT). This study piloted these three interventions for 60 Spanish-speaking Hispanic caregivers of children with ASD or DD as part of a larger, randomized-controlled trial. We sought to examine the feasibility and acceptability of these interventions both within this Spanish-speaking cohort, and compared to previously run English-speaking cohorts. Additionally, due to unforeseen circumstances of COVID-19, the BPT intervention was modified for telehealth delivery, allowing for initial exploration of the modality for this population. Results from attendance and satisfaction data, as well as participant focus groups, showed that Spanish-speaking participants attended sessions at similar rates and demonstrated preference for psychoeducation/support groups over MBSR compared to English-speaking participants, while finding BPT strategies generally acceptable. Participants reported appreciating the knowledge gained and sense of community established in the psychoeducation/support groups. Implications and future directions, including potential cultural adaptation of materials to maximize participant engagement and buy-in, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

COVID-19 Testing, Vaccine Perceptions, and Trust among Hispanics Residing in an Underserved Community.

The Borderplex region has been profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Borderplex residents live in low socioeconomic (SES) neighborhoods and lack access to COVID-19 testing. The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to implement a COVID-19 testing program in the Borderplex region to increase the number of residents tested for COVID-19, and second, to administer a community survey to identify trusted sources of COVID-19 information and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake. A total of 4071 community members were tested for COVID-19, and 502 participants completed the survey. COVID-19 testing resulted in 66.8% (n = 2718) positive cases. The community survey revealed that the most trusted sources of COVID-19 information were doctors or health care providers (67.7%), government websites (e.g., CDC, FDA, etc.) (41.8%), and the World Health Organization (37.8%). Logistic regression models revealed several statistically significant predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake such as having a trusted doctor or health care provider, perceiving the COVID-19 vaccine to be effective, and perceiving that the COVID-19 vaccine does not cause side-effects. Findings from the current study highlight the need for utilizing an integrated, multifactorial approach to increase COVID-19 testing and to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake in underserved communities.

Trust in government actors and COVID-19 vaccination uptake among Hispanics and Latinos in the U.S.

Although the federal government has made official recommendations to the public advocating vaccinations against COVID-19 various communities have decided against doing so. In this regard, various studies have indicated that trust in government to provide accurate information about vaccines during a pandemic are related to whether people get vaccinated. Various studies have investigated factors contributing to vaccine decision-making, but none specifically focus on Hispanic and Latinos in the United States. This study identifies factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination among Hispanics and Latinos using a nation-wide, phone-based survey. Using data generated by the Kaiser Family Foundation's COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, collected in June 2021, a logistic regression on the decision to get vaccinated, trust in various governmental actors, in addition to demographic variables such as age, race, employment status, parental status, employment status, and income are observed to be significant in Hispanics' and Latinos' decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As a byproduct of these findings, recommendations for future research are provided that relate to expanding our understanding of these factors among different ethnicities of Latinos.

Understanding search autocompletes from the perspectives of English and Spanish speakers during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the study was to explore differences in Google search autocompletes between English and Spanish-speaking users during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Twenty-nine individuals who were in areas with shelter-in-place state orders participated in a virtual focus group meeting to understand the algorithm bias of COVID-19 Google autocompletes. The three focus group meetings lasted for 90-120 minutes. A codebook was created and transcripts were coded using NVivo qualitative software with a 95% intercoder reliability between two coders. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Among the 29 participants, six self-identified as White, seven as Black/African American, five as American Indian or Alaska Native, four as Asian Indian, and three as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. In terms of ethnicity, 21 participants identified as Hispanic/Latino. The themes that emerged from the study were: (1) autocompletes evoked fear and stress; (2) skepticism and hesitation towards autocomplete search; (3) familiarity with COVID-19 information impacts outlook on autocomplete search; (4) autocompletes can promote preselection of searches; and (5) lesser choice of autocomplete results for Spanish-speaking searchers. Spanish speakers expressed concerns and hesitation due to social factors and lack of information about COVID-19.

Feasibility and acceptability of parenting interventions delivered in Spanish to caregivers of children with autism and other developmental delays: A mixed-methods design

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or developmental delay (DD) experience increased stress due to raising a child with a disability, particularly if the child also presents with challenging behaviors. As such, there is benefit to developing evidence-based interventions that: 1) help parents cope with stress, and 2) manage the challenging behaviors of their children. This is particularly true for underserved groups, including Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latinx populations, who are often underrepresented in intervention research. Two promising interventions in reducing caregiver stress are psychoeducation/support groups and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR);an intervention effective in reducing child challenging behaviors is Behavioral Parent Training (BPT). This study piloted these three interventions for 60 Spanish-speaking Hispanic caregivers of children with ASD or DD as part of a larger, randomized-controlled trial. We sought to examine the feasibility and acceptability of these interventions both within this Spanish-speaking cohort, and compared to previously run English-speaking cohorts. Additionally, due to unforeseen circumstances of COVID-19, the BPT intervention was modified for telehealth delivery, allowing for initial exploration of the modality for this population. Results from attendance and satisfaction data, as well as participant focus groups, showed that Spanish-speaking participants attended sessions at similar rates and demonstrated preference for psychoeducation/support groups over MBSR compared to English-speaking participants, while finding BPT strategies generally acceptable. Participants reported appreciating the knowledge gained and sense of community established in the psychoeducation/support groups. Implications and future directions, including potential cultural adaptation of materials to maximize participant engagement and buy-in, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Vaccination for COVID-19 among historically underserved Latino communities in the United States: Perspectives of community health workers.

A critical step to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is vaccination. We conducted a mixed methods project that used online surveys and focus groups with 64 Community Health Workers and Promotor/as (CHW/Ps) located near the U.S.-Mexico border to identify barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination among Latino communities that have been historically underrepresented and medically underserved. Overall, personal barriers to vaccination included mistrust of manufacturers and administrators as well as fear of: becoming infected from the vaccine, discrimination/stigmatization from healthcare professionals administering the vaccine, exploitation/manipulation by the government or health authorities, and having personal information mishandled. Environmental and community barriers included being undocumented and fear-inducing myths and beliefs. Additional barriers included limited information and logistics pertaining to vaccination access. Targeted efforts are needed to overcome barriers in a culturally and contextually sensitive manner to prevent harm and reduce risk of infection among communities that have been historically underrepresented.

Community-clinical linkages: the effects of the healthy here wellness referral center on chronic disease indicators among underserved populations in New Mexico. (Special Issue: Reducing chronic disease through physical activity and nutrition: public health practice in the field.)

The majority of U.S. adults are living with at least one chronic condition, and people of color bear a disproportionate burden of chronic disease. Prior research identifies community-clinical linkages (CCLs) as a strategy for improving health. CCLs traditionally use health care providers to connect patients to community-based self-management programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a centralized CCL system on health indicators and health disparities. Administrative health data were merged with referral system data to conduct a quasi-experimental comparative time series study with a comparison group of nonreferred patients. Interrupted time-series comparisons within referred patients were also conducted. Of the 2,920 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 972 (33.3%) received a referral during the study period (January 2019-September 2021). Hemoglobin A1c levels, used to diagnose diabetes, declined significantly among referred patients, as did disparities among Hispanic/Latinx participants compared with non-Hispanic White participants. No changes were observed in body mass index (BMI). Blood pressure increased among both referred and nonreferred patients. CCLs with a centralized referral system can effectively reduce markers of diabetes and may contribute to the maintenance of BMI. The observed increase in blood pressure may have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and warrants further study. Practitioners can work with community partners to implement a centralized CCL model, either on its own or to enhance existing clinician or community health worker-based models.

Third wave COVID-19 delta variant breakthrough infection in a Hispanic-dominant suburb of Miami, Florida: ethical dilemma and vaccination hesitancy.

Background and Aims: The peak of the third wave of COVID-19 infection was in the summer (August-September) of 2021, dominated by the Delta variant. Florida was the epicenter of the third wave with more than 151,449 cases in the first week of August with a positivity rate of 20%. The purpose of this study is to identify the percentage of COVID-19 infection in vaccinated patients in a minority population in south Florida and to elucidate the relationship, if any, between demographics and breakthrough infections, the rate of vaccine hesitancy, as well as the willingness to receive the monoclonal antibody REGEN-COV for the treatment of COVID-19. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at the Emergency Department, Larkin Community Hospital Palm Spring Campus, located in Hialeah, the fourth largest city in Florida. Hialeah is dominated (94.7%) by Hispanics and Latinos. This city represents a cross-sectional sample of US cities in general and Florida in specific. We enrolled 127 COVID-19 PCR-positive patients. Results: The infection in vaccinated patients (breakthrough) was found to be about one in three (34%). Despite the high infection rate and mounting death toll, about 73% of our unvaccinated patients answered no to the question 'knowing the consequences of being infected with COVID-19 and the fact that you are positive, would you have chosen to be vaccinated earlier?' However, about 27% of these patients agreed to receive the vaccine and 20.5% received the monoclonal antibody REGEN-COV. Conclusions: Our study revealed that vaccine hesitancy in South Florida continues to be a major challenge, especially with the emergence of mutations including Delta plus and Omicron.

A Transformative Project between Two-State Colleges and a-4-year Institution for Student Success in STEM

The session will report on the success and lessons learned from the five-year implementation of a collaborative DOE project between two Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) State Colleges and an HSI university with a combined 140,000+ undergraduate students. The session will also report on revising a Systemic, Evidenced-Based, and Student-Centered (SE-SC) framework due to the COVID-19 situation over the last two years. The original aim of the SE-SC framework was to maximize the number of academically-talented, Hispanic students who complete their AA degrees at State Colleges and transfer to a 4-year institution to complete their BS degree and are career-ready to enter engineering and computer science (ECS). The revised SE-SC framework addresses the online education challenge of the project due to the COVID-19 situation. The session will report on how the professional relationships among three large post-secondary institutions have evolved and how the partners have become more intentional about project outcomes. In addition, the design and implementation of articulation agreements have increased programmatic alignment, a more seamless and easy-to-navigate transfer process for students. Furthermore, the collaboration to reach out to industry partners has increased the authenticity of experiences provided to the students across all three institutions. The session will also report on the faculty's adaptation of their instructional practices to include using newer digital technologies for hybrid and remote learning while maximizing student interests and motivating degree completion during the COVID-19 pandemic. Project success has been assessed by applying quantitative and qualitative measures, informal assessments, and anecdotal records. The institutional infrastructure in supporting diverse student interests and success in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science degree programs and their career pathways are presented. Other institutions interested in promoting STEM programs may replicate the implemented model due to its effectiveness, as reported in the session. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

The Development of a Student Organization that SupportsMinorities in Computing (Experience)

This paper discusses the recognized need for an organization focused on serving students from underrepresented populations in the computing field at Texas A&M University, describing the formation of the Aggie Hispanics in Computing group. In 2016, the combined undergraduate and graduate Hispanic enrollment in computer science and computer engineering at Texas A&M University initially sat at 17.9% and then decreased to approximately 11.76% in 2021, with undergraduate Hispanic enrollment in computing reduced from almost 22% to under 15% in that same time frame. This significant shift in Hispanic student representation spurred the development of the Aggie Hispanics In Computing (AHIC) student organization to create a computing community that provides support around the shared experiences of being part of a minority group in an even less diverse discipline. The university, overall, was recently recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, but the College of Engineering remains a predominately-white institution. This new organization is not the only Hispanic-serving organization at Texas A&M University;rather, it was designed to focus particularly on serving Hispanic students in the computer science and computer engineering disciplines at Texas A&M University. The organization was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Since then, AHIC has grown significantly in membership, financial support, and activities to increase the representation of Hispanic students within the computing disciplines at Texas A&M University. The organization has grown from 6 to over 50 members from various majors in the past year alone. AHIC has also received financial support from a multitude of companies, such as General Motors and Chevron. AHIC's overall goal is to create a supportive community for minorities in computing fields. This community has grown through hosting events that provide information and resources about professional career opportunities, technical workshops, mentoring programs, and participation in research groups. AHIC has also initiated several long-term initiatives, such as peer-teaching for introductory computer science courses. AHIC's promotion of career-guidance events (where company representatives and alumni provide advice for currently enrolled students) proved to be an effective strategy for recruiting members. The organization has also hosted seminars and workshops educating first-year students on new computing skills and the opportunities that a computer science and computer engineering degree can provide. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Theory to Practice: Professional Development for Culturally Responsive Technician Education

The HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) ATE (Advanced Technological Education) Hub 2 is a three-year collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that continues the partnership between two successful programs and involves a third partner in piloting professional development that draws upon findings from the initial program. The goal of HSI ATE Hub 2 is to improve outcomes for Latinx students in technician education programs through design, development, pilot delivery, and dissemination of a 3-tier professional development (PD) model for culturally responsive technician education at 2-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The project seeks to do this by developing the awareness and ability of faculty to appreciate, engage, and affirm the unique cultural identities of the students in their classes and use this connection to deepen students' belonging and emerging identities as STEM learners and future STEM technicians. This paper shares the research foundations shaping this approach and the methods by which faculty professional development is being provided to develop this important and sensitive instructional capability in participating faculty. The tiered PD model features a scaffolded series of reflective and activity-oriented modules to incrementally enrich the instructional practices and mindset of HSI STEM educators and strengthen their repertoire of strategies for engaging culturally diverse students. Scaffolding that translates culturally responsive theory to practice spans each of the four distinct topic modules in each tier. Each topic module in a tier then scaffolds to a more advanced topic module in the next tier. Tier 1, Bienvenidos, welcomes HSI STEM educators who recognize the need to better serve their Latinx students, and want guidance for small practical activities to try with their students. Tier 2, Transformation through Action, immerses HSI STEM educators in additional activities that bring culturally responsive practices into their technician training while building capacity to collect evidence about impacts and outcomes for students. Tier 3, Engaging Community, strengthens leadership as HSI STEM educators disseminate results from activities completed in Tiers 1 and 2 at conferences that attract technician educators. Sharing the evidence-based practices and their outcomes contributes to achieving broader impacts in the Advanced Technological Education or ATE Community of NSF grantees. Westchester Community College (WCC), the first 2-year HSI in the State University of New York (SUNY) 64 campus system, is piloting the 3-tier PD model using virtual learning methods mastered through previous NSF ATE work and the COVID-19 context. During the pilot, over 20 WCC technician educators in three cohorts will develop leadership skills and practice culturally responsive methods. The pilot will build capacity within WCC STEM technician programs to better support the diversity of students, industry demand for a diverse workforce, and WCC's capacity for future development of technician education programs. This first paper in a three part series describes the program goals and objectives, the 3-Tier PD model, and reports initial results for Cohort A's engagement in the first three modules of Tier 1. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.