"I Struggle with Breast Cancer and I Struggle with God": Insights from African American Breast Cancer Survivors.

PURPOSE: Recognizing that spiritual and religious beliefs are personal and vary within communities, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the influence of these beliefs on experiences with breast cancer care and social support among African American Christian breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Forty-seven African American breast cancer survivors participated in focus groups (n = 7) in three northeastern urban cities. We used thematic analyses to identify major themes. RESULTS: Three themes emerged relating to how spirituality influenced participants' cancer journeys: (1) struggling with God, (2) reclaiming my power, and (3) needing religious social support. Participants described the rhythmic flow of their spiritual beliefs as they navigated their lived experiences during diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment. Spirituality was intimately intertwined with their illness experience as they grappled with their health and well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Participants used spirituality as an avenue to cope and navigate through their diagnosis and treatment. These spiritual relationships created "church families" and provided the survivors' access to cancer support groups, financial support, and therapeutic support. Our findings support faith-based approaches to health promotion and call for more studies to understand the influence of religion on health.

Examining the Dietary Diversity of Children in Niger.

Malnutrition is a major public health concern in Niger. The stunting rate in children in Niger is over 50%, one of the highest in the world. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine children's dietary diversity (CDD) and the maternal factors that impact CDD. A total of 1265 mother-child pairs were analyzed. Descriptive analysis was conducted to present maternal and child characteristics. To compare the mean scores of CDD in relation to the region, an independent sample t-test was conducted. A one-way ANOVA test was conducted to evaluate the CDD score by different age groups. A linear regression model was estimated to identify household, maternal and child factors that affect the CDD score. Our results indicate that most of the participants of our survey resided in rural areas and the majority (80.7%) of the mothers had no education. Factors such as region, children's age, woman's empowerment, vitamin A intake and wealth index were significant predictors of CDD (p < 0.05). The children residing in rural areas were more likely to have lower CDD scores (p < 0.05) than the children in urban areas, therefore becoming more susceptible to malnutrition.

Improving Medication Adherence Among Drug-Using HIV-Infected Formerly Incarcerated Individuals: A Pilot Test of Two Interventions.

Incarcerated individuals in the United States are reportedly four times more likely to be infected with HIV than members of the general population, and a substantial proportion have a history of drug use. Postincarceration, many struggle to maintain their antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen. This pilot study tested the potential performance of two ART adherence interventions, Project ADHerence Education and Risk Evaluation (ADHERE) and Medication Adherence and Care Engagement (MACE) among drug-using HIV-infected formerly incarcerated individuals in New York City. Thirty participants were randomized and completed the ADHERE or MACE intervention. Participants were interviewed and had their blood drawn for viral load testing at baseline and 3 months postintervention. Our findings suggest that drug-using HIV-infected formerly incarcerated individuals can benefit from brief ART adherence interventions. They also suggest that marijuana use may not have a negative impact on ART adherence.