Innovative perception analysis of HIV prevention messaging for black women in college: a proof of concept study.

BACKGROUND: Black women in college are disproportionately affected by HIV, but have not been a population of focus for HIV prevention campaigns. This study used content from a preexisting HIV media campaign to assess its relevancy and acceptability among Black women in college. METHODS: Media viewing and listening sessions were convened with Black women enrolled at an HBCU (n = 10) using perception analyzer technology-hardware and software tools that are calibrated to gather and interpret continuous, in-the-moment feedback. Matched pre-and-post-test responses from focus groups were obtained from the perception analyzer data. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to characterize the data. RESULTS: Students were more likely to personally identify with media content that included profound statements, along with memorable people and actors [95% CI: 1.38, 2.27]. In over half of the vignettes, participants reported that content representing students' society, culture, or interests was missing. CONCLUSIONS: HIV prevention media campaigns may offer potential in increasing HIV awareness and risk perceptions; further research is needed to evaluate optimal content tailoring for both cultural and climate relevancy.

Social and Environmental Influences on Sexual Behaviors of College Black Women: Within Group Diversity Between HBCU vs. PWI Experiences.

Black women carry a disproportionate number of new HIV infections in the USA. Studies that have assessed HIV risk perception along with HIV prevention interventions for Black women have primarily focused on Black women of low socioeconomic status. Few studies have assessed HIV risk perceptions and sexual behavior among college-educated Black women of higher socioeconomic status despite their high risk of HIV. College-educated Black women are most likely to acquire HIV while in college, and there has been a marked absence of research assessing the environmental and cultural influences present throughout college-campuses, coupled with evaluating how these factors shape sexual behaviors. We conducted surveys with Black female students attending a historically Black college and Black female students attending a predominately White university, and compared baseline differences in sexual behaviors among both populations. Results showed that for participants attending the historically Black college certain sociocultural elements, such as music and media, had a significantly stronger influence on sexuality and sexual behaviors compared with students attending predominately White universities. The development of future HIV prevention interventions for Black women necessitates an understanding of the diverse microcultures that Black women come from. This research is high priority for college-educated Black women given this population's lack of inclusion in HIV prevention research.

The pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) consciousness of black college women and the perceived hesitancy of public health institutions to curtail HIV in black women.

BACKGROUND: Consistent use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a biomedical intervention for HIV seronegative persons, has been shown to significantly decrease HIV acquisition. Black women are a viable population segment to consider for PrEP use as their HIV incidence is overwhelmingly higher than all other women groups. METHODS: We developed and piloted a cultural- and age- appropriate PrEP education intervention to determine Black college women's: 1) perceptions of and receptivity to PrEP use; and 2) preferences for PrEP information delivery. RESULTS: We recruited N = 43 Black college women. Most of our sample were sophomore and Juniors of whom identified as heterosexual (83%) and single (67%). Over 50% of young women had never been HIV tested and only 28% had been tested in the last 6 months; however, 100% of the women believed their HIV status was negative. Prior to participating in the study, most Black college women (67%) had not heard about PrEP and were unsure or apprehensive (72%) to initiate PrEP. The Black college women indicated that our educational intervention was extremely helpful (67%) for understanding and learning about PrEP. Post participating in our PrEP education module, regardless of delivery modality, participants reported being likely (62.55-70%) to initiate PrEP in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that Black college women would strongly consider PrEP when provided with basic knowledge, regardless of delivery modality. Participants also showed greater appreciation for in-person delivery and found it to be significantly more helpful and of greater quality for learning about PrEP; comprehension or perceived usefulness of PrEP-related content was relatively the same between groups. PrEP content delivery -- via in-person or online methods - is contingent on learning style and presentation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study has been registered under the ISRCTN Registry as of July 6, 2020. The trial registration number is ISRCTN14792715 . This study was retrospectively registered.

The HIP LADIES: A Pilot Health Improvement Project for HIV Prevention in Black College Women.

A disproportionate number of new HIV infections in the United States occur in Black women. We pilot-tested feasibility and acceptability of a manualized HIV prevention intervention developed with and for Black college women. We used a prospective, randomized 2-group design, with 3 data collection times. Participants included 18- to 24-year-old Black women (N = 65), who were enrolled at 2 southern universities; 46 completed pre- and post-assessments. We found that participants in the intervention arm had positive changes in HIV knowledge (p < .0001) and behavioral intentions (p = .039) outcomes. There were, however, no significant differences between intervention and control groups when considering motivational factors and behavioral skills that promoted HIV prevention: social norms, condom use self-efficacy, and assertive sexual communication. We found preliminary evidence of efficacy for an HIV prevention intervention tailored to Black college women. Researchers should partner with Black college women to develop and implement HIV prevention interventions.

Exploring Black College Females' Perceptions Regarding HIV Prevention Message Content.

Media messages can facilitate the delivery of accurate information related to HIV and sexually transmitted infection. This study's purpose was to examine preexisting media campaigns from the iMPPACS study to assess age-, gender-, and culturally appropriate components identified by African American females who attend historically Black colleges/universities. In 3 separate focus group sessions, 31 Black female college students (M age = 20) viewed 4 vignettes and heard 3 audio-only clips, then ranked and commented on them based on perceived satisfaction with HIV prevention content and appropriateness of delivery. Conventional qualitative analysis using NVivo software was performed until saturation of content was achieved and themes derived. Six major themes emerged and were designated as (a) social media; (b) mirror image; (c) visually dynamic advertisements; (d) the real world; (e) people, place, things; and (f) HIV knowledge. Visually stimulating content (i.e., graphics) was found to be most appealing in marketing HIV prevention, with brief monologue/dialogue from scenarios that resemble daily life. Socially and culturally relevant HIV prevention messages are important to Black college female students. Participants recommended creating short audiovisual messages that encompass familiar contexts like dorm rooms and appealing graphics for HIV health promotion messages, such as emojis. Future audio-only prevention advertisements for this population should use recognizable voices (e.g., celebrities). Finally, messaging should be promoted on open and closed circuit social media platforms.

Perceptions of Black College Women on Barriers to HIV-Risk Reduction and Their HIV Prevention Intervention Needs.

HIV prevention interventions can help college students engage in safe sexual behaviors. We used the Information, Motivation, Behavioral Skills model to frame four focus group discussions with Black women (n = 32) attending a historically Black college/university or a traditional university to understand their HIV prevention needs. Participants wanted clear information about sexually transmitted infections/HIV and access to contraception. Motivators for practicing safe sex were related to cultural and religious expectations, desire to avoid pregnancy, and conscious efforts to defy racial stereotypes. Barriers to practicing safe sex included issues of accountability, stigma associated with accessing HIV testing/prevention services, and media influences. We found general consensus about the need to develop skill-building HIV prevention interventions focused on communication skills, condom negotiation, access to services, and empowerment. We offer insight into culture- and age-appropriate HIV prevention for Black college women to guide the development of future interventions.

college women's preferred HIV prevention message mediums: mass media versus interpersonal relationships.

One quarter of HIV cases occur in women ages 15-44 years. We investigated preferential HIV prevention message mediums among college women (18-21 years of age) and their association with parent and partner communication. A nonexperimental cross-sectional survey assessed factors associated with parent and partner communication among 626 single female students who were sexually active in the previous 6 months and attending a 4-year public university in Florida. Women who perceived themselves to be at elevated risk of acquiring HIV were more likely to communicate with their parents (p < .05), but not their partners. In multivariable analysis, students were more likely to communicate about sexual risk behavior with their parents when mothers were younger and when less influenced by their peers. Reading items on the Internet about intravenous drug use and HIV were independently associated with higher parent and partner communication, respectively. Findings can guide future HIV prevention communication interventions.

Comparison of Doppler sonography to magnetic resonance imaging and clinical examination for disc displacement.

OBJECTIVE: To compare electronic devices advocated as an aid in the diagnosis of disc displacement (DD) of the temporomandibular joint. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-five joints (48 subjects, 36 females and 12 males, mean age = 33.3 years, SD +/- 11.9) were evaluated in this study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), clinical examination, and Doppler sonography. All subjects had bilateral MRI scans in the sagittal closed and opened and coronal closed positions. RESULTS: When the clinical and the Doppler diagnoses for all subjects were compared with the MRI diagnosis, there was a sensitivity of 73% and 90% and a specificity of 70% and 49%, respectively. When the clinical and the Doppler diagnoses for asymptomatic volunteers were compared with the MRI, there was a sensitivity of 0% and 100% and a specificity of 100% and 56%, respectively. For the symptomatic patients, there was a sensitivity of 80% and 89% and a specificity of 48% and 45%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively low number of false-negative examinations suggests that Doppler is useful for ruling out DD and may be especially useful in symptomatic patients. Unfortunately, the specificity was low, producing many false-positive examinations.

Metformin restores responses to insulin but not to growth hormone in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Administration of growth hormone (GH) increases muscle mass in F344 x BN rats, but not in Sprague-Dawley (S-D) rats. S-D rats are insulin-resistant and insulin responsiveness is required for the anabolic actions of GH. We hypothesized that correction of insulin resistance with metformin might also restore anabolic effects of GH. Treatment with GH (0.25 or 1.0 mg/kg twice daily for 9 days) had limited anabolic effects, reducing weight gain by 14%, increasing muscle glycogen content by 40% and increasing exercise capacity by 24%, but failing to increase muscle mass or to reduce fat mass. GH also impaired insulin responsiveness and increased visceral fat TNF content of visceral fat by 77%. Metformin enhanced insulin responsiveness in skeletal muscle, but failed to enhance anabolic effects of GH. Rats aged 14 weeks were treated for 21 days with metformin (320 mg/kg/day) and for the last 9 days, with GH (0.25 mg/kg, twice daily). Metformin caused a 2.3-fold increase in insulin-stimulated muscle glucose transport and a 20% reduction in muscle fatty acid oxidation, indicating increased glucose utilization. However, metformin did not augment GH-induced weight reduction. Metformin decreased visceral fat by 22% and subcutaneous fat by 20%, but no decreases were observed in the GH/metformin group. GH increased muscle glycogen by 40%, but the effect was reversed by metformin. VO(2max) was increased 24% by GH and 17% by metformin, but was not elevated in the GH/metformin group. GH increased TNF in visceral fat and the effect was augmented by metformin (144% increase). We conclude that metformin enhances some aspects of insulin responsiveness, but does not enhance anabolic responses to GH. The latter may, in part, be explained by the failure of metformin to prevent GH-induced elevation of TNF in visceral fat.