Evaluating the psychometric properties of the Hispanic Stress Inventory-2 Simplified version among a diverse sample of Latinos who smoke.

OBJECTIVE: Acculturation stress can negatively impact Latinos immigrant mental and physical health related behaviors such as smoking. It is essential to have validated and updated instruments that allow the evaluation of acculturation stress on this population. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of an abbreviated version of the Hispanic Stress Inventory Version 2 (HSI2) immigration scale among Latinos who smoke. METHODS: The study consisted of a secondary data analysis from a baseline assessment of Decídetexto, a mobile health (mHealth) smoking cessation randomized clinical trial. Of 457 Latinos included in the parent study, 352 immigrants who smoke were included. Construct validity was analyzed by completing a Pearson correlation coefficient matrix. Structural validity was analyzed using an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Cronbach alpha analysis was used to estimate the internal consistency of the items constituting a factor. RESULTS: The results included an abbreviated version of the HSI2 including 52 items. From the Pearson correlation coefficient matrix with a cutoff point of 0.4, 22 of the 52 items were excluded. From the Pearson correlation coefficient matrix with a cutoff point of 0.4, 22 items were excluded. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) results in six factors extracted, explaining 69.1% of the variance. According to the EFA, two items were relocated in different factors from the original scale. The HSI2 30 items scale reflected excellent reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.93. The six factors reflect acceptable to excellent reliability, ranging from 0.77-0.93 across factors. The median for the HSI2 total score was 34.00 (25-45) out of a possible total score of 150. CONCLUSION: Results confirmed acceptable psychometric properties of the HSI2 simplified 30-item version and provided a reliable and shorter measure of acculturation stress for Latinos groups. Having a valid and reduced measure of acculturation stress is the first step in understanding diverse ethnic groups of Latinos that are at higher risk of presenting health risk behaviors such as smoking. The present results provided the possibility of assessing the impact of acculturation stress among adults who smoke.

Recruiting Latino young adults into a vaping cessation study via social media: Feasibility and cost analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to assess the feasibility and cost of recruiting young Latino adults (aged 18-25 years) to participate in a vaping cessation study via social media and to describe the baseline characteristics of participants enrolled via social media. METHODS: Paid advertisements were launched using the Meta Ads platform, which serves ads to users on Facebook and Instagram. Key measures of audience targeting included ages 18-25 years, all genders, and the following interests: 'electronic cigarettes', 'vape', 'Latin pop', and 'Latin music'. The advertisements invited young Latino adults to join a text messaging vaping cessation study. By clicking on the advertisements, interested individuals were directed to a website to fill in a contact form. The study team contacted individuals who filled in the form, assessed them for study eligibility, and, if eligible, enrolled them in the study. RESULTS: A total of 164 individuals completed the contact form, and 26 were successfully enrolled in the study. The enrollment efficiency ratio was 15.9% (26/164). The cost per enrollment was US$94.14. The participants' mean age was 22.7 years (SD=1.6). Half of the participants (50%) were male, 38.5% were female, and 11.5% were gender non-conforming/non-binary. Two-thirds of the participants (69.2%) were born in the US, 23.1% in Puerto Rico, and 7.7% in Mexico. Eight participants (30.7%) selected Spanish as their language of preference. In terms of the type of vaping device, 16 participants (61.5%) indicated using disposables, 6 (23.1%) cartridges/pods, and 4 (15.4%) tanks/refillable. Sixteen participants (61.5%) reported using marijuana in e-cigarettes. Six participants (23.1%) had high e-cigarette dependence. Twenty participants (76.9%) had attempted to quit e-cigarettes in the past year. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to recruit young Latino adults for a vaping cessation study via social media. Social media offers a relatively low-cost approach to recruiting a diverse sample of Latino young adults who vape.

Exposure to E-Cigarette Marketing and Susceptibility to Future Vaping among Black and Latino Adolescents in the United States.

Evidence suggests an association between exposure to electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) marketing and e-cigarette use (vaping) among adolescents. However, there is limited evidence on exposure to e-cigarette marketing and susceptibility to future vaping, especially among Black and Latino adolescents. This study aimed to examine associations between exposure to e-cigarette marketing and susceptibility to future vaping among Black and Latino adolescents in the United States (US). Participants (N = 362; equal representation between Black and Latino adolescents) completed a baseline assessment (available in English and Spanish) including sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., racial/ethnic group, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc.), exposure to e-cigarette marketing, and susceptibility to future vaping. Exposure to e-cigarette marketing was recoded and organized into two categories (high exposure = 2 to 3; low exposure = 0 to 1). Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests were used to evaluate the association between exposure to e-cigarette marketing and susceptibility to future vaping, stratified by racial/ethnic group. Multiple logistic regressions assessed the association between exposure to e-cigarette marketing and susceptibility to future vaping, controlling for gender, sexual orientation, grade, and academic performance within each racial/ethnic group. Black adolescents reported significantly higher frequencies of exposure to e-cigarette marketing (p = 0.005). A significant interaction was found between exposure to e-cigarette marketing and racial/ethnic group (X2 (1) = 6.294, p = 0.012). Among Black adolescents, high exposure to e-cigarette marketing (vs. low exposure) was associated with a higher probability of susceptibility to future vaping (OR: 2.399, 95% CI 1.147-5.021, p = 0.020). For Latino adolescents, exposure to e-cigarette marketing was not associated with susceptibility to future vaping (OR: 0.503, 95% CI 0.245-1.03, p = 0.062). Future studies should evaluate how and where adolescents are exposed to e-cigarette marketing. Prevention efforts must include the implementation of effective counter-marketing campaigns and the reduction of exposure to e-cigarette marketing among Black and Latino adolescents.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and previous natural disasters on the mental health of healthcare workers in Puerto Rico.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic worries (e.g., fear of contagion) and previous exposure to natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes) on Healthcare Workers (HCWs) mental health in Puerto Rico. Participants completed a self-administered online survey including items on sociodemographic information, working conditions, fears, and worries about the COVID-19 pandemic, past natural disaster experiences, depressive symptoms, and resilience. Logistic regressions models were performed to explain the relationship between depressive symptomatology and COVID-19 experiences and worries. 40.9% (n = 107) of the sample were classified as having some level (mild to severe) of depressive symptomatology (PHQ-8 ≥5). Results reflect normal to high levels of psychological resilience (BRS; M = 3.7, SD = 0.7). A significant association was found between depressive symptomatology and psychological resilience (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.25-0.77). The odds of having depressive symptomatology were almost five times higher (OR = 4.79, 95% CI: 1.71-13.44) among those who reported emotional coping difficulties during the pandemic after experiencing a natural disaster compared to those that did not, when adjusting for psychological resilience and residence region. Despite normal to high psychological resilience levels, HCWs who reported emotional coping difficulties due to previous disasters were at risk of developing depressive symptomatology. Results suggest interventions to address the mental health of HCWs could benefit from considering other individual and environmental factors beyond resilience. Findings could inform future interventions to promote HCWs' well-being before, during, and after a natural disaster or pandemic outbreak.

Understanding the Perspectives of Latino Adults Who Smoke on Physical Activity: A Qualitative Study.

Smoking and sedentary lifestyle frequently co-occur among Latinos. Evidence suggests that moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) may enhance smoking cessation rates. However, this synergistic phenomenon has not been studied among Latinos, the largest minority group in the United States. This qualitative study consisted of semi-structured interviews in English or Spanish with Latino adults who smoke (n = 20) to understand their perspectives on physical activity. Participants were recruited using community-based recruitment strategies. The Health Belief Model was used as a framework for qualitative theoretical analysis. Multiple perceived benefits (e.g., mood management, strategy to quit smoking), susceptibility (e.g., risk of cardiovascular diseases, physical impairment), and barriers (e.g., lack of social support, low financial resources) of being physically active were identified. Moreover, multiple cues to action to do physical activity (e.g., being a role model, spending time with family and friends) were identified. These factors provide concrete operational strategies to address smoking cessation and physical activity among Latinos. Further research is needed on how best to integrate these perspectives into smoking cessation interventions.

Proactive and Reactive Recruitment of Black and Latino Adolescents in a Vaping Prevention Randomized Controlled Trial.

The purpose of this study was to assesses the effectiveness of proactive and reactive methods in the recruitment of Black and Latino adolescents into a vaping-prevention randomized controlled trial (RCT). This study also assessed the characteristics of study participants by recruitment method. Proactive recruitment strategies included study presentations at community-based events (e.g., festivals, health fairs), school-based events (e.g., back-to-school events, after-school programs), and recreational centers (e.g., fitness centers, malls). Reactive recruitment strategies included study advertisements via social media (e.g., Facebook posts shared by local community-based organizations), word of mouth, and an academic-based research hub. Using proactive and reactive methods, in a 4-month period, 362 Black and Latino adolescents were successfully enrolled into the RCT. Compared to the proactive method, adolescents screened reactively were equally likely to be eligible but significantly more likely to enroll in the study. However, both proactive and reactive strategies made notable contributions to the overall recruitment effort. Moreover, proactive and reactive methods attracted adolescents with different characteristics (e.g., age, gender, sexual orientation, etc.). These findings suggest that both proactive and reactive recruitment strategies should be implemented for studies interested in recruiting a diverse sample of Black and Latino adolescents.

Global mental health research and practice: a decolonial approach.

The global health movement is having a paradigm crisis-a period characterised by a questioning of one's values, goals, and sense of identity. Despite important advances in population health worldwide, global health and global mental health often produce and reproduce power imbalances and patterns of oppression and exploitation that perpetuate the current modern world system (ie, Eurocentric, capitalist, and patriarchal) and its entangled global hierarchies (eg, gender, economic, epistemic, and linguistic). A consensus is emerging to decolonise global mental health, but it is not clear how to move from rhetoric to action. In this Personal View, we aim to share our experiences and the practices developed in the context of the COVID-19 health care workers (HEROES) Study. To do so, we present our HEROES decolonial team approach, which comprises three underlying principles: epistemic justice, pragmatic solidarity, and sovereign acts. We have developed decolonial team practices such as co-creating communication spaces to foster horizontal and equitable dialogue, locating and managing the study database in Chile, and ensuring local teams' rights and access to the data without barriers.

Impact of Seismic Activity on Access to Health Care in Hispanic/Latino Cancer Patients from Puerto Rico.

On 7 January 2020, the southern region of Puerto Rico was struck by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, followed by continual seismic activity. Our team performed secondary analyses to explore the relationship between exposure to seismic activity, protection (support) received, and barriers to health care access for cancer patients. Methods: The research team collected data from the database of a longitudinal case-control cohort parent study concerning the impact of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rican cancer patients. The participants from the parent study were recruited in community clinics. The extracted data was collected from 51 cancer patients who completed the parent study's interviews from January−July 2020 (seismic activity period). Barriers to health care were assessed using the Barrier to Care Questionaries (BCQ), which is composed of five subscales: skills, marginalization, knowledge and beliefs expectations, and pragmatics. Exposure to seismic activity and protection was assessed using their respective subscales from the Scale of Psychosocial Impact of Disasters. Results: The results showed a significant relationship between exposure to seismic activity and barriers to health care (p < 0.001) and its five subscales (p < 0.01). These results shed light on potential access to care barriers that could hinder cancer patient treatment in the event of a natural disaster.

Validating the Factor Structure of the Stigma of Suicide Scale - Short Form Spanish Version Among Healthcare Students.

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among Spanish-speaking individuals. Suicide stigma can be a risk factor for suicide. A widely used measure is the Stigma of Suicide Scale-Short Form (SOSS-SF; Batterham, Calear, & Christensen, 2013). Although the SOSS-SF has established psychometric properties and factor structure in other languages and cultural contexts, no evidence is available from Spanish-speaking populations. Aim: This study aims to validate a Spanish translation of the SOSS-SF among a sample of Spanish-speaking healthcare students (N = 277). Method: We implemented a cross-sectional design with quantitative techniques. Results: Following a structural equation modeling approach, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the three-factor model proposed by Batterham and colleagues (2013). Limitations: The study was limited by the small sample size and recruitment by availability. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the Spanish version of the SOSS-SF is a valid and reliable tool with which to examine suicide stigma among Spanish-speaking populations.