Protect and Provide: Perceptions of Manhood and Masculinities Among Disabled Violently Injured Black Men in a Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program.

Exploring the post-injury lives of those who have survived gunshot wounds is essential to understanding the entire scope of firearm violence. The lives of Black male firearm violence survivors are transformed in various ways due to their injuries both visible and invisible. This study explored how Black men who suffer from disabilities via a firearm negotiated their masculine identities. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 violently injured Black men participating in a hospital-based violence intervention program. Survivors expressed their thoughts on how their injuries impacted their manhood and masculinities. Three themes emerged: (1) perceptions of manhood, (2) loss of independence and burden on others, and (3) and mobility. These themes highlighted and described how their lives were impacted post-injury and characterized their psychological and physical experience of recovery. The research findings suggest the need for more qualitative studies to further explore the relationship between firearm injury, Black masculinity, and perceptions of manhood. While Black men are understudied in health research and invisible in disability research, they continue to be hyper-invisible when discussing violently acquired disabilities.

What's missing? Violently injured Black men's narratives around Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with future outcomes; however, Felitti's 1998 ACEs questionnaire fails to capture the experiences of Black populations living in disinvested neighborhoods making it necessary to expand the ACEs questionnaire to examine the life experiences of violently injured Black men. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to advance the understanding of ACEs among Black male firearm violence survivors using the ACEs questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Ten Black male firearm violence survivors were recruited from an urban HVIP. Case managers conducted recruitment using the HVIP's REDcap database; active and previous HVIP participants were eligible for the study. METHODS: A qualitative study design was used to understand the childhood experiences of Black male firearm violence survivors using Felitti's ACEs questionnaire and a semi-structured interview examining perceptions of their childhood experiences. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recruitment and interviews were conducted over the phone. RESULTS: All participants experienced at least one ACE. Three themes arose from the interviews: youth incarceration, family separation and loss, and housing transition. Men at risk for violent injury experience ACEs beyond those measured in the current instrument.

Keeping the 'C' in CBPR: Exploring Community Researchers' Experiences with Human Subjects Protection Training Requirements.

Community-engaged research is increasingly recognized for its potential to advance health equity. The ability to conduct such research in the United States is predicated on the completion of human subjects protection courses; however, prior studies suggest that many of these required courses may not adequately accommodate the varied skillsets and backgrounds of community members involved with carrying out research. The present study explores community researchers' (CRs') experiences with a human subjects protection course frequently required by U.S. academic institutions. Six CRs involved in conducting a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project on Black women's pregnancy-related experiences were interviewed about their completion of the required course. Across multiple interviews, CRs noted challenges with the training length, competing external demands, module readability, content relevancy, end-of-module quizzes, and technology requirements. Despite such obstacles, CRs still valued the opportunity to learn and felt more knowledgeable and capable post-course completion. Recommendations for course improvement were explored. University requirements for human subjects protection trainings may place an undue burden on community members preparing to conduct research, impede academic-community partnerships, and discourage the initiation and continuation of community-engaged studies. Course alternatives that are tailored to CRs as well as community-academic partnerships could enhance the feasibility, relevance, and effectiveness of such trainings.

Black Women's Maternal Health: Insights From Community Based Participatory Research in Newark, New Jersey.

This study on Black women's maternal health engaged a group of six community members in a community based participatory research project in a state with one of the largest racial disparities in maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the United States. The community members conducted 31 semi-structured interviews with other Black women who had given birth within the past 3 years to examine their experiences throughout the perinatal and post-partum period. Four main themes emerged: (1) challenges related to the structure of healthcare, including insurance gaps, long wait times, lack of co-location of services, and financial challenges for both insured and uninsured people; (2) negative experiences with healthcare providers, including dismissal of concerns, lack of listening, and missed opportunities for relationship building; (3) preference for racial concordance with providers and experiences with discrimination across multiple dimensions; and (4) mental health concerns and lack of social support. CBPR is a research methodology that could be more widely deployed to illuminate the experiences of community members in order to develop solutions to complex problems. The results indicate that Black women's maternal health will benefit from multi-level interventions with changes driven by insights from Black women.

Developing a Public Health Maternal and Child Health Training Program: Lessons Learned from Five Schools of Public Health.

Maternal and child health (MCH), as a core sub-field of public health, continues to be an essential area in which additional workforce development and investment are needed. Recent public health workforce assessments in the United States reveal there will be a significant number of vacancies in MCH public health positions in the near future, creating the need for a well-trained and skilled public health MCH workforce. In order to address this potential critical workforce gap, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau initiated the Maternal and Child Health Public Health Catalyst Program in 2015 to support the creation of MCH training programs in accredited schools of public health that previously did not have a MCH concentration. This article details the accomplishments and lessons learned from the first five MCH Catalyst Program grantees: Drexel University; Florida International University; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Texas A&M University; and the University at Albany.

A Statement of Commitment to Zero Tolerance of Harassment and Discrimination in Schools and Programs of Public Health.

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health convened a Task Force on Zero Tolerance of Harassment and Discrimination in 2019 to develop a policy statement and strategies for addressing harassment of all types in institutions offering public health education. We outline the premises and scholarly foundation for the development of the Statement of Commitment to Zero Tolerance of Harassment and Discrimination, the statement itself, and future plans for realizing the aspiration established in the statement. The development of this living document is predicated on the belief that it is the core responsibility of academic institutions to build the knowledge and that it is the responsibility of leaders, namely deans of schools of public health and directors of public health programs, to lead in building the shared knowledge and insist on the practices that create institutions for a better future free of harassment and discrimination. Our statement is informed by the knowledge that aggressions in the form of harassment and discrimination undermine the health and well-being of individuals, the public, and populations.

Community Wise: A formative evaluation of a community based health intervention.

Individuals with histories of incarceration and substance abuse residing in distressed communities often receive suboptimal services partly due to a lack of empirically supported substance abuse treatments targeting this population. Grounded in community-engaged research, we developed Community Wise, a manualized, 12-week, group behavioral intervention. The intervention aims to reduce substance use frequency, HIV/HCV risk behaviors, and reoffending among individuals with histories of substance abuse and incarceration. Thirty six individuals were recruited to participate in a formative evaluation of Community Wise processes and outcomes. Analysis showed significantly lower post-intervention number of cigarettes smoked per day, days using an illicit drug, money spent on illegal drugs, and rearrests. Based on the evaluation, the research team made the following changes: 1) added a session on sexuality; 2) increased the number of sessions from 12 to 15; and 3) modified strategies to help participants develop and implement capacity building projects.

Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis, a chronic bacterial infection, once thought to have been eliminated, has re-emerged as a disease threat, causing health care professionals to evaluate the treatment of those infected. This article provides information on the transmission of the disease, infection and active disease, and recommendations for evaluating patients in the dental setting.