Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Reasons for Vaccine Hesitancy Among New York State Refugees.

PURPOSE: Resettled refugees in the U.S. face a disproportionately high risk of COVID-19 exposure, infection, and death. This study examines COVID-19 vaccination status among adult participants and their minor children, reasons for vaccine hesitancy, and predictors of vaccine uptake, as well as sources of COVID-19 news and information and trust in those sources. METHOD: The data in this study were drawn from the Telehealth and COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in New York Refugee Communities Survey (N = 353), conducted March-May, 2022. RESULTS: The multivariate results indicate that in this sample of resettled refugees, those who reported higher levels of educational attainment, were from Afghanistan, and those who had fewer concerns about the vaccine were more likely to accept vaccination. The participants in this study identified local health workers, clinics, and community organizations - places where social workers are present - as both the largest source of nonsocial media COVID-19 news and information and the most trusted source of COVID-19 news and information. DISCUSSION: The implications from this study provide social workers with an understanding of the social and behavioral factors impacting vaccine uptake in refugee communities. CONCLUSION: According to the NASW Code of Ethics, social workers must challenge inequalities that persist against marginalized groups, such as racial and ethnic health disparities. Social work practitioners can play an essential role in decreasing unjust health disparities by providing accurate, culturally appropriate information on public health concerns such as COVID-19 to their refugee clients and within interprofessional collaboration.

Advancing Community-Based Participatory Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Methods Commentary on the Lessons Learned from Working with Community Data Collectors on a Refugee Health Disparities Study.

This methods commentary focuses on lessons learned from working with community data collectors on a refugee health disparities study during the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is a strong literature base for community health workers in refugee or migrant communities, there is less known about the procedural elements, challenges, and effectiveness of using community data collectors (CDCs) in research with refugee or migrant communities. Recognizing the cultural wealth and unique strengths of local stakeholders in the refugee community, the research team employed a robust collaborative approach by partnering with CDCs to design and administer the Telehealth and COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in New York Refugee Communities Survey. The study's success was largely due to the CDC partnership. This methods commentary highlights the utility of Community-Based Participatory Research as a culturally-responsive framework well-suited to exploring health disparities as part of a broader agenda of public health communication research.

Essential but Excluded: Using Critical Race Theory to Examine COVID-19 Economic Relief Policies for Undocumented US Workers.

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, undocumented immigrants in the United States were vulnerable both to unemployment and to COVID-19 infection if they did remain employed, because of the sectors that employ them. Despite these heightened economic vulnerabilities, 7.8 million undocumented workers were excluded from federal economic relief policies. This article uses critical race theory (CRT) to examine the intentional and unjust exclusion of undocumented U.S. workers from COVID-19 economic relief aid within the larger context of economic marginalization and injustice. It also provides an overview of the major federal economic relief legislation and policy developments during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, between March 2020 and July 2021. While some states have enacted creative programs and policies related to COVID-19 economic relief, effective and comprehensive federal-level policies must be implemented to address the growing chasm of inequity in American society, particularly as experienced by often-essential undocumented immigrant workers. Specific standards related to work and quality of live are protected by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), but exclusionary federal policies render these minimum standards inaccessible for undocumented workers and deepen existing economic and social disparities. Social work aspires to provide a uniquely critical and social justice-minded perspective that considers systems of oppression, power dynamics, and human rights, and this perspective can contribute to socially just economic policy development.

African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Depression: Which Biopsychosocial Factors Should Social Workers Focus On? Results from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL).

Research suggests that African Americans may be more likely to experience depression, especially severe depression, than other racial or ethnic groups in the United States. Overall there is scant research comparing the relationship between ethnicity and depression among the U.S. Black population. The purpose of this study is to identify the most significant biopsychosocial factors social workers can address in the prevention and treatment of depression in African American and first generations Caribbean Black clients. Data was from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Bivariate associations showed that respondents who reported higher self-esteem, lower hopelessness, higher sense of mastery, and lower discrimination showed lower likelihood of having Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The logistic regression model suggested that respondents who have ever had a chronic disease were more likely to report depression than those who have not ever had a chronic disease. Caribbean Blacks were more likely to report depression compared to African Americans. Additionally, respondents who reported higher discrimination scores were more likely to report depression. This study suggests that social workers should embrace the interconnectedness and holistic approach of the biopsychosocial model in their case conceptualizations, prevention strategies, and treatment modalities.

Telemental Health Use and Refugee Mental Health Providers Following COVID-19 Pandemic.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has increased stress, fear, and anxiety for many people. At the same time, social isolation restrictions have disrupted most in-person mental health services. Many mental health providers are adapting to the crisis by utilizing telemental health. However, the literature is scant about how to most effectively utilize telemental health practices with refugee clients, many of whom do not speak English and require an interpreter, may have limited technological proficiency or access, and/or have additional case management needs and coordination as part of their treatment plan. The purpose of this study is to understand how mental health clinicians and case workers at a refugee-serving mental health clinic are successfully shifting their face-to-face practice to telemental health, the obstacles they encounter, and what resources they have found to be helpful. Two main themes emerged from the data: (1) refugee mental health providers display initiative and flexibility in their adaptation to telemental health and (2) providers reported numerous obstacles to effective telemental health, including client barriers, tech barriers, communication issues, and the challenge of reading nonverbal cues virtually. By better understanding telemental health when working with refugees, clinical social workers will be more effective in meeting the needs of a population with significant mental health needs and limited mental healthcare access.

The Impact of Employment on Immigrant Mental Health: Results from a National Survey.

Mental illness and unemployment are both well documented in the literature as potentially having harmful and even detrimental impacts on individuals' lives. However, less is known about the intersections of mental illness and unemployment in the U.S. immigrant population. This study examined whether unemployment is a predictor of mental illness in a sample of immigrants in the United States (N = 3,732). Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a three-wave, nationally representative dataset. Multivariate logistical regression analysis examined whether the main effects of a negative employment status were associated with a mental health diagnosis at Wave 2. Negative employment status was a significant predictor of all mental health diagnoses in the multivariate logistic regression models. The results from this study indicate that unemployment is associated with mental health problems among immigrants. This article presents discussion and implications for social work practice, policy, and research.

A Systematic Review of Psychosocial-Based Outcomes in Peer-Support Services.

Purpose: In determining whether peer support interventions are effective, an examination of the measures used to assess outcomes is essential. Prior reviews often do not account for validly and reliability of measures used in studies, which may lead to conflicting conclusions. Method: Explicit criteria to identify articles of psychosocial based outcomes in peer support services was used. Outcome measures were categorized along broad dimensions, examined for validity and reliability and reviewed for major findings. Results: Thirteen domains of psychosocial based outcomes emerged. Most domains had at least one outcome measure that was valid and reliable. Articles that included valid and reliable outcomes suggests peer support services may be associated with multiple domains. Conclusion: From an examination of the validity and reliability of measures used to evaluate peer support services, a stronger evidence base for services is established. Future directions for both social work research and practice are identified.

Self-assessment and goal-setting is associated with an improvement in interviewing skills.

PURPOSE: Describe the relationship between medical students' self-assessment and goal-setting (SAGS) skills and development of interviewing skills during the first-year doctoring course. METHOD: 157 first-year medical students completed three two-case standardized patient (SP) interviews. After each of the first two, students viewed videotapes of their interview, completed a SAGS worksheet, and reviewed a selected tape segment in a seminar. SAGS was categorized into good and poor quality and interviewing skills were rated by trained raters. RESULTS: SAGS improved over time (37% good week 1 vs. 61% good week 10). Baseline SAGS and interviewing skills were not associated. Initial SAGS quality was associated with change in interviewing skills - those with poor-quality SAGS demonstrated a decrease and those with good-quality SAGS demonstrated an increase in scores by 17 weeks (ANOVA F=4.16, p=0.024). For students whose SAGS skills were good at both week 1 and 10, interviewing skills declined in weeks 1-10 and then increased significantly at week 17. For those whose SAGS remained 'poor' in weeks 1-10, interviewing skills declined in weeks 10-17. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the quality of students' SAGS improved over time. Poor baseline SAGS skills and failure to improve were associated with a decrease in interviewing skills at 17 weeks. For students with better SAGS, interviewing skills increased at week 17. Improvement in SAGS skills was not associated with improved interviewing skills. Understanding structured self-assessment skills helps identify student characteristics that influence progressive mastery of communication skills and therefore may inform curriculum and remediation tailoring.

How medical students' behaviors and attitudes affect the impact of a brief curriculum on nutrition counseling.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a nutrition curriculum and explore the influence of medical students' own nutrition practices on its impact. METHODS: An anonymous survey was given to first-year medical students attending a required course immediately prior to and 2 weeks after a 2-hour interactive nutrition curriculum intervention in a large private urban medical school in New York, New York. Main outcomes included self-reported nutrition counseling confidence, ability to assess diet, and nutrition knowledge measured using 4-point Likert scales. RESULTS: One hundred eleven students completed surveys pre-curriculum (69%) and 121 completed them post-curriculum (75%). The authors found overall pre-post differences in dietary assessment ability (2.65 vs 3.05, P < .001) and counseling confidence (1.86 vs 2.22, P < .001). In addition to the curricular impact, students' nutrition-related behaviors and attitudes were positively associated with outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: A nutrition curriculum for medical students improves students' nutrition counseling-related confidence, knowledge, and skills even when controlling for personal nutrition-related behaviors.